Late learner from Nebraska (US)
I’m planning to learn bass on an old Engelhardt I rescued from a dump box—As soon as I get it put back together & set up. I’ve played music (rock, blues, folk, bluegrass) for nearly forty years—guitar, lap steel, & dobro. Most recently I’ve been playing bluegrass, but I like all sorts of roots music. Music keeps me sane after my day job as a teacher and writer. Heroes include John Clare, the peasant poet of Helpstone (England), who also transcribed a bunch of fiddle tunes from the early 1800’s, and Willie Dixon who only needed his bass and voice to deliver a song. It’s in characters like these that the true genius lives.
I ‘m joining this site to learn, and because it makes me feel great to be somehow connected to some of the great musicians who also belong. I have a question to start:
How soon can I learn slapping? Should I incorporate it in my learning from the beginning or wait until I learn my way around the fingerboard & have intonation pretty well nailed? I have some basic theory (chords, scales, modes, etc) and practice on other instruments, but I know that shortcuts sometimes lead to bad habits that are hard to break. (I’m full of bad guitar habits.) On the other hand, one reason I want to learn slap bass is that I think it will help me improve my timing, and practicing the various slap techniques keeps that at the forefront.
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