Music to me has always been a great escape when I need a time off from anything stressful. Whether it is just listening to it on a pair of earphones or actually playing in a band. My musical journey of playing bass started quite late since I was always mainly involved in sports and I had dedicated all my time and efforts towards being a full time athlete. I picked up the guitar initially because it was just lying in my room from a cousin who had left it behind before he left to the US but then there was also a book that my dad had bought which was for beginners to learn how to play the guitar. I always used to lock myself away in a room and try to pick up my first three chords D,G and A. At first it sounded like duck trying to quack but eventually my fingers slowly started getting used to those shapes and eventually the tones created by those three chords really made me excited and wanting to learn more immediately. So every day I would lock myself in the room and try to practice those chords and eventually I could play a song. This initial bursts of excitement and motivation got me to start playing the guitar and starting playing at church, which really surprised my parents because they had no clue I could play an instrument.
My love for the bass guitar always was with my even before learning to play any instrument. I was so fascinated with those low sounds it produced and was always inclined to picking that instrument at some point. I only picked up playing the bass during the end of my bachelors studies and only played occasionally since I still had sports take more time than music in my life. It was only when I joined a church where they had some really experienced musicians and musicians who pursued music as a career, is when I showed a lot of interest to learn more since there were some amazing teachers and some role models I could only dream of playing next to because I used to see them perform during our college fests and they were also really popular back in the days. So this was my motivation to pick up the bass and really dig into it to learn about the instrument and learn from the masters themselves. I was so happy to have this guidance and coaching under them that made me a much better and focused musician. I got to start playing for various other bands in the cities and in the country and this was pretty much a dream come true where my skill in music is taking me places. Although I knew it was just the beginning of a journey I always wanted to find ways to improve my skills by taking up challenges that pushed me to get better and better. There are, of course, struggles that you face being a musician in the country and the city with payments and venues totally using your skills for “experience” but I think I have been able to benefit in terms of building stage experience which has definitely made me more and more confident as the years have gone by. There were a lot of people I looked up to, who are quite well know globally and are also phenomenal bass players like Victor Wooten, Marcus Miller, Justin Reins etc… who I now can understand better as I get better and better with what they do on the bass and how they break songs up, how they approach their skill building and stuff. So it is quite exciting for me to see that I am able to slowly but surely improve every day and my sole aim is always approach this instrument as something I can learn on a constant basis. The bass has taught me a lot of patience, persistence and discipline because it is only when you put in the effort that you are able to see the results and it’s also evident that people around you also notice that you have been putting the effort. I want to encourage anyone who is picking up and instrument that it is not something you learn overnight or over a couple of months and get done with, it is a lifelong learning experience that only challenges you more and more and if you are someone who loves challenges you are in for a treat because the outcomes are amazing.