Bob Gollihur

Mark Gollihur

I believe that the solid music programs in my elementary and high schools are the only reason I have enjoyed playing music for the last 50+ years (holy smoke!). As I recount on my personal bass page, it was the kind and enthusiastic music teacher, Carmine Guastello, playing violin in my third grade class that struck the spark that still burns inside me. I also must credit my high school band director, Roger Bangert, who offered me many opportunities to further my musical education and interests. Perhaps you were also inspired by a music teacher.

If you have kids in school you are probably aware of just how tight budgets are, and the continuing cuts to the arts programs. It's been bad in the last few years, and getting worse due to the recession. I am concerned that my grandkids will not have the opportunities in school that gave me the priceless gift of music. It's up to us to make sure that the actual price of these programs does not cause school music to become extinct.

There are a number of programs that promote school music, some of which can provide some tools by which you can evaluate your local school's programs. I hope you also feel the need to reinforce the need for solid music and other arts programs in schools.

I mention VH1's Save The Music program on my personal bass page, but there are many other organizations and informational sites. Check out Support Music, MENC's Fund for the Advancement of Music Education, and the the NAMM Foundation.

Bridge Creep - As we continually tune up our strings, those strings try to drag the bridge towards the fingerboard. This can result in poor acoustic sound quality (as feet lose firm contact with the bass table), a decline in pickup sound quality, and a permanently warped and frequently falling bridge. Keep an eye on it, your bridge should be perfectly perpendicular (a 90 degree angle) to the bass' top; usually the side facing the tailpiece is straight, and the fingerboard side is curved.

Strings - Listen to them, and listen to other players. New strings are being developed all the time, and there's dozens of variations out there. They can often really improve or otherwise change your sound and playability for the better. I'm not suggesting you become rabid over changes and become a member of the String of the Month Club - just keep your ear to the ground and to your bass. The decline of quality sound of even our favorites is usually gradual and not always so obvious... until you put a new set on!

I already know how to play - Some people keep their heads down and believe their ways are the best ways. They don't stick their heads out of their cubicles to find out what is going on in the world. Those can often be people with no prospect for advancement, and more aggressive players are passing them by. There is no shame in being confident in your knowledge, but it can be foolish not to add to it. We don't have to use it if it doesn't apply, but should not be threatened by something different. Be joyful in valuing ALL types of music, and not afraid to incorporate what we can appreciate into our own personal bag of tricks.

Learning Amplification - How many hours have you spent learning bass and honing your skills as a player - now, compare it to your time actually learning about amplification. All your musical skills are often funneled through a system to which little attention is paid. Spend the time necessary to become knowledgeable about pickups, preamps, amps, all the pieces that delivers your sound... or doesn't!

Trying New Stuff - If you usually say "I Don't Like that pickup, those strings, that bass, that amp... " within the first ten seconds, you're not giving it/them a real chance (or I could say "close-minded" if I were rude). Different is not always bad. I know I'm not smart enough to make a truly educated judgment in such a short time, give innovation a chance!

This is as good as it gets. I've seen many players who have concluded that they can't bow their bass well; those who get uneven sound from their bass, etc. Very often we haven't spent enough time to determine that it's a bow with substandard or old hair, lousy rosin, bad strings or setup, etc., that is at fault. Don't settle on this or other bass issues without determining potential issues that may be limiting you.

Focusing on only ourselves - It's easy to get caught up in our own performance. Don't miss out on what the other players are doing and how your sound, note choices, attack, dynamics... EVERYTHING fits in with what the band is trying to achieve.

Relying on Amplification. If you practice your acoustic bass through an amplifier, stop. If you haven't played a gig totally acoustically in a long time, do so. A good acoustic sound is the root of a good amplified sound. Don't let yourself get lazy and rely on amplifiers, dig in!

Believing everything you read on the net. The net has given an equal voice to both the most knowledgeable and most ignorant. Don't give immediate credence to what you read there. Consider the background and perspective of the author. My first pie in the face goes back several years, resulting from listening to a guy touting a bass string as "the best I've ever played." He was being honest, but it was only the second bass string type he'd ever played.

Forgetting how cool we are. Have you ever noticed that when an advertiser wants to communicate "cool" in their commercials, they'll have upright bass players in the ad or at least have it dominate the background music? Don't forget how cool we are - but then again, don't flaunt it. It only makes non-URB players jealous.

You probably recall the moment when you first got an upright bass... You'll distinctly remember when you were administered the Official Upright Bass Owner Pledge: Raise your right hand and repeat after me: "I (state your name), heretofore affirm I will own a Station Wagon, Truck, Van, or similarly oversized vehicle for the rest of my life."

The types of cars people have managed to stuff their basses into is a popular topic on most all the bass boards, and it can get pretty crazy. It's not something I dwell on, being a SUV owner, but must admit I was impressed when son Mark deftly slid his carved bass into his VW Jetta - it was quite a trick! I'm not up to being a bass contortionist, and even he traded his sporty Jetta for a VW SUV last month.

