so i teach my 13 year old daughter to play bass yesterday...

joebar · #1 03-09-2010, 05:41 PM

out of the blue i asked her if she would like to try the bass guitar. she reluctantly says 'OK"
i have not known her to be musically inclined or anything.
she immediately took to the instrument; i taught her an easy tune to play- "i wanna kiss a girl" by Keith Urban.
within the course of an hour she could play the whole tune in almost perfect rhythym.
she was grooving out a great beat.
even funnier was i turned away for a few minutes and i could hear her transposing the song in two other keys! i couldn't believe it- she said that it made sense to her to move it around.
over the course of the evening i taught her three songs and she really did well and i think i have created a monster...
it took me six months to learn what she did in a few hours.
later that nite, she acompanied me to band rehearsal and played bass while i sang- unreal...
just thought i would share that with you's

Axtman · #2 03-09-2010, 05:45 PM

Young impressionable minds are so easy to corrupt.....heh heh heh heh (evil chuckle)

SomeKindofRobot · #3 03-09-2010, 05:46 PM

1. Start a YouTube buzz
2. Call Disney
3. ???????????
4. Profit

snyderz · #4 03-09-2010, 05:47 PM

Congrats. It's a good feeling when they like it, and a better feeling when they are good! My daughter asked for a drum kit for her 13th birthday. I said "OK, if you take piano lessons too". She did well on the piano, playing her mandatory 30 minutes per day, then she would go to the bassment and play her drums for 4 hours! She's now a pro drummer in Vegas. She plays House of Blues, and Hard Rock Cafe, and I play funky bars.

bassplayer8953 · #5 03-09-2010, 05:48 PM

Very cool...and having a 13 year old girl accept anything the ol' man does as something she would try is definitely a godsend. (Speaking from experience) @ 13 most teenagers parents have turned into the uncoolest creatures on the planet...they don't know anything...until the "cool kids" reach 20-something, and life hits them square in the face. The the oldies start to get smart again...(especially when they have kids of their own).

Enjoy your new bonding experience! Hope she turns into the next Tal!!

troy mcclure · #6 03-09-2010, 06:04 PM

When my son was 11 I bught him a drum kit, cause I didn't want him to school me on bass. He is now 17 and a very good drummer. He is a song writer and picks up all types of instruments and no 1--x more about our recording studio than I ever will.

Congratulations on that daughter.

archer121 · #7 03-09-2010, 06:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by joebar

out of the blue i asked her if she would like to try the bass guitar. she reluctantly says 'OK"
i have not known her to be musically inclined or anything.
she immediately took to the instrument; i taught her an easy tune to play- "i wanna kiss a girl" by Keith Urban.
within the course of an hour she could play the whole tune in almost perfect rhythym.
she was grooving out a great beat.
even funnier was i turned away for a few minutes and i could hear her transposing the song in two other keys! i couldn't believe it- she said that it made sense to her to move it around.
over the course of the evening i taught her three songs and she really did well and i think i have created a monster...
it took me six months to learn what she did in a few hours.
later that nite, she acompanied me to band rehearsal and played bass while i sang- unreal...
just thought i would share that with you's

Nurture her talent and inclinations but don't poison her with your dreams and expectations.

SBassman · #8 03-09-2010, 06:06 PM

Very cool. Keep nurturing it.

joebar · #9 03-09-2010, 06:32 PM

like other teenaged girls, she is wrapped up in celebrities and stars. by showing her how to play one of her favorite songs on the bass, it helps to demystify the media driven exaltation of mere humans. i want to keep her grounded and by showing her that a song could be within her reach is empowering i believe.
i 'll see where it goes- she doesn't live with me and i only see her a handful of times per year because she is so far away. at least it is something i can do with her and show her and bond with her over.
i have the market cornered lmao.
seriously though, it could keep her out of trouble in these difficult years among other things.

