LeftyP

I think you have to remember the context that the video was made for. Don Moen is demonstrating how to play (or not to play) in a church environment when the band is not the centre of attention but is there to lead/support the congregation. This is a completely different situation to standing on stage in front of an audience to entertain them. When the band is the star of the show then "let rip" by all means but when you are playing for audience participation (as in a church service) the KISS principal (Keep It Simple, Stupid) is often the best option.

I'm slowly getting to grips with reading music but I'm far from proficient. Give me sheet music with a bass line (not for the left hand of a pianist) and I can gradually work out what to play, but I need time and space to do it. We have recently done a kid's song at church that is very bass driven. When we did it I wasn't playing in the band and there was no bass player but when I heard the song I knew it would be good for the bass guitar. I found a recording of it and sure enough, the bass drives the melody along at a brisk pace. The intro is all bass and it continues right through the song with quarter and eighth notes aplenty. I listened to the recording several times but could not work out more than the first couple of notes but then I found the sheet music with a proper bass guitar part! The first note is D below the E string and it even drops to low B - not possible on my four string bass. I am therefore learning to play the song on my four string using all the right notes but without the benefit of the B string - enter Eric Morecambe! The tune is in the key of D with F & C both sharp - except some of the Cs need to be natural! This has done wonders, not only for my music reading, but also for finding the required notes on other parts of the fret board. It's slow going at the moment and I cannot play the song at the indicated speed yet but I am getting more familiar with the notes above and below the five line stave. I'm also having to use the D and G strings more which has made me "boldly go" to parts of the neck where my fingers generally don't stray! I think learning to read and play songs that you will use rather than simple exercises might be the way to go if you find learning to read music a chore.

Thanks guys. My post was a bit tongue in cheek as I have noticed my fingers going where I want them to on the fret board. I do play in our church band but am on a rota and only step up once a month with about 30 minutes of rehearsal before the morning service. It certainly focuses the mind!

I have two weaknesses and one strength. Weakness No.1; I'm not very good at playing the bass yet. Strength; I practice a lot. Weakness No.2; I'm not getting any better!

In 1995 I attended a church worship workshop headed up by Don Moen ( who leads this video) and got to chat to him - he is a really nice guy and very tuned in to what works in a church environment. The "Less Is More" phrase is often used by those of us who are not good enough to play more (!) but is well worth keeping in mind for congregational singing. I play in the church band about once a month and our job is to help the 100+ congregation raise their voices as one - all singing in time and from the same hymn sheet! I keep my bass playing simple (I am still getting used to playing in a band) with just the odd fill-in as the songs build. Playing for a church service is a different kettle of fish than performing to entertain. Don is very well known and respected in the contemporary Christian music world and has written many modern worship songs. In The USA he can fill football stadiums and mega-churches with people. At the workshop I was at in Glasgow the choir he had outnumbered our church membership! This is a good video to remind us that sometimes we need to hold back to benefit the songs.

I still like the printed on paper format. Like many of us I spend a lot of time looking at computer screens and to sit on a comfortable chair with a cup of tea and leaf through a magazine is a great way to unwind. When I came back to playing the bass last year I sought out bass publications and found Bass Guitar Magazine in WHS. I wanted to bring myself up to speed with what was available and find some tuition. Although I do use plenty of on-line advice (Mark Smith at Talking Bass and Scott Whitley in particular) I still like the format of a proper paper magazine to read. One complaint I have about BGM is its emphasis on heavy rock/metal bands, with childish satanic names, that are of no interest to me ( not my kind of music - if you can even call it music). If they would broaden their menu to include semi-pro function bands, theatre players, cruise ship and holiday camp entertainers, jazz combos etc and how they do their jobs it would be far more interesting than some hairy blokes making a loud noise. It will be interesting to see how the merger works.

I must agree that the Flight album by Perri is magnificent soul. While I'm typing how about Lorraine Ellison who could belt out a soul/gospel song as well as anyone - "Stay With Me" springs to mind.

I can still remember the first time I heard Aretha on the radio. I was at school and would be 16 years old. Standing in line waiting to go into the dinner hall (made of asbestos!) I was listening to Radio Caroline North on my little medium wave transistor radio. Bob Stewart played Aretha singing "I Ain't Never Loved A Man The Way I Love You". Life was never the same after that.

