Double Bass Studying bass again after a long absence

[SvenSvensson]

I’ll try and keep this brief. I played electric bass from a young age. My school system didn’t have orchestra (terrible, I know), so I ended up in band. Eventually, I was able to start playing double bass in the wind ensemble, and joined a youth orchestra.

I went to music school, but I auditioned on my primary instrument. I wasn’t able to play bass in college, so fast forward a few years, and now I haven’t played double bass for 10 years. I no longer play my wind instrument for reasons that aren’t important. I did end up with a music degree, though.

I’m going to pick it back up either way, because I need and want to be actively playing music again, but I’m having a lot of insecurities about my age, and the fact that I had only really studied for a couple of years, over ten years ago. Yes, the logical part of me knows that you’re never too old to learn an instrument, etc, but it’s hard to fight the elitist bias of music academia, especially in that it’s so focused on orchestral playing.

I have no delusions about where I could go with bass. I’m not setting my sights on trying to land a symphony job (though playing in an opera orchestra would totally be a dream). I’d like to land SOME gigs eventually, though, and play in a community orchestra. If I could get some freelance gigs, that’d be great. Mostly though, I want to play for myself and my own music, and I’d like to get into contemporary chamber music. I’m not trying to be presumptuous in the slightest, but I’m hoping that my past musical training can take me somewhere.

So I guess what I’m interested in hearing about what playing bass looks like outside of the symphony scene, and maybe hear from people who have experienced something similar to my situation. I’ll have a better sense of things once I find a teacher, but that will be a few months away for me, and in the meantime I’d really like to try and set my intentions.

Thanks so much for reading, and I’d be glad to hear any advice anyone might have!

 

[Don Hergert]

As an older person, recently retired, who started double bass early last year after playing, teaching and doing setup and repair of other instruments semi-professionally (that is, part-time) for about 50 years, I'd say follow your dreams, but also be realistic about longevity -- set your goals within the range of what you expect to live to enjoy. And most importantly, have fun.

 

[Ghook]

Your obviously far more educated musically than I am but here is something I discovered. You never lose the level you were playing at when you start back up, even years later. It's akin to riding a bike. When you talk about being older, I picked up playing bass again, as my primary insturment , at 67, after a 50+ year hiatus. I think the post above has great advise. Decide what you want to do, why you want to do it and go for it.