I may as well introduce myself.
I did not realise until I started playing at around age fourteen that I long had gravitated towards the bass parts of songs. The Faith No More song From Out Of Nowhere exemplifies this. I was not hearing the rapid twiddling roar of the guitar, but rather the noodling, grooving bass part. Unfortunately, I have never really had that much foundational learning, so getting my head around understanding which note is which on recordings and so on is challenging. I prefer to just know which string and fret to play, along with when.
I should learn to play along with a metronome. I keeping saying I should or want to do a lot of things.
I find learning songs that I have enjoyed for years to be quite enjoyable. Especially when I can play along with the record and mostly keep in time. Playing along with others is also nice when the others do not expect anything from me. Being terrible together is nicer than being tense and nervous for no real reward.
I truly believe that music, visual art, or writing (which I am much better at than the other two) are ways of making the worst of life easier to bear. Everyone should give it a try. I do wish that people were able to recognise the difference between good enough to play well for your family/friends, and good enough to play in front of a hundred people who do not know you from a bar of soap. But that is a soapbox for another day.
Anyway… enough of my gasbagging. I said before, this is a wonderful service you provide here for bassists. Say it again and you say it twice, as the song goes.
