Hey folks, for those new to the diary, I am a middle aged musician enjoying a bit of a musical renaissance, including finally picking up the bass as a secondary instrument. I have been learning mostly on the fly gigging in a duo/trio, and documenting my gigs with brief writeups. See the links to past entries below!
Big #20! Turns out I got the numbering wrong for one, it happens! Anyway, here we are! To catch up, the Wednesday Blues Jam has become a semi-regular deal. I went tonight & on the 5th, skipping the 12th.
On the 5th, I played with the host & a rookie guitarist. It was fun, but we had to play to what she could handle. I definitely felt myself getting more comfortable with the 5 string, and it was a good time. I also grabbed a decent gig bag that day, so now I have my one bag rig all ready to go!
Fast forward to tonight, this time it was Frank, Jim, and I. We played for just over an hour, jumping into a 12 bar blues song right out of the gate. I dunno why, but I was feeling adventurous, and just jumped right into a walking bassline for the first time.
I was just playing the minor triads, but it worked. I tweaked it as we went, but I liked how it sounded. I ended up doing some similar lines for most of the night, almost never doing plain root note lines.
The odd part is that I haven't touched the bass in two weeks other than to change the strings late last night, so I am not sure where this extra confidence and skill came from, lol.
I got lot a few times, but found I could make my way back. Considering that this is all off the cuff with no setlist or rehearsal (other than this), I was pleased with how it went.
I have a little video you can view *here*.
I find I am getting better with playing in time, and on having notes lead into each other. I think the work i'm doing on guitar scales is helping here, but the B string is still a hinderance in some ways. I like it, and I enjoy having it, but I feel like I haven't fully "metabolized" it yet. I need to learn the extended scales up onto the B, so I instinctually know when to go up there. I absolutely *love* being able to octave down to notes normally on the A string in that position, especially D through F. I have a tendancy to use a lot of octaves for accenting, so having the lower range is great.
I had my compressor tonight, and I liked it. I used it for some songs but not all, just to mix it up. It oddly seemed to lower my volume somewhat, but I think that was more due to the lack of a soundcheck. We had a drummer on the box drum for two songs at the end, which was great!
My takeaway is that I would like to get a 4 string also, maybe a short scale. Perhaps a short scale Sterling Stingray? That Fiesta Red calls...
Fun times with friends, loving the one hour format! Catch you on the next one!
1st entry: Bass Players | Played my first bass gig tonight
| Facebook
2nd entry: Bass Players | First off, Merry Christmas | Facebook
3rd entry: Bass Players | Third bass gig tonight | Facebook
4th entry: Bass Players | Another gig tonight | Facebook
5th entry: Bass Players | Another entry in my running gig diary | Facebook
6th entry: https://www.talkbass.com/threads/diary-of-a-bassist-6.1645734/#post-28323213
7th entry: https://www.talkbass.com/threads/diary-of-a-bassist-7-or-along-came-a-drummer.1646312/
8th entry: https://www.talkbass.com/threads/diary-of-a-bassist-8-there-goes-the-drummer.1649424/#post-28411461
9th entry: https://www.talkbass.com/threads/diary-of-a-bassist-9-drummer-redux.1650998/
10th entry: https://www.talkbass.com/threads/diary-of-a-bassist-10-the-takeover-jam.1653436/
11th entry: https://www.talkbass.com/threads/diary-of-a-bassist-11-back-to-the-future.1655395/#post-28540235
12th entry: https://www.talkbass.com/threads/diary-of-a-bassist-12-welcome-to-the-machine.1656230/
13th entry: https://www.talkbass.com/threads/diary-of-a-bassist-13-wait-are-we-a-real-band.1656725/
14th entry: https://www.talkbass.com/threads/diary-of-a-bassist-14-reggae-school.1657165/
15th entry: https://www.talkbass.com/threads/diary-of-a-bassist-15-rock-n-reggae.1657516/
16th entry: https://www.talkbass.com/threads/diary-of-a-bassist-16-coda.1658000/#post-28611190
17th entry: https://www.talkbass.com/threads/diary-of-a-bassist-17-et-iterum.1658933/#post-28643352
18th/19th entry: https://www.talkbass.com/threads/diary-of-a-bassist-17-and-18-double-time-double-trouble.1666682/
Big #20! Turns out I got the numbering wrong for one, it happens! Anyway, here we are! To catch up, the Wednesday Blues Jam has become a semi-regular deal. I went tonight & on the 5th, skipping the 12th.
