WHEN DID MILES START PLAYING THE BASS?
I started playing music in junior high (grade 7). I was to attend a comic book drawing class and the class got shut down because there weren’t enough attendees. I had the choice of going to either orchestra or art appreciation. Frankly, because I wanted an easy grade I figured orchestra would be easiest.
I picked the upright bass because it was the only instrument you didn’t have to take home with you. It was pure laziness, however it backfired because now I have to drag it all around the planet! (laugh).
In any case, I remember playing the “A” string and it resonated through my body. I thought to myself, “This is AMAZING!” Shortly after that I began to notice that I was able to change the mood of an entire song by which notes I, and only I, played. The human brain deciphers music from the bottom up. Having control of major and minor cadences or dissonance was a power fix, and I definitely became addicted to the control the bass had over the entirety of a song.
Not to dissuade young people from playing it but the upright bass is extremely difficult to learn to play. The instrument will make your hands bleed, it offers very little help by way of finding where the notes are on it, and really, unless you can play with the bow, as far as I’m concerned, you don’t know how to play it. It is also not a very forgiving instrument. However, once you’ve tackled the challenges of it, I think the upright is one the most rewarding instruments in the world. You can play it in every genre and it is the keystone to western music. In my estimation it’s worth the scars.