So.. I was just sitting on my balcony enjoying the weather, watching as the marine layer (as we call it here in So. CA) is breaking up and the sun is starting to shine through. It's going to be a nice day, a bike ride is in order!
However, back to the point..
I'm sitting on the balcony hanging out with my good friend Mary and playing my bass, feeling contemplative obviously.. I've been focusing a lot on my pop'n slap technique, especially since I picked up the Pro Tone which is now the most comfortable bass that I own! It's only been a couple weeks that I've had the PT and I tell you that every time I pick it up I just can't resist popping out some kinda funky line!
I had callouses from practicing "pre PT", but "post PT" I've been getting little blisters under the callouses.. I usually just keep playing and let them do what they're gonna do, which is eventually pop and then the skin layer will peel.. That's already happened once this last week and I had to peel away skin from around the area.. No biggy..
I remember reading on here that someone suggested not getting your fingers wet in the shower because it softens the callouses and to loosely quote them "you watch your hard earned callouses go down the drain"! Well I disagree! I take 1 to 2 showers a day depending on how sweaty a day it's been
and I don't put my hands in rubber gloves or baggies.. My callouses do get softer when they've been under hot water for a while, but they don't just fall off my fingers!! That would be gross to end up with stinky hands from trying to preserve callouses and not get them wet!! hahah! 
I can see that the more I play the tougher my fingertips are getting. Sure they're sore sometimes, so sore I can't even really continue playing.. But the next day I find that I can play again, and play longer then the day before! Well.. sort of anyways..
Anyways.. Back to the contemplative bit.. I was evaluating the callouses that I'm building and the blisters I'm getting from popping. I was thinking how each time I feel that pain it's because I'm getting better! As said before, the next day I'm ready to go again, popping just as hard as the day before! I was thinking how I can definitely see the improvement in my understanding of the patterns of notes I combine, and the way in which I play them together.. It's been getting easier for me to just dig in and to play in a freestyle experimental way! Sometimes my friends comment on the improvment I've been making, which is nice to hear, but not something that I'm probing them for..
So what does all this really mean you ask?
Well...
Simple answer is that if someone were to now ask me if I play bass, the answer would not be "well kinda, I tinker around with it", or "a little bit, I'm just an amateur", but would actually be "yes, I've been learning some cool things!"
YES! I'm a bass player through and through, question that remains is if I'm as good as you! Nah, just kidding, I do have a long ways to go though!
I just thought I'd share my appreciation for the instrument and how it's helped me move forward in my thinking and image of myself! <-- Last comment make sense?
However, back to the point..
I'm sitting on the balcony hanging out with my good friend Mary and playing my bass, feeling contemplative obviously.. I've been focusing a lot on my pop'n slap technique, especially since I picked up the Pro Tone which is now the most comfortable bass that I own! It's only been a couple weeks that I've had the PT and I tell you that every time I pick it up I just can't resist popping out some kinda funky line!
I had callouses from practicing "pre PT", but "post PT" I've been getting little blisters under the callouses.. I usually just keep playing and let them do what they're gonna do, which is eventually pop and then the skin layer will peel.. That's already happened once this last week and I had to peel away skin from around the area.. No biggy..
I remember reading on here that someone suggested not getting your fingers wet in the shower because it softens the callouses and to loosely quote them "you watch your hard earned callouses go down the drain"! Well I disagree! I take 1 to 2 showers a day depending on how sweaty a day it's been
and I don't put my hands in rubber gloves or baggies.. My callouses do get softer when they've been under hot water for a while, but they don't just fall off my fingers!! That would be gross to end up with stinky hands from trying to preserve callouses and not get them wet!! hahah! I can see that the more I play the tougher my fingertips are getting. Sure they're sore sometimes, so sore I can't even really continue playing.. But the next day I find that I can play again, and play longer then the day before! Well.. sort of anyways..
Anyways.. Back to the contemplative bit.. I was evaluating the callouses that I'm building and the blisters I'm getting from popping. I was thinking how each time I feel that pain it's because I'm getting better! As said before, the next day I'm ready to go again, popping just as hard as the day before! I was thinking how I can definitely see the improvement in my understanding of the patterns of notes I combine, and the way in which I play them together.. It's been getting easier for me to just dig in and to play in a freestyle experimental way! Sometimes my friends comment on the improvment I've been making, which is nice to hear, but not something that I'm probing them for..
So what does all this really mean you ask?
Well...
Simple answer is that if someone were to now ask me if I play bass, the answer would not be "well kinda, I tinker around with it", or "a little bit, I'm just an amateur", but would actually be "yes, I've been learning some cool things!"
YES! I'm a bass player through and through, question that remains is if I'm as good as you! Nah, just kidding, I do have a long ways to go though!
I just thought I'd share my appreciation for the instrument and how it's helped me move forward in my thinking and image of myself! <-- Last comment make sense?