Riverrunsred · #10 03-09-2010, 06:34 PM

Thats great.....not to mention an excuse to pick up a new bass and amp

Dave R · #11 03-09-2010, 07:09 PM

Sounds like she has "the gift", if she's transposing the song because it sounds right to her.

plankspanker13 · #12 03-09-2010, 09:55 PM

This gift of perfect pitch can also be a curse. There are times that I wish that I never had it, but they discovered it when I was 7. At least I am taking music on my own terms, and it sounds like Joe is letting his daughter do likewise at an age where it might lead to something awesome. I had to wait until adulthood for my opportunity, and still enjoy occasionally rubbing it in the face of my parent who started me out.

Teaching her the bass might also be a delicious form of getting back at the primary custodial parent, for all we know too. It'd be interesting if we could be kept abreast of her development (no double entendres intended, despite my penchant for ribaldry) as a musician.

bassmanrocke · #13 03-10-2010, 07:26 AM

My older daughter decided she wanted to play bass when she was about 11. I tried to teach her, but quickly realized that it was no fun for either of us. I started her taking lessons at a local shop. She worked at it for a while, but eventually switched to keyboards(which didn't really take either).

Flash forward 3 years, my younger daughter decides she wants to learn guitar. I buy her a 3/4 sized acoustic and pay for lessons for over a year. Teflon.

Needless to say, Joe I am very envious.

Ps: My older daughter now lives with my ex, and has started learning bass again. Now when I see her every other weekend she wants me to show her things. It has become more fun this time around.

Gord_oh · #14 03-10-2010, 07:30 AM

i really hope when i have kids they have an interest in music. its amazing your daughter took so quickly to it.

congrats, i bet youre a happy dad.

finalrequiem · #15 03-10-2010, 07:37 AM

That's great!!! I can't wait till my kids (19 months and 6 months) start picking up instruments.

derridiandrift · #16 03-10-2010, 07:48 AM

I teach language to 13 year-olds. The theory goes that kids are right at the point in their growth that they can figure complicated communication systems when they're around the age of 13. Music is a complicated communication system, just like the English language.

I have students who bring their musical instruments into my classroom at lunch time and after school. We play our music, talk about it, I teach them a bit, but basically we just hang out and play whatever it is that they've learned that week. I'm always amazed at how much they can learn from one day to the next. I remember my growth as a musician at that age being meteoric compared to the kind of growth I experience now. The other benefit is that students who know how to play music typically do much better in language classes.

The fact that you're teaching her to play bass can only benefit her!

Twocan · #17 03-10-2010, 08:04 AM

My daughter is only 2, but I'm hoping she'll share the same interest/desire some day!

nealw · #18 03-10-2010, 08:16 AM

If you want to show her something she could possibly relate to-an attractive female who is a really good bassist/singer/songwriter, look up Abby Travis on YouTube.

joebar · #19 03-10-2010, 10:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by plankspanker13

This gift of perfect pitch can also be a curse. There are times that I wish that I never had it, but they discovered it when I was 7. At least I am taking music on my own terms, and it sounds like Joe is letting his daughter do likewise at an age where it might lead to something awesome. I had to wait until adulthood for my opportunity, and still enjoy occasionally rubbing it in the face of my parent who started me out.

Teaching her the bass might also be a delicious form of getting back at the primary custodial parent, for all we know too. It'd be interesting if we could be kept abreast of her development (no double entendres intended, despite my penchant for ribaldry) as a musician.

funny you say that; i have perfect pitch as well as excellent relative pitch. i didn't know i had it until many years of playing the bass. i assumed everyone could hear what i heard...
the downside of having it is that it is hard to listen to music objectively or for the simple beauty of it without breaking it down on the spot and figuring out sounds constantly. hell, i can't even hear a car horn honk within figuring out its pitch lol...

anyhow, it's even more ironic that you bring up the sticking the knife to her mom; in the past my ex's vendictiveness has always made her look like the better parent.
for EG: if i told my daughter i would take her somewhere in the future, her mom would beat me to it.
this is one arena that her mom cannot beat me to. she isn't musically inclined. i have this market cornered lmao.

caeman · #20 03-10-2010, 12:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by finalrequiem

That's great!!! I can't wait till my kids (19 months and 6 months) start picking up instruments.

What are you waiting for?! Give them a rattle, an egg shaker, a slide whistle!

My 4 year old and 2 year old have their own harmonica and tinwhistle to play, along with various bits of hand percussion.