thunderbird13

[quote name='Hobbayne' post='1086816' date='Jan 12 2011, 03:48 PM']Having said that, Xmas was only two and a half weeks ago, so I wouldnt worry yet! Maybe you can text them again or maybe ring them. Give it another week or so and maybe text them saying something along the lines of "I havent heard anything from you guys so I assume you no longer need me?"[/quote] [quote name='sprocketflup' post='1086878' date='Jan 12 2011, 04:32 PM']If youve only texted try a call? texts dont always get thru, specially on my bloody phone anyway[/quote] I should have pointed out that they do have an important paying gig in the middle of Feb so if they need to sort themselves out before that or they're going to miss out. I suppose I could try contacting them again but do I want to get involved with people who appear to be so disorganised.

[quote name='Clarky' post='1086810' date='Jan 12 2011, 03:44 PM']I hate bad manners (not Buster Bloodvessel's lot!) We auditioned a drummer and took him for a drink in November. Said he would get back to us that week. Guess what ......[/quote] By bizarre coincidence I met someone last week who claimed they used to be the drummer in Bad Manners !

OK – I wasn’t really on the look out for another band but by chance I saw an advert in Gumtree for a bassist from a band who practice very close to where I live, not only that but they did cover versions of songs I actually like. Anyway 2 weeks before Christmas I had a jam with them and everything went OK and they offered me the gig. I had a telephone conversation with the singer just before Christmas where everything seemed to be going OK and since then nothing. I sent a text to him about 10 days ago and haven’t had a response yet so I suppose that’s that. TBH if I don’t hear back I’m going to knock the band thing on the head for the rest of the year, I genuinely cannot think of another freetime activity where people behave like this. Still there’s loads of other things I want to do and I still have my little practise group which meets once a month so at least I’ll keep my hand in if I change my mind Still at least I passed an audition

Not really sure what the point of these tests are but anyway my scores are : Match the beat 10/18 Tap to the beat 4 high 3 medium and 3 low Melody Memory 11/12 enthusiam for music 98% Musical Perception 98% Emotional Connection 78% Social Creativity 28% Musical Curiosity 94% The one critisim I have is that it talks a lot about singing - I cant sing so of course I'm nervous about singing in public which would skew the result somewhat ( although in fairness I'm nervous about playing the bass in public as well so well call it a score draw )

[quote name='xgsjx' post='1083984' date='Jan 10 2011, 10:25 AM']I learned to read from an old book called something like "Teach Yourself Piano" & also topped up info from the inserts in blank manuscripts (I used to score write all the time, but just for myself). 20 odd years ago a blank manuscript was about £1.95, looking thru the Google shopping, I can't find the one I used to buy (it was a creamy beige colour). Any local music shop should have them.[/quote] Or you could print your own for free [url="http://www.blanksheetmusic.net/"]manuscript[/url]

oh its a joke is it ?

[quote name='Ou7shined' post='1079431' date='Jan 6 2011, 02:45 AM']Fave. There are a myriad of bad AC/DC bass covers out there but this one takes the biscuit. I love how he's so laid back and confident that he doesn't even have to look. I couldn't find any Brian Fox for some reason. [/quote] Its weird , I listened to the Manring thing last night and for me its actually one of the worst things I've ever heard from a professional player , I think I lasted about 1 1/2 mins before I stopped it. Not trying to start an argument about how good/ bad Manring is its your opinion and your entitled to it just amuses me how one thing can mean the complete opposite to other people.

I must admit that This Charming Man is on my must learn list. I've tried playing it a couple of times but its still not quite right

I'm glad some other people have had the honesty to say they dont like the sound of themselves recorded. After getting a zoom pedal I got cubase with it and now I force myself to record one excercise and listen to it after a practice session. TBH after the first couple of times I was almost going to give up bass I was that bad, timing , bum notes , note duration everythng sounded off. I think being conscious of these things has helped as now my recordings arent quite so unlistenable , although I really dont enjoy the process

Over Christmas I tried brushing up on some technique and realised that I'd never really go to grips with playing ghost notes. After 2 practice sessions I still cant play them , it just feels so unnatural to not fully fret the note. Does anyone else struggle with these and are there any tips ?

