Introduce Yourself! (2018-2022)

Welcome aboard, @PeteP . . . :slight_smile:

We’re glad to have you with us, and hope you enjoy your time here!

All best, Joe

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Welcome Pete. I wish I could give you some advice, but I’m pretty Green myself

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Happy Birthday, Pete! And welcome to the forum!

Cheers!

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Hi, my names Kevin from Columbus Ohio. Really excited about Joshs learning course. Its been great so far. And the obligatory pic of my Toby.

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Welcome aboard, @Krussell29 . . . :slight_smile:

Nice bass, and good luck in the course!

All best, Joe

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Welcome @PeteP! Glad you’ve got the motivation of a band coming together to dig into playing bass more, I always find playing with other people is the best motivation for me to keep practicing and learning.

And welcome Kevin @Krussell29! Glad you’re enjoying the course so far.

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Howdy Everybody! I’m Eric.

I first started playing bass 32 years ago when I was 16. I’m 48 now. I played for about 4 years and then marriage, job, kids, etc. put it all on hold for awhile. I have no regrets, as those things were all well worth the sacrifice.

I ended up giving away all my gear. My 1986 Peavey Foundation modded with EMG pickups went to a friend and my Hartke 410 cabinet and GK head ended up being donated to a church for their band. I don’t think the bass player had much appreciation for the gear but the sound guys loved it.

As life changes, the wife went her own way, the kids have grown up, and I ended up becoming disabled due to MS (Multiple Sclerosis). After about a decade I have managed to get my MS under control enough to start trying to have a life again. I bake oatmeal cookies, hike occasionally, read a lot, and play my bass as much as I can.

Playing the bass is a pretty big deal for me. I have suffered some neurological damage from the MS and I’m using re-learning the bass to try and build new brain pathways. Improve coordination, concentration, etc.

I will be starting classes on the 1st and I’m looking forward to learning all the things I skipped on my first go around. I have no expectation as to what my pace will be. I’m just going to do it all as fast and as well as I’m able.

While playing when I was young, I was lucky enough to have a few of those moments when your playing with other people and it all just clicked. It can be… intimate… and pretty intense. To the point that more than a few musicians I have known, including myself, have compared it to sex. It’s an amazing experience and it has stuck with me all my life. If I have one goal, it’s to have a chance to experience that one more time.

If you haven’t felt it, keep playing, keep pushing forward, find people to jam with, it is worth it, and you will never regret what you learn from playing an instrument and playing with others.

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@Wombat STEED RIDES AGAIN!!! :metal:

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Wow, what an inspiring and interesting intro, @eric.kiser!
I am a little over a third of the way through this course and though I have always wanted to play an instrument, but never have, I feel like I may just be able to do so now. I have a couple guys I know that play halfway decently and it would be wonderful to actually jam with them sometime in the near future. As you say, I get SUCH a smile when I hear them play, making music that I recognize and listen to; to be able to join in on that experience would be fantastic!
Welcome aboard!

Cheers,
Kevin

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Thanks @kevwheez !
I can’t recommend playing with others highly enough. Keep in mind it’s not always about being good. Most of the time it’s just about doing it. I wasn’t good when I was a teen, I was just loud, and sometimes it came together beyond anyone’s expectation.

Right now, I have no plan of waiting to be good at bass, I just want to get back to being ‘not good’ enough to play with whoever will let me.

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That’s a great story. Best wishes as you recover from MS.

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Well done @eric.kiser. Music in general can be so therapeutic, and playing it is proven to be a good way to retrain the brain. A friend of mine has early stage Parkinsons and he’s starting to find his guitar playing being affected so I was going to encourage him to give the bass a try - bigger strings, wider spaces etc. I’m sure I won’t be alone in here following your progress. Rock on, dude!

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I found that intro totally heartfelt and meaningful. I wish you nothing but love, peace and bass. Also I wish intense grooves and pathfinding beauty.

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Wow! I have to say I never expected all of these kind words and support. Thanks everybody!

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I always thought Adam was under rated.

Good for you @PamPurrs !

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Welcome @eric.kiser!

Haha, I love this, I sometimes feel the same way. Some really great elder jazz musicians have been inviting me to play with them lately, and every time I show up I feel like “f**king hell jazz is hard,” but they keep inviting me back, so I just keep working on making my ‘not good’ a little bit better.

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Welcome Chuck!
My story is very similar to yours. This course is great and I’m really learning a lot.
Enjoy the lessons and see you around.
Jerry

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Hi folks !

I realize I missed this post and I didn’t introduce myself. So, my name is Laurent, I’m french, and I hope my english is not too bad ! Sorry for my mistakes …
I’m 39 and I’ve been playing guitar since about 25 years. I started to play very basic bass stuffs a few years ago for my recording needs, and I happen to fall in love with this instrument. As the “interfaces” on a bass and on a guitar are pretty similar, it has been easy for me to start playing bass. I’ve been playing guitar in many bands and I chose to play bass in my last band. I’ve done a lot of concerts as a guitarist, and a few as a bassist. So I’m not 100% beginner.

The thing is that my primary instrument is the guitar, and so I play bass like a guitarist. As I enjoy more and more playing bass, I wanted to start back my learning from the beginning, with a real bass approach. When I saw the BassBuzz videos on Youtube, I knew Josh would be the perfect teacher for my needs, and so here I am :slight_smile:

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Bienvenue and welcome aboard, Laurent!

It’s amazing how many different personal stories, musical journeys and musical tastes are coming together here in this forum - very inspiring!

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Salut Laurent, et bienvenue! And your English is great, much much better than mon pauvre français. :fr::cry:

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