I grew up in a house that was always playing music. My dad played piano for the church for like 30 years. Music was this language in my home that I could listen to and understand, but not really speak. Sure I sang as a kid in the church choir, played drums, guitar, piano but they were all really half steps.
They never really went anywhere.
I’ve kept what I call “emotional support instruments” which hung on the wall and maybe I’d take one down, noodle and try to learn a riff for a couple of days but that was it.
A few years back I took piano lessons for almost a year but still I didn’t really get anywhere. Even though I practiced for HOURS. It was all technique and not a musical conversation.
Drums, Bass, and Singing have always been how I’ve wanted to express myself with music.
Fast forward to getting laid off from my job and needing to make progress in SOMETHING. I decided it was time to pour myself into the Bass.
I was cyber stalking Josh for a while on YT and decided, “Hey, I don’t make income anymore, let’s piss off the wife and buy his class” Ok well I bought it because he’s an amazing teacher and I wanted to force myself to commit. I knew if I didn’t practice after spending money I didn’t have, my wife would kick my ass. so…
Motivator #1 I spent a bunch of money
Locking myself in with money at this point was a good motivator.
I played probably an hour or more each day and I was getting better but then I realized that I was lonely.
Motivator #2 Making new friends, making music together and sharing music with others.
I put out an ad on CL and bandmix for people to jam with. I didn’t expect a van to show up, kidnap me, and force me to play bass in a band. Ok well the story was a little different in reality but here I am.
Motivator #3 I don’t want to let my band down. I also don’t want to suck in front of strangers.
So I’m taking over for the previous bassist of the band. I started mid October both in the band and seriously playing bass. We have my first show on 2/28 and I have about 40 songs to learn by then.
With all of that fun pressure at this point I can play about 25 songs in the setlist. Before I started with this band I had never played a full song EVER on the bass.
Motivator #4 Practice produces precision. While I’m not a “badass yet” I’ve seen how practice helps you go from zero to hero. Seeing that in my life opens doors for anything else I ever want to do.
Life is hard, hard work is the only way to win and even doing nothing is pretty damn hard. So you might as well get busy.
Motivator #5 (and I believe I’m done now) Appreciating the pain. Ok here’s where it gets weird. I now appreciate the heartache and pain true professionals (in anything) go through to get to their level. At about 2+ hours a day for 2 months now I can tell you I’m tired. My hands are sore, my arms ache my finger tips haven’t been the same. But with all of the bullsh*t I still want more. I’ve learned how to be responsible and take an occasional day off but I’ve also seen that my hands have gone from getting tired after 10 minutes to wanting to play more after 4hrs. It’s cool to see my body build up endurance and push through limits.
That was a long meandering brain dump but my band has really opened my eyes to how much I’ve loved music my whole life. I may not speak eloquently in the language of music, but I now can communicate.
I’m getting older now and I can’t sing like I used to when I was young but now I have an instrument that can sing for me and that’s pretty stinkin’ cool.
