By Esme Canelos
2019. 2019 was the year I began studying bass guitar. How does bass guitar relate to the pandemic you might ask? The bass guitar was my saving grace. 2020 was a slap in the face for me. I depended heavily on a structured lifestyle. I went to school, after-school sports, had set times to spend with my family and friends, and played bass. All of these constants were taken away in a matter of days. But the only constant that stayed with me was bass.
The loss of in-person school was one of the most difficult things for me to overcome. I found myself doing school from my bed with my camera and microphone off, scrolling through TikTok. I very rarely did my work, and never paid attention. Like many others, my days began to blend and feel the same. During my junior year of high school, I felt like I was in the movie Groundhog Day.
I played bass every day in the beginning months of COVID through the beginning of my junior year. Since then, I have played at least a few times a week. My father is a professional drummer, and my sister is a guitarist and vocalist. Together we formed a band called “Grounded”. We rehearsed like crazy, and recently have started playing gigs around Tucson.
Music and bass guitar have given me an outlet to channel my boredom, my sadness, and my anxiety. I remember playing late into the night because I couldn’t stop thinking about the state of the world. I was having trouble sleeping, struggling with nightmares, and music helped heal me.
Bass allowed me to learn new things about music, and most importantly myself. I pushed myself to learn Bach (crazy right?), many styles of jazz, and I have recently moved to the world of upright bass playing. The upright bass is the classical version of electric bass playing. You would see an upright bass in any jazz bands or orchestral bands, whereas electric basses are seen in the band of a pop musician. Learning and excelling in bass taught me that I did have a passion for music and that I could learn anything I wanted to.
Moving forward, I hope to play more gigs with my family, and I would like to play jazz gigs. I am going to be joining Tucson Jazz Institute (TJI) as an upright bassist and hopefully, this will be a good learning opportunity. I hope to continue studying bass and jazz, specifically Bossa Nova. COVID presented me with many opportunities in terms of growing my skills and overcoming challenges.
The loss of in-person school was one of the most difficult things for me to overcome. I found myself doing school from my bed with my camera and microphone off, scrolling through TikTok. I very rarely did my work, and never paid attention. Like many others, my days began to blend and feel the same. During my junior year of high school, I felt like I was in the movie Groundhog Day.
I played bass every day in the beginning months of COVID through the beginning of my junior year. Since then, I have played at least a few times a week. My father is a professional drummer, and my sister is a guitarist and vocalist. Together we formed a band called “Grounded”. We rehearsed like crazy, and recently have started playing gigs around Tucson.
Music and bass guitar have given me an outlet to channel my boredom, my sadness, and my anxiety. I remember playing late into the night because I couldn’t stop thinking about the state of the world. I was having trouble sleeping, struggling with nightmares, and music helped heal me.
Bass allowed me to learn new things about music, and most importantly myself. I pushed myself to learn Bach (crazy right?), many styles of jazz, and I have recently moved to the world of upright bass playing. The upright bass is the classical version of electric bass playing. You would see an upright bass in any jazz bands or orchestral bands, whereas electric basses are seen in the band of a pop musician. Learning and excelling in bass taught me that I did have a passion for music and that I could learn anything I wanted to.
Moving forward, I hope to play more gigs with my family, and I would like to play jazz gigs. I am going to be joining Tucson Jazz Institute (TJI) as an upright bassist and hopefully, this will be a good learning opportunity. I hope to continue studying bass and jazz, specifically Bossa Nova. COVID presented me with many opportunities in terms of growing my skills and overcoming challenges.