I Got Rhythm – PorchBoard Floor Bass

Over the weekend I played a solo gig and managed to do it without my Tablet PC. One of the reasons that show did not fall apart was because I had my new partner – my PorchBoard Floor Bass. Whenever I struggled to remember the lyrics, or just wanted to take a little break from singing, I let the PorchBoard hold down the rhythm and I went a free-form with the Guitar or indulged some story-telling or vocal scatting. Even spritzing with the audience can be more fun with some background pickin’ and what feels like a moving bass line.

It has taken a long time to get to this place, but adding the PorchBoard to the show has been easier than I expected. I didn’t take to it as readily as most people. By all reports, if you naturally tap your foot as you play then you can play a PorchBoard. I’m not one of those natural toe-tappers so it took me a bit longer.  But if I hadn’t given it a few days, I would never have figured out that it was possible at all.

More info:

• PorchBoard.com
• PorchBoard Floor Bass in the Bose Encyclopedia FAQ and wiki

How I got here

I have been aware of the PorchBoard for several years but dismissed it as "not for me" because I didn’t think it would work for me. Perhaps more to the point – I didn’t think I could make it work.

Two Left Feet

One of the reasons that I have always sought the company of others on stage was the challenge I have with rhythm. For whatever the reason I’ve been with blessed with two left feet, and neither of them can keep a beat. Now let me play against a strong rhythm section and I’ll do fine, but ask me to be that rhythm section and I start to wander. Whatever internal sense of meter I might have always ends up syncopated by the time it hits my extremities.

When I first heard about the PorchBoard Floor Bass I dismissed it because I just knew that I would not be able to make it work.

About eighteen months ago I got a chance to hear one at the 2006 Fall East Coast L1® Musicians Conference. I liked the sound but found it distracting when it was being played by someone other than the main performer. When there was even the slightest disconnect between the main performer and the stand-in foot stomper the rhythmic dissonance threw me off.

I didn’t really have much time to try it personally. I came away from that experience unconvinced that this was something that I could use. But I wasn’t playing solo gigs yet so I didn’t really perceive a personal need.

Roll Yer Own

Last year, as I pondered playing solo shows I remembered hearing the PorchBoard. I rigged up a home-brew version using an AKG C411 I had lying around here. I stuck it to a piece of plywood. I had to prop this up at one end in order to get a decent sound, and then had to EQ it so that there was nothing above 100 Hz in order to make it sound sort of passable. This was pretty awkward, required phantom power, wandered around as I tapped on it, and didn’t sound all that great. I didn’t give this much of a chance because it was just too cumbersome to set up and very distracting. Distracting? Well trying to hit it consistently was tough. It moved around too much just from the action of my foot.

What Changed

I had a nice conversation with Nadene Isakson at PorchBoard a couple of months ago. She told me about a music teacher who had had great success helping a student with rhythm issues by using a PorchBoard. That music teacher said that it had taken about only three days’ practice to help that student. Hearing this, I figured it was worth a shot.

The Metronome

While waiting for the PorchBoard to arrive I practiced tapping my foot with a metronome. I had tried this a couple of times over the years but not getting decent results I had just abandoned it. I wasn’t doing very well this time around either. I did make the effort to use just metronome and tap my foot (no other instruments). Man that was boring.

Thump

When I got the PorchBoard, I decided to give this at least several days’ practice and by the third day I was feeling pretty good about the results. There is definitely something different about hearing and feeling the resounding thump you get from the PorchBoard. This is so much more visceral than just tapping your foot.

I now rehearse with the PorchBoard and actually enjoy it. I have become much more aware of my rhythm and feel much more confident about it. I still have a long way to go as I work it into my arrangements, but that part is going well and it is fun.

I have been playing the PorchBoard at my solo gigs. It has been great to notice people in the audience nodding, clapping and tapping their feet right along with me. I cannot imagine playing alone, without it.

 

Join the discussion: Going it alone – Observations

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