OT-ish: There is hope for the future :)

[k_50]

The older I get, the more often I hear people around my age talking about how kids these days don't appreciate real music played by real musicians, the art of the craft, physical media etc. (ie. "rabble rabble ... Get off my lawn!"). So when I find evidence to the contrary I like to highlight it.
Take for example my niece, who turned twelve a couple of months ago - She's been stealing her mum's concert tees for a few years now; She is starting her own collection of vinyl albums; And she has recently started taking bass lessons. Also she uses various social media to find new, good music, some of which her middle-aged uncle even likes (such as Billie Eilish).
The below picture is her tuning my bass, which she's borrowing until my sister gives her one as a Christmas present. I asked her if she wanted to do it the easy way (with a tuner) or the proper way (by ear), and she promptly answered "the proper way". So I tuned the E string up, showed her the 5th. fret, and she got the rest into "good enough for jazz" territory quite quickly.
Her teacher's approach is to learn through playing songs that she likes, which is the same way I learned to play drums and bass at the same age. And the next one she'll be working on is Rocket Queen. So I'll try to get my bandmates to play it so she can sit in at one of our rehearsals and get a feel of playing live.



*The image above is posted with full consent from the developing being, and its originator, for the purpose of showing old farts that kids these days shouldn't necessarily get off their lawns .

 

[Hop]

You should have her check out a youngster on YT that goes by ' EllenPlaysBass ', I think your niece may find her inspiring.

 

[Vistalite Black]

My son -- a chip off the Ol' Vistalite Block -- has played bass and guitar in bands since he was in ninth grade.

His friends (born mostly in '98) love to perform and listen to mostly rock music -- ranging from Weezer to Modest Mouse, Royal Blood, as well as Beatles, Elton John and etc. A few of his friends are also in more intense metal bands.

Check out the new all-female band, Plush. I think they're all under 21 and they rock the old-fashioned way, paying guitar, bass and drums. Plush - Hate - YouTube

 

[Vistalite Black]

My son -- a chip off the Ol' Vistalite Block -- has played bass and guitar in bands since he was in ninth grade.

His friends (born mostly in '98) love to perform and listen to mostly rock music -- ranging from Weezer to Modest Mouse, Royal Blood, as well as Beatles, Elton John and etc. A few of his friends are also in more intense metal bands.

Check out the new all-female band, Plush. I think they're all under 21 and they rock the old-fashioned way, paying guitar, bass and drums. Plush - Hate - YouTube

 

[Houndog]

@JimmySticks , see there ; they don’t all whine and cry .

 

[k_50]

You should have her check out a youngster on YT that goes by ' EllenPlaysBass ', I think your niece may find her inspiring.

Wow, That's some kind of wunderkind! But after watching a few videos, it looks a bit too much like a dad pacing/profiting from his (super talented) kid for my liking.
I'll rather turn her attention to her namesake, and fellow Dane, Ida Nielsen, who's a karate bass beast:

 

[Hop]

... karate bass beast:

HA! Karate bass beast. That description made me instantly think of Paul Rudd -->

 

[DamnSingerAlsoDrums]

I can relate... My 13 y/old daughter has been learning bass for a little over a year. She's having a little band with her two twin cousins, has a little vynil collection, listens to all sorts of Indie, pop, rock and /or vintage music and wears my (or her mom's) old band tees as well...

She semi-regularly accompanies me on tour when we play close to home. She likes to help the band setup the gear and sometimes will grab our bass player's Mustang bass to jam a few simple tune she knows (Come as you are, Another one bites the dust, or Ain't no sunshine...)

She's one cool kid, this one and I'm proud of the person she is becomming.

 

[Tornado]

Awesome guys. Last year I posted a song my then 12 yo daughter wrote and recorded. I played drums on and "engineered" the recording. It was a lot of fun, and we both learned a lot. She's becoming quite the musician.

 

[amosguy]

Young kids nowadays.

Get Off My Lawn. . .

Unless you are pushing my lawn mower. . .

to earn money for music lessons for instance.

