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She's been playing ukulele for three years but grew tired of it this past spring and declined to take uke lessons this fall. I asked if she wanted to try guitar or drums or anything else, for that matter, but she said no. Although, she still wanted to take part in "Worship Band" put on by one of her former music teachers where she gets several kids, varying in age, together a couple times a month to sing and play music and also arranges performances at local churches and seniors homes throughout the year.
Last night was my daughter's first Worship Band practice and when I dropped her off her teacher commented on her not wanting to play the uke anymore and then gave me a wink and said she'd have a little chat with her. When I went to pickup my daughter after practice she was sitting there with a guitar in her lap (yay!) and she said she had a proposal for me. Hmmm. She said she might be interested in trying guitar but what she really wanted to try was bass. Definitely caught me by surprise.
Anyway, while I have a few guitars that I'm more than willing to share with my little one, I don't have any basses nor do I know anything about them. So, I spent most of last evening trying to figure out how to go about getting gear for her to use and came to the realization bass and guitar are virtually the same beast in that you get what you pay for and going used is going to get you the best bang for your buck so long as you know what to look for.
Here come the questions...she's 10, so a full-sized bass is going to be big on her, I know that. I know there are short-scale and 3/4 versions out there. One argument I've read regarding the smaller versions is that switching to a full-sized bass would be more difficult because you'd have to retrain your muscle memory to accommodate for the longer scale and that does have some merit in my mind. So, do I insist on trying to go with a full-sized bass now or go the smaller route as a starter?
I do have a few friends/family who play bass so I'll be querying to see if any of them have a loaner available but I suspect they won't. So, I've been scouring Kijiji looking for suitable gear but I'm also considering checking out renting for a month or two. Thoughts on buying something used versus renting?
Now everybody's favorite question...what is the best "beginner" rig I should look for (full, short and/or 3/4 scales) and how much should I be looking to spend? It would primarily be for practice at home. Performances at the churches have PAs or else the amp would be mic'd up...at least that's what they did last year for one girl who played guitar, so she wouldn't need a big gig worthy amp at this point. The seniors homes are very small rooms so, again, a practice amp would be just fine for those gigs as well.
In the meantime, I'm going to stop in at one of the local music stores/schools with her today after school to see if they have any basses she can sit down with to see how they feel. I don't expect the selection to be great as it's a very small store but hopefully they have a few and I can get a better idea on which direction to go.
Thanks for reading and let me know if I can provide anymore info to help you, help me.
Last night was my daughter's first Worship Band practice and when I dropped her off her teacher commented on her not wanting to play the uke anymore and then gave me a wink and said she'd have a little chat with her. When I went to pickup my daughter after practice she was sitting there with a guitar in her lap (yay!) and she said she had a proposal for me. Hmmm. She said she might be interested in trying guitar but what she really wanted to try was bass. Definitely caught me by surprise.
Anyway, while I have a few guitars that I'm more than willing to share with my little one, I don't have any basses nor do I know anything about them. So, I spent most of last evening trying to figure out how to go about getting gear for her to use and came to the realization bass and guitar are virtually the same beast in that you get what you pay for and going used is going to get you the best bang for your buck so long as you know what to look for.
Here come the questions...she's 10, so a full-sized bass is going to be big on her, I know that. I know there are short-scale and 3/4 versions out there. One argument I've read regarding the smaller versions is that switching to a full-sized bass would be more difficult because you'd have to retrain your muscle memory to accommodate for the longer scale and that does have some merit in my mind. So, do I insist on trying to go with a full-sized bass now or go the smaller route as a starter?
I do have a few friends/family who play bass so I'll be querying to see if any of them have a loaner available but I suspect they won't. So, I've been scouring Kijiji looking for suitable gear but I'm also considering checking out renting for a month or two. Thoughts on buying something used versus renting?
Now everybody's favorite question...what is the best "beginner" rig I should look for (full, short and/or 3/4 scales) and how much should I be looking to spend? It would primarily be for practice at home. Performances at the churches have PAs or else the amp would be mic'd up...at least that's what they did last year for one girl who played guitar, so she wouldn't need a big gig worthy amp at this point. The seniors homes are very small rooms so, again, a practice amp would be just fine for those gigs as well.
In the meantime, I'm going to stop in at one of the local music stores/schools with her today after school to see if they have any basses she can sit down with to see how they feel. I don't expect the selection to be great as it's a very small store but hopefully they have a few and I can get a better idea on which direction to go.
Thanks for reading and let me know if I can provide anymore info to help you, help me.