Abstract

In this presentation I explore notions of “Adhocism” as refracted through the washtub bass. A live instrumental demonstration will form part of the presentation. The washtub bass is a musical instrument originally developed by African-American slaves. It consists of an inverted wash basin or bucket with a hole in the floor; a rope or string; and a broomstick. Though simple in construction, its sound and history are rich indeed. A relative of the earth bow, found throughout Sub-Saharan Africa, it became a staple of early blues and jug bands, and probably provided the model for pizzicato technique in jazz bass playing as we know it today. It also offers a provocative example of adhocism, a term coined by design scholars Jencks and Silver (2013)1 to describe approaches to improvisation throughout the arts and culture. The concept celebrates versions of “mongrel creativity” from makeshift bridges in war-torn Vietnam to the anatomy of the platypus to design of the Mars Rover. Beyond simply describing techniques of assemblage and making do with what is at hand, the authors effectively present adhocism as an ethical position. I will dive more deeply into the implications of this position for music, using the washtub bass both to exemplify and challenge some of their key assumptions.