Bass professor engages students
ISSUE: 02/28/07 > FEATURES > BASS PROFESSOR ENGAGES STUDENTS
When asked about his bass instructor, sophomore Blake Stratton lights up and struggles to find the right words to describe Professor Roy Vogt.
“There are very few people who can both play and teach, in any field,” he finally says. “Professor Vogt knocks it out of the park as a musician and as a teacher is very passionate and is wonderful at passing on his knowledge and love to his students.”
Roy Vogt fell in love with the bass guitar at the age of 14 and has since been a career bassist.
“You really have to love this and be dedicated to the craft,” Vogt said. “I do this because, like many other bassists, without it a part of me would be missing. The bass guitar is my voice.”
Vogt agrees that he has not had the career of the average musician. He calls himself lucky to have been able to travel the world, playing gigs on various coasts of the country and touring as far as Australia and New Zealand. These experiences have not only helped to shape Vogt’s musical style, but they have also given him a global perspective on music and its unique power.
“One of my most memorable experiences is when I was playing with some Italian guys,” he recounts. “They didn’t speak hardly any English, and I didn’t speak Italian. I started strumming a generic tune that they knew, they joined in and we entered into a musical dialogue and jammed all night!”
Although such experiences have transformed the musician in Professor Vogt, he is glad to bid them adieu.
“I know what the inside of a hotel looks like, I know what the inside of a tour bus looks like, and I definitely don’t need to see another airplane,” he jokes.
While Vogt frequently engages in “jam sessions” and has flourished as a local and studio musician in Nashville, he is more than content passing his knowledge on to his students at Belmont, where he has taught for 24 years. Education is close to his heart.
“If you look in the Musicians’ Union, there is a shortage of qualified and adaptable bassists,” he explains. “It’s important to teach people the technique, but people also have to learn how to use the technique in various genres and then also how to get past the technique and theory and just say whatever it is they feel.”
The role of a bassist is what Vogt calls a “service occupation.” Indeed, the bassist is often nothing more than an overlooked nuance of the background. However, Vogt explains that the bassist is the one who sets the mood.
“The bass player asks, ‘How can I make this feel?’ His primary role is to work with the other musicians and drive the emotions of the music.”
He displays this act of service on his first solo project, Simplicity, released in 2002. He currently has another project in the works, which will also feature Professor Chester Thompson of the School of Music. New tracks as well as tracks from Simplicity can be found on Vogt’s website www.RoyVogt.com.
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