At almost 60, I started playing bass at a time (late 70's) when only very traditional jazz and orchestral players were, for the most part, interested in the double bass. I took violin lessons when I was a kid, so fretless intonation doesn't scare me, but I've always been happy enough to play a fretted bass guitar.
Nowadays the upright is a lot more in demand. I played a show last night with several bands and was the only electric bassist in the bunch. I'm torn. I watched a woman struggling to get through the crowd with her enormous bass after I tore down my stuff. Did NOT look like something I have any interest in doing. I'm kind of old-fashioned in the sense that I think if my BG is played right, most people won't really care if the tone isn't the same, even in most situations where an upright might be typically employed.
But there are a lot of "Americana" and small jazz groups springing up around here, and mostly they want that sense of "authenticity" which, I could argue, is bunk in the case of Americana unless you're playing a homemade instrument. Bear in mind that my family hails from West Virginia and my granddaddy whittled his own fiddle from a piece of wood. So I'm not trying to be snobby here; nobody doing that back in his day could afford a decent instrument and the whole handcrafted, folksy nature of the music is part of its charm.
So I'm trying to sort out if I should actually take the plunge, get an instrument, and take some lessons. There's a guy here who's getting up in years and he's willing to teach me; might be a good lead on work, if I do that, since he's got a lot of connections. But I'm getting up in years, too, and I'll need to brush up a lot on my sight reading, as well. Wondering if it's worth the time it will take to achieve the level of competence I'll need in order to feel comfortable seeking work.
What say you all?
Nowadays the upright is a lot more in demand. I played a show last night with several bands and was the only electric bassist in the bunch. I'm torn. I watched a woman struggling to get through the crowd with her enormous bass after I tore down my stuff. Did NOT look like something I have any interest in doing. I'm kind of old-fashioned in the sense that I think if my BG is played right, most people won't really care if the tone isn't the same, even in most situations where an upright might be typically employed.
But there are a lot of "Americana" and small jazz groups springing up around here, and mostly they want that sense of "authenticity" which, I could argue, is bunk in the case of Americana unless you're playing a homemade instrument. Bear in mind that my family hails from West Virginia and my granddaddy whittled his own fiddle from a piece of wood. So I'm not trying to be snobby here; nobody doing that back in his day could afford a decent instrument and the whole handcrafted, folksy nature of the music is part of its charm.
So I'm trying to sort out if I should actually take the plunge, get an instrument, and take some lessons. There's a guy here who's getting up in years and he's willing to teach me; might be a good lead on work, if I do that, since he's got a lot of connections. But I'm getting up in years, too, and I'll need to brush up a lot on my sight reading, as well. Wondering if it's worth the time it will take to achieve the level of competence I'll need in order to feel comfortable seeking work.
What say you all?
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