I may have mentioned that Norah is taking guitar lessons. Or not. But she is. I may also, then, not have mentioned that Max had decided to take up the guitar "with her". That is, he was going to try and practice along with the songs she was learning. He has.
He quickly became hooked. For Christmas, for example, he announced that he wanted a real (read: full-sized, since we had picked up a 3/4 sized one for Norah's use). Then my dad caught wind of that and said "Hey! I've got one of those kicking around the farm!" (he's got one of *everything* kicking around the farm - it's a wonder he's still married. But he cooks too... hmm... I'm getting something... nope. Gone.) He brought over a swanky looking cherry-red guitar (ahem) AXE c/w the receipt from Eaton's, 1971 ($129.99 I think). He also brought over an amp from about 1874. Did they make amps then? I don't know, but I think it has vacuum tubes in it. And the area around it is NOT any cleaner, I'll just say...
So anyway, they've been nagging me that I should be cool like them. I have maintained (OK, besides all the "lazy it's too hard" and "obsession preoccupied with blogging, and Facebook and Twitter" and something else... Uhhh... Oh yeah! job!" oops) that I have always been drawn to the bass-line and drum-beat of a song (and the back-up vocals too for some reason). He says that if I learned to play guitar, it would be easy to switch to the bass. I don't even know why we have these discussions, since guitar/bass is in a line right after tap-dancing and decoupage (to be fair, I'd probably actually enjoy tap-dancing, it's just not going to happen).
In this regard, here is our conversation on the way out to the in-laws (an hour away - we were listening to something by The Tragically Hip, I think. They have great bass-lines):
Me: "You see? The bass and the drums. They carry the song. They are the
heartbeat. The very lifeblood of the song."Him: "But the guitar IS the song. It's the brains and the presence."
Me: "NO no! That's just the fancy stuff. The make-up. Curly
hair!"Him: "Maybe. But it's what gets the song laid."
I'm sure he meant "played".
Posts
You make me miss my bass. :( Maybe now that my father and I are on a semi-speaking basis, I can finally pick it up from his place.
ReplyDeleteyeah, you and I know he meant 'laid'. I have one of those at home too.
You're right, he's wrong... mostly.
ReplyDeleteIf you're thinking of pulling out an instrument to lead a singalong at a campfire, it's probably not going to be a bass. That would just be weird. Also, proficiency on a bass is rarely going to impress anyone who isn't a musician (and fails to impress even some musicians).
On the other hand, if you want to carry the song, set the tempo, and really make it rock, bass is the thing. The guitar is usually just frilly decoration.. :-)
Leather Tuscadero played bass, as does Emm Gryner. How much cooler can you get?
I don't think he did mean "played". . .
ReplyDeleteWe're thinking of letting Juniper give guitar a whirl in the fall. Here's hoping she digs it, and that she really does mean "played" . . .