Southport Magazine

Upright bass, bass violin, double bass, standup bass, contrabass, bass fiddle…it may be called many different names, but it’s all the same instrument. The bass is a traditional orchestra’s largest and lowest-pitched string instrument, with the only exception being the octobass which is the size of a tiny house and very rare. The bass is usually played with a bow or plucked with the fingers depending on the type of music played. You are correct if you think that men are the predominant players of the bass. But many women have also mastered playing bass and hauling it around orchestra pits and theaters. One such woman is local bassist Ellen Dorsett. It was 63 years ago, when, as a sophomore in high school, Ellen started playing the upright double bass in Greensboro, NC. 

“In Junior High, I was a majorette with the marching band and wanted to continue that in high school, but they had a rule that you had to play an instrument in the band in order to be a majorette,” she said. “Since I had been playing violin from age 10 and piano from age 8, I picked up the bass in the Concert Band, which qualified me to be a majorette. I fell in love with the bass but continued to play violin in the orchestra.”

Having the opportunity to study music in Greensboro, where they have a lot of support from the colleges nearby and excellent music programs in the school system, was a blessing to Ellen. “That afforded me opportunities for additional studies and to play violin with the Greensboro Orchestra, now Symphony,” she said. “After high school, I attended Converse College in Spartanburg, SC, where I first played violin and then bass. The music program there was one of the best and again afforded me the opportunity to play with the Chamber Orchestra and accompany the Opera Workshop. I didn’t finish school as I got married and moved to Southport. But I did get to play a Stradivarius violin while there.” 

Growing up in a musical family, Ellen was surrounded by music from a young age. “My Dad was a major inspiration. He had an ‘Orchestra’ in the late 30s and early 40s, in the days of Big Bands. He could play most of the band instruments. His sister had her own ‘Orchestra’ and played violin and piano. Mom played piano and made sure we had musical opportunities to explore. The violin I played until a couple of years ago and still have was my great grandfather’s.” 

With Ellen’s many years of experience playing, she offers excellent advice to all beginning bass players. She encourages all players to practice and learn everything they can about their instrument to be complete players. “While being able to ‘play along’ is a great talent, it will take you only so far, but still learn to do it. Learn to read music, play with a bow, music theory…etc. Play electric bass. Play all genres of music. Do all of this, and you’ll be ‘the real deal’,” she said. 

Playing in bands and attending festivals and music workshops is a fantastic way to learn new skills and meet others with the same musical enthusiasm. “One of the highlights of my year is attending the NC Jazz Festival in Wilmington every year for 40 years. As a patron, you can sit in and play a couple of tunes with the pros at a Saturday brunch. Therefore, I have had the pleasure of playing with some of the best musicians in the world…and I mean the world. Also, I get to play some fantastic basses as the bass players are generous and let me do so.” 

And meeting those famous bass players creates lifetime memories and great stories. “One year, when bass player Milt Hinton was at the Jazz Festival, I told him I had a couple of measures of ‘slap bass’ coming up in a concert and could he give me any tips. So, he took me out in the hall and gave me a personal ‘slap bass’ lesson. He is the best ‘slap bass’ player I have ever heard, and also a wonderful gentleman and photographer. He let me play his bass in the jam session. As I took hold of the bass, it said, ‘Tell me what we’re playing.’ I told it, and it said, ‘OK, I’ve got you.’ It literally played itself,” she said. “Another time, I had played in the pro-am jam and was talking with bass player Bobby Haggart. He commented that the chart I had played was pretty boring, and he asked if he could write me another one. So, of course, I said yes, if he would sign it. So, he did, and I still have it and play it at every gig we do — “Do You Know What It Means To Miss New Orleans.”  

Ellen currently plays her bass in many groups around southeastern North Carolina. “Other groups I play with are numerous, including Wyckoff Orchestra at Trinity United Methodist Church, River Rascals Dixieland Band, Le Groupe Du Jour, pit bands, accompanying small and large groups, anywhere a double bass is needed,” she said. “The Brunswick Concert Band was formed in 1987. Many of us had been playing for years as pit bands for pageants, Sea Notes Choral Society, and little theater events being pulled together by the late Dr. C. Richard Conrad. We were having so much fun that we formed the Concert Band. Several years later, approximately in 2005, the Big Band came together. I was a charter member of both and still playing with both. There is only one string bass in each band. Occasionally an electric bass will join us when it is called for in the music.” 

You can see Ellen perform with theBrunswick Concert Band at the group’s spring concert, ‘Out Of This World,’ on May 6, at 3 pm at Hatch Auditorium, Fort Caswell and May 7, 3 pm at Odell Williamson Auditorium, Brunswick Community College. http://www.brunswickbands.org/