Bass
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Fernando Huergo, Professor
DEPARTMENT : Bass Department"I think Berklee is a great meeting place for people from all over the world. They have a chance to meet and play together, and often they'll be playing with the same people they knew at Berklee for the rest of their lives. When I go to Europe or South America or Asia, I meet former students, I meet colleagues. I just met two weeks ago in Germany a Korean bass player student of mine. I was in New York last week and I met a Spanish former student. I was in Beijing and I met an Argentinean former student. It's great, meeting and connecting with other musicians. You get to learn from so many different cultures and sources of music. Berklee's a very inspiring place."
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John Lockwood, Associate Professor
DEPARTMENT : Bass Department"I basically learned on the bandstand. I got called for these gigs that I shouldn't have taken, I suppose, looking back. People just proceeded to shout and scream at me, and that's how I learned. Piecing things together. So when I teach it's the same thing. A student walks in, I teach them the tune, and—bang—we're off. It's pretty much playing all the time. Once we get into it there's sheets and things like that, but it's mainly playing and then talking about concepts. To me, it's the best kind of learning. You learn fast."
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Lincoln Goines, Associate Professor
DEPARTMENT : Bass Department"Some of the things I like to tell students I've learned: The bass is first and foremost the heartbeat of the ensemble. Playing the bass is only a part of being a good bassist. Showing up and working hard are the foundational keys to success as a music pro. In addition to helping students bring all aspects of their playing to the highest level it can be, I focus on sound, accuracy, vocabulary, and developing the critical ear necessary for 'seeing' music from the eye of bass. My goal is to help them find their voice on the instrument, and also to prepare them for the actual gigging world."
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John Repucci, Assistant Chair
DEPARTMENT : Bass Department"I'm an equestrian, and we learn that the harder you ask a horse to do something, the less you're going to get from it. It's the same thing with the bass, which is a very physical instrument. The idea is not to overwork to get the sound you produce—it's how to get the most for the least."
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Daniel Morris, Professor
DEPARTMENT : Bass Department"The typical bass student at Berklee is very much a novice when it comes to understanding the role of the bassist in a group. Many of them have developed skills, flashy skills, what I like to refer to as 'music store chops.' These musicians sound great in a music store. They do some very fast playing, very exciting stuff that you can actually use at the end of a solo and the crowd will go nuts. But they're spending way too much time on that, and they're not spending enough time on the fundamental maxim of bass, which is: The bass player's role is to keep time and to address the tonality of the moment."
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Bruce Gertz, Professor
DEPARTMENT : Bass Department"When I was taking guitar lessons, I had a good teacher but wasn't making much progress. I wasn't really practicing enough; I wasn't really feeling it. I was hearing a lot of r&b on my parents' radio at the time, and was drawn to the lower frequencies of the Fender bass. When I finally got up the nerve to tell my teacher, it turned out he doubled on bass. He said,'I wish you'd told me about it sooner, and we wouldn't have wasted so much time.'"
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Anthony Vitti, Professor
DEPARTMENT : Bass Department"Between Berklee and summers hanging with legendary artists, all my learning was about being a great rhythm section player. And that totally translates into how I teach today. I want my students to have the solid fundamentals to be great working bass players for all styles. The top things I focus on are time, note placement, the length of their notes, note selections, and consistency. I also want them to concentrate less on how many notes they're playing and more on rhythmic depth, to be a more supportive player—yet to be able to do their individual thing, shine through, and play with confidence."
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Dave Buda, Assistant Professor
DEPARTMENT : Bass Department"I focus on teaching my students a diversity of styles, because I myself am somewhat of a 'chameleon.' I play a mix of jazz, rock, r&b, and fusion, and that's why I get the work I do. I tell my students to shoot as high as possible for their dreams, but if they want to make a living with the bass—and aren't in a famous rock band—they're going to have to be able to play a lot of different styles."
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