Double Bass comments on the street

[padmavyuha]

My office is a block from the symphony hall. One day I was out for lunch and saw the whole bass section (I guess -- 5 or 6 or them) rolling their instruments along the sidewalk a couple blocks away. It was a sight to see -- bassists on parade! I wish I'd thought at the time to pull out my camera phone . . .

This made me think two things:

i) it's a migration!

and...

ii) [spinoff thread alert] what's the collective noun for a herd of double basses?

Actually, 'herd' feels somehow right in itself, but any other ideas? Reading this topic, I'd think 'a schlep of basses' - or maybe 'a lumbar of basses' (which has it all: timber, galumphing, and sore backs - yes, I know it's not spelled that way...)

 

[Bruce Lindfield]

I saw the Leipzig Gewandhaus playing Mahler at the Proms on Monday and they had 10 bassists - a proper herd!!

 

[eucalyptus]

what's the collective noun for a herd of double basses?

'gaggle' comes to mind. 'a gaggle of basses'..?
somehow 'herd' seems more apt, though.

 

[Paul Warburton]

a few weeks ago i was running through some bowing exercise and my son was sitting on the couch listening to me. when i finished he said 'you're not very good with a bow, are you?'.
ouch. gotta love that unfiltered criticism, though.

Oh. yeah. I love kids and their in your-face truths.
I had a very pretty little girl in a very pretty dress come up one time and say: :" Why you make them gawd-awful faces?"

 

[Eric Swanson]

Reminds me of my brief conservatory time in NY. Got on the M4 bus one morning in Washington Heights with my pal, another bassist, with our instruments, on our way to school for the day.

Then another pal got on the same bus further down Broadway, and we continued in that bus, with three double basses, toward MSM.

Nobody on the bus said a single word; no comments that morning. Either they were dumbfounded or, perhaps, we simply had 'em outnumbered...

 

[SAlcott]

A forest of basses, perhaps?

 

[Peck_Time]

An Intonation of basses...

 

[Roger Davis]

Oh. yeah. I love kids and their in your-face truths.
I had a very pretty little girl in a very pretty dress come up one time and say: :" Why you make them gawd-awful faces?"

I was walking into a gig and a guy asked me whether I was a happy bassist because he'd never seen one yet.

Is it perhaps because we play low notes and/or we're never quite happy with our sound?

 

[eucalyptus]

Is it perhaps because we play low notes and/or we're never quite happy with our sound?

perhaps to others it appears to be a big burden to take on such a beast of an instrument. one guy told me 'you should have played flute' (in reference to the sheer size of the bass).

 

[Bruce Lindfield]

I think people mistake the face you make when you are concentrating intently - for being unhappy! So as bass player, it's often the case that you are playing all the time and have to take responsibility for keeping everybody together - as the glue between rhythm and harmony...?

So it's no surprise if the bass player always looks serious and intense - while the horn players can stand by the side of the stage and have a break when it's not their solo!!

 

[Paul Warburton]

I think people mistake the face you make when you are concentrating intently - for being unhappy!

Maybe for you, Bruce, but my "gawd awful faces" are usually a direct result of the following:
The piano player playing the tonic of the chord with his left pinky finger.
The drummer playing a hard four on the bass drum.
And the trumpet player quoting "All This Is Mine, And Heaven Too". (on "Cherokee").

 

[Bruce Lindfield]

Ah well that's pefectly understandable - how about quoting "Run rabbit run" during Ellington's "Cottontail"...?

 

[Roger Davis]

Maybe for you, Bruce, but my "gawd awful faces" are usually a direct result of the following:
The piano player playing the tonic of the chord with his left pinky finger.
The drummer playing a hard four on the bass drum.
And the trumpet player quoting "All This Is Mine, And Heaven Too". (on "Cherokee").

And the guitarist playing heavy chords on the bottom strings.

 

[Bruce Lindfield]

And the guitarist playing heavy chords on the bottom strings.

At 4 beats per bar - but not quite in time!

 

[Cairobill]

Ha ha

My favourite is..

"and how exactly are you going to fit it under your chin?"

 

[Roger Davis]

Ha ha

My favourite is..

"and how exactly are you going to fit it under your chin?"

And the answer, of course, is 'By keeping my friggin mouth shut!' At which point the guy's wit and repartee is exhausted so he resorts to trying to hit you. So best not to be too confrontational perhaps and just swallow it with a weak smile.

 

[Chad Michael]

This thread is hilarious

 

[Dave Speranza]

My favorite is "do you play regular bass too?" I've never given the answer I always wanted which was "yes I play regular and premium bass." The problem is that question usually came at 3:00 am on the NYC subway when me and maybe two other folks were on the train.

Oh and this is me when I used to play in Central Park.

Ahhhh....the Rasheed gig...a rite of passage

 

[billyfalconer]

ii) [spinoff thread alert] what's the collective noun for a herd of double basses?

A squadron, as in a squadron of B-17s.

 

[Eric Hochberg]

A new first for me.

Last night as my DB and I were headed out the door through a small crowd of people, a man says to his wife, "honey, watch out, you don't want to get hit by the trombone".

Me to the pianist, "did he really say that?" Pianist to me, "freaking moron".