My Chowny SWB-1 is a great little bass but I've never been a fan of the big Chowny name plate on the headstock. At first glance it could be a Rickenbacker! Having recently fitted tape wound strings the neck and action needed to be altered so I took it to a local guitar technician. He didn't like the big name plate either and made me a neat little cover (mahogany) for the neck brace hole. He even contoured it to match the shape of the headstock. No offense Stephen, but I think it looks much better.

My first bass was an Applause semi-acoustic similar to the photo here (found on-line). It belonged to my guitar teacher who sold it to me when I decided to switch to bass. It was a nice little guitar but I found the body depth a bit of an arm full. It had a rounded back that did not sit well against me and I ended up with my Tanglewood violin bass.

We have one very small music shop in the city and I can walk to it from home in about 10 minutes. When I say small, I really mean it as you can see nearly all their stock from the front door. When I was looking for a bass they had about 6 in stock - all Fender look-a-likes - and their choice of strings was limited. Being a small premises I got the feeling I was being closely watched as I inspected the guitars. Another larger shop some 12 miles away had only 2 bass guitars in stock. They closed down recently. I bought my Tanglewood violin bass from the small shop about 12 years ago and had to take it back to have one of the volume knobs re-wired. I bought my latest bass on-line and am not in the market for another. As the internet offers a huge selection of strings, straps and other musical stuff that I can view at my leisure and buy at cheaper prices, I don't feel the need to have a local music shop. I will echo the comments of a previous poster about Promenade Music in Morecambe. It is just over an hour's drive from home and you can lose yourself in the bass guitar department for days!

I have two bass guitars. My old (12 years) Tanglewood copy of the Hofner Violin bass was resigned to its case when I bought a Chowny SWB-1 earlier this year. The Chowny is currently being "set-up" by a local guitar mechanic so the Tanglewood is back in use. I can't believe how light the violin bass is compared to the Chowny. I think the cardboard packaging the Chowny came it weighed more than the Tanglewood! They are both 4 string and, as a previous poster mentioned, I generally play the bottom two strings most (the E and A strings). However, a couple of songs I am required to play feature a D below the low E. I just play a "normal" D on the A string - which works - but maybe a 5 string will be needed!

A few years ago we were on holiday in Locarno, Switzerland and a stage was erected in the town square. As dusk fell the music started and I found myself at a free open air concert by Al Jarraeu!

As I've mentioned in other threads, I'm left handed but play the bass as a right hander. If you have never played a guitar before (as in my case) then playing right handed is not that big a deal. I use my knife and fork the conventional way as I was shown how to use them as a child, but if I'm buttering bread then the knife goes in the left hand! Out of curiosity I tried to play the bass left handed a short time ago and couldn't even hold it properly! I do play the harmonica upside down (the instrument - not me) with the low notes on the right and the high notes on the left. It is how I learned it as a child and could not change now.

As the police often say "Nothing to see here, please move along". My home studio with Chowny SWB-1 and a SubZero 1035 combo amp. On the music stand shelf I have an old Yamaha drum machine (that I struggle to operate) and a Tascam GB-10 bass guitar trainer that allows me to play along to MP3 tracks. At church, I am plugged into a DI box and fed through the church mixing desk so do not need a specific bass amp.

That's a good point. I've yet to see a left handed trombone or flute and my guitar teacher did ask if I'd ever seen a left handed piano - I think he was making a point too!

I have just bought a Korg AW-LT100B (who thinks of these names?) that clips to the head stock of my bass. It seems to be pretty accurate but not very robust in construction. I can now turn the bass guitar down and tune up without having to unplug from the system with the resulting "crack" over the P.A.

I'm left handed but play the bass as a right hander. I've mentioned it in other posts but it goes back to when I tried to learn to play the classical guitar and my teacher advised to learn right handed. As I had never played a guitar before I had nothing to "un-learn" and playing right handed does not feel awkward. I'm no master of the instrument but that is more down to lack of practice rather than my left handedness. I find it very odd to even hold a guitar in a left handed position now.

