Today is my husband's graduation's day as a classical double bass player.
The accomplishment of a dream that Dinko cherished and pursued for the last 4 years with daily hard work despite of the sporadic frustration, pain and doubts.
I often wonder why the double bass? He plays beautifully other instruments much easier to carry around, like the clarinet or the guitar! Seriously: go to a gig carrying a clarinet; now, do the same with a double bass! That's my point! It's big and cumbersome!!! Cleaning the house can also be a problem when the double bass has to be moved to vacuum clean the place where it stands. Careful! Whenever we go on holidays, either the double bass comes with us (very practical in the car...), or we need to put water in a special little tube that goes inside the double bass to maintain an acceptable degree of humidity in the wood during our absence. Yes, it's exactly what you're thinking: it's like a child. It needs to be taken care of constantly. And like a child, the wood also matures and the sound evolves...♪♫
So with all these impracticalities why the double bass? And I finally reached a conclusion: such a demanding instrument was the only possible choice for someone like Dinko, who seeks to selflessly serve the music. A music servant who is not concerned with getting noticed for anything other than being incredibly solid, consistent and making the music sound and feel good. A musician who plays during his sleep and whose love for music and the instrument is visible whether carrying it around or playing it. The smile says it all doesn't it?
A new path in the life of this music servant starts today. The graduation is just the end of a phase and the immediate beginning of another. May it always be an inspired path beyond words but filled with music...
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PS: What remains a mystery to me is how can he put up with the zillions of jokes about bassist?...
There was a certain bartender who was quite famous for being able to accurately guess people's IQs. One night a man walked in and talked to him briefly and the bartender said, "Wow! You must have an IQ of about 140! You should meet this guy over here." So they talked for a while about nuclear physics and existential philosophy and had a great time.
A second man walked in and soon the bartender has guessed about a 90 IQ for him. So he sat him down in front of the big-screen TV and he watched football with the other guys and had a hell of a time.
Then a third man stumbled in and talked to the bartender for a while. The bartender said to himself, "Jeez! I think this guy's IQ must be about 29!" He took him over to a man sitting at a little table back in the corner and said, "You might enjoy talking with this guy for a while."
After the bartender left, the man at the table said, "So do you play French bow or German bow?"