Contrabass Conversations

University of Texas at Austin double bass professor Joel Braun just released a solo album.   Titled Unaccompanied, it contains his own transcription of the Bach Flute Partita, premiere recordings of works by Lera Auerbach, Caleb Burhans and Olga Magidenko, and his own composition "Awake," which received an honorable mention from the ISB David Walter composition competition.     We talk about the s...

This episode covers various techniques to develop more expressive phrasing on the bass and is a companion piece to next week's YouTube video.   Enjoy and don't forget to download the Phrasing Workbook I put together for you.   Subscribe to the podcast to get these interviews delivered to you automatically!   Check out our Online Sheet Music Store with 100+ wide-ranging titles for bassists.   Liste...

Mark Gollihur is the owner of Gollihur Music , which has been serving the double bass community online since 1997. We chat with Mark about his father Bob's passing, how Bob built the company, the satisfactions and challenges of the business, and much more.   Enjoy! Subscribe to the podcast to get these interviews delivered to you automatically!   Check out our Online Sheet Music Store with 400+ wi...

obituary courtesy of the International Society of Bassists : Wolfgang Güttler, whose decades-long career as a performer, recording artist and educator garnered numerous awards, including the Concours de Genève, died on September 18, 2022. He was 77 years old.   Born in Brasov, Romania, he was solo bassist with the SWR Symphony Orchestra Baden-Baden and Freiburg, and tutti double bass with the Berl...

Today's episode is the first in a series of chats with double bass legend Don Prell. Born in 1929, Don went on the road with the Frank Ortega Band, played with people like Buddy Rich and Chet Baker, and was in the original Bud Shank Quartet. He played for the San Francisco Symphony for 30 years and, after retirement, formed his own group called the Sea Bop Ensemble, which played at various San Fra...

This episode covers "accelerating scales" and why they are a core comment of my daily double bass practice.   Enjoy, and check out the accompanying YouTube video here .   Subscribe to the podcast to get these interviews delivered to you automatically!   Check out our Online Sheet Music Store with 100+ wide-ranging titles for bassists.   Listen to Contrabass Conversations with our free app for iOS,...

Debbie Lyle is the Executive Director of The Foundation for the Advancement of String Education (FASE) , a 501(c)(3) charitable organization that promotes the philosophy and pedagogy of Dr. George Bornoff by providing financial support for the development of string education and teacher training.   We talk about the recent National Bornoff Summer Workshop and my experience as bass faculty there, t...

This episode digs into how harmonics work on the double bass and was inspired by Chris West's book A Guide to Double Bass Harmonics .   Enjoy, and c heck out my accompanying YouTube video here .   Subscribe to the podcast to get these interviews delivered to you automatically!   Check out our Online Sheet Music Store with 100+ wide-ranging titles for bassists.   Listen to Contrabass Conversations...

Ethan Philion is an award-winning bassist, composer, and bandleader based in Chicago. A graduate of Oberlin Conservatory and DePaul University, he has performed with Rufus Reid, Greg Ward, Dana Hall, and many other artists.   Ethan also won the International Society of Bassists Jazz Competition in 2019 and was selected to Chicago's Luminarts Jazz Fellowship in 2020.   Ethan recently released an al...

This episode digs into ways of organizing practice sessions when time is limited.   It was inspired by this week's YouTube video , and you can download the 20, 45, and 90 minute routines here .   Subscribe to the podcast to get these interviews delivered to you automatically!   Check out our Online Sheet Music Store with 100+ wide-ranging titles for bassists.   Listen to Contrabass Conversations w...

Holly Reinhardt is a student of David Heyes at Wells Cathedral School and the creator of BassNotes , a site featuring interviews with prominent people in the double bass community.   We talk about Holly's inspiration for the site, what it's like going to school and studying bass in the UK, her plans and hopes for the future, and much more.   Enjoy!   Subscribe to the podcast to get these interview...

This solo episode covers what part of the thumb to use while in thumb position and is inspired by this week's YouTube video .   Subscribe to the podcast to get these interviews delivered to you automatically!   Check out our Online Sheet Music Store with 100+ wide-ranging titles for bassists.   Listen to Contrabass Conversations with our free app for iOS, Android, and Kindle . Check out my Beginne...

