The Tiptree Sneeze

After seeing this unfortunate trombonist sneezing into his instrument I was reminded of the time I had a coughing fit (at the end of a cold) whilst playing a bass solo at Ronnie Scott's a few years ago. There's nothing you can do - luckily a kind soul brought me a glass of water whilst I played on through it all. I was determined not to admit defeat by stopping, God knows what it all sounded like. Another occupational hazard for bass players is 'holiday chops' - when, for whatever reason one hasn't been playing regularly. For most other instruments this might mean the odd cracked note or lack of fluency, but for bass players it means blisters. I don't get them much anymore (mainly because I play softer gut strings) but in my 'macho' bass playing days with people like Tommy Chase they were a regular occurance. More than once I remember looking down at a blood splattered bass where a blister had burst, but (like a man with a broken leg running away from a forest fire) I only really noticed the pain after the event.