Dad3353

Advancing years starts to change things for many (maybe not everyone, but in general...). My grip is less reliable that it was, so I have a stack of sticks in a quiver hung from the floor tom, and I've had to adopt a technique of seizing a fresh stick, without leaving the beat. Never strong on stamina, from infancy, I played straight through five-hour shows before, and even longer for some weddings, or New Year shows. No longer; our repertoire is now honed to have a couple of upbeat numbers, followed by something a bit less frenetic, to give me time to breathe, and recover somewhat. At end of a gig, I now stagger out from behind the kit, and lie down, outstretched, flat on the floor (or the pavement...) until I can bring some oxygen into the system, and relax the tensions accumulated. Will any of this improve over the next decade or so..? Hmm... Unlikely, I'd say. I still do my rudiments, learn new stuff that the others want to put into our set, and it's as interesting as it ever has been, but it's not a permanent upward curve, and at what age does it start to dip depends on many factors. We can maybe return to the issue in three or four decade's time, and see who has found a difference in their performance, and why. 

14 minutes ago, Barking Spiders said:

If these ageing bands were coming out with interesting and different material then fair dos. Thing is, in the vast majority of cases it's the same old same old.

Just like most pub bands..? 

Another vote for having a look at Talkingbss.net; there are specific courses for reading bass lines, starting from any level. Give them a try, whilst looking for a one-on-one option that meets your requirements. As to the direct question asked : yes, a teacher should have, on hand, all he/she needs to teach what their students (of any age...) want to learn, or should able and willing to recommend a colleague that can. Spend your money on someone that fits the bill. A trial lesson, normally free, is normal, too, for mutual evaluation. 

I listened to each track intro on the Bandcamp site, then downloaded a FLAC album. I'll listen to it all over the next couple of days. First reaction, though : I don't like the almost systematic 'four times through' intro to most of the tracks. Not for its content, musically, but just from a composition point of view. Hearing any one track, it probably works, but skimming through the Bandcamp tracks, it irritated. I would have liked to have the lyrics, too, but these are not on offer, it seems. Never mind; more later when I've given it all a shot. 

1 hour ago, Soledad said:

Is this maybe a Safari issue I wonder. Was mostly fine til couple of days ago - now most pics don't load and I get a blank with a question mark (unrecognised file I suppose that means). Just looked at the Rickie thread, a few for sales etc - most pics not loading. Checked across on Guitarchat, same.
I assume most pics uploaded are plain old jpgs so what's the problem.
So I check Chrome and still issues but a bit different. EG this post lists images (jpg files) but I can't open them (black screen with small 'unknown image file' icon.

this one is just an example: 

What do you mean by 'don't load'. Can't open with a Browser, or can't be downloaded from the link..? Do you have a graphics editor, such as Irfanview or similar..? 

The Daub'z went down a storm (again..!) last night supporting Parpaing Papier for the 'anniversary' of our local pub. Shared backline (theirs...). As luck would have it, their drummer plays 'leftie' too, so just a snare and cymbals to swap. It's very odd playing someone else's kit. Very, very cramped, and the place (it's small...) packed to the hilt and more, despite the wet, blustery weather outside. Inside, though, an ambience inciting us to play our best, which we did (well, no-one pulled us up on the few blunders, so...). A great night (again..!); we have to go back today to recover our PA we'd supplied. The Parpaings kept the crowd pogoing, too, so all had a splendid evening. No pics; maybe some will emerge later..?

4 minutes ago, Baloney Balderdash said:

Try looking closely to what the expression on the smilys and what they actually do, then try to copy that expression on your own face and take a look in the mirror.

 

I am not saying this to be a jerk, I just think that I can't be the only one who find your use/interpretation of smilys counter intuitive to what they actually visually expresses and therefor misunderstands your intention with what you write.

 

Tough; t'is what t'is. Hence my 'explanation'. 

Just for (general...) information, my use of the smilie '' implies, usually, cynicism, or sometimes condescension, depending on context. My use of '' is usually 'tongue in cheek', or poker face, again, depending on context. I also use the 'Gold Cup' in the 'Like' list to indicate my approval, as in 'Well done, champ'., rather than its standard 'Thanks' label; for that I'd prefer ''. I'm not sure that there is a 'smirk' smilie, and can't think of any occasion I'd need one. 

1 minute ago, Baloney Balderdash said:

...That's exactly one of the reasons we got humor. 

Maybe a Good Reason for lightening up with your condemnation of those playing music for other than artistic reasons, then..? There is (much...) more to Life than art. 

1 minute ago, Baloney Balderdash said:

I am however not the only one appreciating dark humor on this planet, that your post was not intended as such is impossible to tell from what you posted.

There are clues in the 'smilies' that I choose to add, as expression of my sentiments. 

3 minutes ago, Baloney Balderdash said:

... I'd still argue that of all art forms ...

And I would argue that, for the most part 'art', in any of its forms, is mostly baloney and balderdash. I would add 'hooey' for good measure. 

47 minutes ago, Dad3353 said:

Yes, that's called The Army. There's a lot of it about. 

@Baloney Balderdash Hmm; you seem to find my comment amusing, or 'funny'. Hmm. I find it sad, along with your reaction. We are not of the same Planet, methinks. 

