I was never a bassist from the day I started up my music career. I used to be a drummer who never had the thought of becoming a bassist in the music industry. But then, there was this time in my church when all of the church bassists weren't around, and it really had a way of affecting the music in church.
Because there's this part a bass guitar plays in music that can never be unrated all over the globe. So during those times, our lead guitarist was the one who was always playing them bass guitar if he's not on piano sometimes. And it wasn't like he comes around more oftenly. He was more like a celebrity musician. So he only shows up one's in a blue moon during that period.
So there was one time I was just busy playing around with the guitar, and then he came around and caught me touching around. And at that point, he assumed I knew how to play the bass guitar and had just been pretending all this while. And then, me, who doesn't even know a single thing about it, was busy laughing around and fleeting with the rest of the musicians.
Telling them how I have been playing the guitar for over a decade. Although they knew I was just joking and didn't know how to play it. But this other guy was still finding it really hard to believe I never knew anything about the guitar. So he then tricked me into sound-checking for him on this very day, and I did sound-check with a lot of guessing attached.
And that was how he left when the service was about to start and told the people around that I was going to cover up for him. And everyone was amazed about that. Even I myself was in a deep shock. And I literally said I wasn't going to play, and they all forced and threatened me with being suspended for a while if I don't play that day.
After the whole drag, I eventually later played that day. And in the middle of the service, the main bassist of the church walked in and was watching me play and didn't even bother to come up on stage to take his rightful place back. I was in the biggest shock of my life when I turned back and saw him watching me play with a big smile on his face. I wasn't even comfortable playing again at some point in time.
Y'all need to meet this man here. He's extremely skilled and talented musically. I did play the whole section that day with my little idea and a bit of touch touch 😂. I wasn't really happy because I literally had in mind that I was going to receive the highest mockery of my life that faithful day when I get down from stage.
But no, I got down from stage and started receiving a lot of whining from my co-musicians and bosses. I was just so speechless and was cold because, left to me, I literally just did nothing but embarrassed myself on stage. But then, at first, they never made it look that way. Instead, they encouraged me and even advised me to continue with that part. But that was really not what I wanted.
Because I really loved playing the drums so much, and I wasn't ready to trade that for any other instrument. But after lots of talking, I decided to start playing the bass guitar without improving in it. I was just doing it because I was told to do it.
THE BITTER TRUTH
All of a sudden, all of the hailing and hype for me just disappeared, and then I started receiving a whole lot of talking and scolding from my boss and from people that don't even know what music is all about. I was so pissed and also sad at the same time. Because switching up to another instrument was quite challenging and too tough for me to handle.
**I kept on receiving comments like, **"Guy, what are you playing? You think say na music you dey do like that abi? Omo...if anybody no tell you, me, I go tell you. Na rubbish you dey play, bro, no be music". I was really pained about all these comments and at some point wanted to even stop myself because it was way too hard for me to handle during that period.
Deep down in me, I was aware that everything they were all saying was nothing but the truth. But then, I was literally holding up to the past as an excuse. So I literally just decided to let go of the past, even though I still find it hard to let go even as I speak now. But then, I literally didn't have a choice but to let go at that point in time.
I then just sat myself down and told myself the truth too—that, bro, you're playing nothing but rubbish. Because it was more painful when even my own siblings were busy mocking me at home and saying things like, If you know you can't play it, just drop it and stop embarrassing yourself and your family too 😭😂. This made me cry. I'm not even going to lie about that.
I literally just got so pissed, and then I started pushing hard to improve myself by learning new things every day of my life. I went to the extreme end of rehearsing till my hand could no longer move again. Because it was always looking like they were always standing before me while rehearsing and telling me, bro, you're still playing rubbish.
I went harder than I will normally go. I kept rehearsing new things every day and, with time, started seeing lots of changes in my playing. The day I knew that I was better than I used to be was a Saturday. I played to the extent that my church papa came to meet me one-on-one and said, You have really improved o.
On this day, I was the happiest man on earth. I felt like I was on top of the world. I was really proud of myself. The hard work really did pay. At first, I found it offensive, but then, with time, I began to realize that they were only saying all of that for my good. The truth can be very bitter most times, but then, the good thing is, it never changes the fact of it being the truth.
IN SUMMARY
The truth will always be the truth. Regardless of it being bitter or not. The best way I got back to them was by working on myself. Not just to show them that I can do it, but then to also do it well. Because it is a good thing to give your best to whatever you find yourself doing. Because, as they say, anything you find yourself doing is worth doing well. Consistency is key to success. No matter the level of success you want to achieve or attain in life, consistency will always be the key to its success. You can achieve anything in life if you're determined and also ready to be consistent in whatever it might be. That's my belief, and trust me when I tell you that this has kept me going all the days of my life.
Thank you for taking the time to go through my content, and I hope it was worth it, and I also hope you've learned lots of lessons from the community's weekly prompt. This post is in response to the #hivenaija weekly contest, edition 59.
N:B~All Images Used Here On My Blog Belong To Me.
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