It's been a while since my last post, but I haven't been sitting still... :) I've been very active practicing on my bass guitar the past few weeks because I'm taking a very special lesson. A while ago a call came by, on facebook, from David Pastorius. An amazing bass player and full cousin of Jaco Pastorius, the absolute bass god. Jaco is an influence on many contemporary bass players, for example Robert Truljio is a big Jaco fan. David is a bass player who actually masters all facets of the bass guitar to the extreme. He can slack insanely, finger style is phenomenal and he taps a bass as if it were a 'simple' guitar.
I've been following David on Facebook for a while, he often jams live there and tries to earn another cent by asking for a (non-binding) donation. Musicians all over the world have also been hit hard by corona, many performances that are canceled etc.
At one point I saw a message from David in which he offered (online) lessons. For beginners and advanced. Although I've been playing bass for a while I still consider myself a beginner compared to his level. I briefly discussed it with my wife and said that it would be really cool if I would take lessons with him. My wife said that I should do that, if I enjoy it and learn from it, that's perfect isn't it..
So I messaged David asking if I could take a few lessons with him and what options are available. All the more so because I live in the Netherlands and he lives in Florida and of course there is a time difference. He responded immediately that that was no problem and that he thought it would be great fun to teach me. So I discussed 4 lessons with him, to begin with. So last Saturday I had my first lesson and yesterday my second. After my first lesson I was so enthusiastic, I practiced the techniques he showed until bleeding, with success because I made rapid progress. So great to be involved with music and your instrument...
All week I sat with my bass guitar on my lap, just practicing the triplets and the slapping... And how cool is that when you see that things are getting better and better. David is a great guy, he teaches nice lessons and exactly what you want to learn, and more importantly he teaches you really well. He shows everything in detail and gives good tips. What I do find very funny is when he shows up and then goes "full speed"..... Then my eyes start to dizzy...
Next weekend we're going to ski for a wonderful week, and then back to work with lessons. It's like I'm rediscovering my bass for the first time, I'm having so much fun with it.
I'm already preparing my wife that I will probably get a bass, a 4 string Marcus Miller signature :) Just for slapping...
Have a nice evening everyone!!
Greeting,
Peter
