Why Bass? (What's your origin story?)

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readding mine here, with a bit more detail…

In high school my best friend played guitar (really really well, self taught).
He wanted to start a band and said I should play bass.
I figured I had zero musical ability (cause my father told me so over and over) so I declined.
I did sound for him and his band for a while but was as close as I came.

I tried trumpet long before that in grade school, but was told I was terrible by my dear old dad who didn’t want to hear it. When I told my teacher at school i was quitting he gave me a baritone and said try this instead. That lasted about a week.

Fast forward to post hurricane Katrina.
I got really into building wall frames for Habitat for Humanity who were part of the rebuild effort. Then I learned about all the instruments that were wiped out down there, and started buying and sending student horns down there. Eventually I decided to start playing one of the horns I bought, a trumpet. This led to lessons and getting pretty damn good at it if I do say so myself. Also had a sousaphone, and was asked to be in a dixieland band with a bunch of old musicians in CT who had a band. Only issue is they practiced mid week when I was working. As I am sure you can imagine, i started collecting vintage trumpets and learning about their history.

Fast forward again to meeting a woman who hated trumpet and talked me into trying sax. I actually started on bari sax (a used Jupiter), but instantly decided to switch to sax, and sold all but one of my trumpets. That also came with, you guessed it, an obsession with vintage saxes, and, a new collection, and a website dedicated to Conn saxophone history I built during covid and still maintain (if you know where all the horns are, it’s easier to collect 'em).

But, just before covid, my cousin who was two years younger than me passed away at around 50 years old. He battled mental illness for years and years, and either had a bad reaction to meds prescribed to him, or, took too many on purpose, we don’t really know. But my cousin, Todd, was also a guitarist. He took a lot of pride in building his own guitars and playing them. When he died, something inside me wanted to continue on what he did, but I always sucked at guitars. So, I did some Googling, found Josh and BassBuzz, and ran out to GC to get a Squire jazz bass and Fender Rumble 40, and I was off.

I figured i would be honoring Todd, adding a much cheaper musical hobby vs. sax ($$$$) and would finally best a stringed something. I also found I really liked bass, it made more sense to me than guitar, and tied in nicely to a lot of baritone sax lines that somtimes act as bass. I was always a Gene Simmons fan (actually a KISS fan in general) and loved ToP and Doc and Rocco Prestia. So, bass stuck very very well and very very quickly.

But - I will say without a second thought, that I have stuck with bass as much as I have because of B2B and the support in this forum from all the regulars and folks that were here before me. The support here and foundations from Josh are just so damn awesome.

So, now it’s sax and bass - and no time for either, lol.

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22

:grin:
No I won’t. That would be too easy :joy:

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23

I have always liked to ‘actively’ listen to music…don’t really care to dance or sing along by myself so have been through:
Bedroom DJing to>Bedroom drumming to>Home music production to>Playing the Bass
none have really progressed outside the bedroom much, but all have been enjoyable and all my previous endeavors have added skills that are helping when learning the bass

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24

Heard Geddy play YYZ and thought… “I bet I could do that”… seriously though… after playing, or trying to play guitar for 20 years, I decided to give bass a try… We’ll see how it goes.

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25

When I was a kid, I already followed music lessons.
I think that I was 4 years old and started to play the Metallophone (I hope this is the correct word in English haha). When you finished that after a year, you could go to play the flute. And when you did finish that after a year, I could choose any instrument that I liked and follow that music lessons. (they called those lessons for childs “general musical education”).

So when I was about 6 or 7 years old, I started to play the cello. I always loved the deep warm sounds in music and I hate those high tones. So I played the Cello for a couple of years, played in the church and at school, even played for a short time in the local orchestra.
But when I was about 11/12 years old I had to quite. The music lessons became very expensive. Only renting a Cello was more then 1000,- EUR a year.
My parents couldn’t effort it anymore. I come from a big family (3 sisters and 1 brother) and back at that time my mom was not working but home for the childeren… So I was very sad that I had to quite, because in my mind I had the dream to go to the conservatory and become a professional musician… Anyhow, I don’t think I should ever made it, so no hard feelings on that.

