WILL GILBERT
Bass Guitarist
ABOUT ME
My name is Will Gilbert, a 22-year old bass player, studying Popular Music at the RNCM. I am also a session musician, having played gigs across the North West of England and London and I am keen to work alongside my studies to become the bassist I can be. I have been playing bass since I was 15 years young and have always wanted to be involved in music.
INSPIRATION
I am inspired by bassists such as John Paul Jones (Led Zeppelin), Rutger Gunnarsson (ABBA), James Jameson (Funk Brothers) and Pino Palladino, to name a few. Their music and playing style inspire me to be a better bassist. Coupled with a nurturing music teacher in my secondary school, I have a passion for bass and the live music scene.
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The reason these particular bass players are my inspiration is because I try to emulate their technique and compositional skills on the instrument to further my playing to the next level whilst also adding my own flavour, style and colour to them.
SKILLS
My chart reading skills are excellent thanks to an extensive experience playing in pit bands for musicals. I've been in the pit ensemble for musicals including School of Rock, Pippin and much more. My biggest strengths as a bassist are my improvisational skills and theory knowledge, being a team player in a band setting, not overplaying and my ability to stay in the pocket and groove.
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As a session musician, improvisational skills are a must and this is something I have come to master at RNCM. In recording sessions, being able to look at a chart and know exactly what to play over what chords, using my theory knowledge, is an integral skill.
BASS IS THE BEDROCK
In a performance setting, being a team player in a band is very important. Having the ability to sit back dynamically and let other instruments take the spotlight as a bass player is a skill not many want to master but is integral to the performance as a band. It is our job as bass players to connect the chords well and be the rock and grounding all around us, whilst also not going overboard and accentuating them too much.
SPECIALISM
The genres that I specialise in are folk, country and funk. I feel that my influences help me best in these genres to create baselines that suit the music to the best of my ability. Some genre specific artist influences of mine would be James Brown for funk and Johnny Cash and Chris Janson for folk/country.