Earbrass

Stop trying to change the subject and give us the link.

[quote name='Bilbo' post='1324405' date='Aug 2 2011, 03:50 PM']I just decided I don't know how to spell practice/practise/practicing/practising. Maybe I should try harder.[/quote] It's really easy - just remember that all those word pairs (practice/practise, license/licence etc) go like advice/advise, which you won't confuse because they sound different - ie the verb uses an 's' and the noun uses a 'c'. You practise when you would advise, and your practice is like your advice. Licensing is like advising. A licence is like advice.

I know what you mean - there's no point in endlessly repeating stuff you can play comfortably - but on the other hand, I'm not sure that being in a permanent state of frustration with one's instrument is all that helpful either, and could even lead to some people giving up altogether. I think there needs to be a balance - frustration when trying to push boundaries, but also release and a sense of achievement when these boundaries are successfully overcome. And once a new technique or piece is mastered, there's nothing wrong with enjoying a new sense of ease in repeatedly playing something which was once so hard to do. These are the "highs" that incentivize us to then move on to the next boundary.

@3.15 ff

[quote name='Doddy' post='1319380' date='Jul 28 2011, 02:48 PM']it's about being unencumbered by your technique to allow you to play what you want.[/quote] Hmm, but aren't most people encumbered more by their [b]lack[/b] of technique than by a surplus? The more technique you have, the more options are at your fingertips - although it's still up to your musical sense to select the right option.

[quote name='Skol303' post='1319243' date='Jul 28 2011, 12:55 PM']^ Try 'Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance' instead. Seriously... it's a good book all about the concept of 'quality'. It's written in the context of writing literature, but applies equally to music. And it actually has very little to do with motorcycles, in case anyone's wondering...[/quote] Got to disagree - a truly awful book. Tries to be clever and fails dismally. Avoid.

[attachment=85767:Bilbo1.JPG]

[quote name='Dave Vader' post='1318323' date='Jul 27 2011, 02:51 PM']As long as your Morris side keep away from me you can have anything you like EB (I've been worried I might find I enjoy it, so I'm keeping my distance, as it could only end in divorce)[/quote] We're a mixed team - you could both join!

I've recently gone from being the bassist in a Pagan heavy rock band to playing melodeon for a morris side. Do I win a prize?

[quote name='Beedster' post='1318049' date='Jul 27 2011, 10:54 AM']Personally I think a no-amplification rule is no bad thing. Living in a tourist city in which a load of often talentless chancers plug in to unnecessarily loud amps and play badly to baking tracks of Peruvian Pan-Pipes, Chicago Blues and even classical opera, I long for the day when Canterbury City Council say enough is enough. Apart from anything else, the bleed from busker to busker means that all too often there is a mush or undefined noise, resulting in a decibel arms race. OK, the approach described by the OP is arguably lazy/one-size-fits-all law enforcement, but hey, there's no money for local authorities to do more at present, and would you rather have law enforcement tied up with buskers or muggers? I've busked DB without amplification and had no trouble being heard, as was the case with the singer and the acoustic guitarist at the same time.[/quote] +1.

Maybe this isn't as stupid as people are making out. Of course, the bass is not worth the BIN price, but perhaps the seller has put that absurdly high because he really wants people to use the "Make Offer" button. Maybe he thinks he'll get a higher price for the bass via the "sealed bid" method of Ebay's "Make an Offer" facility than by naming a price or running a straight auction. But I agree, it's a fugly beast.

[quote name='Gust0o' post='1293467' date='Jul 5 2011, 02:54 PM']As an aside to this thread, an interesting correlation between bassists and lovers... [i]oh yeah, baby, you're the best[/i].[/quote] ...or [i]thanks for that; I've got a few more people to try out, but I'll definitely ring and let you know...[/i]

Used to play fretless in my first incarnation as a bass player a few decades ago. Haven't tried it since picking the bass up again around 2005. I suspect that any attempt to play fretless now would swiftly result in requests that I switch to stringless as well.

Excellent

[quote name='Count Bassy' post='1279912' date='Jun 23 2011, 05:44 PM']By that token though there's very few songs first person songs that anyone can legitimately sing. (E.g. shake your money maker - I haven't got a girl who lives up in the hill - does that mean I can't play it). Also, AFAIK, Johnny Cash didn't actually shoot a man in Reno, so what was he doing writing that song in the first place?[/quote] Yes, that was the point I was trying to make, in a roundabout kind of way. I agree with Skank's point to some extent - but as you say, where do you stop? Singing is often also acting - I suppose the question is whether the singer can adequately act the role required by the song. You get a similar issue arising in traditional English folk music as well. Most folk singers nowadays have never even seen a gander-bag, let alone a cordwangle. (showing my age again, I fear)

[quote name='skankdelvar' post='1279811' date='Jun 23 2011, 04:53 PM']IMO there's nothing more perfectly buttock-clenching than watching a plump white-collar middle-aged Englishman singing about 'his' experiences on a chain-gang in 1930's Alabama. It's just [i]silly[/i].[/quote] And by the same token, unless you actually [i][b]have[/b][/i] shot a man in Reno, just to watch him die, I'd avoid the Folsom Prison Blues, too.

The problem with blues is that it can get a bit samey, so it's worth seeking out those songs that have some variation on the standard 12 bar chord structure. Off the top of my head, [i]Dr. Feelgood[/i] is a good example.

Look, if I don't indulge myself, who will? Answer me that. [quote name='SteveK' post='1277726' date='Jun 21 2011, 08:50 PM']I don't have a problem condemning punk and don't think it's too difficult to define...certainly, in the context of this discussion.[/quote] PUNK = Music made by people who can't play for people who can't tell.

In the OP's defence, I am currently getting the following ads on my work pc basschat session: [i]Single Women on Match.com Thousands of Single Women are waiting for you. Sign up for Free! www.match.com Fixed Price Repairs Value for Money Fixed Price Repairs on All Citroën Models of Any Age. [/i] I repeat, this is my work pc, in the office, so absolutely no pron or "singles" site accessing, nor have I ever owned, or enquired about spares for, a Citroen.

Everybody seems to be focusing on which bass they'd prefer to sell or would mind selling the least, but if, as the original question suggests, I was short of cash and needed to sell a bass, I'd also be looking at which one would be most likely to sell quickly and for a good price.

You've had just [b]one[/b] rehearsal for music that's well outside your comfort zone, in a genre you're not used to and on an instrument that's not your usual gig, and you're worried that you can't play the material fluently??? You need a bit less [attachment=82205:doomed.jpg] and a bit more [attachment=82204:index.jpg]

I was expecting something much weirder...then I realised I was confusing Anthony Jackson with Anthony [i]Braxton[/i]...

Sold my Markbass CMD 121P to Neil (Basstard). A pleasure to deal with, and an interesting chap. He drove for about three hours to collect the amp from my house, and arrived within 5 minutes of the agreed time. Now[i] that's[/i] reliable!

Ah yes - the logic of commercial pop: save your main imaginative and creative effort for the marketing strategy rather than the music - the monetary returns per unit of time spent are better.

[quote name='Muzz' post='1252613' date='Jun 1 2011, 12:57 PM']Winner. [/quote] +1