Deep to Deep
| Deep calls to deep at the sound of Thy waterfalls (Psalm 42:7) |
|
A gathering took place on Saturday 1 March at The Beacon Church (church website), running from 11am until 3pm. We had a record attendance of 18 bassists and far more on the agenda than we could really squeeze into the available time. We also had a 'Mini Deep to Deep' on Saturday 17 May, where four of us met to work on bass quartet arrangements for a number of worship songs.
After brief introductions we had a time of prayer, split into smaller groups (one for people who wanted to talk first then pray, and a couple for people who decided they'd rather pray first, then talk - we wanted to make sure we didn't forget the faith that binds us together more closely than the bass playing ever will, while allowing people to find an expression they felt comfortable with). I then gave a short bible study on 2 Timothy 1:7 (my church's motto text for the year), explaining how the promise not of timidity but of power, love and self control, could apply to our day together, our bass playing and the fullness of our lives.
Matthew Foote then led a section on working with the rest of the worship group - with the discussion that ensued we were suddenly already at lunchtime. After food (many people supporting the local chippy) and lots of informal talking (and trying out all the bits of bass gear that had caught our eye), we reconvened with Chris Sexton telling us about what he's learned about making recordings - he's managed to coax some very respectable sounds out of a four-track, tape-based recorder while still keeping his budget to a minimum. We finished with Benjamin Ellis, our host, taking us through a range of effects units (starting with the sound colouration that comes from the choice of amp and cabinet).
Many thanks to those three gentlemen for helping give some structure to the day, and to all who made the journey to join us.