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comment by am_Unition
am_Unition  ·  1330 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Post music with female bass players

Learning bass has been delighting. Currently have skin hanging off fingertips.

Here's Bad Snacks:

Timestamp'd to the part where she lays down a bassline, but if you're watching the Hubski embed, start at 24:00. The entire video is a very good glimpse into what is currently a large portion of my life.





bhrgunatha  ·  1330 days ago  ·  link  ·  

Why'd you choose bass?

am_Unition  ·  1330 days ago  ·  link  ·  

I didn't, it's like the opposite. I got to a level of self-defined "suitable" proficiency on the keyboard, drums, and (most debatably) guitar, before I was like "OK, bass time".

Were those decisions influenced by the fact that most people cannot easily distinguish the bassist's contribution to the overall mix? Yep. Used to think I wanted to be in the limelight, which is pretty stupid, considering how I just about wet my pants every piano recital, growing up. Turns out that bass guitar (or other string bass) is a sort of invisible glue holding things together, and it's a crucial overlap of rhythm, melody, and chord progression(s).

Wish I woulda "chose" it sooner.

goobster  ·  1329 days ago  ·  link  ·  

Added bonus is that on stage you really can't hear any of the other people playing, so it's just you and the drummer locking it down and grooving it out...

I've had drummers in my life where we would just lock ourselves into the rehearsal studio and jam together for hours on end. They make up a beat... I make up a bass line to go with the beat, and we just play and play and play, riffing off each other...

sigh

Gonna name my new band Life Before COVID I think...

am_Unition  ·  1329 days ago  ·  link  ·  

I cannot wait to jam with my bandmates. We formed a trio, a few months ago, riiiiight before this all hit, as I was setting up a music studio in the house I just bought. The three of us were three of the top four drumline drummers in high school, so I think we're gonna be pretty tight.

But for now, it's Zoom sessions in which we flesh out lyrics and I demo the software and some simple stuff I've composed, we talk gear, live performance logistics, etc., we're still very much able to work towards an album and set list. I'm really trying to make this a next-gen band. Can't wait for this shitty plague to fuck off.

bhrgunatha  ·  1330 days ago  ·  link  ·  

I feel the same about rhythm guitar. The league of anonymous session musicians that play with so many bands and singers in the studio or on stage - out of the limelight but like the bed of a truck transporting everything, making sure it's all solid and supported along the journey.