The Truth About Playing Bass

Behind every experience is a great truth.

I’m with the band, really. Some people call me the bass player, but I never refer to myself as such. In my mind, great bass players are right up there with God. If someone asks what I do, I say I’m a singer/songwriter and I like to play bass.

Filling the shoes of a bass player has always been an intimidating role for me, but one I immensely enjoy. I used to think that I wasn’t good enough and that anyone in the audience could probably do a better job. I’ll admit it looks easy. For one thing, there are only four strings, sometimes five. However, if it’s not played right, there’s hell to pay from everyone else in the band, especially in my case, the lead guitar player.

When I play gigs with a band, it’s not uncommon for a man to come up to me, identify himself as a bass player, and ask if he can play. I used to immediately oblige and quickly hand over my bass. But not so much anymore. On more than one occasion, it turned out to be a train wreck. One time I found out, after the fact, that the self-proclaimed bass player hadn’t played in over 40 years, he must have been in junior high the last time he rocked the stage.

Sometimes, even other band members assume that anybody can jump up, pick out the root note and provide a steady drone. ’Hey, we need a bass player, any volunteers?’ Actually, that’s exactly how I got my start. I was in my late 20s when my former high school band teacher (who for the record, also talked me into playing Baritone Saxophone in jazz band) was leading the worship team in a church I attended. He said he needed a bass player. A week later he handed me a Mel Bay book, an Ibanez bass, a curly cord, and a small fender amp, and said band rehearsal was Monday. Several years later, I was painting the barn when I got a call and heard those words again, “Hey, we need a bass player.” That was the day I met my husband Mickey for the first time.

Thankfully, there have been a lot of women who inspired me early on and planted a few seeds in my mind that it was cool to play bass, including Sheryl Crow, and Carol Kaye. Tommy Shannon, the bassist for Stevie Ray Vaughan, even took me aside once and gave me a few tips on playing ghost notes. I remember feeling like I had just had a spiritual encounter with the God of bass himself. These days, I’m not as star-struck by the who’s who of bass players as I was back then. The music, the endless opportunities to learn something new, and especially a newfound freedom to have some fun provide all the inspiration I need.

So what’s the truth behind the experience of playing bass in a band? It’s not just one thing, it’s countless moments of pure joy such as the sound of a single note sustaining, nailing a challenging bass line I’ve been practicing for months, or feeling a rhythm that seems to flow like a lazy river. Every time it’s different, but mostly it’s just fun. I get to stand in the back, by the drummer, pipe in on harmony vocals, and maybe sing an occasional song, but mostly, I just get to play and discover something new— like a kid riding in the backseat while somebody else drives.

Oh yeah, and I get to practice believing and trusting in myself — because I’m still working on that.