I'm 56 and have been playing for 41 years. Mostly in differing styles to back up my own vocals. When I took flatpick lessons ( Mark Rounds/San Diego), I really got into solid rhythym bluegrass back-up. I really liked doing it and got pretty good at following most anything.

Just watch their fingers.

Learned quite a few bluegrass leads, but would always pass in jam sessions as there was always plenty of hot pickers and not enough solid rhythym back up guitars. Unless you were in one of those 3:00 AM, under a street light,guitar orchestras. Then nobody could hear you, and it was probably time to crawl in the tent anyway.

About 1½ years ago our church band really needed a bass,so I put the guitars down and started learning bass guitar on my own,on the fly.We tend to do some songs that a band member brings into practice at 9:00AM and we're playing them at 11:00. Playing rhytyhm for so many years,I feel, has given me a ear and balnce that allows me to fin what I need to do on bass.

I'm finally learning the fingerboard.And it is really easy on my hands. Incipient atrhritis and carpal tunnel syndrome.When I pick up my 6 or 12 string now, the neck is too short and the strings too close together.

One of these days I may actually learn to do leads on the guitar as I am learning the steps on the bass.

One major question.

What the hell do you do with that little pinkie that just waves around in the air until it is time to use it when playing scales.I've thought about a finger puppet but it couldn't be too elaborate as it might cause string noise or worse when it does come time for the pinkie to fret a note.

rr