There are 12 seconds of Doreen Ketchens playing “When The Saints Go Marching In” that I’ve had on loop for the past 20 minutes.
I wasn’t planning to transcribe anything today. But here we are.
Her phrasing sounds like a bird chirping — light, natural, deceptively hard to play. The way she places her embellishments makes every line sing. I was lucky enough to catch her live in New Orleans once. Never heard anyone swing like that.
And it’s moments like this that keep pulling me back to my bass.
If you’ve been away from playing for a while, this article is about that pull — and how to use it to actually get back into it… and STAY with it.
(If you want the full picture first, start here: What Losing Your Music Feels Like)