OurTurn: Slapping the bass

Most teenagers hate Mondays. Not me. In fact, I look forward to them. It isn't just because my favorite TV show happens to be on. No, it's because every other Monday I go to CHAMPS. What happens is, I stay after school and work my tail off for an hour. Then, as my reward for all of my hard work, I get to learn how to play instruments with a few other peers. When we have a smaller group, we all go into the band room to play. It's nice and cozy in there. When we have too many people for the band room, we bring the equipment into the classroom. That way, everyone can get a chance to play without bumping into each other. In our jam sessions, we work as a team. If I don't understand something, someone who does will help me and vice versa. We learn how to stay in harmony so our music doesn't sound like a bunch of noise. Everyone there, including me, loves music and wants to succeed in creating good music.

The very first session I went to, we just fooled around and had an instrumental day. That's where we don't play songs, just random tunes. That day I learned some things on the guitar. It was okay, but the guitar wasn't really my thing. I just couldn't get the hang of it. Guitar proved to be too difficult to me. The next session I played bass. I definitely enjoyed bass more. It's easier for me and I can always fall into a groove. The songs I have played so far are "Dynamite," "Bleeding Love," "All-Star," "Kryptonite," and "Hot & Cold." Since we've played "Dynamite" the most, it's the only one I can do off the top of my head. By the end of the year I hope to be able to play all of those songs from memory.

I have several more goals I wish to complete through the jam sessions. First, I want to learn where everything is on a guitar and remember it. That way, I don't need someone telling me where they are every time I want to play. Learning some of my favorite riffs from rock songs like "Iron Man" or "Beverly Hills" would be really nice, too. The final result would be to eventually own my own bass guitar to create my own tunes and songs.