Blog reader Bill left a comment on our post about PeaBodyDoubleBass that reflects what I have often wondered:
I wonder why the heck it is that there are so many good blogs from bass players? You, Matt Heller(“Hella Frisch”), Hovnanian, Jeff White, and Oppelt and now these Peabody folks! Is there a concentration of this quality of blogging in any other orchestra section?
It’s good to hear this sentiment from a reader, since this is something I have often wondered about. Why do so many bassists blog? For that matter, why do so many bassists conduct? Perhaps there is something about sitting in the back of an ensemble observing all your fellow musicians at work (while having fewer notes than most other instruments and therefore more “thinking time” during rehearsals and concerts) that sparks the urge to write.
Any thoughts on this, folks? What’s up with all of the bass bloggers (off the top of my head, I can also add Matt Wengerd, Bill Harrison, Joe Lewis, John Floeter, Stan Haskins, Dan Bergen, and many others to the list above)?
Related Posts:
- PeaBodyDoubleBass – collaborative blog from the Peabody bass faculty
- Samir Basim and the Iraqi National Symphony – from Robert Oppelt’s bass site
- Getting a good sound – post from John Floeter
- Dynamic growth possibilities of blogging and podcasting
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I would venture to say you have a lot to do with it. Patty (the first links we exchanged were hers, if I recall) was the first musician I encountered doing this stuff on any sort of respectable level, but her log-in-to-comment decision initially turned me off to the interaction part of it (of course, I create an account for virtually any web 2.0 service I encounter now).
I started a blog because my University offered WordPress hosting before I realized it was free to anyone. It was your blog and its initial focus on your private students that inspired me. As you became more prolific and started the articles, I realized that I don’t need to duplicate what you’re doing, but find a niche for myself. Now, if I could be as prolific as you, I might get asked to sit on boards and join editorial staffs (is it staves?)
🙂
Thanks for the kind words about the blog, Matt! Oboeinsight was also one of the first sights that I encountered (besides your and Emily Koh’s site) regarding the world of classical music. It has really been interesting to watch more and more people pick up on it and start blogging.
It is also fun to see how people find their “blog voice” and pace. Some post every day, some post once a week, some people post links, videos, photos, personal reminiscences, articles, essays, etc. It is still SUCH a small niche when compared to other areas of interest (I know that we both read a lot of tech blogs, and that is certainly a whole different world), and more participating vices makes for a much more interesting experience.
This is mostly unscientific speculation, but I think part of it is that bassists on the whole seem to be more of a social group. As social networks and communication become more and more web-based, we bassists are somehow naturally drawn to it. I seem to remember back in Boston that it was always the bassists that were instigating the after-concert parties and excursions to the local pubs. I am very glad to see a community of musician bloggers rising – there is some great dialogue going on out there.
Is it true that there are more bassist/bloggers than other instrumentalists? I know the conductor thing is true. Hmmm, if there ARE more low end bloggers maybe it is because we spend so much of our careers providing musical support for others – we do most often play an accompaniment role, whether in jazz or orchestral settings. Perhaps blogging is one way to make our voices heard in a more direct, expressive way. Just a thought.
Well, “this quality” could go both ways I guess! I’m honored to be mentioned in this group though, and personally I agree with Matt Wengerd that a big part of the reason is shown in your browser’s URL window right now.
Jason has created a “blog of record” for the DB community, and that is a great service not only for readers – who can quickly find relevant information without reading all our random junk – and for us as bloggers. It’s not enough to have ideas and content, you also need a way of sharing it with people – which Jason does, brilliantly.
No pressure, Jason. Congratulations on your wedding!
Blogging has always been a huge form of expression for me, even if I don’t always write about double bass happenings. It probably has a lot to do with the observing/supporting role that we do best as bassists, and I know that at least for me, I can think of many other instances in which I play a similar part.
Most of the bass bloggers I know perform in orchestra settings and it is my hypothesis that anyone who is a performer really wants, no, really needs, to be heard. Playing bass in an orchestra is not a place where you as an individual are heard. In fact, based on my own experience in two professional orchestras, if anyone heard me (other than the rare double bass solo passage) I was probably making a mistake. String sections are heard, not the individuals in those sections. This phenomenon is exaggerated for bass players in opera orchestras, since with the rare exceptions of some operatic double bass solos, indidvidual bassists are not even seen when buried in the pit, much less heard. This has been a major factor in my decision to focus on performing early music. I usually am the only bassist and everybody hears what I am doing. I find that in the early music chamber ensemble setting I am having a real musical impact and I find it very satisfying.
I also find it interesting that pianists, principal trumpet players and other soloists don’t blog very much. I think they find that their individual musical voice is heard and they don’t feel as compelled to find other media through which they can communicate. I am curious if others resonate with this hypothesis.
I have noticed that bass players seem to be more open to sharing information than other instrumentalist. I’ve had contact with some cream-of-the-crop bassists (Ed Barker and the like) and they’ve seemed more than willing to share techniques and work with beginning players, when their violinist or piano-playing counterparts would have walked away with their nose in the air. I’m not sure what that has to do with blogging, though . . .