WorkshopLive interview with Sharon Ray
Started: Age 12in 1985
Education: University of Missouri at Kansas City, The Curtis Institute
Styles: Salsa/Brazilian, Fusion/Progressive Rock, Big Band
Instruments: bass
When did you start to play? I started playing at age eleven. My first instrument was the violin.
When did you start to notice that your playing was different from everyone else's? Shortly after I started playing. I got better faster than the kids who started with me, as well as the kids who were older. For instance, I never needed fingerboard markers in order to play in tune.
When did you find your voice as a player? It took me a few years. I was so in love with Jascha Heifetz. He was the model for phrasing, etc. I used to tell people that I was going to be the next Heifetz. After about three years of instruction, my teacher explained to me the value of being my own player. And it was about that time that I fully understood Heifetz’ standing in the world of violin playing. (By the nineteen-fifties, he was crowned the greatest violinist of the century!!! And there were fifty years left!!! J) So, I started to work on being me.
How do you keep your playing fresh? Playing different styles.
What do you do when you get stuck? I just keep practicing slowly, until I get through it.
What do you still find hard to do? Coming up with new improvisational ideas.
How often are you surprised by your playing, or what you’re listening to, or music in general? Not often. There have been moments when I ask myself, “How is it that I am able to play certain styles of music? I have been playing Salsa for the last three and one half years. And I have become pretty proficient in the style. Many of the particulars of that style came rather easily to me. About 15 years ago, I tried playing Salsa and I was utterly horrible at it. What’s the difference between then and now? I don’t know.
Do you have a regular practice regimen? Do you have a practice "tool-kit" - metronome, tuner, recorder, etc.? Do you have a special place for practice set aside in your home? How do you practice on the road or when you travel? My regimen consists of starting out with warm-up exercises, then scales, (arpeggios,etc.) reading, then learning whatever tunes I need to know for a gig or a student’s lesson, transcribing a tune or two, then playing with my Band in the Box over changes, etc. I have a metronome, a tuner and a Band in the box. I practice either in my bedroom or in my teaching studio at my school job. And when I’m on the road, I just pull out the bass guitar and play “acoustically”. Occasionally, I’ll bring a small plug-in-, headphone device.
Is there a piece of gear you just can't live without? Yes, and that would be my 1975 Jazz Bass. Not a re-issue, the real deal.
Are there one or two core ideas that are central to your teaching that you make sure every student learns? I tell all my students to be patient, to practice slowly, carefully, and by all means, open your ears. Your ears are sooooo important!!!
Do you find yourself returning to listen to the artists who inspired you when you first started to play? Yes. I do
Who are they? Jascha Heifetz, Jaco Pastorius, James Jamerson, William Primrose (violist), Joseph de Pasquale, (violist), Dave LaRue. Randy Tico and Jeff Berlin.
Does your playing change when you switch instruments? Yes and no. Yes, in that each of the different instruments I play has a specific role in an ensemble. So I have to play each one in a manner that fits the style of music and the ensemble. No, in that no matter the situation, I approach each instrument the same. And that is: Throw down and take no prisoners.
How often, when you're playing, do you find those moments of pure music, when your head is clear, your fingers are working, there are no distractions, and it’s just you and the music? Hard to say. It depends a lot on the situation I’m in. That means, the style of music I’m playing and the players I’m playing with.
What music would you suggest for our members? I would suggest your members to raid their parents and grandparents old vinyl record collections and listen to the music carefully.How can you move forward, if you don’t know where you came from? I see way too many young players butcher tunes, because they have little or no idea where the style came from, the artists who developed a style etc. I’ve met kids who thought the Red Hot Chili Peppers wrote Higher Ground. So if you want to play R & B, funk and soul, listen to James Brown, Otis Redding, Marvin Gaye, Aretha Franklin, etc. Since I am talking to bass players, check out George Porter, James Jamerson, Tommy Cogbill, Donald “Duck Dunn etc. Don’t just learn the chords and start jamming over them. Study!!!!!!
What are you listening to these days? Do you search out music that's new and unfamiliar to you? I’m listening to a lot of Afro-Cuban and Brazilian music, also music from Eastern Europe and India. Yes, I do search out new music. To answer an earlier question, this is one way I keep fresh.
Do you have a musical wish list - other instruments to learn, people to play with, artists or styles to explore? I want to pick up a P-Bass. And I would love to study with a bassist named Rubin Rodriguez for about a year. He’s my favorite contemporary Salsa bassist. You can check him out playing with Marc Anthony and a female artist called India...
Have you ever had a really great teacher? What made him/her so good? Yes. My two bass teachers Vince Fay from Philadelphia and Dave LaRue. I started playing the bass guitar in 1980. On the whole, female bass players were not taken very seriously back then. Both of these guys took me seriously and treated me with respect.
How do you learn best? PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE!!!
Do you have any practice tips we can share with our subscribers? Take what your teacher has to offer and do it. Really do it!!! Not half-heartedly, no messing around, no excuses. There are no short cuts. Listen to as many different styles as possible, don’t just listen to bass players. Check out other instruments. You learn from everyone from everywhere. Playing music is one of the best things you can do. It takes work, focus and dedication. But guess what…..????? It’s worth it!!!
