Teach Me Bass Guitar Instructor: Roy Vogt

The Story So Far...

How many people can lay claim to a career so varied that it includes appearances on MTV's Headbanger's Ball, Montreaux Jazz Festival, Montreal Jazz Festival, the London Palladium, the Grand Ole Opry and the Kremlin? From Punk to Funk, the simplicity of Country and Blues to the complexity of HyperJazz and World Beat? Not many. You could count them on one hand and have four fingers left over. Yet premier bassist and educator Roy Vogt has done all that and more.

Brian Beller, writing for Bass Player Magazine, says Urban Legend – Roy's latest CD, "skillfully combines elements of jazz, fusion [and] R&B … with a foundational maturity and killer groove that teaches listeners a bass lesson on the strength of the music alone."

Writer and music critic Sean O'Bryan Smith says "Urban Legend has so much groove it should be illegal, or at least fattening."

The first person to receive a Masters degree in Electric Bass Performance (from the University of Miami's prestigious music school), Roy has been pursuing the art of Bass for more than forty years. In addition, he is recognized as one of the finest educators in the world, mentoring dozens of successful professionals, including the legendary Willie Weeks. Electric, fretless, upright, you name it. If it plays low notes and has strings, Roy is a master at playing it, and in teaching others to do the same. He is also a highly respected and sought after producer, arranger, music director and band leader.

Over his four-decade career, Roy has recorded or performed with an amazing list of top stars, including Larry Coryell, Gerald Veasley, Victor Wooten, Dave Weckl, Tom Scott and the LA Express, Chester Thompson, Miroslav Vitous, Glenn Campbell, BJ Thomas, Chet Atkins, Englebert Humperdink, Dickey Betts, Tony Joe White, Charlie Daniels, Jerry Reed, and dozens more.

Roy has been teaching at the university level for thirty years. Since 1983, he has held the bass professor chair at prestigious Belmont University (Nashville, TN), one of the very few schools to offer a commercial music degree program designed to turn students into professional musicians working at the top of the industry. Roy's students have toured and recorded with such notable stars as Trisha Yearwood, Faith Hill, Little Texas, Michael W. Smith, Lady Antebellum, Chick Corea, Sir Tom Jones, Blood Sweat and Tears, Yanni, and countless other music icons.

With Teach Me Bass Guitar, Roy is poised to change the way music is taught in the 21st Century.

This is where YOUR story begins.

What Other Bassists Say About Roy Vogt

"Roy was the first bass player that I heard about 20 years ago when I first moved to Nashville. He continues to be a main force and leader in music performance and education in the area. Plus, he's a great guy. (That's my favorite part about him.)"
Victor L Wooten - Bass Legend

"Roy Vogt is one of the great voices of modern electric bass. I have known him since we were introduced by the founder of Hot Wire bass guitars more than a decade ago. Since then I have been impressed by his steady progress in both playing and writing. Roy is modest and focused in his personality and that is why he is one of those musicians who will keep evolving for a long time to come, surprising you every step of the way!"
Kai Eckhardt (John Mclaughlin, Garaj Mahal)

"Roy is a consummate pro as a teacher and a player. During a visit to his classroom, I saw with my own eyes how his students looked up to him and respected him. They wanted to get better and wanted to hear what Roy had to say in order to do so. They were listening. And with his jazz knowledge and playing ability, I could certainly see why."
Bryan Beller (Steve Vai, Mike Kennealy, BASS PLAYER columnist and contributor)

"Respected by so many in the bass-world, Roy Vogt has been out there making excellent music and teaching at the highest levels for decades. Whether as sideman or soloist, university tutor or featured artist endorser, his playing and teaching are always of the highest level."
Steve Lawson (Bass Guitarist Magazine UK, Solo Bass Artist)