One of the unexpected joys of starting a blog is that as you move around the Internet to find information or connect links, you stumble across interesting blogs that catch your fancy.  These blogs may or may not be connected to your topic(s), but you find the writing or subject so compelling you want to share with others.

So every now and then I’ll share a discovery with you.  And the first such find is Miss Music Nerd!…because nerd is the new cool .  Last evening after posting a story on the new Edgar Meyer & Chris Thile CD, I clicked on the tag I established for Edgar Meyer and was taken to Miss Music Nerd’s blog.  There I found a wonderful posting entitled Music Vocab:  Catching Some Bass .  Here was a witty take on the "lowest instrument or voice part in an ensemble, whose name is spelled like a fish but pronounced like a foundation: the bass." 

Miss Music Nerd is classically trained, but lest you think she’s boring (or too nerdy), read some more from Catching Some Bass to see the musicians she’s listening to;

But enough with the jargon… let’s listen to some badass bassitude!

Not the most complex bassline, but one of the catchiest ever: White Lines by Grandmaster Flash

Classical and “crossover” (I hate that term but sometimes it fits) bass player Edgar Meyer has several great audio samples on his page

Bassist Frederick Charlton has recorded transciptions of several of Bach’s Partitas for solo violin, including the notoriously difficult Chaconne from Partita no. 2

Here’s a sample of jazz legend Ray Brown and his trio playing “Caravan”

I’ve always loved John Entwhistle’s little bass breaks in The Who ’s My Generation

Some other posts I enjoyed on my perusal of the writings and music of Miss Music Nerd:

• A delightful paen to organmaster shoes entitled Play a Mile in These Shoes
• A wonderful collection of original short pieces called the 30 Days Project , where Miss Music Nerd wrote a new short piece of music every day for 30 days

And finally, a post about Mahler’s 9th, which lends itself to big thoughts:

Hearing a live orchestral performance brings to mind Many Great Truths — for example:

• Despite what numerous naysayers, nervous Nellies, and nattering nabobs of negativism like to say, classical music is not dead and the symphony orchestra is not obsolete.
• The sound of a live orchestra will never be equalled, even by the most audiophile’s-dream-come-true, money-no-object sound system you could imagine
• It is possible to listen to a piece of music lasting nearly 90 minutes, with no intermission, without feeling bored or impatient even for a moment
• The contrabassoon is frickin’ cool!

I’m sure you’ll find something on Miss Music Nerd to enjoy.

More to come…

DJB