I promised myself I wouldn’t ever make this post. But I feel I may have to.

If there is one thing that I dislike in this world of music of ours, then it’s musical snobbery…

Look. I want to say one thing to you. If you enjoy playing bass, then carry on doing what you are doing. If it pleases you, don’t stop. If it makes you smile, don’t stop. Always listen to your own heart and feelings, and try…so hard…not to let others opinions and feelings intefere with your own.

I feel I have to write this post because of some very stuck up musical snobbery I have witnessed on the ‘net this evening. In a place where people go to educate themselves (a bass forum of all places), and in some comments on my youtube videos.

Not one person on this planet was born with a bass in their hands. Not one person has the right to feel themselves more important to become arrogant about whatever skill they have learnt. No-one has the right to put people down, as if they were the godly creators of all things musical. We all started in the same place.

Be careful of these people. The ones that see fit to call people “noobs”. Those that tell people that not learning theory is “wrong”. Those that look down on people with less skill than themselves. You’ll see them lurking in the dark corners of bass forums, just waiting for someone to ask a “stupid” question, before addressing their books on technical theory (I get the impression that many of these people don’t have much gigging experience. To learn bass, all you need is a book-apparently) and coming back with a sarcastic answer. Don’t deal with them. Don’t argue with them…they are used to it, and have a list of “ready-made” answers to chuck back at you.

I feel really bad for people starting out. It really annoys me when people see fit to be like this to those that are learning. I always do my best to answer all questions people have asked (normally through private messages) when I see this happen. People need to realise that confidence is easily destroyed. Enough so to put down an instrument in some cases.

Music is freedom. We do it because of this.

Never, ever let anyone take that away from you. Learn your basic technique. Learn your notes. Learn some basic scales and how they work. Then have fun.

If YOU wish to take your theoretical knowledge further, then do so.

If YOU wish to hit your bass with a stick because it makes cool noises, then do so.

And remember this: Many musical snobs told people like Larry Graham that Slap and pop was “not the done thing” because it wasn’t traditional (actually, those people still exist).

Think where we would be if he had listened to them…

Adios.

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