Tag: bass

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Black and white photo of Dave Brubeck at a piano with text: "SORRY, NERDS 5/4 IS DAVE BRUBECK DAY"

Dave Brubeck Day is tomorrow, so a very happy Dave Brubeck day to all who celebrate.

I broke my guitar tuner last week. In the process of purchasing a new one, a new microphone ended up in my shopping cart. I tried it out during our weekly jam—massive difference. This one has much more definition than the old, cheapo mic. So much definition that I was slightly afraid of it when I started singing. It will take some getting used to for sure.

In other musical news, a couple weeks ago at the local, two guys were talking about getting together for a jam. Someone overheard the conversation and said “JP plays bass!” I was very clear about my ability, or lack thereof. They said, “perfect” and I thought that would be the end of it.

Friday night one of them walked by, clapped me on the back and said “you’re hired”. My immediate thought was oh shit.

Now, I give this jam even odds of ever happening. Just in case, I should probably practice a more.

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After a couple weeks off due to prior commitments, the “band” was back together this week. I had good intentions to practice over those two weeks, but I mostly picked up my bass only to move it to the other side of the room. Despite the lack of practice, we had a good jam and sounded alright.

I really do need to get back to a good practice routine. My playing ability is certainly somewhere shy of “intermediate” and I’m not going to progress by playing once a week. I think I need to do something that puts the fun in fundamentals, which might help keep me on a regular routine and, in turn, increase my dexterity and speed–two things that I am lacking.

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Youtube has become a major timesuck for me. There are a couple channels I enjoy, but evening hours spent clicking on random, recommended videos doesn’t leave me feeling fulfilled. I’ve blocked it on my home computer, we’ll see what happens over the next 30 days.

What will I do with all this free time? Practicing bass will be at the top of the list. My skills have plateaued, and not at a level I’m proud of. In past years, I practiced more in the winter months, but this season, our weekly jam sessions were the only regular playing time I had.

I’m hoping that I’ll see a bit of progress in the coming weeks if I can stay motivated to do meaningful practice on a more regular basis. Wish me luck!

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Managed to get out for a sail on Sunday. I was single-handing, lazy and didn’t bother with a headsail–could have used it against the current though. I spent the better part of an hour trying to round a buoy (it’s good to have goals), then gave up when Rockaway Point YC’s race was bearing down on me.

Another good jam Friday. I left Sunday Papers off the list this week, but the band insisted we play it. So, it was the encore. It may forever occupy the last slot on the set list. Ziggy Stardust is coming into the rotation next week, so I spent some time on a rainy Saturday messing around with it. I’ve heard it a million times, and used to be able to stumble though it on a 6-string, but never appreciated Trevor Bolder’s, nice bass line. I hope to do it some justice come Friday.

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I am behind on my weeknotes. Partially due to travel, partially to lazyness. I’ll publish this abbreviated edition a week late and catch up next week.

Black and white photo of three men in a garage with guitars.
Meet the monotones (working name, not to be confused with The Monotones). Photo: Angela Lin

The highlight of the week was a visit to the country–if you can call destinations reachable by Metro North “the country”. On the agenda: Play some music, chill by the pool and sail. The weather wasn’t conducive to sailing, but we played a lot of music and really enjoyed the pool.

This was a rare, live jam of the regular Jamulus crew. It’s wonderful that we can play together online, I doubt we’d play much at all if we couldn’t; however, being in the same room is so much better. We worked on tightening up a couple of the songs on our regular playlist and started working on a couple new ones.

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