The Groove: Getting to Know Your Bassist
This series will focus on one principal instrument at a time, and what better way to start than with the most overworked and underappreciated instrument in the band? It's the one that bears the heavy burden of balancing both rhythmic and harmonic continuity: the bass. There are numerous bassists scattered throughout the school, and chances are you have bought coffee next to them at Dunkin' Donuts or held the door open when their hands were tangled with an upright. Knowing the important role held by bass players, I decided to talk to a number of them around Berklee to find out why they do what they do. Why? Because maybe I don't want to be a cocky guitarist anymore, and because maybe the best way to improve my mediocre skills on my principal is to glean a little inspiration from players of instruments that aren't generally deified by music fanatics. And maybe we as a community of musicians can stop living in our own little worlds, worrying about how we compare to our peers, and start playing our parts together with one sound and one voice....