Feel the Bass

Bass guitars are an essential instrument for keeping rhythm and simple melody. While I myself have only played a bass guitar on occasion, I appreciate the bass guitarists that I have jammed with.

I think it is a good idea for a serious guitarist to at least play bass lines on the guitar. This helps the player to gain valuable timing skills. When I am trying to learn a song from ear, I usually try to identify the bass guitar. This helps to then find the correct key, beat, and melody. From there, I can then fill in with the proper chords and scales.

What I have noticed throughout the years, is that the bass guitarist is typically the unsung hero of the group. The picture of the bass player with the dark sunglasses, standing towards the back of the stage, calmly plucking his strings is the epitome of laid-back coolness. Of course, there are some obvious exceptions to that stereotype, but by and large, most bass guitarists seem to be the quiet, logical members of the band, if not a bit eccentric.

There have been times when I have been tempted to make the jump and play bass guitar in a band. But lo, I do not feel as if my personality type can fit into that of a bass guitarist. For now, I'll have to be satisfied with the click, thwack, beep, bop of other bass guitarists.

Acoustic Guitars

I've been playing the guitar for years now. My first guitar was a gift to me for my 10th birthday, it was a Harmony folk guitar. I learned some simple melodies and held onto that guitar for years, despite the fact I skipped most of my teens playing the guitar. When I was about 17 or 18 years old, I purchased an old Ibanez and then a brand new Washburn electric guitar. Along with the small gorilla amplifier, I was in business.

For the next few years I continued to play electric guitar as my primary instrument. My wife had a Takamine acoustic which I inherited, but the action was terrible on it. So we bought an acoustic guitar for myself. The Larrivee D-03. This is a beautiful instrument. Since picking up the Larrivee a few years ago, I have shifted from being a mostly electric player, to an acoustic player. I now have my heart and mind set on this certain Breedlove which I had the pleasure to test out a few months ago.

Anyway, the acoustic guitar is an important part of my life. What kind of acoustic guitars do you own and what are your dream guitars?

Quick Update

Wow, I really haven't posted here in a long time. Well, that will change. I am still into the guitar and playing. I plan on putting more lessons up and discussions on all things guitar.

I even wonder if I've moved beyond the CAGED method since starting this blog. Yes, there are certain aspects of CAGED that help, especially if one is familiar with the Circle of Fifths, but I think Modes are probably the best way to go for the serious guitar theorist.

While I will have the occasional lesson posted here, I think this site will be better served as a site that discusses guitars, hence: TalkGuitars. In fact, I may open this up as a community with multiple posters if it ever grows to that need.

I am solely using my acoustic guitar right now, though I do pick up my electric once in a while so I don't become too rusty.