LeftyP

The problem with these videos of 'Mega Church concerts' is they have more people on stage than most British churches have in their congregations. When you have a huge gospel choir and, in some cases, professional musicians, you can make any worship song sound great. Transfer that song to a small church with a handful of part time musicians who only get to run through the songs about 45 minutes before the service begins and it will sound very different.

Although I've been playing in church over recent weeks the congregation has not been allowed to sing. I have missed the singing so much. Today was the first time congregations could sing again and the attached video is of Keswick Convention this morning. Keswick is only 45 minutes drive from my home and I love attending the convention but for various family reasons I am watching it on line. When they started singing "Great is Thy Faithfulness" I joined in but after the first line, I completely choked up and cried. It's so good to be able to praise out loud again.

A truly wonderful lady. I had the pleasure of seeing her at Newcastle City Hall when she was part of Fotheringay. It was a magical night.

Most of my pet peeves have been covered but people who talk all through the gig and are obsessed with their 'phones is very distracting. I have been to some country music gigs where people sit around tables, with their backs to the stage, chatting and laughing out loud during the performance. One chap even walked in front of the singer, stopped in front of her and shouted to his friend, "Was it a pint of bitter or lager?"! Some people should not be allowed out. As for seated concerts; My younger and prettier half has dragged me to several Barry Manilow concerts - for which I had the pleasure of paying. They have been seated concerts but as soon as Bazza walked on stage all the "old enough to know better" women leaped to their feet forcing those behind to stand too. In Newcastle Arena we had front row seats and women just came and stood in front of us and were none too pleased when I shoved them out of the way. Why is it that the people who sit in the middle of the row arrive last!

Being tempted is one thing. Giving in is another!

It is odd playing in church at the moment with a "socially distant", stripped down band and a silent congregation. We play a song and the congregation stand in silence and sway along to it! Our church is blessed with a self contained outside grass area and we do a song or two at the end, in the open air, where masks can be removed and everyone can sing together, with acoustic guitar accompaniment. I long for the day we can get back to normal and share proper fellowship together.

I don't see anything wrong with the song. It's about a guy who is trying to stop a young girl "coming on" to him. Some people think it's about an older guy having lustful thoughts about an underage girl but the guy in question is trying to reject her because he knows it's wrong. Your singer would need to have a great voice to carry that song off!

Trijntje always hits the spot with this. The emotion she puts into it overcomes the language difficulty.

I suppose that in the current climate, "Wives and Lovers" is a no no!

I wonder if a Pretenders tribute band would just be pretending to be a Pretenders tribute band?

Where is the rest of the trumpet?

This is my short scale weapon of choice; an Italia Maranello Cavo. Hollow body and passive electronics fitted with LaBella flat wounds.

You are all wrong! This is the guy.

Am I a boring bass player? Take a look at the photo below of me playing bass at church last Sunday. I've never looked so cool - behind the screen!

It's not that I dislike slapping (I enjoy much of the Level 42 catalogue), it's just that I find it tiring to listen to. In its place - "Forget Me Nots" by Patrice Rushen and some Luther Vandross tracks, it works very well but overall I prefer much more melodic playing like Paul McCartney and Joe Osborne. The well known and revered (on this forum) bass players are well above my skill level but their style of playing leaves me cold. Slapping and popping, showing off their licks, is OK as far as it goes but after about 15 seconds I'm longing for some light and shade and melody. It's horses for courses and the music I like does not fit well with slap bass.

I was thinking along similar lines today, in that - "Why would I want another bass?" I have two bass guitars; an Italia and a Tanglewood violin bass. Both have been featured in various posts on this forum. The Tanglewood was bought about 15 years ago and was cheap (less than £200 including case), the Italia was bought nearly 3 years ago and cost £670 or there about. Today I went down to our church to help sort out the sound system and set up a small bass combo/amp. I grabbed my Tanglewood in its case as it was easier to throw in the back of the car. When I opened the case at church it was like one of those spoof films where someone opens a chest and a glow radiates from it. I just love the look of the violin bass. Let's face it, when you've seen one Fender precision/jazz you've seen them all and most other brands just provide variations on the same theme. The violin shape is different. I played a few notes to try out the system and it sounded fine. The bass is hollow and very light and just so easy to handle. I began to wonder why I'd bought the Italia (which is a very nice bass). Through our church sound system I doubt there would be any discernible difference between my cheap violin bass and a custom Fodera. There is nothing wrong with wanting a well crafted instrument but sometimes just making the most of what you have can give better results. I have looked at genuine, German made, Hofner violin basses - costing about ten times what my humble Tanglewood did - but would they be ten times better and make me a ten times better player? I play in our church band about once every month and we generally sing four songs during the service. If I was a gigging musician playing several nights a week for two hours at a time then I think my Tanglewood would probably shake itself to bits. I am not a gigging musician playing two hours a night so it fills the bill well. Of course I still look at other bass guitars and am in the fortunate position to be able to spend quite a bit of money on one, but the more time I spend with my current duo the more I realise I don't really want another.

