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I have two general goals in my bass playing. Firstly, I believe strongly in playing "in the tradition" of greats such as Paul Chambers and Charles Mingus. There are so many great modern bassists and I admire many of them. However I feel when one is playing straightahead jazz and especially the tunes from the 1940s, 50s and 60s, that it works best with a bass sound and a style of playing that brings to mind the bassists of that era. There are certainly easier options than playing on gut strings with high action and using a microphone but I gladly deal with the inconveniences so I can get "that sound".
Secondly, I believe strongly that my role is to make the rest of the ensemble sound better than they would if I was not there. It's a support role with critical behind-the-scenes tasks as the bassist typically does more than just play the harmonic foundation but often keeps the time (especially when there is no drummer and often even where there is one), and leads the direction for the performance of any song including the style and the form. No one has more ability to screw up the band than the bassist! It's the role that is not often thought about but if the bass stops playing, it quickly becomes very obvious that something is missing. Regardless of whether I'm leading the band or not, I am quite happy to play bass lines all night long (although it's nice to play one occasionally simply because it adds to the variety) - I'm not one of these musicians that feels that I must get my turn to solo on every tune. In my view, playing the bass line requires constant improvisation - composing and playing the countermelody to whatever is happening at the time, and providing the all-important forward motion and pulse that keeps the music alive.
All of this applies equally well to baroque music as it does to jazz - even the improvisation aspect.
Why The Bass?I love the bass for so many reasons. I love the low register it sounds in (if you hear me speak you'll know why) even though the bass can play a lot higher than most people realise. I love the tone and all the wonderful sounds that are more than just the notes - the buzz of the bow hair on the strings, the occasional slapping of the strings on the fingerboard, and the snap of gut strings as you pull them. The bass is a very physically demanding instrument to play but at the same time because of it's size, it's very easy to make a physical connection with it. I mean with what other instrument can you lean your arm around its neck and shoulders and dance with?
I also love the bass because it is very much an individual instrument. It is arguably the least standardised of all instruments. Even by the standards of the violin family, basses vary greatly. Although basses are sometimes specified as being 3/4 or 7/8 in size, there are no standards for what dimensions those sizes actually translate to. The string length of basses can vary greatly - anything from 39" to 46" although around 41" or 42" is typical. The string length determines the spacing between the notes so moving from one bass to another is tricky. Basses can be made with round backs, flat backs, gamba corners, violin corners, Busseto corners, guitar corners, high shoulders, sloped shoulders, D necks, E-flat necks (or anything in between or slightly longer or shorter). In short, the list of variations on the basic size and shape is endless and the same variations apply to fittings on the instrument. Basses can be strung with four strings or five. Four strings basses can have extensions which can be implemented by stopping the string mechnical levers, swinging latches, sliding capos, or with the fingers. Basses are typically tuned in fourths but some basses are tuned in fifths. Even basses tuned in fourths can be tuned in no less than three sets of pitches. Even two identically constructed basses can be setup very differently with different curvature on the fingerboard and bridge, different strings, different height between the strings and fingerbooard, and so forth. All this certainly makes for interesting times at jam sessions when you are sometimes called upon to play somebody else's bass.
The bass itself can be played by pulling the strings with the fingers or drawing the bow across the strings. Bassists may sit or they may stand. Some bassists use the German bow which is held with an underhand grip and others use the French bow which is constructed more like a violin bow and held with a similar overhand grip. There are many different fingering systems for playing the bass too. Since the string length of a double bass is so large, for at least the lower half of the fingerboard, most bassist can only use fingers 1, 2 and 4 for for fingering in the left hand and the third finger is not used. However in Italy, there is a system of fingering which uses 1, 3 and 4 and leaves the second finger unused! Electric bass guitarists by the way are able to use all four fingers on the fingerboard because the string length (typically 34") is short enough to permit all the fingers in the left hand to be used even in the lowest positions.
And finally of course, the double bass is indeed a difficult instrument to play. Fretless stringed instruments are difficult to begin with but the size of the bass is without a doubt one of the things that complicates matters greatly. The huge physical distances which one must shift and the hand strength required to hold down the strings are at the root of the problem.
Another thing that is significant for me is that the bass is not usually thought of as a lead instrument. It's not one of the instruments that is usually out in the front especially if you have solo instruments like a trumpet or sax. But of course the role of the bass is vital to the music simply because it's very obvious when the bass is not playing. Someone said it best when they said that the bass is the instrument that you don't notice until it's not there. Instruments that "comp" or punch out chords like the guitar and piano and instruments that freely interpret the melody or improvise solos, have a little more flexibility in what and when they can play. In jazz, the a bass player spends most of the time improvising walking lines in a constant stream of four notes to a bar. In certain situations, if you deviate from that too much, it's painfully obvious.
I like being the guy that's not in the spotlight but just quietly in the background laying down the foundation and providing a framework for others to work within. I don't mind letting other people have the spotlight although it's nice to have an occasional chance to shine. The bass can be a surprisingly impressive solo instrument. Although it usually does play just bass notes, the bass possesses an almost four octave range and modern bass players have demonstrated incredible agility despite the physical constraints of the instrument. Some bassists never play solos and don't even articulate or ornament their bass lines much. They just play really tasteful bass lines - four notes to a bar, with a great sound and always in tune and always in time. Being able to "lay down" a good foundation for others is the meat and potatoes for a bassist and there are many great bassists who only do this and not much else but do it so well that they are widely sought after.
As you can tell, I love playing the bass. Hopefully if you play an instrument too (and yes the voice is an instrument) then you love your instrument as well. If not, then perhaps you've yet to find your instrument.