Anything by The Friends Of Distinction. I used to really like them (still do but don't tell anyone) and their "Grazin' In The Grass" track is brilliant. They were very much of their time and really sound dated now. Check out some of their rather grainy videos on YouTube and cringe - but in a nice way.

Not bass guitar related but when I was into motor bikes I had a very nice Honda CB350 twin. The headlight bulb blew and I called into the local motor bike dealer to get a new bulb - and left with a Honda 750F1 Four!

I think it's worse when a punter doesn't actually request a specific song. Years ago (in my youth) a friend and I ran a mobile disco and played at weddings, birthdays etc. We knew our customers and could keep the dance floor full for most of the evening with good pop and Motown tracks. There's always one guy who will stagger up and say "Have you got any decent music". When asked to be more specific the reply would be along the lines of "Anything but this cr*p". The dance floor would be heaving - everyone singing "Hi Ho Silver Lining" but he didn't want to enjoy himself. You can't please all of the people.......

I am a big Beatles fan but Sgt. Pepper just leaves me cold - I really don't understand the fuss about it. I have all of the Beatles' early albums up to Revolver then their musical direction took a different turn to mine. Even the Revolver album has tracks on it that I will skip but they are more than offset by the tracks I like ("And You Bird Can Sing" in a cracker not often heard on radio these days). Sgt. Pepper just sounds like a muddle of ideas that don't sit well together. Give me "A Hard Day's Night" anytime!

OK, "Gig" is perhaps not the right word as I was playing in our church band today with a 100+ congregation belting out the songs. A quick bit of background; I'm 67 years old. About 15 years ago I was part of a Christian music band that had around 15 members. There was a brass/horn section, drums, guitars, keyboards, clarinet, oboe, bass and sometimes a violin. I was more sound guy and backing vocals until the bass player moved away so I stepped in - having never played bass before. I just learned the bass parts by rote and didn't try anything more than root and fifth with the occasional third and chromatic approach. With so many members it was inevitable that people would drop out and leave the band so eventually we called it a day and my Tanglewood copy of the Hofner violin bass was retired to its case. Ten years on and attending a new church I let slip that I once played bass. The next thing I know I'm on the music rota! I took delivery of a Chowny SWB-1 in January and have been getting to grips with it (off and on) since then. My playing is basic and I'm still trying to get my fingers to do what my brain wants them to do. I'm left handed but play right handed and have a limited finger spread, which means one finger per fret is not on. The church has a pool of musicians and singers who are on a rota to provide the music each week. The rota means that you don't always play with the same people each time. Rehearsal is about an hour before the service on a Sunday morning where we run through the five songs we will be playing. There is no set band and no mid-week get together so I was in at the deep end today! I'd been practicing the songs to backing tracks using chord charts with the lyrics but today was the first time I had played with other band members. So there I was in the corner on bass, crammed between the keyboard and drum kit. The drummer forgot he was on the list to play so we had no drums! That was a relief because I was so close to the kit if the drummer had hit the cymbal it would have chopped my arm off! The rest of the band was; keyboard, flute, semi-acoustic guitar (band leader) and two female vocalists. I was sticking to root notes and the odd fifth or third except for one song for which I had the sheet music and bass line that was for the bass guitar as opposed to the keyboard player's left hand. Band leader decided to change the tempo of one song which made life interesting as I'd practiced it in standard 4/4! I think I did OK. There was the odd fumble for notes but, on the whole, I was fairly pleased with how it went. I was caught out on one song when BL decided to repeat a chorus causing me to have an Eric Morecambe moment for a couple of bars - playing all the right notes but not necessarily in the right order! Afterwards a "senior" member of the congregation came up and congratulated me on my playing and said how good it was to hear a solid bass line. Then a young lady (17 years old - half a century younger than me!) came across and said "Hey Mr cool bass player!" I wish I'd had that effect on 17 year old girls when I was young enough to do something about it! My next "gig" will be at the beginning of August with a different line up and no drummer. I can't wait!

The tone control on my Chowny SWB-1 does not appear to have any affect on the tone at all! I leave it fully 'on' to match the volume knob.