Bring it on; I've a new (to me...) hifi amp to get used to. 

3 minutes ago, Baloney Balderdash said:

So would providing guns to people who want to commit suicide be.

Yes, that's called The Army. There's a lot of it about. 

10 minutes ago, Baloney Balderdash said:

That's just tragic and sad. 

 

Why then play music at all?

 

Music is one thing, The Music Business is quite another ...

Disclaimer : I play music for free, and play what I like to play. By pure coincidence, some people like what I play enough to listen to it, and even applaud on occasion. My compositions (mostly available in the monthly BC Composition Challenge...) are freely available for the World to hear. Art..? Nah, not me, chum. I'm not a fan of Art, in any form, really. Doing stuff for its own sake is enough for me; no need for fancy labels. 

44 minutes ago, Baloney Balderdash said:

Original:

 

Johny Cash's cover of it, from his "American IV: The Man Comes Around" album:

 

Ah, thank you; that makes a little more sense. I was not intending to imply that personal versions are a Bad Thing; there are many proofs of that, so no debate there. There is also, however, value in playing a 'cover' of any music in the original style (a 'cover' of the Johnny Cash version, for instance could be consider 'original' by many..?). I spent a career drumming in variety bands, here in France. Not once was there any question of 'composing' or creating anything 'original' to these bands. I transcribed the drum parts (pre-internet; very few drum scores existed for popular music...), so as to be able to play 'Hotel California', with it's signature beat, fills and breaks, just as did the other musicians. Chicago's 'If You Leave Me Now' has to be respected, if all the band are playing as close as they could to the version on the radio. Other numbers, more in the 'musette' style, gave plenty of opportunity for self expression, in the same way as stuff from the Real Book allows wide interpretation, but when I played 'my' version of 'Satisfaction', I was quickly brought up short by the band leader. 'Play it like the record', he said. OK, why not. At our next rehearsal, I played it like the record. Have you really listened to what Mr Watts, in his wisdom, played on that track..? Give it a whirl, just for fun. It's like the Duracell rabbit, going 'One, One, One, One' with all members playing on that beat. It is truly dreadful. I played it, once, at the rehearsal; the band leader asked me to play my version after that. OK, it worked on the disk, for The Stones, in its day, but our singer was not Mr Jagger, nor the guitars 'Keef'. Yes, there's a place for making things one's own, but also a place for learning how the original musician composed his work, and playing that. I prefer, for the most part, to see and hear a Schubert symphony as composed by Schubert.

45 minutes ago, Baloney Balderdash said:

I am not sure that recipe would have given quite the same success to Johny Cash's "American Recordings" series of albums. 

Sorry, too cryptic for me. 

21 minutes ago, Baloney Balderdash said:

...And frankly I fail to see the point of covers that seeks to copy the original 1:1...

In the same way that some people go to discothèques, to dance to pre-recorded music, or a DJ's mix or 'mash-up', and some folk like the 'live' aspect of singing, or watching others sing, karaoke, there are many that want to see and hear a 'live' band play music that they know and like, often with dancing and other social interactions involved. There are some that will enjoy a musician's version or interpretation; most won't have that as their main source of enjoyment, and having something close to what they have in their head already is what's required. The whole point of 'covers' is to give the audience the impression that they're seeing and hearing the original version, or close enough for them to recognise it and enjoy it. Bringing something 'original' to the party can work, of course, but it's not the 'main event'. Being close '1:1' is next to impossible for most pub/club bands, but add one's own 'flavour' is a secondary part of the affair, for most bands and for most pub/club audiences. 

4 minutes ago, ead said:

What's this "five" stuff after the root?

Dunno, mate; I play drums. 

There are serious scientific methods for determining the answers to questions like this. Here is one of the more accessible ones ...

The-Full-Study-Model-The-mediating-effect-of-the-authentic-self-in-the-relation-between attachment and emotional intelligence and fragmented cognitive concepts. Note: * p < .05; Choice = Choicefulness; FSC = Fragmented Self Concept; FRC = Fragmented Relationship Concept; all factor loadings on each correspondent latent variable were significant at ps < .001.

3 minutes ago, Reggaebass said:

Really 

I'm glad that you agree. 

I can't see that there's much to compare to. We all play different stuff, for different reasons, on different occasions. Victor Wooten also plays root-five when it's called for, so many players here are, in those circumstances, just as good as him (other virtuoso musicians are available...). 

19 minutes ago, Reggaebass said:

It could be a Little mix album, or even Clive Dunn greatest hits 😁

Better that than reggae, though. 

1 hour ago, Fishfacefour said:

...About 50 people, many will be highly cynical...

If trickery is allowed, and to get the cynics 'on side', have some of the participants learning instead to canon 'Three Blind Mice', as discretely as possible. Once both songs are ready, have them sung together, to the same tempo. Three Blind Mice is longer, so their juxtaposition will become quite interesting as this ensemble progresses. Hard core..? Maybe... 

Three hours, you say..? Team building..? It's a canon that you need, and what better than 'Frère Jacques', a song they will all know, but don't know that they know it. Get them all to do the melody line together, then split them into two groups, then three, then four, to build up the whole canon. If there's time, or one or two 'better' voices, pop a harmony line in there, too. Everyone will enjoy it, guaranteed.