2018 Top Ten Part 1
For many years I've written a top ten album list. As fun as it is to review the year's music the exercise is fairly pointless and quite narcissistic. So, this year, I've gone for a top ten list in a much more general sense but with a full quota of narcissism. There's still a lot of music though.
In no particular order, here are some highlights from 2018.
Part 1.
While I wanted to improve at playing the oud and touch guitar, chess, photography, line dancing* and cooking, this was the year I decided to put less effort in to those things and more into bass playing. As you'll know if you've read many of these posts, I love playing the bass but I've not progressed in the way I'd like. i.e. at all. But how to do it. Well...
My pal, Phil and I went to the London Bass Guitar Show at the beginning of the year. Both keen bassists, it made sense for us to go alone, aside from my daughter and two of his sons. I swore I wouldn't buy a new instrument but got tempted by a five string, fretted bass that was beautiful but didn't sound as good as it looked. More importantly, Phil convinced me to go to some of the workshops run my Scotts Bass Lessons. I got to see and hear Henrik Linder on his amazing 6 string bass and the wonderful Gary Willis.
After the show, on Phil suggestion, I tried out the trial membership of Scotts Bass Lessons and soon realised the was what I needed to improve. Not just a huge resource of video bass lessons, the site contained thoughtful explorations of what and how to practise. It made a massive difference to me. Best of all, while looking at the videos of the people I'd missed at the Bass Guitar Show workshops, I saw Rich Brown. He is a bassist form Toronto, and watching him play his 6 string bass made me feel I could achieve a lot of what I wanted to do musically, with that instrument. Quite a lot of buying a selling later I ended up with a fanned fretted 6 string bass that allows me to do all the bass player things I'm used to (holding down the bottom end, defining the chords, looking amazingly cool) but a lot more besides.
In no particular order, here are some highlights from 2018.
Part 1.
While I wanted to improve at playing the oud and touch guitar, chess, photography, line dancing* and cooking, this was the year I decided to put less effort in to those things and more into bass playing. As you'll know if you've read many of these posts, I love playing the bass but I've not progressed in the way I'd like. i.e. at all. But how to do it. Well...
My pal, Phil and I went to the London Bass Guitar Show at the beginning of the year. Both keen bassists, it made sense for us to go alone, aside from my daughter and two of his sons. I swore I wouldn't buy a new instrument but got tempted by a five string, fretted bass that was beautiful but didn't sound as good as it looked. More importantly, Phil convinced me to go to some of the workshops run my Scotts Bass Lessons. I got to see and hear Henrik Linder on his amazing 6 string bass and the wonderful Gary Willis.
After the show, on Phil suggestion, I tried out the trial membership of Scotts Bass Lessons and soon realised the was what I needed to improve. Not just a huge resource of video bass lessons, the site contained thoughtful explorations of what and how to practise. It made a massive difference to me. Best of all, while looking at the videos of the people I'd missed at the Bass Guitar Show workshops, I saw Rich Brown. He is a bassist form Toronto, and watching him play his 6 string bass made me feel I could achieve a lot of what I wanted to do musically, with that instrument. Quite a lot of buying a selling later I ended up with a fanned fretted 6 string bass that allows me to do all the bass player things I'm used to (holding down the bottom end, defining the chords, looking amazingly cool) but a lot more besides.
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