I'm a big Sonic Youth fan but TBH I really cant be arsed going to gigs at this time of year - glad you enjoyed it though

Nuts - I thought I'd just practice on a 5 string tonight and give the detuning a miss. My 5 string was slightly out of tune so being lazy I just used my tuner and forgot that the thickest string on a fiver is B not E - SNAP !!!! Wished I'd just detuned my 4 sting now

[quote name='J3ster' post='1068215' date='Dec 23 2010, 08:30 PM']There may be some confusion here - If you and the guitarist ALL tune half a step down (which is probably for the singers range) but they are playing say a G 'look to see where they are barring the chord, I bet it is at the 3rd fret. as normal Most bands when they de-tune do not change the chord position, so for you every note will still be played at the original position (eg; 3rd fret E string is G - 5th fret A string D so on) to be honest you should have heard if its wrong compared to what the guitarist is playing as half a step difference sounds horrible especially if for the whole song :-) but I would bet they are keeping the same positions in this case.[/quote] Thats my confusion am I transposing the song or simple making the strings looser. In normal circumstances my ears would be the guide but in this case it was a casual jam where I just tried to play what I heard . They then offered me the gig and I have 30 covers to learn in the next 4 weeks. My problem is do I learn them in the key they're played on the records or do I learn them a semi tone lower. One of my (many ) weaknesses is that I can learn songs quickly but once they're learnt I find it hard to amend then in my mind .

[quote name='Steve_nottm' post='1067964' date='Dec 23 2010, 05:04 PM']Yes, you are missing something. by downtuning a bit, but you all play the same notes/chords as if you hadn't, then effectively you are transposing the song down a bit. normally to make it a bit easier for the singer. Go with it, it helps them, so makes it all work better as a band and you don't have to play anything any different. it just comes out a bit lower.[/quote] Thats the bit that confuses me - am I supposed to play the songs half a step down or not . I'm cmfortable enough transposing but I dont need to detune to do it TBH it was my first practice with a new band so I was quite happy to go with the flow and I didnt woant to look stupid by asking them why

I have only tuned my bass EADG but last week I was playing with guys who insisted that I tuned down a half step. I did this but as I'm not used to it I find it confusing as I have to play a fret higher than what I'm used to , so for example a G is 4th fret on the e string rather than the 3rd fret. So is there any point to it other than allowing me to play E flat. It seems a lot of effort just to get to one note, particularly when I can get to it on a 5 string ! Or is there something else which I'm ot getting . Help !

In answer to the OP's question, no there's nothing wrong with playing in a band which is only for practice. I have been playing in one such band for the past year and I found it useful in keeping me focused and for me there's nothing more pointless than spending years playing bass alone in a bedroom. Also the fact that it is only for practice means that it takes away any pressure and it becomes more fun. Other people have posted about jam nights if thats your thing then go for it , personally I've never really seen the point of them but I suppose they are good practice

I'm pretty much indifferent but I feel very uncomfortable calling myself a musician ( as indeed to the people who have heard me play )

Oi Marvin Your not allowed to retire until you have spent a least 2 years playing every crap rock cover with as many idiot bands as you can That seems to be my plan anyway

thanks for posting ,I enjoyed that

[quote name='Happy Jack' post='1052521' date='Dec 9 2010, 10:38 AM']Assuming that they want you to play recorder, of course ... [/quote] Ok its a fair cop. I'll confess its a Jethro Tull tribute band

I've been asked to go to a jam with a local band " just to see what happens " - so in other words its an audition but without anything prepared beforehand In music terms they are glam rock ( The Sweet , Bowie, Queen etc.) The thing is I'm normally rubbish at coming up with things on the spot and even worse at trying to remember it afterwards. So the question is should I prepare some riffs beforehand and try to fit them in or should I just go with the flow and see what happens. In short how do you prepare jam ? Cheers

I was talking to a bloke last week and mentioned to him that I played a "bit" of bass . He asked me what was the best gig I played , after 5 minutes of humming and hawing all I could come up with was I played the Dublin Castle twice in the 90's I think that says all you need to know about my bass acheivments to date

[quote name='davidmpires' post='1050387' date='Dec 7 2010, 12:04 PM']Hi guys This is a strange question but bass related nonethless. I've been out of bands since April and am slowly going back to playing I'm enjoying but I'm playing very aimlessly. I strugle to learn songs by ear and I believe that one of the reasons for it is because I can't sing to save my life, I'm really horrible, so I thought that singing lessons would help me working on my hearing which in turn will help me with my bass playing. Am I bonkers? Is this a good idea. Please comment David[/quote] Can't help you much but I'm in the same boat as I can't sing either - I practice singing scales in the bath and can't even get up to one octave and it just sounds horrible

Ok the software I use is ; Guitar Pro - much better way of learning songs than tab and I like the way you can mute the bass and the other intruments Band in a Box - easy to program and good to practice with BUT most of the instrument sounds are pretty rubbish so I only seem to use it for walking bass over a piano, which isnt my thing ! Cubase Le - because it came with my Zoom - a bit of a faff and can be quite resource intensive and TBH some of the quality of the recordings are not great BUT it was free

I had a look at this but TBH I find the guitar pro stuff much more accurate