LeftyP

I think in these days of (anti) social media it is often better to use another name on internet sites. I really think that Parker would be a good pen name.

"I Will Always Love You" is often used as a first dance song at weddings. The title gets in the way of the song's message!

The advert does say "Made in China".

https://youtu.be/VX4GiaVQcdk I've ordered one of the standard bases in the hope I can do what Scott does - some hope!

I am trying to learn to read the dots and play from chord charts but find TAB to be a help in finding where to start on the fret board. There are many different places to play any of the notes on a guitar neck and Tabs give me a good starting point. Once I'm in the right place - and perhaps used the TAB to work out my fingering, I switch to notation. TAB is handy but I try not to rely on it.

[attachment=251567:P1010031.JPG] Don't have one of me playing bass but here's one taken in July next to the memorial to Joey Dunlop on the Isle of Man.

I'm in the process of re-learning the bass after about a 10 year gap. I wasn't that good a player before I stopped and made the mistake of simply learning what I needed to play for each song we did. As a result I didn't fully understand what I was playing. Now I use lessons from YouTube and instruction books and have gone right back to basics (pardon the pun!). I'm following the dots, playing from chord charts and trying to play by ear from CDs. This combination is helping me understand music structure and where all the notes are on the fret board. Scott Whitley's YouTube explanation of what arpegios are was a light bulb moment for me and really helped me to understand bass lines. I still have a lot of work to do but one thing I would recommend is to play along with a drum machine or metronome. I thought I was progressing OK until I switched on the drum machine and discovered that I was all over the place with my timing! If nothing else the bass guitar needs to be in time. Have fun!

"Groovin'" by The Young Rascals. I loved it when it was released back in 1967 but it's only since I got into playing bass that I've really noticed how the bass line totally makes this song. I must have listened to the record a few thousand times and never appreciated just how subtle but afective the bass vibe is.

[quote name='chris_b' timestamp='1500849077' post='3340643'] Really? I don't believe in that one at all. He wouldn't last 5 mins in any band I listen to. [/quote] Kat is a SHE!

I know it is sometimes an overused expression but for bass playing Less is often More. It is also a good excuse to use if, like me, you are not very good at playing! The August edition of the British publication "[i]Bass Guitar Magazine[/i]" has a very short feature about [b]Kat Ades[/b] of the band [i]Other[/i] [i]Animals[/i]. She says, "The secret of playing bass well is to not be heard when you're there, but be missed when you're not." I must say it is the way I feel about the bass as well. Much as I marvel at the dexterity and speed of some players, I do feel that a subtle bass line (to enhance the overall sound of a piece) is preferred to an all out assault on the lower register. Like many of us who play the instrument, I tend to listen out for bass lines on recordings but most people don't even notice the bass as it blends and gives body to a tune. There is a wonderful interview with [b]Victor Wooton[/b] on YouTube by [b]Scott Devine[/b] of Scott's Bass Lessons. Settle down for 50 minutes of pure magic from a very talented and humble man.

My wife plays oboe in an orchestra and has great difficulty playing without the music in front of her. I think that orchestral players need to be in sync with each other and the conductor so following the dots is essential and it just becomes ingrained in their playing. I think the bass guitar and the types of music it is used in lends itself more to freestyle playing.

If 40-something is "oldish" spare a thought for this 66 year old. I'm just getting back into the bass after about 10 years of not playing. I started in my mid 40s when the bass player left our church band. I just did what was necessary for each song and didn't really study the instrument properly. This time around I'm learning where all the notes are on the fret board, how to follow chord charts and read music. It is slow and I'm taking my time following on-line tutorials. As I've mentioned on other threads, I'm left handed but play right handed. I tried to play classical guitar when I was 40 and my teacher advised that I played right handed. Playing right handed just seems natural now but I do need to get my fingers to work better! I don't have much of a finger spread so sometimes one finger per fret can be difficult. I use a short scale bass which makes playing just that bit less of a task.

As mentioned in my other posts; I'm left handed but play right handed - I've never tried to play left handed. So, out of interest, I had a go today by simply turning my right handed bass upside down and using my right hand on the frets. I was all over the place! I could hardly hold the instrument and had very little success at getting any notes out of it at all. It looks like this lefty is staying right-on when bass playing!

As I have posted on other threads on this site, I am left handed but play right handed. This goes back to when I tried to learn to play the classical guitar (in my mid-forties) and my teacher recommended I play right handed as re-stringing a classical guitar for a lefty was not as straight forward as may seem - the nut would need to be changed and the guitar's internal bracing would be wrong. It also meant that I could have a wider choice when buying an instrument. He did also comment that the few left handers he had taught (playing left handed) had not progressed very far - not sure why. Having never played a guitar before I played right handed and know no different. I am very left handed. My first wife was left handed, our daughter is left handed and her son (my grandson) is left handed. One day we will rule the world! I am just returning to the bass after about 10 years away from it and am taking my time finding my way around the fret board and getting my fingers used to going up and down the neck again. I'll stick with playing right handed as I think changing now would just confuse me - very easy to do!

