Bucket Bass at London Hackspace

Tuesday night after teaching I wended my weary way to London Hackspace for their social night. I recently joined, since I always have a few more making-random-stuff projects than is good for me and not quite enough time and space to work on them; the idea is that if I can get there regularly enough, I might get on with some of them.

I was locking up my bicycle and saw someone else arrive with some sort of thing on a bicycle; at first glance I had no idea what it was and wondered if it was some sort of carrier. Inside it was explained: this was a bucket bass, strapped to a bicycle. It was duly unstrapped and assembled, and I had a few tries.

I don't really play any string instruments so it was hard going at first. Another London Hackspace sort had very carefully marked the neck of the instrument with lines to show where the semitones would be; that's okay, if you keep the neck tension absolutely constant, but I found it difficult to use this visual aid without losing my bearings. When I stopped trying to do things visually and just listened, I found it easier going. It's certainly an instrument that anyone with a good ear and strong hands could learn, though I think for now I shall resist the temptation to add another instrument to the list of things I feel guilty about not practising quite enough...