dave moffat

from the body shape I'd say small scale double bass

Yeah I can buy into that. My collection has built up of instruments I use regularly for specific reasons or bought for a reason which no longer applies. I have a guitar that I'll move on, an acoustic bass that I'll probably trade for a fretlss electro, an electric bass that's being waiting to go to a luthier to be de-fretted and I'll have a custom built version of my Frankenuke built later in the year (an idea that worked better than I expected) Frankenuke will be handed on to my son or one of the grandkids. The only strung instruments I don't use much that won't be going are an aria guitar erindors has banned me from getting rid, and a Bouzouki I love the sound and will get round to it again once I've got my Bass and Uke playing more advanced, so maybe towards the end of the year. so currently 4 baritone ukes, 4 basses, 2 guitars, 1 bouzouki and a box of tin whistles. Most used scales/modes - Major, Blues, major and minor Pentatonic, Phrygian. I find running through scales to warm up gets my brain and fingers speaking to each other. Most used left hand techniques - Slide, bend, hammer and on pull off, I know what the others are I just don't use/practice them. Uke is mostly chord progressions/transitions at high speed and the seemingly endless of ways of playing them.

Interesting subject, it's just over a year since I gritted my teeth and determined to learn to play bass, I finger pick everything though I do have a go at other techniques like tapping and popping just to get an idea what's involved so that if I want to use it at some point. I just want to be the best bassist I can be, which to me means trying different genres and techniques but I also find myself leaning towards certain kinds of bass-lines and techniques. So at this stage of my progress nothing is ruled out even if I give it go and decide nah I'll give that a miss. I'm also learning uke (got my first one just under a year ag), which throws in a whole load of chords, strumming and picking techniques and other stuff also a whole load of music I've never heard before, which is speeding up my ability to learn stuff as you turn to the lyric/chord sheet ,from a selection of 279, then you're straight into it and some of the chords are pretty obscure.

banging my head off a wall with Senor Dave, we need to decide if you're going with melody or bassline OK I'll put a bass line to it cool hey that's not in the chord play it again, hey that really works, wonder why? keep it in. and that section there just to change it up how about 8ths on the root Really? OK like this? Hmm yeah I think that works or quarters, too slow. 16ths? too fast I can go faster (goes Lemmie) NO!! I can sit at home and work out a bassline which sounds great until it gets to a practice session, which are always too short To be fair Ride On was simple enough, Star of County Down was a breeze, Caledonia and If are simple enough, haven't really started on Harvest Moon

could have wirewounds, hoopwounds, lugwounds, lungwounds, nothing an anthelmintic or pyrethroid wouldn't sort. Dangle yer worm around and you never know what you might get, other than a listed on the offenders register.

could have tapewound always an option don't think ragwound are an option

fishing forum?

had to be flatwounds on them fretless P-bass synths, never get a sound like that from roundwounds on a J. Just sayin' like

took me by surprise, acoustic bass works well

a four letter word with many meanings, she who knows techie stuff should be back soon

Basically it's a good but cheapish baritone uke with classical guitar strings EADG and some old stock electro parts that were kicking around. Spent the whole 2hr practice trying things out, seeing what it could/couldn't do and coming up with new ideas.

OK its not a Bass but it is tuned the same just an octave higher. Its the bastard child follow on from an idea I had at 3am last week and cobbled together from bits. Got hold of it for the first time at our weekly practice ideal for noodling bass lines and threw up a load of new options, sounds cool through an amp too. Thinking of having something similar custom built later in the year I'll put a pic up when I figure out how.

Being an ancient noob I sometimes really struggle until I get a song started, I like the idea of having a note of maybe the first bar or even just the first couple of notes for example RIDE ON E 2/7 (the / is a slide) IF G 0 (to suit my voice I start EF G) CALEDONIA A 1/6 6 8 might be enough to kick-start my brain

dunno about musical terrorism but there's plenty of criminal records I'll get me coat and yes banks suck big time, no managers any more just box tickers. Generally tolerable as long as you remember they're simply a business out to screw you for as much as they can get away with as cost effectively as possible

Yeah I do dabble occasionally but I'm a pretty inept noob at the moment. Missus has finally got hold of the sheet music for the one Strauss waltz she didn't already have, came with a load of others so I do my best to play along by ear if I'm struggling she'll call out the notes to begin with until I'm up to speed as she plays it all on the portable keys. I love it, think she just grits her teeth or goes and hides away in the music (spare bed) room with her electric Grand, her cans on and the door shut 😊 Fortunately we both like Zimmer and Morriconi as well, I'm more into Grieg, though I recently heard Lumbye for the first time at a recent concert. I wish I could read music but I just have to work everything out by ear, even with Tabs I tend to get lost as I'm dyslexic. Got perfect pitch though.

aganoooooooooooooo!! Next you'll suggest the birdy song

The way our list is going whiskey in the jar would be a good fit, just been listening to a good version by the Kildares, fairly simple bassline

Expanding my musical horizons, I knew aboriginal music had things called quarter tones so started to explore and ended up here Horizons is good too

Project has moved forward, fitted cheap baritone uke with EADG strings and it sounded alrightish and heading towards what I was after but putting a strain on the neck resulting in a bend and tuning problems, so Classic guitar strings ordered up which were supposed to arrive next week sometime. Just had a text to say they're in and fitted tension, feel and intonation are "great" so can I stay way until Tuesday practice. So gear 2020 abstinence blown wide apart. Can't say it's a Bass as it's an Octave higher. If it works I may get something custom built later in the year with a pick-up.

amazingly atmospheric score

The Star of County Down, among others

Looks like my gear abstinence in 2020 may have fallen early, I'm experimenting with fitting strings 1345 from a mini/travel guitar to a Baritone Uke to get a bass tuning but an octave higher, I think it may go better with other Ukes, Banjoleles &etc, I'll find out over the next week.

various versions of The Star of County Clare, sprung on me towards the end of today's practice session, we'd covered a lot of stuff , started noodling and were running out of time Do you know The Star of County Down Eh, what, never heard of it, (I was starting to pack up) Its Irish folk OK what's it sound like then? Given a short couple of verses of chords vocal What do you think? Sounds OK reaches for Uke bass and starts tinkering with the melody See, you've got it nailed already (big grin) and hardly anyone plays it at open mics and things Soo I guess that's another one added to the set list that I need to scratch around and find/learn a bass line for, have to admit it is a nice song with a simple chorus but we do seem to be sliding towards folk/country so this one fits nicely

Definitely the latter, I prefer the description a primary teacher gave "David has a butterfly mind, it flits from flower to flower but never settles on one for long". God bless you Miss McCulloch

Another night of little sleep.....however at around 3am I had what to me is a revelation, an epiphany (appropriate) I'd been thinking about what/how I would work things today as I'll probably be stuck waiting somewhere for a tradesman to come and do something. I was lamenting having to choose which instrument to lug around with me when it came to me, I have 4 instruments in one 1 strings 3456 are tuned EADG - Bass 2 strings 1234 are tuned DGBE - Baritone Uke 3 capo at 5th fret strings 1234 are GCEA - Tenor/Concert/Soprano Uke 4 or I could just leave it as it is - Guitar I know its comes under the heading of the Bleedin' obvious, for my next move I may even stop breathing through my mouth and talking out of my @rse Just thought I'd share 🙄