Kevin Chen is one of the most accomplished students currently at Mint Music. Deeply involved in the learning and social environment at the school, he started out in the Beginner Guitar Course, quickly graduated to studying bass guitar privately with popular Mint instructor, Mark Ritter, and has performed and continues to perform in many of Mint Music’s Rock Band ensembles. He has even organized his own band performances outside of Mint, and just this month he recorded a demo of solo bass guitar music at Mint using the talents of Glen Alan and Carlin Nicholson – all this accomplishment on top of his management day job in web development! Here is a small sampling of Kevin’s music, a solo bass arrangement of the song, Shallow.
Music has always been a part of Kevin’s life. Introduced to music early on by his parents, he experimented his way through an assortment of instruments. His sister took piano lessons but as she lost interest, he dusted off the cobwebs and started teaching himself the instrument. He started picking up sheet music and played very slow and rubato and by the time he hit High School was playing through the Final Fantasy piano collection.
He also played the trombone in high school and performed in the wind ensemble and stage band and was eventually nominated for the Ottawa All-Star Band.
One fateful day, during a break at Stage Band rehearsal, he spotted a fellow student playing the funk song, “Brick House” on a bass guitar. Kevin was blown away by what he heard. Up until this point he had mostly been exposed to classical and jazz music, and his ears were nearly blown off by these new rhythmic syncopations.
He was hooked, and talked his parents into buying him a bass. He started studying YouTube videos featuring bass guitarists like the great Charles Berthoud and Aram Bedrosian. Another early influence was Marcus Miller. He even started playing gigs at coffee shops around his hometown of Ottawa. It was quite forward thinking of Kevin to perform on solo bass – a rare context for the instrument. Kevin still thinks of the bass in terms of a solo instrument. Even later in college at University of Waterloo, as many of his high school friends were drifting away from music, Kevin continued his studies with a Music Minor.
After entering the corporate world of web-development Kevin’s music took a back seat. But was reignited during the pandemic when he had time on his hands and his wife (then fiancé – he proposed during the pandemic) urged him to tackle the musical instruments he had locked away in his closet. He was happy to take up her suggestion and focus his mind on something. He created his own practice regimen, revisiting YouTube tutorials and creating organized spreadsheets of things to practice on the bass. A lot of the core repertoire he plays to this day was worked out in that first year back.
After the pandemic, Kevin started studying at Mint Music in the Beginner Guitar Class. He quickly realized he was way ahead of the class but still found it a valuable experience, socializing with other students, learning about music he hadn’t previously known about, and getting useful critiques from the teacher. With a little more urging from his wife he started private bass guitar lessons at Mint after the Beginner Guitar Class ended. He also became involved in many of the Rock Band ensembles at Mint, and played concerts covering classic tunes like Black Sabbath’s War Pigs and Dani California by the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
When interviewed, Kevin mentioned that Mint has exposed him to many great players and teachers and he especially sings the praises of his teacher Mark Ritter. Kevin is a bit unusual in that he is one of the few students receiving bass lessons instead of guitar lessons from Mark, but Kevin believes music comes from the person, not the instrument. The world of music being something wider than the repetitive practice of one’s own instrument is something he learned from Mark, as he assisted Kevin using his vast musical knowledge and musicianship.
In addition to being busy at Mint with private lessons and the Rock Band ensemble, Kevin has also joined the newly formed Mint All-Star Ensemble, a group of the very best students at Mint – an ensemble that will begin gigging to excited audiences in the new year.
Kevin is emphatic that he wouldn’t be the musician he is today without Mint. It has connected him with educators that give him guidance, accountability, and positive encouragement. He adds: “In ensemble classes the students support each other, struggle with the music together and get the satisfaction of successfully pulling off the music together. Glen Alan, Mint Music’s fearless leader, himself is inspiring and his heart is in the right place. He has the students at the school in mind all the time.”
Kevin has even started his own band and organized shows, some of which were sets of music for office parties at work. He enjoys being the bandleader, making sure everything all the little details work out, pushing the band to practice harder, and keeping logistical communication open with the venue. They are booked for the office holiday concert at the end of the year.
Kevin is eager to create his own personal music and recorded with Glen and Carlin at Mint this month. He wants to eventually make an album that shows the full range of his powers, featuring: chord melody compositions, looping using guitar pedals, and many other techniques. The goal is to create a 12 to 13 song album of all original material, with a broad sonic pallet. Always ambitious, he would love to have something on streaming platforms next year.
When asked what motivates his music making, Kevin replied that he wants to see what he is capable of. He suspects he has only one life to live and wants to reach his true potential. And connecting with others is important to him. He is introverted but feels comfortable with musicians – he feels he is with “his people”, and that we are all on this weird musical journey together.
Kevin believes the electric bass is a relatively young instrument and has not yet been fully explored. He would like to be able to eventually situate himself in the continuum of forward thinking bassists Jaco Pastorius and Victor Wooten. He thinks you should make music you believe in; it’s easy to get caught up in music your friends like and have your opinion skewed by others, but you have got to ultimately do it for yourself.
Understanding his musical predecessors and how they treated the instrument, and combining older influences with more contemporary methods brings meaning to Kevin’s music. His attitude is to give things a try and see if they land. That is how he feels he approaches the bass. Try to create things without shame and explore your own mind and the world around you.
