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Steve Bailey, Chair
DEPARTMENT : Bass Department"My whole perspective on preparing a student for the real world has evolved significantly over the years. When I was going through school, all you had to be was a really good musician, and you could move to either coast and be successful. Today you've got to be a really good musician and all of these other things: You've got to be technologically adept. You've got to have good communication skills. You've got to be able to interact with people with positive results. And you've got to fuse all of that together with all of the marketing that you can do yourself, thanks to the internet. I call it the Millennium Musician. Since the year 2000, it's all these other skill sets that are the ingredients for success. And Berklee still sets the standard for that."
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John Repucci, Assistant Chair
DEPARTMENT : Bass Department"I'm an equestrian, and we learn that the harder you ask a horse to do something, the less you're going to get from it. It's the same thing with the bass, which is a very physical instrument. The idea is not to overwork to get the sound you produce—it's how to get the most for the least."
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Tom Appleman, Assistant Professor
DEPARTMENT : Bass Department"We play a lot of current pop hits, and I bring those tunes into class and show my students what's coming through the Top 40 market. I show them what people like to hear at bars, what people like to dance to, and what songs are the big hits at night. I also bring in songs from the past 20 years, songs that people know, and we really look at the music so the students can understand the songs on a different level. We do a lot of singing in class, a lot of rhythm. I'll have some music playing in the background and I'll point to certain rhythms, and the students will clap over the consistent beat that's going on in the background."
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Victor Bailey, Associate Professor
DEPARTMENT : Bass Department"Teaching is all thinking, but performing is different. When it’s right, performing is an out-of-body experience and thinking goes out the window. You just let it happen, like riding a bike. There is always fresh inspiration even week to week when I perform, which is an outgrowth of being well rounded and ready to play anything. And there’s a difference between playing an instrument well and playing music well. Some people have an incredible amount of technique and can do unbelievable things—by themselves. But when they have to jam with a band they have no idea what to do. It’s like a guy on the basketball court who has all the moves and looks really great, but the ball never goes into the hoop."
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Whit Browne, Professor
DEPARTMENT : Bass Department"I'm the jazz guy. Most of the students studying with me are coming from a jazz background, or they're interested in learning jazz. We don't have a set curriculum for the lesson. The lesson curriculum is based on the individual students' needs. We work on technique when the student is physically having problems on the instrument. Then there's what I call ear technique, when a student wants to study jazz but has never listened to jazz. I'll give a list of recordings they should listen to—that's a start."
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Dave Buda, Assistant Professor
DEPARTMENT : Bass Department"I focus on teaching my students a diversity of styles, because I myself am somewhat of a 'chameleon.' I play a mix of jazz, rock, r&b, and fusion, and that's why I get the work I do. I tell my students to shoot as high as possible for their dreams, but if they want to make a living with the bass—and aren't in a famous rock band—they're going to have to be able to play a lot of different styles."
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David Clark, Professor
DEPARTMENT : Bass Department"One of the roles of a teacher is to help students gain a panoramic awareness of music, and what to work on. I try to expand my students' awareness of being part of a rhythm section, which is like the shaman's drum. It's important to develop a rhythmic quality and robustness of sound that ignites the imagination of the performers and listeners, and a groove that has a transformative effect. A common pitfall is to play too busily, instead of understanding one's role within the group. I tell my students that we need to listen beyond our own performances in order to clearly hear and identify with the sound of the whole group."
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Bruce Gertz, Professor
DEPARTMENT : Bass Department"When I was taking guitar lessons, I had a good teacher but wasn't making much progress. I wasn't really practicing enough; I wasn't really feeling it. I was hearing a lot of r&b on my parents' radio at the time, and was drawn to the lower frequencies of the Fender bass. When I finally got up the nerve to tell my teacher, it turned out he doubled on bass. He said,'I wish you'd told me about it sooner, and we wouldn't have wasted so much time.'"
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Lincoln Goines, Associate Professor
DEPARTMENT : Bass Department"Some of the things I like to tell students I've learned: The bass is first and foremost the heartbeat of the ensemble. Playing the bass is only a part of being a good bassist. Showing up and working hard are the foundational keys to success as a music pro. In addition to helping students bring all aspects of their playing to the highest level it can be, I focus on sound, accuracy, vocabulary, and developing the critical ear necessary for 'seeing' music from the eye of bass. My goal is to help them find their voice on the instrument, and also to prepare them for the actual gigging world."
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Fernando Huergo, Professor
DEPARTMENT : Bass Department"I think Berklee is a great meeting place for people from all over the world. They have a chance to meet and play together, and often they'll be playing with the same people they knew at Berklee for the rest of their lives. When I go to Europe or South America or Asia, I meet former students, I meet colleagues. I just met two weeks ago in Germany a Korean bass player student of mine. I was in New York last week and I met a Spanish former student. I was in Beijing and I met an Argentinean former student. It's great, meeting and connecting with other musicians. You get to learn from so many different cultures and sources of music. Berklee's a very inspiring place."
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