As I was walking up to the Vogue tonight, I stopped for a moment outside of the Comet Tavern to listen to the band. No idea who it was, but they were playing a somewhat celtic-folk-rock sound, complete with fiddle and upright bass. While I was standing there, I overheard another couple standing near me and looking in the window talking.
They appeared to be fairly average middle- or upper-middle-class folks in their mid-20’s, but the guy was trying to explain to his companion the concept of an upright bass. “It’s like a violin, just a lot bigger, and deeper…they use that instead of a bass guitar….”
Now, okay, admittedly, I have a somewhat stronger grounding in music than many people (I come from a long line of musicians and music teachers, everyone in my family plays at least one instrument, I sang in an award-winning children’s choir for ten years while growing up), but I am having real difficulties trying to envision how someone could make it to their mid-20’s and have absolutely no idea what an upright bass is.
Absolutely mind-bogging to me.
“Bethel” by Repetto, Marco from the album Sound of Superstition, The Vol. 5 (1997, 7:43).
CJ
Brandon
Tim Who?
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Nothing surprises me any more.
In the last week I have had an adult male ask me what a spark plug was? It seems his car was running rough and after 70,000 miles the mechanic said it time to change the spark plugs. He wanted to know if the mechanic was pulling his leg?
And not two days later
An adult female I work with said aren’t you a cook? I keep seeing this strange thing at the store and others are buying it but I have no idea what it is or how is used. The mystery item she wanted to know about? An Avocado.
An upright Bass, if you don’t go to a symphony I doubt one would ever see it. At least he knew it was a stringed instrument! Just don’t confuse him by asking the difference between a Bass and a Cello
I don’t think that’s true, though, and that’s part of what confuses me. I mean, sure, it’s not an instrument you generally see every day walking down the street, but it’s not that uncommon.
Any decent school orchestra is generally going to have at least one. It’s an important part of many musical forms (bluegrass, blues, jazz, etc.). I’ve seen movies and television shows with orchestral scenes, I’ve seen street performers using an upright bass at the Pike’s Place Market…heck, Les Claypool of the alternative rock group Primus often switches out his bass guitar for an upright (sometimes acoustic, sometime electric).
Further, if she’s that lost on the concept of an upright bass, would trying to describe it to her as a ‘bigger violin’ make any sense? Would she know what a violin is, or a cello?
I still can’t wrap my head around it.
The violin is much, much more of a pervasive icon than a cello or whatever. I mean, I just look at any curvy stringed instrument and classify it as a type of violin.
You even have to include many “pop” bands, police, stray cats etc…
My Daughter is learning Double Bass… The biggest of the “Violins”