solo4652

My other half is attempting to learn piano, and she's really struggling. I show her how to play a scale, saying something like: "Let's start on C, do the do-rey-me thing, until we hit C again" Blank looks. She regards two C's an octave apart as different notes because they sound different. She is not Bolivian.

Thanks for the link to that article.

In the latest edition of The Psychologist - the magazine of the British Psychological Society - is a short article in the research section that discusses whether pitch perception is a universal human phenomenon. I'll try to paraphrase it: "In Western music, the octave system is mathematically based - move up an octave, and a given note doubles in frequency. Perhaps Western music has come to use this system because it relates to the way sound waves physically stimulate the cochlea in the inner ear. In other words, there's something biologically fundamental, and universal, about the way we perceive pitch. But, is this true for non-Western music? In 2019, a team from the Max Planck institute revealed that a remote group of people living in the Bolivian rainforest doesn't process pitch in this way. The Bolivians don't perceive similarities between two notes an octave apart. This work adds to other research, notably in vision and smell, revealing that, while all humans possess the same hardware, culture influences our sensory perceptions." I thought that was rather interesting.

Ha! This morning, I decided that I'd sell my Squier Musicmaster. Put it on Gumtree, I thought. Just before I did that, I checked the BC "Wanted" section and discovered that Cheddatom was looking for a white Musicmaster. We swapped photos and -yes! - I had his first ever bass. It's now back with him, and I'm really pleased that it turned out the way it did. Bit of BC Karma, right there. Steve

Just listened to it again. How about Root/octave for intro, verse and outro, with root/fifth for Pre chorus and chorus? I should have a first-stab version of a bass tab by the end of today if anybody wants a laugh.

Anybody working on the bassline for this song? It's from Weller's latest album, released in June (I think). I found the chord structure online - https://tabs.ultimate-guitar.com/tab/paul-weller/more-chords-3219338 Sounds like bassline is more or less root-octave throughout. Anybody got it sorted?

So you're a Group B player then! Ha! What basses do you have at the moment, please?

Billy-no-mates here in Group B!?

Any other Group B short scalers out there? What bass do you play? I seem to like the inter-fret spacing of short scale, but not the short distance from the nut to my body. The reason I seem to get on with my Lakland Hollowbody 30 so well appears to be because the neck is positioned quite a way outboard, the neck is fairly chunky front-to-back, and the front strap pin is positioned at F 13. All this means that the bass - even though the neck is 38mm at the nut and 30" scale - doesn't feel anywhere near as cramped as other shorties I've tried.

Thanks for compiling this for us. Worth a stickie, maybe? A good look at the pictures, plus a chat with BC's Scrumpymike (encylopedic knowledge of short scales), has really helped me to narrow-down the basses that would most probably work for me.

Just came across this in my notes...

That's a game of two halves for me. First half - tremendously impressive, but a bit sterile. Second half - now, then - that, for me, is pure bass-playing virtuosity. I'd pay damned good money to listen to more of the finger-style, but I'd be wandering off to the bar during the slap. Each to their own, of course!

"Sucks teeth" - Great groove. I really like that, even though I'm not normally a fan of slap.

Brother Strut: Here's another one: Mmmmmm

I'm am retired. For all of my working life I was an Occupational Psychologist specialising in the assessment of intelligence, personality, aptitudes, motivation, values, in HR settings such as recruitment, development, mergers, succession planning. I've assessed people for a huge range of jobs including Astronaut, Assistant Chief Constable, mortuary assistant, canning line operative, warehouse packer, sales, and umpteen managerial positions. I worked for various consultancies, and then myself. I retired aged 50 and, for a few years, was heavily involved in developing and trialling race yachts, as a semi-pro racing crew. Fully retired from everything now. Loads of time to play bass to my usual mediocre level, and write bad poetry.

Yep - Yesterday, I started to do some basic web research about DAWs and stuff. Quick Google of "Best free DAW" threw up quite a few suggestions, one of which was Tracktion 7. On the T7 website was a link to a YouTube video "Tracktion T7 overview". Aha, I thought - a simple, staightforward introduction to what DAWs are and what they do. Then I played it. I have no idea at all what I was looking at - put me right off the whole idea.

OK - Please pardon my ignorance, but how would I do that?

I'm retired, and I live alone. The main band I play with has suspended all gigs and rehearsals. I'm staying at home whenever I possibly can, and I'm crawling the walls. And it's only Day 1 of the "You must stay at home" situation. Other than jamming along to YouTube, what are other people doing to keep playing? What ways are there of playing/cooperating with other musicians without physically meeting them? I'm certain this has been discussed in the CV threads, but I can't face the prospect of trawling through 100+ pages. Oh, and by the way, I'm not especially IT oriented, so talk of MIDI and DAW and such like may leave me floundering. Sorry.

I may well be confusing myself here! Not too sure whether there were/are US and non-US versions. Apologies...

Good for you! I should perhaps have said that mine is the Skyline variant, not the USA one. Steve

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Tanglewood-EB-18-Elfin-Bass-Guitar-short-scale/264649574377?hash=item3d9e5807e9:g:HksAAOSwzAxeV6tJ

Yes - this is the bass I have. It's my no.1 bass and has remained with me while other short-scales have come and gone. Some key points, from my experience: It's very light - noticeably so compared to every other shortscale I've had. This is one of the main reasons I bought it. Hardly any neck-dive - with a wide, rough-finish strap it sits obediently in a slight neck-up position. Stock pickups are fairly bright and modern. I'm fairly sure that the stock arrangement is V/V/T. Mine's been changed to V/blend/T. The neck pickup solo-ed could not honestly be described as "Precision" tone. Rear pickup sounds pretty much like a jazz. Best for me is a 50/50 mix of the two, although I know that when Bassbunny played it, he liked the balance a little more towards the neck. See embedded video for an example of me playing it in a 5-piece covers band. Nut width is 38mm. The neck is quite deep front to back and for that reason feels a lot more substantial than other 38mm short-scale necks I've tried. Also, the neck is positioned more outboard than other shortscales, meaning my fretting hand is a little further away from my body than other shortscales, so the playing position doesn't feel too cramped. Only hardware issue I've had was a slipping hipshot tuning peg - replaced with a new one recently. I've tried quite a few different strings. I've settled on Labella black tapewounds. Their depth of tone balances-out the slightly "modern" tone of the pickups to give a nicely rounded sound with plenty of low end. Fender flatwounds didn't work quite so well - a bit too bright on this bass, in my opinion. These are pretty rare beasts - not often you see these for sale. I suppose the styling is a little "old school", but I forgive it that for the way it sounds. It will most probably stay with me for as long as I'm playing bass. Any other questions - just get in touch. www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzxB5LU29Vc

I've said "Thanks, but no thanks" to this project for a number of reasons, one of which is travel distances involved. Rehearsals look like they'll be in Bolton, and I live right round the other side of Manchester. If anybody is interested, PM me for keys player's contact details.

What especially impressed me was how she launched straight back into the intended piece without even a short break following the major stage and equipment faff. Respect.

Sure thing - I agree with you! I don't mind a bit of ska, reggae and northern soul. I depped for a Northern Soul band a few years ago and enjoyed it. Just tried to ring keys player, but his number was "not recognised" 🙄