Ok, so I have been taking lessons on the upright bass for about 3 months now. This is not a lazy man's instrument. It is serious work to play this thing well.

I am playing mainly arco (with a bow), and if you think pressure plays an important role in the straight razor arena, you ain't seen nothing yet. Almost every aspect of the mechanics of this is like a spring being kept in equilibrium. Then there is the reading music part which I should have learned well years ago, but I am doing now.

So in general, I have never had my a$$ so thoroughly kicked by anything. The only thing I can say is that at least I haven't cut myself learning to play upright bass.

Having said all of this, this is an amazingly rewarding experience. The time just flies by during a practice session and I just love the instrument.

My 8 year old daughter is playing violin and my 12 year old daughter is playing cello. We all started together and out of the same method book series so I can help them. Unfortunately the method books we are using are not the best for upright bass, but hey, it's not all about me.

Anyhow, this is what has been keeping me fairly occupied recently.

Alembic

Oh yeah - one more thing - I bought my own upright bass - no more renting. It is a fully carved Romanian bass that is just fantastic. I actually had to take out a loan for how much these things cost. While I was at the store, they had a $300,000 upright bass made in Italy in the 1700's. Sheesh. I will post some pics of the new bass.