Have these Lockdowns improved your bass playing?

[Jus Lukin]

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Edited March 11, 2022 by Jus Lukin

[Paul S]

5 hours ago, Al Krow said:

@Paul S good luck! 

Latin music is often such fun and happy music and La Bamba is right up there!

Starting to get to grips with my Stagg EUB has been one of my main lockdown projects (I think I've got 12 numbers under my belt so far) and playing the bass line on La Bamba always brings a smile to my face. 

It's my impression, Bas, that you play everything with a smile on your face  

[chris_b]

19 minutes ago, Paul S said:

It's my impression, Bas, that you play everything with a smile on your face  

Might be wind!

[dave_bass5]

5 hours ago, Paul S said:

Thanks Bas.  Rather than fade out on that folky thing at the end my aim is to segue it with Tequila for a while.  If it works out OK I'll post it here.  Of course if it doesn't I won't mention it again   

Going in to Tequlia is how we used to do, and then a bit of Whole Lotta love. That bit always went down well, and always a shame to go back in to La Bamba 😁

[Len_derby]

3 hours ago, Jus Lukin said:

My callouses are fairly well ingrained, but with less playing going on I have noticed that they're softening a bit. After some toolless 'persuasion' of metal parts, I'm finding that my fingers aren't quite as well armoured as they were. I might have to start using pliers and spanners if work doesn't pick up soon! 😄

I do the cooking in our house and I know when I haven’t been playing enough. That’s when I need the oven gloves!

[Al Krow]

29 minutes ago, Paul S said:

It's my impression, Bas, that you play everything with a smile on your face  

You're a gent Paul. But actually it kinda does tie into what a lot of folk have said about motivation: playing bass with either of my bands to an appreciative audience is right up there in terms of what I really love doing.

Working on technique, learning new stuff and generally keeping myself in good bass "shape" can be very rewarding in itself too, though. For sure some days it's harder work than others particularly with no gigs in sight and some days (or weeks) it doesn't happen at all. But overall, it's still very much a passion for me and one that I came to relatively late in life compared to many on BC, so it's got a long way to go before it ever becomes mundane!

12 minutes ago, chris_b said:

Might be wind!

Sounds like more hot air from you Chris 😁

[Al Krow]

35 minutes ago, dave_bass5 said:

Going in to Tequlia is how we used to do, and then a bit of Whole Lotta love. That bit always went down well, and always a shame to go back in to La Bamba 😁

Did you do Tequila as good as this guy?

 

Edited February 12, 2021 by Al Krow

[BillyBass]

During the first lockdown I did very little work and averaged about 2 hours practice per day.  I'm working now but I still manage several hours a day on my days off.  Lockdown has really been good for my bass playing, but the bass, for me, is an obsession.

[Guest]

On 11/02/2021 at 10:19, dave_bass5 said:

went back to keyboards (after 25 years) and have no intention of playing bass in the near future

Will you have to change your forum name?

[dave_bass5]

1 minute ago, Ricky Rioli said:

Will you have to change your forum name?

No, because I still own 5 basses 😀

[BigRedX]

Well after all that negativity in my earlier posts I got an email from the keyboard player form Hurtsfall saying that we have been asked to contribute new a track for a compilation album coming out this summer. This was accompanied by an MP3 with his initial ideas for a verse and chorus. Looks like I might be playing again.

[ezbass]

1 hour ago, BigRedX said:

Well after all that negativity in my earlier posts I got an email from the keyboard player form Hurtsfall saying that we have been asked to contribute new a track for a compilation album coming out this summer. This was accompanied by an MP3 with his initial ideas for a verse and chorus. Looks like I might be playing again.

Excellent! It really doesn’t take much to get the juices flowing again, does it? I’m hoping for another collaboration project to come down the pipe for me soon. Hopefully, it’ll be something juicy bass-wise (I’ve already nixxed an early suggestion as, whilst a good tune [Do It Again], hardly exciting for bass players), or just really rocking.

Edited February 13, 2021 by ezbass

[Al Krow]

I'm just wondering whether the lack of motivation to pick up the bass, expressed on here by several of us, goes deeper than a lack of gigs and is tied into worries about the impact Covid is having on the economy, job security etc.? That would be totally understandable and definitely not something that folk need to beat themselves up about. 

[ezbass]

5 minutes ago, Al Krow said:

I'm just wondering whether the lack of motivation to pick up the bass, expressed on here by several of us, goes deeper than a lack of gigs and is tied into worries about the impact Covid is having on the economy, job security etc.? That would be totally understandable and definitely not something that folk need to beat themselves up about. 

It really is a double whammy, you’re not feeling the bass love and then, you’re feeling bad about not feeling the love. Such a shame from something that normally gave us joy. C19, the plague that keeps on giving.

[Len_derby]

3 minutes ago, Al Krow said:

I'm just wondering whether the lack of motivation to pick up the bass, expressed on here by several of us, goes deeper than a lack of gigs and is tied into worries about the impact Covid is having on the economy, job security etc.? That would be totally understandable and definitely not something that folk need to beat themselves up about. 