I would love to have a mid-week rehearsal but we just get together on a Sunday morning, about an hour before the service, to run through the songs. We get the songs emailed to us about a couple of weeks in advance so we can practise them at home. The church has a Spotify account with our library of songs on it and a web site with the sheet music/chord charts. I often have to make my own chord charts from the sheet music. I have a Tascam GB-10 MP3 player to play along to. You can slow the song down without changing its pitch or change the key without affecting the speed. As we have a pool of musicians, we very rarely play with the same people every time. The idea is to have a rota so we don't have to play every week. Mixing the members of each band brings variety to the service and prevents cliques forming. It can make gelling together a challenge! The attached video is from the American Worship Tutorials site on YouTube. They are professional worship leaders, at a Mega Church, and take it all very seriously but have raised some helpful points about running a worship team. They can get a bit obsessed about the subject but it may provide food for thought.

I was back in church today for the first time in nearly a year (since the first lock-down). We have had On-Line services where we've recorded our musical parts onto our mobile 'phones and had them stitched together, but that is not the same as being together. I was delighted to get back into the building and meet (socially distanced) friends who I've only been able to chat to via Zoom. Our normal congregation averages at just over a hundred, with most of them being students and young families. Due to the restrictions we could only accommodate 30 or so this morning and they had to wear masks and could not sing! The band was pared back to just; keyboard, semi acoustic guitar, bass guitar (me) and my wife on vocals. She was the only one allowed to sing! It was surreal playing a couple of songs while the congregation stood in silence and swayed along to the tune! As we had no drummer, I kept things very simple and hit the root note on the beat. Not very spectacular but it was what was needed. I did the occasional "fill" or chromatic run but other than that kept it straight to the point. I pray for the day when we can all get back to normal and enjoy great worship and fellowship together.

I think the wedding industry will take some time to recover from the pandemic. Over the last year I have seen friends get married at scaled down ceremonies. The first couple managed to arrange their wedding in 24 hours, following the lifting of the first lock-down. There were twenty or so people in the church and the couple sent out for a take-a-way for their "Wedding Breakfast". All who attended he wedding agreed that it was far more moving and poignant than a large bells and whistles event. The other couple had a similar ceremony and loved the intimacy of a smaller gathering. I have heard several people comment that the lock-down has given them time to re-evaluate their lives and priorities. There will always be those who want a lavish 'do' but don't bank on events (weddings) being the money makers they once were.

I haven't been in our church building for a year because of Covid and my advancing years! I have recorded bass parts at home, on my mobile 'phone, and they have been stitched together with other band members to make an on-line service. Our church is now open again but with limited numbers and a skeleton band. In house congregation is not allowed to sing but the service is streamed live on Youtube for those who cannot attend in person. Having had my Covid vaccination and being totally fed up at not being able to get to church, I shall be back playing this coming Sunday. We will only be doing two songs but it will be great to get back into the swing of things. I have neglected the bass for most of the year because there was nothing to rehearse for.

"If Your Life Was On Videotape" by Steve Goodman. He died of Leukaemia in 1984, at the age of 36, and was the writer of "City of New Orleans" recorded by Willie Nelson, among others.

I find that I go through stages of playing then long periods where I don't even see the bass! I have subscribed to a couple of Mark Smith's courses and can spend several days going through them before realising that I haven't touched the bass for a couple of weeks. With nothing to work towards - like playing in church - the incentive to pick up the bass is not there. I really need to get a grip and start playing every day.

TV themes; "St. Elsewhere" by Dave Grusin. "The Avengers" by Laurie Johnson. Films; "Walk on the Wild side" by Elmer Benstein. "The Anderson Tapes" by Quincy Jones.

See my posting on the "Off Topic" section of this forum. I would never choose to use Hermes - ever!

I've just remembered this one. I saw Ray perform it on the old Andy Williams show where Ray was on video singing all the parts. He does All the vocals and plays some of the instruments - too clever by half.