Hey josh, I too have a pretty extensive background in JKD, MT and Kali and a few others. Actually had opportunity to grapple with two of the Gracie’s! I didn’t last long. I am 51, love to golf, ride motorcyles and punch all kinds of fun buttons. Play guitar and have about 15 around the house…kids play too. Decided I wanted to play the bass, and inspired by Geddy Lee…Rush has been my go to band since before I could drive. Really enjoying the lessons and excited to be expanding my musical playing capability, which I don’t have a natural instinct for but have found my way through the years. It’s simply good cheap therapy for me.
Just watched the Rush documentary on Netflix. I was never a fan - always a casual appreciator. Holy cow. What down-to-earth, awesome guys. I came away so impressed by their approach to music and the industry - totally inspiring and such a beautiful thing to see inside an industry with so much egotism, capitulation and self-destruction. Go Rush, I say!
Also - nice to meet you.
Gio, glad you like the documentary. Simple three really good friends who are extremely talented musicians. I have heard others express similar observations as yours. I hope you get into their newer music and enjoy it. Slap dat bass!
I thought that I did this but, after reading this I thought that I would give it another go! So… I played the Bass in a band during the 60s as a teenager. We played around Philadelphia and on the Breaks of the Soul Survivors, a group that had a local hit record. Yes, I’m old. My granddaughter who is 8 has been playing the bass for 2 years and is doing very well. On my 70th birthday, my family gave me a Squire PJ bass so that I could play with her. Well, 55 years off is a long time. I wasn’t much of a bass player to begin with I would just play the root notes that I was told to play. I did have a great bass for the day, a Fender P bass. Anyway, I just couldn’t keep up with her. I found Josh on line. He seemed like a cool dude and who could resist becoming a bad-ass bass player! I have really grown as a player, Thank you Josh! and I now play with my granddaughter a few times a week. Things like Songster are amazing, we didn’t have those in the 60s :).
I look forward to becoming proficient enough as a bast player to play with other musicians!
New here, just signed up and paid for the flat fee for the online version; DVD’s require a setup that conflicts my setup that I currently have.
Been playing guitar on and off for decades. Started playing the bass about 2 years ago and comes natural to me. Just recently decided to stop lessons with my teacher for so many reasons.
Anyway, I was going to focus on specific songs and some theory but someone recommended this. I checked it out and bought it on the spot.
Oh, and you can find me on and off on talkbass forum. I am fingerguy (I play strictly with my fingers hence the name).
Awesome to hear that Nicholas! I wish I’d gotten to play music with my grandparents, sounds like a very special experience for both of you. Luckily I do get to play music with my parents, we were just hacking our way through some Beatles tunes last weekend.
@ibaotic, hope you enjoy the Beginner to Badass course! Some of the early stuff will probably be review to you since you’ve been playing for 2 years, but hopefully you start finding helpful nuggets pretty early on. Let me know if I can help with anything at any point!
I’m Tim and until my birthday this year I had never played a musical instrument. The last time I learned about music was 8th grade general music; boorrring.
HOWEVER, one grows with age! Like many of you, I love listening to and watching the bass players in the bands. I’ve been talking to Melissa, about learning to play bass for a long time. For my 48th birthday, she surprised me with a bass of my own and encouraged me to take lessons.
That’s when I found Josh! Josh you really make learning to play bass fun. Particularly for someone who is starting from SCRATCH! I absolutely love it!!
Other tidbits:
I’m a banker in Northeast PA
I love to watch soccer and play golf. Looking forward to the World Cup.
Hi all, love reading all the different backgrounds. I’m a retired Air Force fighter pilot and current pilot for Delta Airlines. I’m 63 and grew up in a non musical family and literally went from one sport to the next. Always loved music but never had time. I still play Adult baseball (hardball) and a good teammate who is a professional bass player encouraged me to give it a try. Got a guitar for last Christmas and was SO LUCKY to have found you Josh!!! I’m having so much fun and exceeding my expectations (especially with beefy beat up hands and fingers). I’m almost done with the course. Nearing 6 months due to getting sidetracked learning to play entire songs in our exercises. My favorite is so far is My Girl. Rick
I recently completed BtB and continue to be amazed and surprised at how there is always something exciting to learn about the bass and music in general. The learning process is so much fun that I don’t have goals. I recently started practicing the bass line for Marvin Gaye’s, “What’s Going On “. I still love to play the songs in the lessons especially Papa Got a Brand New Band and Some Kind of Wonderful. During the course I commented to Josh that I was the only 68 year old Black man in Alabama
Hi Bass Forum Friends,
I’m Jill and I am sooooo excited to be finally learning music for the first time! My only related experience is about 10 years in an African drumming group playing djembe and djun djun. The drumming seems to be a solid background for playing bass, and the drumming experience lets me completely focus on the new part…the music! scales! cords! arpeggio! improvisation! Woooo!
I especially love how, when listening to our crap local radio, songs I might previously have skipped over have now become fresh and interesting because I am listening to the bass lines.
I am a Granny and a professor of biology, but still try to foster a “beginner’s mind” with each and every activity. I’m about halfway through the course and loving everything about it. So impressed with the teaching style and the music choices, the website. Also, reading Josh’s post about what he is up to makes me think we are nurturing similar seeds in our lives, which is a surprise bonus.
I hope that she is enjoying it as much as I am. We just got done playing. She taught me Stand By Me! She’s 8 and her band is going to play it. You got to love it!
You are playing in Tempest? That is insane! They are amazing… use to play at Musikfest, right? That must be where I saw them years ago. Philly folk festival is gonna be great. I hope this is that great group of people you like to be around.
I’m Christopher, although most folks who know me from various online fora call me “octothorpe”. I’ve been learning bass in fits and starts for awhile, and maybe a year or so ago, I discovered Josh’s YT channel, and really enjoyed his style (@JoshFossgreen you really do have a talent for this, and it’s deeply appreciated). This gave me a push to start playing again. Historically, I’ve played other stringed instruments: violin, viola (no jokes please), and cello. I’m noticing I’m having to unlearn a lot in order to get better at playing bass.
Aside from unlearning, I also have to get better at consistency. I’ve got a lot of life obligations at the moment, which means I’m limited in my time to play, but I’ve decided I can make a wee bit of time, daily, and that will prevent me from having to start at the beginning every time I fall off the wagon. I’m thankful for the different ‘tracks’ Josh has provided for learning. Slow and steady will probably work for me, given my situation.
When not playing bass, or deferring to family/domestic/work obligations, I’m usually listening to music (mostly soul/motown/R&B/funk/and similar) at my home in Greenwich, CT USA. I grew up in Korea and Japan, but came to the US to go to university, and I’ve been here for about 30 years now. I’m just starting to really explore the country outside of the coasts. There’s SO much to explore!
So, thanks to Josh, and thanks to all in the forum — you’re all a positive bunch of folk!
@octothorpe Welcome! I’ve thought abiut trying cello in the past. I always got caught up in deciding if that or French horn would be more my thing. Then I inherited a bass. Go figure!
