As the sky turns dark and Eddie Sun (12) finishes the last of his assignments of the day, he grabs his Ibanez SR300E, four thin, sturdy strings running across a sleek, steel blue bass, by the neck. Maybe tonight is for the K-pop groups WJSN and Gfriend, maybe the American rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers or maybe just experimenting with theory.

“I don’t go into [playing bass] with a structure,” Eddie said. “I don’t even warm up. Bass has a satisfying and calming tonality, not just when playing calm songs. I can literally feel the music.”

Eddie first entered the world of music as a violin player at the age of 5, but after ten years of playing, he quit: violin’s limited classical selection coupled with the inability to walk away from the instrument for a long time resulted in burnout. 

Although the violin did not stick with him, Eddie’s love of music did. Transitioning to learning the bass, Eddie valued the musical experience he took away from the violin and the freedom and exploration of learning an instrument on his own.

“The transition wasn’t too hard,” Eddie said. “I already had the basic music theory and fingering technique from violin. Learning bass doesn’t feel like a chore.”

Despite the technical carryover from violin, he still had to adjust to the different role of the bass in most songs. Though the bassline is typically the highlight in songs by Red Hot Chili Peppers, the majority of songs have it buried deeper within the piece. Sometimes, the non-existent online basslines forced Eddie to practice his ear training.

“Playing the bassline took some adjusting to,” Eddie said. “Unless it’s the melody, the bassline is just the same three notes over again. It lets me appreciate the music more than just focusing on my part.”

The quiet determination and devotion Eddie holds for the bass, evident in how he speaks about and handles the instrument, reflect in his friendships. Close friend Andrew Fu (12) admires the way Eddie leads by example, always ready to lend a helping hand to his peers.

“He cultivates an environment where everyone around him is comfortable,” Andrew said. “He doesn’t judge people, what they say and do. He makes you really comfortable just speaking your mind.”

Eddie’s compassionate nature also left a lasting impression on close friend Isaac Yang (12). Isaac values Eddie’s dependability, as well as the comfortable and open atmosphere he cultivates.

“[Eddie’s] very compassionate,” Issac said. “He doesn’t express a lot, but he cares a lot about his friends and is unafraid to be genuine. Last year, I was going through it [mentally]. He took a lot of time out of his schedule to make sure I was doing okay. Before my finals, he got me a penguin sticker book about mental health.”

Yet, during the pandemic, although his friends remained a source of interaction, Eddie himself struggled mentally. He found himself slipping into long periods of isolation and struggling to adapt to the heavier expectations of high school. It was during this time that he turned to bass guitar — initially as a way to fill his newfound free time, and later as a way to decompress.

“I was very unmotivated [in freshman year],” Eddie said. “In quarantine, that wasn’t healthy. I stayed in my room all day, only going out to eat. I had to put a lot of effort inwards into improving myself as a person.”

So, Eddie devoted energy to improving his work ethic while also taking time for himself to relax. Looking back as a senior, Eddie doesn’t look at his past carefree attitude regretfully, as he recognizes the futility of dwelling on a version of himself that no longer exists. Instead, he now channels his energy into giving his all to everything he undertakes.

“I didn’t realize how important doing things I like is until a year ago,” Eddie said. “Before, I was pretty spineless, but I’ve found that asserting myself [and] learning to put myself first gets what I want more.”

As Eddie nears the end of his high school journey, he has learned to focus on the present moment, whether he’s studying for an upcoming test or practicing a new piece on the bass.

“You can learn from the past but you can’t change it so there’s no point in worrying about it,” Eddie said. “The thing is making time for yourself. It’s the ‘work hard play hard’ idea. During the times where you have to work, you have to put 100% of your focus into it, and when you’ve completed whatever you need to do, you can actually relax.”