Hi, I'm Jenny. When my husband and I were at Riot Fest in Chicago this September I started to really pay attention to the bass guitar players in the bands we were enjoying. The deep sounds, how some songs you hear that bass line and know what's coming next.
If you had told me the week before Riot Fest that I'd have an interest in playing a guitar I wouldn't have believed you. I grew up playing tenor saxophone in symphonic and marching band. I only really remember scales. I've never been able to play by ear, so I'm never sure what to do with it when I do pull it out. Electric bass seemed like a good fit because I love how those low notes feel on the saxophone and I miss that. And there's only 4 strings to try to work to make my fingers learn how to move in a totally new way.
So, on one of our date day walks to Old Town for lunch we decided to go to Elderly Instruments and see how a bass felt. I had no clue what I was doing, but it felt good. I had started peeking at bass guitars on FB marketplace and I thought I'd want one in a fun color or design. To my surprise I kept going back to a mahogany Ibanez. When I thought I should shop around and that it was impulsive to get the first guitar I played, I had a serious emotional reaction well up within me, I couldn't leave it at the store. So I walked home with it in a gig bag on my back. (Thank you Benji at Elderly Instruments for your help!)
Bryan had been adding to his guitar collection last year and the beginning of this year so as I was making my final decision at Elderly he said excitedly "we're going to have a bass guitar in the house!" The giant amp that's been in storage wasn't doing great when I plugged into it (he's be practicing using a computer hookup on Rocksmith) so a wee practice Orange amp was ordered, then another Orange, small but mightier was purchased off FB marketplace. I've been talking about cancelling some of our streaming services as we barely watch tv anymore and this new addition will definitely be taking place of that down time. It feels like a much better use of time.
My artwork has been feeling a lot like...work.
So, bass guitar, seems like it can be something low-pressure creative that's mine and not something I plan on doing anything with or for anyone else to see/hear. At first it felt silly, I'm 43, I don't need one more thing to do or any more hobbies, why bother? Because I seem to be living a lot longer than I expected, I have 30 years of beading under my belt, if I start now, who knows how good I can get in the next 10 years, jamming at home with my husband might be fun. I'm finding a lot of joy and fresh excitement in learning how to learn something totally new. Besides, it's still like a warp, right?
I've started learning with Bass Buzz on YouTube. Lesson #1 was a perfect start.
I was going to post this to my regular Fiber Art Blog but I decided to start a whole new one. I blog mostly for myself but figure if it's interesting to someone else, cool. This blog will keep track of the links that I'm using for learning, all in one spot so I can easily get back to links I've been using. Right now I'm getting 10-30 minutes a day, it feels a bit like trying to rub my tummy and pat my head at the same time. Baby steps.