On the 5th, I played with the host & a rookie guitarist. It was fun, but we had to play to what she could handle. I definitely felt myself getting more comfortable with the 5 string, and it was a good time. I also grabbed a decent gig bag that day, so now I have my one bag rig all ready to go!
Fast forward to tonight, this time it was Frank, Jim, and I. We played for just over an hour, jumping into a 12 bar blues song right out of the gate. I dunno why, but I was feeling adventurous, and just jumped right into a walking bassline for the first time.
I was just playing the minor triads, but it worked. I tweaked it as we went, but I liked how it sounded. I ended up doing some similar lines for most of the night, almost never doing plain root note lines.
The odd part is that I haven't touched the bass in two weeks other than to change the strings late last night, so I am not sure where this extra confidence and skill came from, lol.
I got lot a few times, but found I could make my way back. Considering that this is all off the cuff with no setlist or rehearsal (other than this), I was pleased with how it went.
I have a little video you can view *here*.
I find I am getting better with playing in time, and on having notes lead into each other. I think the work i'm doing on guitar scales is helping here, but the B string is still a hinderance in some ways. I like it, and I enjoy having it, but I feel like I haven't fully "metabolized" it yet. I need to learn the extended scales up onto the B, so I instinctually know when to go up there. I absolutely *love* being able to octave down to notes normally on the A string in that position, especially D through F. I have a tendancy to use a lot of octaves for accenting, so having the lower range is great.
I had my compressor tonight, and I liked it. I used it for some songs but not all, just to mix it up. It oddly seemed to lower my volume somewhat, but I think that was more due to the lack of a soundcheck. We had a drummer on the box drum for two songs at the end, which was great!
My takeaway is that I would like to get a 4 string also, maybe a short scale. Perhaps a short scale Sterling Stingray? That Fiesta Red calls...
Fun times with friends, loving the one hour format! Catch you on the next one!
1st entry: Bass Players | Played my first bass gig tonight
| Facebook2nd entry: Bass Players | First off, Merry Christmas | Facebook
3rd entry: Bass Players | Third bass gig tonight | Facebook
4th entry: Bass Players | Another gig tonight | Facebook
5th entry: Bass Players | Another entry in my running gig diary | Facebook
6th entry: https://www.talkbass.com/threads/diary-of-a-bassist-6.1645734/#post-28323213
7th entry: https://www.talkbass.com/threads/diary-of-a-bassist-7-or-along-came-a-drummer.1646312/
8th entry: https://www.talkbass.com/threads/diary-of-a-bassist-8-there-goes-the-drummer.1649424/#post-28411461
9th entry: https://www.talkbass.com/threads/diary-of-a-bassist-9-drummer-redux.1650998/
10th entry: https://www.talkbass.com/threads/diary-of-a-bassist-10-the-takeover-jam.1653436/
11th entry: https://www.talkbass.com/threads/diary-of-a-bassist-11-back-to-the-future.1655395/#post-28540235
12th entry: https://www.talkbass.com/threads/diary-of-a-bassist-12-welcome-to-the-machine.1656230/
13th entry: https://www.talkbass.com/threads/diary-of-a-bassist-13-wait-are-we-a-real-band.1656725/
14th entry: https://www.talkbass.com/threads/diary-of-a-bassist-14-reggae-school.1657165/
15th entry: https://www.talkbass.com/threads/diary-of-a-bassist-15-rock-n-reggae.1657516/
16th entry: https://www.talkbass.com/threads/diary-of-a-bassist-16-coda.1658000/#post-28611190
17th entry: https://www.talkbass.com/threads/diary-of-a-bassist-17-et-iterum.1658933/#post-28643352
18th/19th entry: https://www.talkbass.com/threads/diary-of-a-bassist-17-and-18-double-time-double-trouble.1666682/
