Our Philosophy

Berklee’s Bass Department cultivates and sustains a student-centered environment conducive to creative exploration and learning. Realizing that there is much more to being a successful bass player than simply mastering the instrument, we are strongly committed to the development of the individual, which includes effective communication skills, creative thinking and reasoning, mastery and implementation of current technologies, empathy, and proactive concern for our eco-musical environment—a musical awareness that goes far beyond creating a great bass-line.

Key to these objectives are the passion and expertise of a comprehensively diverse faculty, all displaying a clear focus on innovation and current musical trends combined with a profound respect and mastery of traditional musical values and technique.

We are committed to the primary role of the bass as being the mortar that locks rhythm to harmony and melody. But we also nurture the development of the bass as a multi-timbral polyphonic instrument, capable of performing all musical functions including rhythm, harmony, and melody.

We understand that music, and the music industry, is constantly evolving, and mandating that we, as a department, be synchronous to that evolution, thereby ensuring that our students are prepared for what awaits them after graduation.

Berklee Bass Department

Steve Bailey, Chair

Sandro Scoccia, Assistant Chair