The years go by and I never played an instrument anymore. Well I tried Guitar, but that is really not my thing. I have some many struggles with the chords that I already quit very soon. We had some guitars at home, because my dad play guitar and my sister did follow some guitar lessons.
I always had the dream to pick up the cello again - In meantime I have a cello tattooed on my shoulder. Just before Covid started I was in touch with a woman who gives Cello lessons in Amsterdam and also had the possibilty to rent a Cello. Because buying a Cello is very very expensive. But then Covid started, and the whole world was shut down, I never made an appointment to go to the woman for the cello lessons. During Covid I still had the thoughts to play an instrument again, but maybe not Cello and try something more accessible.

So I was looking around and thought maybe have to give a try to the bass guitar! With a Bass I don’t have to play those silly chords, still have 4 strings like a cello and the warm deep sound.
Was thinking about it and talked to a friend who plays Bass. He gave me a Bass Guitar, which was a very cheap instrument, but doesn’t matter… I was very happy with the bass and I could try at home if I liked it. Well this part of my story is already told in my re-introduction… Starting to play on the PS and watching YouTube video’s (that’s also the time I found bass buzz YAY!).

So now 23 years later, after quiting cello, I’m so happy that I play music again. Too bad that I cannot read notes anymore. And probabely should invest more time in it. But playing with tabs is already fine with me :smiley: Also happy that I found someone who gives lessons and playing songs that I like!

Maybe in the future I will still play cello again… Well who knows… And still a little bit dreaming, maybe ever, to have a Double Bass (in dutch the word is Contrabas and Double Bass sounds a little strange :sweat_smile:). I think it is so much fun to play those rockabily songs.

Thanks for reading my story
:heart: Denise

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26

Probably what is called “glockenspiel” in English (yes, a very English word :stuck_out_tongue:)

I guess this was what is called a “recorder” (as the flute is the one made often from metal and held sideways) :wink:
Most kids get to try the recorder… (myself included).

Cello was probably notated in a different clef anyway. So, almost better to start over from scratch!

Good luck on your bass journey!

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Haha thanks I guess that you are right about those words! Thanks! Sometimes it’s hard to translate to english and sounds silly in my head :sweat_smile:

Tbh Cello and Bass is written in the same clef, but fine for me all. It’s not a must to read notes :slight_smile:

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28

Well, nearly 50 years ago I held my h.s classmate’s red Hohner bass. I instantly liked it. I was even told I looked ‘cool’ with it. But my family had no money for one let alone lessons, nobody I knew could play anything (those pre-net days long ago), so I spent decades ‘what-if’. Listening to bass lines in songs as if instinctively. Christmas 2020 brought me an unexpected $500 check, which allowed me to get a used Rumble 40 and basic gear. A pro-musician friend’s J MIM '95 gathered dust (bought from his bandmate, backups for Harry Dean Stanton) so he lent it to me indefinitely. With that, elbow grease and TLC for the battered instrument, and investment in BB, I finally had the basics to build upon, and to love. Cheaper than therapy, gets me out of my verbal-dominant mindset, gives me a treat to look forward to daily, and comforts me…

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OK, I guess merging isn’t going to happen, so I will re-add my own origin story here.

Background: got into music like many European middle-class kids - learning the recorder in a public school, then moving on to clarinet. Didn’t quite put much (any) effort into it, but still seemed to pick up the basics. At around 12-13, I was playing in a German style brass band (think beer hall music and you are not too far off) and they needed sax players. So, my parents were so generous and got me a nice tenor sax. That, finally, had me a bit more invested as I was sure I could play a lot more on sax than on clarinet.

However, I always also wanted to play rock, prog, jazz rock. Alas, that was not something my parents wanted to sponsor. I had already attempted to built my own drums (e.g., with pig bladders as the skin (different story)) and finally I scrounged enough money together to get a very beat up drum kit. At last, we had a proper band (with two buddies, one on guitar, one on keys). A bass player came only later and the keyboard player subbed with his left hand until then.

Later, we ditched the guitar player, got a new bass player and developed into a bona fide prog rock garage trio, for quite some years. Had a few gigs, but usually (since mostly original material) not overly successful. Still, we managed to record most of our stuff before new (real) jobs would spread us in all four directions. (None of the stuff is finished, or mixed or anything, by the way, here 30 years later… life happened, I guess).

In the meantime, I had also started to play more tenor sax, both in a bigband and in a small jazz combo. But, also that ended as I moved away because of work.

