Started out dabbling with bass in high school. Super cheap bass, no idea what it was and absolutely no direction. Dabbled a little and sold it to a neighbor for $35 before I went into the Army.
Fast forward 6-7 years later, I’m out of the Army, settled in Texas, I have a wife and we’ve bought a house. House was big for us so her brother rented a room for a while. He’s a musician and he had his room and took over another room and turned it into his studio. He sings, plays keyboard, and had recently gotten into playing guitar as well. Got me thinking about things and maybe trying to get into guitar or bass. He pushed me towards the bass as everyone wants to play guitar. He noted if I ever wanted to play in a band, people are always looking for bassists. So I bought a bass and started learning a little. Took some one-on-one lessons for a few months and started jamming with my brother-in-law.
In 2010 my wife and I moved up towards Pittsburgh for my job and of course we didn’t know anyone. I looked around online at a site for musicians to hook up thinking this would be a way to meet some people. Found a cover band that needed a bassist and most of what they played was classic rock and I can work with that. I was the novice of the group but had fun, they were cool with my skill level, and since we were covering popular songs, I could find tabs online no problem. We played one gig and two of the guys decided to drop out shortly after that. One had personal issues and the other just had a baby. It was a good experience and hey, I played live! Sure it was at like a local VFW or something with an audience of around a dozen people but I don’t care. I played live!
The house we were in at that time was a small rental we stayed in for around a year while we learned the area and figured out where we wanted to buy a house. We moved and bought a house and my bass stuff ended up somewhere that was out of sight, out of mind. Didn’t pick up my bass or think much about it really for a few years again. Few years later we built a house close by that’s everything we want and moved again. Finished out half of the basement and carved out a music corner for my stuff. Problem was while it was finished and nice, I’m just not down there much. Still wasn’t really playing my bass. A few months ago, I decided to bring my hollow body upstairs and put it in the living room. What do you know, my bass is getting into my hands almost every day now that it’s right there! I pulled out my amp and my other bass and took them to my office at work so I can practice during lunch. I start watching some YouTube videos and feel like it’s coming back to me quick. It doesn’t take long before I start feeling like I am even better now than when I was taking lessons 12 years ago. I’ve been watching BassBuzz’s free lessons…
I got the bug back in me and not letting my bass get stuffed away again. I like Josh’s way of teaching so much I busted out the wallet and decided these people need my support so here I am! With my lessons in the past, my short-lived band experience, etc I have always felt like a beginner. I’ve decided it’s time to move up to another level and hoping this course can do that for me. I’m excited to see where this takes me and already thinking about trying to find a band to join again.
I know that was kind of long winded but that’s how I ended up here. =)
A valuable lesson from your story for all the wives out there, basses should be in every room of the house prominently displayed so they are not ignored. (Oh wait, that’s a fantasy, not reality)
I am from Ottawa, Canada. 49 and never played a bass before. I have two adult daughters and a husband, all of whom play guitar. We have several guitars in the house but I wanted to do something different.
I bought the course last week and was playing with a rental bass until I finally decided on which bass to buy and picked it up Wednesday.
I was struggling a bit with the long-scale bass I’d rented, which was one of the ones you guys reviewed (Epiphone Toby IV), and after some research and consideration, bought a Gretsch 2200 Junior Jet II in Walnut. It is a night and day difference in how reachable the frets are for me, that is for sure. I’m only 5’4" with a small frame. One of our amps is actually a bass amp. My husband told me to use it but when I went down to check it out, the combo of amp and cabinet was up to my chest so I opted for a headphone amp instead - no one needs to hear my learning sounds amplified, plus it would be too big for the area I’m learning in.
I have so far been following the 1-month schedule and this morning I finished Module 4, Lesson 5, played to the end of Lesson 6 with Billy Jean, and decided I’ll return to it later today. After I went through that lesson I read in the forum that people were seriously struggling with it so I will bear that in mind when I return to it but still plan to revisit the lesson before going to the slow workout.
I am a lifelong learner. I finished my commerce degree and accounting designation at 39 with online studies. That was the same year I became bilingual in French. I became certified in fitness and personal training a couple of years ago. I am not teaching anyone fitness but use the skills in my own training daily at home - good thing because the gyms are closed here. I also enrolled in a second bachelor of arts program in French this year and have 30 credits (1 year) left.
I work out year-round, play golf and go boating in the summer for fun as well.
So far I’ve been enjoying the approach taken with the course. I’m a little nervous about what to do after the 30 days are up but I’m sure you’ll get to that. I think with this combination of new things to learn on my plate I’ll keep myself nice and busy!