 

[Matched Gripper]

The older I get, the more often I hear people around my age talking about how kids these days don't appreciate real music played by real musicians, the art of the craft, physical media etc. (ie. "rabble rabble ... Get off my lawn!"). So when I find evidence to the contrary I like to highlight it.
Take for example my niece, who turned twelve a couple of months ago - She's been stealing her mum's concert tees for a few years now; She is starting her own collection of vinyl albums; And she has recently started taking bass lessons. Also she uses various social media to find new, good music, some of which her middle-aged uncle even likes (such as Billie Eilish).
The below picture is her tuning my bass, which she's borrowing until my sister gives her one as a Christmas present. I asked her if she wanted to do it the easy way (with a tuner) or the proper way (by ear), and she promptly answered "the proper way". So I tuned the E string up, showed her the 5th. fret, and she got the rest into "good enough for jazz" territory quite quickly.
Her teacher's approach is to learn through playing songs that she likes, which is the same way I learned to play drums and bass at the same age. And the next one she'll be working on is Rocket Queen. So I'll try to get my bandmates to play it so she can sit in at one of our rehearsals and get a feel of playing live.



*The image above is posted with full consent from the developing being, and its originator, for the purpose of showing old farts that kids these days shouldn't necessarily get off their lawns .

That’s wonderful! But, the trend has long gone in the opposite direction. It irks me that 150,000+ teenagers can gather for a weekend listening to DJ’s, with no musical training, play recordings of electronic noise involving no musical instruments, so loud that it can be heard for miles around, and it is called a music festival.

 

[JazzDrumGuy]

I like this Irish band - they rock! Where were these bands when I was in high school??? I have my 13 y.o. boy sit down to learn and be inspired by them....he plays guitar, piano and trumpet...so far! They do some killer covers of Cream, Zep, etc. The bassist and drummer are sisters, and the guitarist and bassist trade off instruments and singing....it's pretty amazing.

 

[bob e michael]

I like this Irish band - they rock! Where were these bands when I was in high school??? I have my 13 y.o. boy sit down to learn and be inspired by them....he plays guitar, piano and trumpet...so far! They do some killer covers of Cream, Zep, etc. The bassist and drummer are sisters, and the guitarist and bassist trade off instruments and singing....it's pretty amazing.

they're from my moms home town .... i really like these gals too

 

[dyland]

Maybe I'm spoiled because of my teaching gig but, man, kid musicians are everywhere. They're into great music, new and old, make use of the vast resources available to them, and more often than not they're GOOD. I have so many students who are lightyears beyond where my friends and I were at their age. 5 of them just went to see Steely Dan.

It's all good.

 

[Whitten]

The Arts goes in cycles. What is currently popular will be seen as awful by the next generation.
So I expect people to eventually tire of machine perfect music and seek out music with humanity.
Evolution has been slowed however by the impact of piracy and streaming, leading to a fear of stepping out of the norm, and many talented creative people switching careers to where the money is (internet, IT, games, film making etc).
We're hurtling to a two year Covid anniversary and for those two years live performance has been a rare commodity in the UK and Europe.
There are many super skilled and talented young musicians though

 

[k_50]

I'm more than a little jealous right now!
My sister tasked me with finding a bass for the kid's christmas present. And I got a nice deal on this near mint Squier VM Jazz Bass - The protective film was still on the pick guard, and there were just a few scuffs in the finish from it hanging on a wall. Quality-wise it's much better than the Squiers I remember from when I was just starting out at the same age! It only needed a quick adjustment of the intonation, and the neck has just about the perfect profile (and I don't usually like JB necks).




Her dad got her an amp, and I'll get her a nice bag when DHL gets it delivered




She's very conscious of her online presence. So I don't have permission to post the big smiley face pic I took. But I am allowed to post this one:




She's a spoiled kid in that she gets pretty much whatever she wants. But she doesn't take it for granted, and is always very appreciative when it's something she's wished for (like last year when her mum got her a TV, and it was my framed Stranger Things poster that got the biggest woohoo).

 

[EvEnStEvEn]

My son -- a chip off the Ol' Vistalite Block -- has played bass and guitar in bands since he was in ninth grade.

Ninth grade son?
Wow!
From the stuff you post here I figured YOU were about that age.

 

[swarfrat]

The older I get the more amazed I am at kids who like our music.

 

[JazzAcolyte]

The older I get the more amazed I am at kids who like our music.

*sigh* Anything I’m listening to regardless of era or genre is immediately categorized as “Mom’s jazz” and is an object of derision.

 

[JimmyM]

As a career bassist, I approve of this thread 1000%!