You might ask, what the hell is Wayne doing now? You’d be right to ask that, especially in light of the title of this post. There’s a reason I am referencing Walt Disney’s Mary Poppins song that may cause people to fail spelling if it were included on a test. Read on and I’ll explain everything.
Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious
You might know the song already, and there is also an entry at dictionary.com that says it is “a nonsensical word meaning fantastic”. I can agree with that, I don’t really have a choice though either. When would you ever get to reference such a word in a blog post? If you read the lyrics to the actual song from the movie, one might agree that it was quite clever to include such a long word in the movie. It created a hook, and sometimes that same concept can be used in blogging too.
Creating Hooks in Blogging
I have read many articles on how one should write a post. Most are filled with many ideas and approaches to writing blog posts and the importance of each varies by who you are reading.
Some of the ideas and approaches I’ve read are:
- Research and write informative posts. Meaning, study, research and then fill your post with as much detail about a central theme, idea or concept that can be done. Touch on all the angles, but leave the reader wanting to know a little more.
- Never give the entire story. Why not? You should give the reader something to look forward to. Giving away everything in one shot doesn’t give them much of a reason to return.
- Along the same lines as number two, never be the end all of knowledge and never put that into your posts. You might have the best post ever written, but if there isn’t any room for comments other than the ‘nice post!’ comment, you are leaving less for the reader to contribute. I believe people like to help, so leaving a little bit out allows others to hop in and fill out the blanks.
There is also a little psychology behind that. If a reader feels you left out an important aspect of the topic, I think they would be more inclined to add to the conversation by throwing it into a comment.
“Hey dope, you forgot about…” – well, perhaps not so harshly, but you get my drift.
- Tell your readers what’s coming. If they have an idea of what to expect, then they might be more likely to subscribe to your blog to hear what you post on later.
There are many reasons why you might create hooks in your posts, and they would all be perfectly valid, but do you intentionally create hooks in your writing? I think this is a very important aspect of blogging if you are looking to grow your community of users.
The Real Reason
The real reason for this post is to explain a little more about who I am and what I am into. Years ago I acquired a 5-string Ibanez Bass Guitar and have been meaning to learn how to play it, but just haven’t found the inspiration, nor the time. Ok, I could make the time, but I just wasn’t motivated.
I recently met up with a few co-workers, one who plays the recorder, and the other plays guitar. I happened upon them one day tooling around on their instruments (oh…don’t even go there…) and I poked my head in.
I told them that if they learned an Irish drinking song that I would lead the sing-song over a few pints (of course).
Well, that never happened, but what did happen was that I decided to offer up my lack of bass playing skills to help them sound atrocious. 
I have never focused on learning the bass, even though I wanted to, so here is my chance. I hopped on board.
I dusted off the bass, and began looking around the Internet for lessons, music tab, and ultimately found StudyBass.com. The site has well put together lessons, and I’m seeing big improvements in my abilities from the lessons on StudyBass.com. Perhaps I will get into more bass playing stuff in later posts.
Our get together’s for practice usually last about an hour and we practice a few easy songs. Some of the songs in our repertoire so far are:
- House of the Rising Sun – Animals – Easy to play this on bass…I like this one…makes me feel good about my playing abilities so far.
- Greenfields – The Brothers Four – Another easy song, but stretching my ears to really get the rhythm from the original song. Bass can be hard for me to hear sometimes.
- Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious – Yes, see, I told you I would explain the title. One of our other co-workers daughters plays the violin, so we invited her in so she can learn more about playing in a group and get some practice on the violin, which I’m sure her mother is proud of. So we added Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious and Chim-Chim Cherie into our “set list”. It’s a faster, more ‘jumpy’ sound, so once I get my fingers to do what I want them to do, it should be a fun song.
I’m still learning so much about the bass guitar, how to read music and translating that to the bass frets and strings. My finger work needs serious help, but I’m taking it slow and trying to ensure I don’t create any sloppy habits.
I practiced last night for about 90 minutes and my fingers are killing me now. My index finger is completely numb in the tip and it feels weird to type with it like that. But you know what?
It’s Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious, like, for sure!
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Firstly, thanks so much for brightening up my work day (yes I’m slacking off) with this singalong!
Secondly, if you’re looking to improve on bass I found learning Green Day songs to be some of the best to do, I mean they’re super eays, but they’re real fun to play along too.
says:
Green Day eh? Hmm..I was listening to an XM blues station and thinking that would be perfect. Blues are pretty easy too in most cases aren’t they? Might not as fun as Green Day, I understand why that might be.
Yeh I think Blues could be really interesting to learn on, and as bass plays such a central role to that kind of music, it might be easy to pick out the way it’s played etc…
says:
That’s what I was thinking too, and what friends have said. Nice and slow to start, work on your form and just build from there.
Now all I need to do is pick up the bass every now and then and actually practice! lol
says:
LOL this post made me laugh. Happy playing!
Oh… haha I did not realize he was a 5 string, I only have a four, but it does look like my bass.