I then spent 25 years of only listening to music, not playing an instrument anymore, and being very oblivious to what actually was happening in terms of instrument development and music production etc. (stuck in the 80s/90s on that account; not wrt what I was listening to).

I was also oblivious to what was “going on” on YouTube (in hindsight, I can’t even understand anymore how that was possible), but one Friday evening I was starting with some video I was interested in and eventually the algorithms landed me on an Adam Neely video and I got hooked almost immediately to the topics and his (I found) balanced and educated style. All of a sudden, a flood gate opened up, and I realized a) how much I already knew about music, but had almost forgotten; b) how much I still didn’t know; c) how much I had missed to intellectually confront music; and d) how much I actually missed playing music.

From there the reasoning was swift: I need to pick up music again! Which instrument? Drums? Too loud, not enough space in the house. Sax? Too hard to re-start after so many years, and my sax would require expensive restoration. Keys, guitar? I didn’t think I had the capacity to deal with chords at that point, so no. Bass? Yeah, why not!? Always liked the sound of a good bass, the grooves they provide, the mediating role between rhythm and harmony. Many years back, my keyboard buddy and I had recorded stuff for ourselves, where we played all instruments we could get our hands on without mastering most of them. But, I would often play drums and bass for those projects and had already had a taste of the instrument. Also, my brother is a bassist as well (and I had always admired him for his musical projects; I mean he was even touring a bit), but since he was drifting to guitar, I was sure he wouldn’t mind if I picked up the bass :wink:

And so, I went out to a mom&dad instrument store, found a beginner bass and a DAI to connect to computer/headphones and within days I had signed up for BassBuzz and was loving it.

Clearly one of the better decisions in my life to re-kindle my love for playing music!

(Very sorry for the longish Toby-style post… but, there you have it!)

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:rofl: :joy: :rofl:

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You had me at pig bladders. :cry:

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I actually come from a self taught classical guitar background. I just retired and my thumbs are getting arthritic from a job I used to do. This is causing difficulty playing guitar. I wanted to continue playing music and saw Josh playing on Bassbuzz channel. I said I can do that and not hurt my thumbs. So it began. As I said I came from Classical music background but I love Classic rock. Since starting the course all I hear now in music is the bass lines. I’ve recently discovered The Warning. Their bassist is 19 year old Alejandra. Her bass lines are so unique. I use her now for my inspiration. My other inspiration is Geddy Lee from Rush. But he is so far ahead of most players I could only dream of doing that. But I enjoy bass, it has a feeling of power. I’ve watched a lot of bass players in videos and Alejandra is still the one I prefer. I’d suggest watching The Warning, Martirio or Disciple to check out her riffs. But anyway my story is going to bass from necessity but a great choice and don’t regret it.

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Martirio is a cool song, thanks for the tip, @rawilcox! Certainly makes me think I need a five string :innocent:

My bass story is simple… my brother picked up the guitar and I asked myself “what do I listen to?” The answer was the bass, and picking up the instrument, I felt at home.

I wish, though, that my musical environment had been a bit more active, with the exception of my grandmother, nobody tried to teach me music. My dad always plays records, CDs, the radio, but wasn’t really a player (he’s been trying to learn the violin for a few years, but that’s another story).

After my brother vanished into a high school band with some neat small gigs, I found a teacher and took some bass lessons. I guess my brother’s band had a bassist or a keyboarder.

The cool thing is, my teacher (Bernd Leisinger in Cologne) got me to learn an album of sorts for a Christmas concert at an elementary school. The drummer was a friend and we were supposed to bring some “rock” to the usually classical instrumentation done by the parents. I think I learned 11 songs and just rocked up with my amp without even a second of a rehearsal and away we went.

After that I moved to another city, then another, then I finished my degree, changed jobs, almost ran out of money, sold the bass, the amp and a bunch of other stuff to pay rent and rebuilt my (professional) life.

As with many folks here, I restarted bass during the pandemic when I reckoned it’ll get me away from the computer. Little did I know how much fun a forum and youtube can be… After a few months of Fender Play and jamming with two cool people (hey Till, hey Carina!), as well as finding “my” first drummer (Raymond! :heart:) I joined Bassbuzz.

Without the comments below the course videos I would never have found the forum… I think that should be part of the first video, i.e. “Post questions below the videos or on our community forum!”