As someone who works in the broadcasting industry, I can certainly confirm that old vinyl records offer far more dynamic range than modern CDs. If I'm recording a vinyl record into the computer - and watching the wavy line (technical term!) to ensure I don't over record - the line rises and falls all over the place. I need to ride the fader to stop the levels going into the red. With a CD I get a solid bar with little or no variation in level. I do have some old LPs that have also been released (some years later) on CD and there is a noticeable difference in the music content. You can hear subtle tones and even instruments on the vinyl that are not there on the compressed CD. I don't know if modern vinyl uses the same compressed recordings as the CD but if they do there is no point in buying the vinyl. As for MP3s - well, they are very handy but are so compressed that most of the music has been squeezed out of them!

I've just had a good look at the attached list from the OP. I didn't realise just how many variations on a theme there were! I must confess to being gutted to learn that my Tanglewood is made of plywood. It plays fine as I learn to get back up to speed but if I ever play in public I think a genuine model may be in order - well that's my excuse!

Some people simply do not know how to behave in public. I was at a concert once where the female singer was well into the Jennifer Rush song "Power of Love". A man carrying a tray of empty glasses headed for the bar and right in front of her shouted to his friend - "Was it lager or beer, John?" Then there was the lead singer who told me that one night he was in mid-song when a bloke walked up to the stage and asked him if he had change for the jukebox!

I have the Tanglewood version of the violin bass. It is about 12 years old and cost me around £150.00 including the hard case! I just like the look of the bass and the short scale neck. It plays OK for me but I think if I was doing regular performances its build quality my let it down. I had it set up by a local guitar technician and fitted flat wound strings to it and that has really improved its "playability".

I'm glad it's not just me that has problems with the violin bass intonation! My Tanglewood version is a great little instrument but when I fitted flat wounds to it the intonation went way out. With all open strings in tune they were pretty flat at the 12th fret. Adjusting the saddle by small increments improved the situation until both open strings and the 12th fret were spot on. The problem was all the notes in between were slightly flat! I made sure I was pressing down on the strings as close to the frets as possible and even made all the open strings just a tad sharp but to no avail. More messing about with the bridge and everything was in tune. Don't ask me how I did it. If at first you don't succeed keep trying!

Hello, I'm very new to this forum having returned to the bass guitar after a 10 year lay-off. I'm nearly 67 and plan to play in our church worship band so no heavy metal! I am slowly getting back into the bass but I have taken things right back to the start using books and on-line tutorials. O.K. - I'm left handed but I play right handed. This goes back to when I was in my mid-forties and decided to learn to play the classical guitar. My teacher recommended that I play right handed as he had taught a few left handed people and found that they could not progress past a certain point. He said it would also open up a wider choice of instruments for me to choose from as simply re-stringing a classical guitar for left handed playing was not as simple as it may seem. I don't know the details but apparently the nut would need to be changed and the guitar's internal bracing was done to take account of right hand stringing. I'm not sure if any of that is true but as I had not played a guitar before I had nothing to 'un-learn' and began as a 'right hander'. I've had 66 years of being left handed so know all the problems that can bring. I am [i]very[/i] left handed and often say that my right hand is there just to prevent my right arm from fraying at the end! I was taught to use a knife and fork in the conventional way (knife in right hand) and have never had a problem with it although if I'm spreading butter onto bread I use my left hand. When I go into cafes I immediately re-arrange the cups and side plates to suit a lefty and turn my dessert spoon around so that the handle is on the left side - that confuses every body! Being left handed, I suppose we all make adjustments in our every day lives without even thinking about it. I set out to play the bass guitar and did not want to let my left handedness affect my progress. I have a long way to go until I am good enough to play in front of our church congregation but that is down to my lack of playing over the years and not because I use my left hand more than my right. I have been reading other posts on this thread and can identify with many of the comments but I am determined to get to grips with the bass - with both hands! By the way; can I really be a bass player if I only have one bass!

Hello from the far north west of England - two hours north of Manchester and within sight of the border with Scotland. I am within sight of my 67th birthday and am returning to the bass guitar after about a ten year lay-off. I was called on to play the bass when the bass player in our Christian Praise and Worship Band left to go elsewhere. I'd been struggling with the classical guitar for some years and thought; "Four strings - four fingers, what could possibly go wrong!" My problem was that I was into my mid forties before I picked up a guitar and my fingers on my fretting hand would not spread out far enough to cope with the classical instrument. I am also left handed but was taught to play right handed - something I will expand on in the "Lefty" thread. The band came to a natural end (not sure if my bass playing was the cause!) and my guitar was put away. A few weeks ago, at my new church, I was asked if I played and instrument and I mentioned the bass. I have a feeling I may be put on the band rota so I am back to practicing again. My bass is a Tanglewood RVB-2 which I bought for about £150.00 some twelve years ago. It's Tanglewood's inexpensive copy of the Hofner violin (Beatles) bass. I like the look of the instrument and the short scale length which makes it easier for my (not so supple) hands to manage. I've gone right back to the start and am trying to find my way around the frets and play scales in various positions. Reading the dots is also a plan. I am using tuition books and on-line instructions to help me get to know the bass again. It will be some time before I am ready to play in public but I am really enjoying plucking the strings again. I look forward to becoming part of this forum and have already learned a lot from what I have read already. Cheers!