Ibenez 5 string, that’s all I really know. I need to pull the bitch out of the case and start pulling her strings again. I get so frustrated with lack of coordination tho…no worries about the double-up.
Sorry for the double comment, I spelled my name wrong (bass) and I didn’t wont to look stupid, haha.
Whoa! I actually have that bass, that black one. Well if it is an Ibanez Gio I do. Pretty sweet for how much I paid for it.
i know few people who learned playing drums of their own and had never gone any tuition for it. so i am planning to learn guitar and if possible violin and keyboard.
Great to hear you are playing again, and thanks for the advice.
Bass Guitar Guy, thanks for the advice. I try to maintain my form and take things slow. Whereas my friend just says aw screw it, hop on in there…so I’m torn. I do break often though.
Cheers!
Great to see that you dusted your bass off and started playing again.
Next time your fingers start really hurting you should take a break for a while. You could injure yourself.
Ouch Dana! damn that put a picture in my head. My strings have high action as well, so I’m pressing down a bit harder than I should have to. My friend is going to lower it a bit and change out my strings…show me the ropes of that.
It’s been a while since I listened to Me & Bobby McGee, definitely a guitar song too. No one wants to hear me [i]try[/i] to sing that…trust me.
Me and Bobby McGee, lol.
I love to do that one. Starts slow and easy but about half-way in I always expect that little bit of Janis Joplin deep inside me to start rolling out. It never sounds quite right, but we can always dream can’t we.
Wayne, I’ve been playing the accoustic guitar for 30 years, amp and all! I learned by playing ME AND BOBBY McGEE. Why? Because the chord changes happen VERY slowly. One night when I was really diggin the groove, I tried to change from G to E and I couldn’t…………WHY? Well, the strings had sliced into my raw fingers and INSERTED themselves! I had to literally pull the strings OUT OF the dried blood on my fingertips.
But WOW did I ever develop callouses!!! BIG,THICK, NON FEMININE callouses!!!
@Pixelhead – That would be super! Let me know how I might return the favor!
@Rose – Then that is quite remarkable. I think it’s obvious that I too am still learning some aspects of blogging as I go here. I thought about looking that up, but really, when it comes down to it, I simply don’t have time to do all the research. I need to find that time though…
I believe it’s daily.
Do you want me to get you some directory links with “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious” as the title text?
Whoa! Slow down now, I have a bass, and I’m learning to play the bass….by no means should any construe that to mean I CAN play it.
Let’s just say I’m getting used to not finding the right key at the right moment.
Oddly, I can hear you say PHEEEENOMENAL!
That you used the word Supercalifragilisticexpialidouscious in a post title no less is impressive—–in fact to use MY favorite word—PHEEEEENOMENAL!!!. (AND OH GOODNESS, HE PLAYS BASS TOO??)
(AND THE CROWD GOES WILD CHEERING AND YELLING —MORE, MORE, WE WANT MORE!!!)
Gary,
http://threescoreplusten.blogspot.com/
@BakerWatson – Well, there’s something I didn’t know about you! My friend whom I purchased the bass from said something that I call wisdom. A musical instrument, even when just playing around and not taking it seriously will provide enjoyment for the rest of your life. You may put it down from time to time, but it is always there to pick back up and play with. No matter how good or bad you are.
I’m always trying to improve my posts as well as fight the eagerness to post too quickly. I find it hard to be critical of my own stuff, especially since I am never satisfied with my own output. Sure, I reach a happy point where I think I’m done, but there is always more right?
@Rose – I think you just did challenge people. I could have tried to ‘hook’ people into that, and perhaps I should not have posted so quickly (see BakerWatson response…lol). 243 times you say, for what timeframe was that? The month, year? Either way I find that quite remarkable.
I also have a secret desire to rank #1 on search engines on the use of that word….mwahahahaha.
(not really)
@Karen – Nice! yeah, it is a bit weird…makes typing ‘feel’ a bit different…especially the F key column, but I’m getting used to it. Just can’t wait for proper callouses to get here…
I’ve eaten so much today that i will be supercalifragilisticexpialidociously fat if I don’t sew my mouth shut. There I used it in a sentence! I bet the finger thing is weird, wouldn’t like that.
Thanks for the advice Wayne. According to Wordtracker Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious has been searched for 243 times. That’s a good reason as any to use it is a blog post. You should challenge your readership to find a way to use it.
Um diddle diddle diddle um diddle ay
Um diddle diddle diddle um diddle ay
Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!
Great suggestions on the ‘hooks’, Wayne. I find myself using some of those to varying degrees.
I think posts should be about ‘engaging’ the reader. It’s always good to take a list such as the one in you provide and do a little critical analysis of one’s own posts. There is always room for improvement.
And about the bass and playing with the group. Kudos. Like you I have several instruments that I have acquired over the years but never had the time/motivation to learn to play. I also have a bass (4-string, not 5). Add to that several guitars (electric and acoustic), a banjo, an autoharp, a cool flute, and a few others. The only one I’m even moderately proficient at is the guitar.
And I can sympathize with the sore fingers. Like, for sure.