I hope, one day, to rock. For that I pasted a paper on my wall which states “The top goal is to rock. Play fast, chugging eights above 160 bpm, keep count of the four bar loops. Play fills and riffs that rock.” The current project is Paranoid by Black Sabbath. :metal:

And that’s my story! :hugs:

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34

So, I never paid much attention to bass until I was 15-16 and “Otherside” came out and suddenly I only had ears for low end.
And around that period I got introduced to gothic rock and post punk, so everything was literally following the bass, that groove that gives me butterflies since then.

And I got my first bass around 2010 but I couldn’t afford a teacher and things were a bit more difficult back then; didn’t have the content we do now.
I really like watching/listening to virtuoso players that slap and improvize like gods but I guess I will be always chugging in the back of a band, if I ever.

Lately I got Harley Benton’s thunderbird edition and it’s ruining my back but hey it’s lovely and flashy. Needs lower action tho, at some point.

I also strum some acoustic now and then, but I always return to bass.

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35

I learned to play electric guitar, just like every other kid. Then I discovered that nobody needed yet another guitar player. Bass or drums only.

Drums were expensive and bulky, but the bass looked sort of like an oversized guitar. I went to the local Guitar Center and plugged a bass into a head with an impressive stack under it. I turned the amp to 11 (well, maybe 10 1/2, that’s as far as the gain would go).

As soon as I hit the E string, a guitar fell off of the wall. Incredible!!! I never played a guitar ever again.

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After nearly 30 years of playing guitar, I wanted a fresh start.

I wanted to learn music theory, reading, timing, technique, etc from the ground up. I wanted something new, but not something that was completely alien, and I’ve always had an interest in bass.

I wound up feeling much more at home with a bass in my hands than I ever did with a guitar.

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I started out playing acoustic guitar as a youngster, my oldest brother was a guitar player (still is) and was in a band. I was about 18 (1979) when he came over to the house and said his band needed a bass player and he wanted me to join.

I had never played a bass (!)…didn’t seem to matter to him, so we went to a music store, and he bought me a used bass and amplifier.

Basically, I was taught to play the bass during practice sessions while my brother and the lead guitarist would show me riffs to play. So, I played in a band for years with no formal training. We pretty much played Blues, Rock, and a few Country cover songs along with several originals.

My playing I would describe as mediocre, but musicians that I have played with have often complemented my playing, but I think that can be attributed to being able to keep in time and a solid groove going whether playing with a drummer or not. Now ask me if I play solos or slap…nope. LOL

By the way, I tend to dance (well, sort of) along with the music when I am playing, does anyone else here do that?

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I played piano when I was a kid, ages 5-12, but I hit a wall on piano and started to get incredibly frustrated and as a typical grumpy pre-teen I decided to quit. That would end up being one of my biggest regrets in life. I got an acoustic guitar when I was 16 and fiddled around with it for a couple of years but it never really captivated me. When I was around 19 I bought an electric drum kit and actually had a ton of fun playing but I never really devoted any time to it (too busy chasing girls :rofl:) and ended up “selling” it to my wife’s cousin (he never paid me lol).

About a year and a half ago, then age 32, I decided that I wanted to play an instrument again, and after having tried basically every other instrument at some point in my life I thought “why not bass?”

I basically immediately fell in love with the instrument and haven’t looked back. It’s been one of the most rewarding things I’ve done and I keep chasing that thrill of getting better and challenging myself

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Dancing along helps me keep time! :grin: Somebody told me “do it with your whole body” and nowadays I always move with the groove.

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I had a bit of music experience beforehand - I’d played violin for a number of years in primary/high school. My dad is a blues and rock nerd, so I felt compelled to try and learn guitar, but coming from violin I really struggled with playing six strings (those two extra strings really make a difference! :rofl: ). I always gravitated to the low end - I sang alto in my high school choir, and was always endlessly fascinated at the lower voice parts (incidentally, I find my past experience singing in a choir really helps me to understand how a bass guitar fits in with the rest of a band). Bass was never really on my radar until it occurred to me “Hey, I like lower parts, I like blues/funk/etc., there’s an instrument for that!”. During the pandemic, I bit the bullet and bought myself a second-hand bass guitar, found BassBuzz, and the rest is history! :grin: :sunglasses:

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