Support Your Local Music Store – Reader Submission from Steve Rosati

Steve Rosati, a Reader Submission

Recently I had I traveled out west to the sunny city of Anaheim, this trip was a great chance to reconnect with friends and companies. I was out here to share a new bass that was built for me by one of my students, it’s a very cool piece and if any of you know me; you’ve seen the progress all over Facebook. However this was not my only agenda, I am on a crusade to return community back to our craft. How do we do this? Well I’ve pondered the inevitable decline of our music stores; instruments and music… This was for most of us our first brush with bass and music.

The Disappearance of physical music stores troubles me. The internet is an awesome way to search out and discover new players and instruments. But without the stores the community connection is broken. I’ve thought about this a lot recently, as a private music teacher who has seen a decline in the student rolls, as well as in the programs in the schools and colleges. So, where have all the new students gone? That’s the big question, well I believe that the breakdown is due to the lack human interaction in the stores, the store functioned as a meeting spot, think pod, hang.

The local hang is so important it’s where you learn about the other players in your area and gigs. The store also functions as the show room to try guitars that may be outside your financial grasp at the moment, but provides you with dreams of one day owning that instrument you actually played. When you buy a instrument on the web(sight unseen) you never really know what you are getting.

For instance kid A buys a guitar, it comes in the mail 7 days later, chances are this instrument is not set up or tuned(why would it be). Kid A plays the guitar a couple times but gives up not having any real instruction on it or input from other musicians.(and I know what you are going to say what about YouTube, but that’s just entertainment, you wouldn’t use it learn to perform open hart surgery.)and so the journey ends prematurely. The Music store is more than just a place to buy guitars/basses it’s the meeting point where you could connect with the community. It’s where I met many new students and it’s where I met my first music teacher, it’s also where I searched for band mates.

The truth is the nature of the web is creating hermits out us, and our craft requires, no demands that we interact with other musicians. I hope that one day we return to having a meeting place where we can trade ideas and stories in a musical environment because the existence of our craft depends on it. Support your local music store.

About Steve Rosati
A lover of fine cigars, scotches and fast cars(not really). Oh and basses, yeah lots and lots of basses. I’ve played with some great musicians and recorded some cool tunes. Life is good! 

Cheers
SteveRosati.com