bass_dinger

Sounds advice. I have the same book, and for some of the notes, it really is a case of working out each one at a time. When I started to read music, I figured that it was an alphabet with perhaps a dozen letters - very manageable, given that I had mastered a 26 letter alphabet while still at primary school! I still struggle with timing of notes, but note reading is now possible.

Perhaps the issue is that you are listening to the livestream, and they are listening to the in-room sound. You might want to suggest that they listen to the livestream. If they still can't hear the problem, then that's the issue.

Check the instrument connection cable. Clean the sockets - are they dirty. Check inside the amp for rodent damage. Check that the power socket has power. I have seen three of the four happen, the latter after my parents had replaced a fridge-freezer unit.

Yes - that is why I wondered about a musical analysis of the song, and the singing. It sounds "precisely" bad - a deliberate half-sharp here, a glissando though the note there, and some exactly flat singing elsewhere. Each verse seems to have the same repeated errors. Like Les Dawson, someone would need a deep understanding of music theory to produce something as unmusical as what we are hearing. Add to that a competent arrangement, some choreographed dance moves, and a well-edited video with a story, and it is beginning to feel like an exercise in marketing bad music.

I can hear that it is out of tune, but not why it is out of tune. Is it the odd choice of chords that gives a sense of discord? Is she singing microtones - so, singing in between two conventional western notes (C half-sharp, say?). Is it the use of glissando, that has her singing a sweep of notes that move towards, then past, the right pitch? I am genuinely curious - if someone could analyse the song, and say what the notes are, I would be educated.

I can't work out if this is an example of your church playing lots of old songs, or lots of new ones. . . . As for masked singing, I too got the chance to sing - a previous bassist wanted the fun of playing with the previous worship leader for half of the set, so I was part of the pew-ballast for the day! Great fun.

If it has taken two years to get to that level, maybe the bass (or music, or indeed, clapping their hands while counting to 4) is not for them? A two-year audition and training programme is generous by anyone's standards, so perhaps the leadership might decide that they won't be using certain musicians and singers going forward. I get that different churches use the music team for different purposes - some make it their shop window, and one of the draws to the services ("come and hear and sing along to a wonderful live band!"); others use it as a form of service and involvement, and one of the draws to the services ("come along and take part in a live band!"). If the congregation and leadership are happy with a lower level of competency (but greater involvement), then I applaud their decision. However, it seems odd that the better musicians in the congregation are having to humbly take a back seat while trainees with no real skill are involved, often for years, yet showing no improvement. Could churches that uses a range of abilities, take three or four of the better musicians, and play a set for the leaders? That will allow them to see and hear what is possible when the right people are in the team. Of course, they would also need to be willing to remove most of the existing team from the rota, which is a big step. Maybe we can show the leaders that the local church can play well and that the problem is too many beginners. In general, I mentioned this predicament to my wife. She said that, if she wanted to join a Mercy Ship, and travel the world performing surgery, there would be an expectation that she would be medically qualified, and not learn on the job (and still be getting it wrong 2 years later...). Church music does not have to be rubbish (but it often is). So, finally, just for fun, here is a 1 4 5 6 song, to show what can be done with passionate involvement, musicianship, great sound guys, 50 singers, a fat bassline, and a few key changes! So good, that it makes me cry...

Allowing everyone to sing in the congregation allows even more people to be part of the worship . . . !! I do wonder why people want to serve, yet don't seem to show a passion for excellence (or even, a desire for competency). We had the same issue with musicians and singers who were coached and carried by the then-worship leader. Ultimately, however, they did not understand the need to improve, and when the time came for a new worship leader, he could not use them. Sadly, part of the blame lay with the previous leaders - rather than telling people that they needed to improve, they were instead turned down in the mix, and kept on the rota. So, the message that they received was that they were good enough to be involved previously, but now, they are not. I wish that I had @Big Rich's patience with other musicians!

Perfect for transporting sub-woofers.

