Entry #3 - IN MY EXPERIENCE:
Switching to Bass
So let's review. Last time we chatted, I shared my experience learning how to play guitar and what brought that about that decision. But my musical journey of appreciating music and learning my stringed instrument of choice took a detour at one point: a detour into a realm of low rumbles, thudding undertones, and popping licks.
The Realm of Bass Guitar.
Excalibur, my ESP F-104
When I first began to fiddle with the bass, it was partly out of necessity. My church in New Hampshire needed a sub for bass. I, the only other guitarist at the church, decided to try applying a method of guitar playing in order to learn how the instrument functioned. There's many methods to learn to learn stringed instruments like banjos, basses, guitars, and mandolins. My preferred method is tablature, utilizing numbers and lines. Maybe next time, I'll educate you on how it works.
I remember picking up this no-name bass with only one knob (master volume) and plugging into a massive bass amp. Finagling on the thick strings, I remember the sensation of lows that accented the music perfectly.The strings rumbled and I was enamored.
the headstock of my custom rebuilt P bass, Charlotte
After moving from New Hampshire to the DC area, I had put music down almost altogether. I was a senior in high school with not a lot of time on my hands due to working for Old Navy at night. I had graduated and received my beloved ESP EC-1000 Deluxe I named Prudence. Such a beautiful guitar, and I highly recommend all EC models from ESP. It was the push that got me back into music, but not really far in.
A new music pastor came to my church, and when he found out I played guitar some, immediately began cultivating the skills in me by teaching me some music theory - something I had previously failed twice in high school. Oh, the irony - a musician that doesn't read sheet music nor understand all the sciences of music theory! To this day, I'm still learning my scales and all that pertains to music theory. We studied scales and really got it going some, but I was still hesitating getting reacquainted with music. Then one day I picked up the church's five-string Stagg bass to try playing along with one of the girls in our youth group as she played guitar. And the adventure continued on. I went out, bought Excalibur and began playing my own bass for services again! About a year later, Charlotte was built, and Lanza Guitars, which was an idea I had started as a Senior, was reincarnated as Chamberlain Guitars and my dreams and goals I had in music were ignited once more.
showcasing Charlotte for the first time in service!
Now I play bass almost as often as I play guitar for my church's band. I love to play, and since my initial training was in rock and blues, I have a very different playing style than the church's lead bassist, who plays with a more jazz and funk vibe. And honestly, anyone who plays guitar could play bass, they just would have to get used to a much thicker gauge than they're used to. And it's a lot of fun, since you are the undertone of the band that floats between strings and percussion.
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I'll see ya next time!
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