The one of my upcoming pro gigs that is currently occupying the most of my practising time and effort is not violin at Lincoln Cathedral on Christmas morning, nor gigs, album sessions and a video shoot with my two bands. It’s not even demo showreel shoots, though those are occupying the majority of my admin attention.

It’s a dep job with a blues and party band, and I’m playing bass (electroacoustic bass guitar as it happens, being the variant I own and genuinely my preference, partly for having more attack and rhythm than conventional electric bass but being a heck of a lot cheaper, easier to store and more portable than upright, much as I would love to play that!).

Not new of course that I play the instrument, in public, indeed off and on to paying audiences and in paid band gigs (earlier lineups of the String Project for instance). Until recently I’d been fairly coy about pushing my professional career as such beyond violin, viola and activities allied more or less to arranging.

But it can only be a strength to have extra skills on the market. I’m confident of nailing the gig, and gigging (and practising for the gig!) can only help my bass skills. If I start to expand into bass playing a bit more, it will put me in a much bigger pool of work, though of course with a lot more competition for it and myself a little further down the experience ladder.

So, here’s to diversifying and a little risk-taking.