My Dad's '62 Ford Falcon station wagon competently transported the bass when I gigged in high school, and my girlfriend's (soon to be wife) huge '54 Ford swallowed the bass without complaint. I think my favorite college story is when Scott, the other bass major at Rowan University (Glassboro State College in 1968), took me cross country and on the ferry across the Delaware River to Pennsylvania to my first lesson with Neil Courtney (Philadelphia Orchestra; damn, I wish I'd paid better attention back then!). Good thing the weather was good, because his bass was stuck straight up in the back seat of his Corvair convertible! I wish I had a photo.

A parade of bass-capable cars followed... a '61 Ford Falcon (folding front seat!) coupe, a big fat '64 Plymouth POS with pushbutton automatic (my first and last lesson in replacing a blown engine), my beloved, long-lived '70 Opel station wagon (my first new car: just $65.24/mo for 36 months!), a rattletrap '68 VW bus (who needs heat on the way back from a NYE gig?? My fingers are still numb), '78 Ford Fairmont station wagon, '81 Ford E100 van... and the list goes on.

I know players continue to try to skirt the Bass Prime Directive, as I get calls to find out if the Gollihur Bass Case is water resistant (material, yes, but zippers and seams, no) so they can put their bass on the roof rack even when rain is predicted. Today's non-truck SUV choices in the automotive world have shrunken, with station wagons (businesslike sedan in the front, big booty in the back, kind of a Mullet Car) becoming nearly extinct. Often, the SUVs replacing them really don't have enough space behind the rear seats to enable URB transport. How about mini minivan? I think the Nissan Cube is cute, but it would probably fail the URB Test, and I probably couldn't pass the age test to own one... I guess I'll have to embrace my rapidly maturing Inner Old Fart and check out a Volvo wagon.

Or do you think GM will start selling Opel Station Wagons in the States again anytime soon? Bob

To me, one of the most important ingredients in music performance is the interaction with the other musicians. But to interact everyone has to listen.

That's the downfall of far too many players. You know them — those who play at you rather than with you. And it's no secret — most of we bassists know our place in the universe, and that's not demeaning in the very least. We are supportive, we provide the foundation on which the music is built. We work in partnership with the drummer (or in the case of bluegrass, we are the drummer) and lay down the landscape on which the other players plant. (Does that make us the grass in bluegrass?)

But that doesn't mean just a series of repeated patterns (thank God!)... oblivious to what's going on. It can mean listening to the other players and dialing back the dynamics (volume), playing a more crowded or rhythmic variation of the theme, or throwing in a more melodic, cello-like counter line. It can be holding back the beat, doin' a funky hesitation hiccup, or emphasizing a passage... the variations are endless and depend on the type of music. This is really playing with the band, and I don't mean playing in the musical sense, but playing... y'know, FUN type playing, exchanging a volley of notes with the lead player, accenting beats with the drummer... I just love it! But we also have to be listening to them to pickup on their signals!

Are you a passive or active bassist? (and this has nothing to do with electronics) We start out by actively listening and playing heads up ball. That's how we can best support the band and help to make it a cohesive unit rather than individual musicians each marching to their own drummer. Visually engage the glazed over eyes of the bored rhythm player and throw out a few notes to get their attention. Look around for something to throw at them. Or better yet, throw a couple rhythm changes at the drummer. Make him (her) listen to you so you can start to play together. And I do mean, play.

Keep it fresh! Bob

P.S. When playing in an orchestra, you may want to think twice before following some of these suggestions.

*The Who, many years ago

Sorry, you won’t find me on Twitter, and I have to say that I sort of regret creating a MySpace and Facebook account. It really don’t want you to think I’m intentionally being rude, but I find I just can’t respond to the hundreds of friend requests or other business networking invitations. It just takes so much time and cyberscrambling to figure out who’s legit... and who plans to send me a revealing photo so I will wire them money.

I'm the last guy that you could label as a Luddite. I’ve been messing with computers (and they've been messing with me) since the early 70’s, when they were the size of a fridge. You could find me on the BBS (Bulletin Board) systems that predate the Internet, and on bass forums when they existed only as BBS lists. I feel guilty about my lack of will to insert myself into the latest and most intimate outgrowths of the web, and hope it isn’t an indicator of my slow decline into Old Fartdom. However, the current trend of people narrating the minutia of their everyday lives is not of interest, and most of my life events and moods are too boring and insignificant to inflict upon you. Well, except my grandkids, let me tell you about them...

These days I fight fibromyalgia and the remnants of Lyme Disease, not to mention the glorious family tradition of arthritis. My hands can tolerate fewer keyboarding hours and long bass gigs, and similarly, my brain seems to have become less tolerant of the incessant InfoMania of today’s society.

No, I’m not drifting towards becoming a curmudgeon — I just occasionally enjoy the sounds of silence. ;-)

As of this date Wikipedia lists 150 different social networking sites. Coincidentally, there are about 150 unreal reality shows currently on television, including "The Real Housewives of New Jersey."

You won’t find me on any of the above. Just this blog (Oh, crap!) and answering your many HELP! emails.

Keeping it real, Bob

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