Most definitely Al. Also, for a lot of us the home environment we’re in makes it hard to put quality playing time in. We’ve got three adults in the house. Two are working at home, I’m mostly retired (still do a small delivery job that takes me out the house about 4 days a month) and I’ve taken on the cooking, shopping and keeping an eye on a few elderly neighbours. I’m not doing too bad with the bass playing but my criteria of success these days is if I’ve got to the end of the day without opening a bottle of booze! Unprecedented times, for most of us. 

[Al Krow]

40 minutes ago, Len_derby said:

Most definitely Al. Also, for a lot of us the home environment we’re in makes it hard to put quality playing time in. We’ve got three adults in the house. Two are working at home, I’m mostly retired (still do a small delivery job that takes me out the house about 4 days a month) and I’ve taken on the cooking, shopping and keeping an eye on a few elderly neighbours. I’m not doing too bad with the bass playing but my criteria of success these days is if I’ve got to the end of the day without opening a bottle of booze! Unprecedented times, for most of us. 

That sounds tough Len - but it seems to me you're being a real star and definitely deserve bigging-up and a big thank-you for what you're doing; and you're certainly garnering a lot of admiration from these quarters for way you are supporting your family and neighbours.

Edited February 13, 2021 by Al Krow

[dave_bass5]

1 hour ago, Al Krow said:

I'm just wondering whether the lack of motivation to pick up the bass, expressed on here by several of us, goes deeper than a lack of gigs and is tied into worries about the impact Covid is having on the economy, job security etc.? That would be totally understandable and definitely not something that folk need to beat themselves up about. 

Not for me. Not been so in to music for a good few years. I feel self contained now, so can get on with things without having to wait for people who say they will do something and dont. 

I think part of my lack of enthusiasm with the bass during the first lockdown was the overal lack of anyone else in the band wanting to do anything musically. I felt musically  isolated. It was hard enough getting them to learn stuff for regular rehearsals, but when none of them could be bothered to try and keep it going I drifted off band stuff. 

Edited February 13, 2021 by dave_bass5

[Lozz196]

Further on from my earlier post, my old band are still writing material and are looking at buying recording equipment so as to get stuff worked on properly before going into the studio. I suppose it’s all down to the individuals at the end of the day, some see and take an opportunity to work further, which I dare say is more likely in an originals band as there’s more of a goal there.

[Happy Jack]

I'll tell you what is really improving my bass playing ... this thread.

I was already playing a reasonable amount anyway but, since reading the worrying downbeat replies here, I've taken to playing at least one full set - as live - every day, playing along to gig videos taken by @Silvia Bluejay. 

My covers band does three sets as either a full-fat rock gig or an unplugged acoustic set (so that's six sets straight away), my rockabilly band does three sets, and I'm involved in two other band projects with roughly a set's worth of music each. That means it takes 11 straight days to play through the entire repertoire I might be called upon to play post-Lockdown.

I'll be damned if I finally get to rehearse with a band again and find that I'm the rustiest guy in the room ...

[Pedantic] This isn't really improving my bass playing, of course, it's more a matter of slowing down the deterioration. [/Pedantic]

 

[Woodinblack]

19 minutes ago, Happy Jack said:

I was already playing a reasonable amount anyway but, since reading the worrying downbeat replies here, I've taken to playing at least one full set - as live - every day, playing along to gig videos taken by @Silvia Bluejay. 

Our sets are 3 hours, not doing that every day!

My other group just hour and a half, I have done that quite often.

 

[Stub Mandrel]

20 hours ago, dave_bass5 said:

Going in to Tequlia is how we used to do, and then a bit of Whole Lotta love. That bit always went down well, and always a shame to go back in to La Bamba 😁

Spanish Flea to finish 🙂

[inthedoghouse]

I am someone who has to 'shield' so I have had lots of time off work, as I am now.  For me it's purely down to the lack of a band that makes me not bother playing bass or guitar.  Being in a band is the reason I started playing in the early 70s, and it still is.  If our band hadn't folded due to a crap drummer and no suitable replacement for a good originals band I would have been happily revising and refreshing myself on the set, which is what I was doing through lockdown 1 and 2. 

Should the seemingly impossible happen and I find a top quality band to join I'll be going at it again with my usual 100% commitment and enthusiasm.

[Happy Jack]

41 minutes ago, Woodinblack said:

Our sets are 3 hours, not doing that every day!

My other group just hour and a half, I have done that quite often.

 

We usually play 3-hour gigs comprising three sets (2 x 45 plus 1 x 60).

We do NOT play 3-hour sets ... I leave that sort of thing to @Bluewine. 😂

[Woodinblack]

2 hours ago, Happy Jack said:

We usually play 3-hour gigs comprising three sets (2 x 45 plus 1 x 60).

We do NOT play 3-hour sets ... I leave that sort of thing to @Bluewine. 😂

Nominally we do 2 1.5 hour sets, but if we are only doing 1 set, it tends to go up over 2 hours.

[chris_b]

3 hours ago, Happy Jack said:

I'll be damned if I finally get to rehearse with a band again and find that I'm the rustiest guy in the room ...

+1

You've got to hit the ground running.