My wife was not keen on my ukulele band's music (but let's face it, who would be!) She likes my church band, but rightly squashes my annoyance when it goes wrong, and tempers my over-enthusiasm when it goes well. She is okay with my limited purchases - she gets that I need to maintain equipment, and buy strings. I now have a small budget to buy kit - £10 per month, into a savings account - which should cover strings and cables.

Our sound team used to mix for live broadcasts. Now, they mix for for YouTube - that is to say, they listen to what we are live-linking on YouTube, and adjust the mix so that it sounds good on YouTube. This article covers live worship (notably there is very little on the technical side, reminding us not to worry about YouTube) 5 Things We Learned From Streaming Worship — (worshipcentral.org) Other more general articles here All Resources — (worshipcentral.org) For me, I never sound as good on a recording, because I was not very good when I was playing live!

The working title of Hotel California was "Mexican Reggae" - almost certainly due to the bassline.

That whole track is how aspiring performers (myself included) imagine that they are playing and singing - driving and tight rhythms, smooth yet impassioned vocals, funky dancing basslines, and everything seems effortless. Motown - required listening for everyone who is a legend in their own mind...

It seems to me that a well-played tambourine sits within the rhythm section, and is unnoticeable. Certainly, I had not realised that the tambourine featured so heavily in Tears of a Clown. Here is another example - the "gallop" rhythm in the chorus is carried by the bass and tambourine, but starts at 0'14". Y M C A. Village People. Bass Cover. - YouTube

Perhaps install a set of heavy curtains, and keep them closed during the day, to keep out the light (and thus, the heat). It works for my bedroom during the hot summer months.

In the main, no. I am still in the foothills of bass playing, and do not have the experience, taste, or technical mastery to play it differently. For me, different would be worse.

Does anyone know what kind of foam was on the beer?

Like these ones?! "FAC 51 The Hacienda Peter Hook Bass Guitar number HAC 51 as played by Peter Hook. A series of six long scale EB2/335-shape bass guitars are to be custom built by Brian Eastwood with HAC numbers HAC 51 to 56 utilising pieces of the original maple wood dancefloor of FAC 51 The Hacienda. "

You're right - the rosewood does not need lemon oil, and it would be slippery to walk on.

Mahogany? Maple? Rosewood? With lemon oil? Were the floorboard nails steel, or nickel?

I heard that he once lay on his back in the studio while playing bass. Anyone know whether it was a carpet? Solid floor? Wooden floor boards? Lino? Searching for "the tone", Bass_Dinger.

Thank you for clarifying that it was not "I am going to shoot the sound guy"!

Keith Richards?

And don't get me started on tambourines! People assume that they are easy to play, and will add to the overall sound. However, they often end up sounding like a drawer full of cutlery being dropped down the stairs. Latterly, we took to bolting it to the drum kit rack - the drummer never played it, but the clamp ensured that it could never escape, and fall into the hands of the wrong person.

I have seen both - people who will literally count to four before the song starts, rather than count in four beats. Drummers too, whose fills are great but which last 7 or 9 beats, or whose sense of speed varies hugely. But the question was "vocalists", so, I have worked in a church group that expected to start singing acapella, with no reference pitch, and then have the musicians join in. "You might not be starting on the right note - we won't know what key you are in!" I said. "But it is written there . . . " and she pointed to the chord chart. The music was in G, they rehearsed the week before in G. On the morning, they struggled with that key, but then spontaneously sung in C. At other times, they have sung songs in C sharp - pretty difficult for most musicians. It took me a week to think of a response that was polite and helpful. I explained different keys, and how everyone needed a reference pitch. "I don't understand about that. I just sing." I must say, when I started out, I had no real clue about music, and it was only the patience and generous nature of others that allowed me to build up my skills. I am grateful that others put up with my musical incompetence; I am less patient with the incompetence of others. And that is an attitude that I have been working to get rid of, for 20 years.