What is a bassist?

[caeman]

More a philosophical question, but what do you think a bassist is and when (if) you became one? In my mind, I am drawing a distinction between bass player and bassist being somewhat attached to a certain level of perceived self-satisfaction, skill or playing-time.

Additionally, at what point in your bass playing did you feel you had cross the boundary from being a guy holding and playing on a bass, to being a bassist?

[bassbully]

Thats a good one. For me it was when I quit thinking about what I was playing and my hands and mind took over.. it just happened. I heard the music and chord changes, the fills and notes were all in the right places..well, most of the time

[Jazz Ad]

You know, I'm not old yet but still getting older; the more I age, the less I digress about philosophical aspects of the instrument.

To me these thoughts are akin to mental masturbation.
We all know that bass players see less light than others, that we essentially have a noble role of supporters, that bass is easier than guitar if you choose it to be and that it's possible to solo and play anything over the instrument. If you produce music out of a bass then you're a bassist. Even if you were a guitarist five minutes ago.

Now that you have that in your bag, I say just play good music and stop overthinking. Music is not an intellectual matter.

[TheVoiceless]

Well I think it depends on how you and your peers define yourself. A bassist in my mind is someone when thought of, is thought of as a bass player. Plenty of people play bass for enjoyment, but I don't always think of them as a bassist. I also think that you would have to claim bass as your first instrument and others secondary.

I feel I started as a bassist. Based on the fact I started playing to start an original band, then took up the bass in high school activities. Not a very good one from the start.

[eddievanbassman]

they are the same f***in thing. I prefer being called a bass player idk why but I just like it better than a bassist.

[OmnitzGarima]

It's BASSISTE! You must put the "e" at the end or the attitude isn't right.

This thread is a repeat, too, isn't it?

[BigOldHarry]

Originally Posted by OmnitzGarima

...This thread is a repeat, too, isn't it?

There is nothing new under the sun. On TB, all threads should be stickies and yet are not...

[T-MOST]

This question has been asked many times before and the answer is still the same. No philosophy or high brow thinking required. Someone who plays a bass instrument is a bassist.

[thesilence]

Originally Posted by bassbully

Thats a good one. For me it was when I quit thinking about what I was playing and my hands and mind took over.. it just happened. I heard the music and chord changes, the fills and notes were all in the right places..well, most of the time

this... until then you are just a guy/girl/it playing a bass

[bassy7]

I know enough to know I don't know much-- but I will pretend my Degree in Philosophy qualifies me a just a little bit to my thoughts out there on this one. Even though I am not in the field of Philosophy.
BTW- what thats problem with "mental masturbation"? Nothing wrong with critical thinking to try to solidify our thoughts, or see if they make any sense at all.

One inherent problem with such a question is in assuming that some absolute OBJECTIVE definition applies to the word "bassist" that is different than the OBJECTIVE definition of "bass player". The way in which your question is posed leads people to think in the direction that there is a difference in the meaning of "bass player" and someone that is a "bassist". The puzzle of the question lies in the way in which human language is used.

BY DEFINITION- a bassist is someone that play bass. So all bass players are bassists.

Now if we choose to fine tune definitions to suit our own liking, or help us better categorize the nuances of the world thats fine. But we won't always agree on them.

I get that you are indicating there is a difference between a bassist simply going through the motions and a bassist that is beyond that point. But if you were to ask the question with a much more focused idea- you would be answering your own question.

[Samsound]

Originally Posted by caeman

In my mind, I am drawing a distinction between bass player and bassist being somewhat attached to a certain level of perceived self-satisfaction, skill or playing-time.

I'm pretty attached to playing and satisfying myself at minimum once per day - guess that makes me a bassist!

[AcidFripp]

See, the way I see it a bass player is someone who plays bass. A bassist, however, has a great knowledge of bass, plays it fluently (as it were), and knows how to groove well enough.

[puddin tame]

well if you want to get philosophical i'd say that it's a word that doesn't change anything

[Shoewreck]

In Russian there is no equivalent to "bass player", just "bassist", so I don't get what did you mean by starting the thread.

[somegeezer]

Someone who wants to play bass rather than someone who does it just to make money. Wanting to do it and making money from it is a bonus.

[RBrownBass]

The guy who wobbles down the street at 7 mph on two wheels is not a cyclist. He's a klutz. He becomes a cyclist when he either starts to ride better and more often, or when he is referred to as a cyclist in the police report that describes his collision with a car.

Bass is similar.

[NickMarinelli]

I'd say that I first considered myself a real bassist during my senior year in high school (80-81). Out of the blue, I had a jazz band director from another high school call me at home and ask me if I could sub for the bass player in his jazz band that evening. They had an entire night of band concerts going to raise money for something or other, and they really needed all of the bands to play.

The call came at about 5:00 pm, by 7:00 p.m. I was in the band hall at the other school looking over the charts to about 8 tunes (a Chuck Mangione tune, a couple Count Basie tunes, etc.). By a little after 8:00 pm, I was on stage performing. Surprisingly, I thought I did a credible job being that I was pretty much sight-reading the entire gig. The crowd seemed to like what they heard. Pretty heady stuff for a teenager.

[Martin89]

Bassist-
1. a person who believes that basses have distinctive cultural characteristics determined by hereditary factors and that this endows some basses with an intrinsic superiority over others
2. a person who displays abusive or aggressive behaviour towards members of another instrument on the basis of such a belief that basses our superior.

[Hamerguy]

Well, I just play bass. I play with other people to make music that is entertaining and that lets me express some emotion while playing bass. I feel good when the music gets emotional. When the other players come to me to tell me that I played nice grooves, even better. When the audience dances and give me compliments about my playing then I am sure I did right. I like to play bass because it is fun, I am not chosen by higher spirits or something like that to play bass...

[dmot002]

You truly have become a bass player when, the girls that are dancing in front of you are open and free about showing you their hooters .........