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Bass Player or Bassist?

#21
As long as we're still talking about this, I'll contribute another thought.

There is no denotative difference between the two terms. Their primary meaning is identical. There is, however, a connotative difference: somehow we attach additional "off the books" meanings to each of them. "Bassist" makes one think of a trained musician, "bass player" makes one think more along the lines of a self-taught hack. Further, "bassist" almost implies that one earns a living at it while "bass player" smacks of weekend rockers who entertain at the local bowling alley bar.

Me, I still feel funny about "bassist." I'm not a trained musician. I'm just a dude with a good ear who happened pick up this particular instrument and taught myself how to play it. No matter how good I may be, it still feels slightly pretentious for me to insinuate otherwise.

Although I couldn't care less what terms other people use. That's just me.
 
#22
dave64o said:
Personally, I don't really see a distinction between the two. Regardless, it sounded like the band leader was giving you a complement. And since you now know that, to him, there is a distinction, make sure you always refer to him as a pianist.



And for god's sake make sure you speak clearly and enunciate properly when you say that! :D
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Right. but is it PI-a-nist or pi-A-nist? ;)
 
#23
dvh said:
Right. but is it PI-a-nist or pi-A-nist? ;)
Click to expand...

Either way works, the key is making sure you pronounce the word clearly enough that it's obvioulsy a three syllable word. But if your pronunciation is sloppy and it sounds like you completely omitted the second syllable, the band leader might think he's being called something very different - and probably wouldn't be very happy about it, either! :eek:

As for me, I don't care if I'm called a bassist or a bass player. But my mother in law refuses to acknowledge that I play bass because, to her, it's a loud instrument that sounds like noise, and to her that means it's a guitar. Been combating that since I started playing about 10 years ago.

In fact, I had another example of that just yesterday. It was my birthday so what does she include in my gifts? A t-shirt with a Flying V on the front chest area and on the back it says something like "Classic Guitars" with a circle of all kinds of really cool, classic guitars beneath it. Honestly, it's a pretty cool shirt .... but ...... it's all guitars. She tells me "I know you play ... I don't know, what do you call it? Something else, anyway, it's loud and noisy so I call it a guitar!". Happy birthday to me! :atoz:

I'm happy enough when it's recognized that I play actually bass rather than guitar. :D :bassist:
 
#24
I think there is a subtle difference. To me a bassist is someone with a more advanced set of skills and a certain commitment to his/her craft. Bass player implies... well, something less. It is of course a huge gray area that defines where the line between bassist and bass player lies.

A similar, perhaps clearer example: A bike rider is the guy you see on the bike going down the road the wrong way with no helmet and wearing flip flops. A cyclist is geared up, helmet, haulin' a$$, looks like he'll be out riding 50 miles today. They are both riding a bike, but I wouldn't call the first guy a cyclist.
 
#25
MrM said:
I think there is a subtle difference. To me a bassist is someone with a more advanced set of skills and a certain commitment to his/her craft. Bass player implies... well, something less. It is of course a huge gray area that defines where the line between bassist and bass player lies.

A similar, perhaps clearer example: A bike rider is the guy you see on the bike going down the road the wrong way with no helmet and wearing flip flops. A cyclist is geared up, helmet, haulin' a$$, looks like he'll be out riding 50 miles today. They are both riding a bike, but I wouldn't call the first guy a cyclist.
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I would agree with this. As much as I love playing bass and being in a band I would not consider myself a bassist. I would classify myself as a bass player. I can play, and play well, but when it comes to writing creative parts or jamming, I'm lost. I can learn a cover song and play just about anything, but give me a song to write to and you're getting mostly root notes with some pretty stuff here and there. I'd have a hard time coming up with a completely separate riff from the guitars or a counter melody.

TO ME, that's the difference between a bassist and a bass player.
 
#26
I've never heard anyone say "guitar-player"; it's always "guitarist". Since "bassist" has an equivalency with that it seems, to me at least, the better term. It doesn't have the ring of "guitarist" and there's quite a few Ss to get your teeth around but, on the other hand, it's quicker to say than "bass-player".
 
#27
Seems a bit of hair splitting going on.

Drummer or percussionist? Mechanic or automotive technicion? Garbage man or sanitary engineer?

I supposed if you really want to make the distinction, it would seem to me that the term "bassist" comes across as a student of his instrument. Always learning, dedicating himself to his craft.

A "Bass Player" could be seen as a guy who learns the basics, then a bunch of songs and goes out and just plays and worries less about theory.

Really, though, one and the same, IMHO.
 

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