• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Lack of youth playing instruments?

C

Comrade Momenta

Guest
Oct 5, 2013
25
0
#1
Hi there. I have been thinking about this a lot and wonder if it was just me who felt this way. I am 26 years old and have been playing the bass for four years. I've come to meet my fair share of musicians but something that I've noticed continually is that I am often the youngest player whenever I play with or meet other musicians. Even worse is that it seems like bassists are even harder to find. Just the other day I found out a friend of mine's uncle plays the bass and I got very excited just to finally meet another bassist but even then he was over 50. Even whenever I attend local shows you'd figure there would be a few musicians in the crowd but most of the time, nothing.

I've never met a younger bassist than myself and very rarely meet any young musicians. Do you think there are less people learning to play instruments now than before? It seems to me that way. I was wondering if you guys thought the same?
 
#3
I've been teaching for 30 years and I still have enough students to say that, at least in my town, the numbers haven't dropped off. Even in the beginning when there wasn't technology easily available there were kids who had a work ethic and those who didn't. The same as now. I think it's easy to point at personal technology and say it's getting in the way but I can't say that I see it in my world. We also have plenty of young bands in town. Some are pretty good.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Gaolee, wrench45us, BeardedFrog and 8 others
#4
Both the school districts my kids have come up through (we moved) had very active band programs. I don't get the sense there are fewer kids in school learning instruments than when I was a teenager. Some of them play band instruments in school and then guitar or something else on their own outside of it. I'm not seeing a lack of interest in music there. I don't know what happens after graduation - it may be that a number of them drop off as they move into working life and all. But that's no different than when I was growing up, either. Also, maybe part of what the OP is seeing is (again, like me) older people going BACK to an interest in music they had dropped when they were younger.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Oldschool94
#6
16 year old bass player here!! While there might be less people my age playing instruments, electronic music has really taken off among people at my school. While there's stuff i don't like (house music) there are a couple people doing vaporwave which is pretty cool.

There are also quite a few bands, ranging from alternative rock and ska punk to indie rock and grunge. I'm in 4 bands right now, and some friends and I have started doing basement shows. There are plenty of youth playing instruments, at least where I live.
 
  • Like
Reactions: markoc, Gaolee, Bodeanly and 5 others
#7
Plenty of kids in my daughter's band program. Some good players. My nephew's school program is pretty robust as well.

I don't know how today's generation gets this rep of instant gratification. There are far more kids playing music and working hard in school then when I was young. There are kids in my daughter's school who tote cellos into class. I don't think anyone in my school knew what a cello was. My son's 5th grade class plays the ukulele. By the 5th grade my class never had a standard music program that all kids were in like that. The amount of sports and after school programs these kids are involved in is staggering to me. Far and away in excess of what we were doing.
 
#10
The school music programs in my locale are packed. I just attended two state youth orchestra concerts this weekend, and was practically blown away. Okay, I'm a proud parent, so I'm biased, but still... the upper level youth orchestra accompanied a Bartok viola concerto, and then played the Shostakovitch 9th.

There are some young bassists coming up through the local jazz scene. Friday evening, I was fortunate to hear a quintet of young players led by an outstanding bassist, Ben Ferris. Now I shouldn't expect to play at that level, being a day jobber with minimal formal training in jazz, but I was still humbled by the experience, while enjoying every moment of it.
 
#12
I live in L.A., no shortage of young musicians here. Lots of multi instrumentalists, I see kids who play drums, guitar, and keys, and also DJ... back when I was a teenager seemed people were very single instrumented, more than I observe now.
 
  • Like
Reactions: pcake
#13
22 years old here! 4 years on bass since I started college.

I thank my wonderful mother for clarinet and trumpet lessons all through elementary, middle and high school. Fantastic Jazz band teacher in middle school, good band teacher in high school, but none of it would be possible without the support of my mother!

Can't wait to see her for thanksgiving.

Wish more guys my age played. I'm the youngest in my band, the next youngest is 26.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Helix
#16
rufus.K said:
I live in L.A., no shortage of young musicians here. Lots of multi instrumentalists, I see kids who play drums, guitar, and keys, and also DJ... back when I was a teenager seemed people were very single instrumented, more than I observe now.
Click to expand...

i'm also in l.a., and was going to pretty much say the same thing. i also notice there are always CL ads with bands under 21 looking for musicians 16 - 21, high schoolers looking for fellow players and things like that.
 
#17
10956634_734929026612033_5036993244672253181_n.jpg
 
  • Like
Reactions: Quantized Harmonic, bassliner50, Bodeanly and 2 others
#19
I'm 24, I've been playing for seven years. Around my area the local metal / rock scene is absolutely dominated by people my age, or a little younger / older. And I have to say I'm lucky to be involved in the scene here because there is a surplus of incredibly kick ass players and musicians. Everyone around here knows each other, all the bands are very cordial with each other and get along well.

So at least where I'm located: no. Young people rule the roost on my particular scene. If you get into cover bands its mostly older dudes, but they're amazing players.
 
  • Like
Reactions: markoc
#20
There are nutritional "dead zones" in parts of the country, places where you can not get non processed food, fresh vegetables etc., and there are musical dead zones too. School music programs are gutted because they are frivolous, actually all art and literature is seen as unproductive in making good citizens. Where I live, in MA, cities and towns have always considered the arts to be an essential choice, celebrated as much as sports. There are perhaps less musicians then previous decades, maybe because of other creative options, but kids are playing because they love it and are achieving a higher standard than in my day. There is strong intact institutional support from the music educators also. This stuff won't be gutted here ever...barring total environmental/elec. grid collapse that is. Our encampments are armed with brass instruments if that happens.
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back