Jon Liebman is a world-renowned bassist, composer, arranger, author, and educator and the founder and "1st Bassman" for the wonderful site For Bass Players Only .   He has been on the podcast a couple of times in the past, and it's always a pleasure to catch up with Jon and learn about his current and upcoming projects.   We dig into all kinds of topics, including Jon's latest Funk/Jazz bass book...

Past podcast guest Cole Davis teamed up with Jason for a collaboration about his approach to practicing scales on the double bass .   Enjoy, and you can pick up a copy of his book in our sheet music store.   Subscribe to the podcast to get these interviews delivered to you automatically!   Check out our Online Sheet Music Store with 300+ wide-ranging titles for bassists.   Listen to Contrabass Con...

Past podcast guest Cole Davis teamed up with Jason for a collaboration about his approach to practicing scales on the double bass .   Enjoy, and you can pick up a copy of his book in our sheet music store.   Subscribe to the podcast to get these interviews delivered to you automatically!   Check out our Online Sheet Music Store with 300+ wide-ranging titles for bassists.   Listen to Contrabass Con...

This episode features audio from a Bass Works live stream featuring Cleveland Orchestra bassist Derek Zadinsky .   This is a companion to a YouTube video that Jason did reacting to this super-cool recital of the top 10 most requested double bass excerpts.   You can also pick up a PDF copy of these excerpts here .   Subscribe to the podcast to get these interviews delivered to you automatically!  ...

This episode features conversations with four young bassists during Bass Camp NRW in Germany in 2022.   Enjoy, and learn more about this cool camp in my conversation with camp director Uli Schneider .     Subscribe to the podcast to get these interviews delivered to you automatically!   Check out our Online Sheet Music Store with 100+ wide-ranging titles for bassists.   Listen to Contrabass Conver...

This episode features a recital that I recorded at the 2022 Rabbath Institute Los Angeles . Enjoy! Subscribe to the podcast to get these interviews delivered to you automatically! Check out our Online Sheet Music Store with 100+ wide-ranging titles for bassists.   Listen to Contrabass Conversations with our free app for iOS, Android, and Kindle . Check out my Beginner's Classical Bass course and I...

This episode, recorded live at the Golden Gate Bass Camp , features Katie Thiroux and me interviewing Jon Button , who is the current bassist for The Who.   Enjoy, and be sure to check out Jon on his website , Instagram , and Facebook !   Subscribe to the podcast to get these interviews delivered to you automatically!   Check out our Online Sheet Music Store with 100+ wide-ranging titles for bassi...

We dig into all the parts of the double bass in today's solo show—enjoy! Subscribe to the podcast to get these interviews delivered to you automatically! Check out our Online Sheet Music Store with 300+ wide-ranging titles for bassists. Listen to Contrabass Conversations with our free app for iOS, Android, and Kindle . Check out my Beginner's Classical Bass course and Intermediate to Advanced Clas...

We're thrilled to announce that the music of bassist and composer David Anderson is now available through our sheet music store!   To celebrate, we're chatting with Dave and his longtime friend and collaborator Sidney King , who was the inspiration for many of Dave's early works.   Enjoy, and be sure to check out Dave's music in our catalog !   Subscribe to the podcast to get these interviews deli...

This solo show covers various ways to tune a double bass.   Enjoy! Subscribe to the podcast to get these interviews delivered to you automatically! Check out our Online Sheet Music Store with 300+ wide-ranging titles for bassists. Listen to Contrabass Conversations with our free app for iOS, Android, and Kindle . Check out my Beginner's Classical Bass course and Intermediate to Advanced Classical...

In today's episode, recorded live at Bass Camp NRW in Germany, we chat with adult learners Gabriele Fritz, Eef Weenink, and Katja Boenninghoff about their experiences learning bass and what continues to fascinate them about the instrument.   Enjoy!   Subscribe to the podcast to get these interviews delivered to you automatically!   Check out our Online Sheet Music Store with 100+ wide-ranging titl...

In this solo show, Jason shares thoughts on his recent trip to Germany and his observations of the double bass scene in the communities he visited.   Enjoy! Subscribe to the podcast to get these interviews delivered to you automatically! Check out our Online Sheet Music Store with 100+ wide-ranging titles for bassists.   Listen to Contrabass Conversations with our free app for iOS, Android, and Ki...

Uli Schneider is a double bass performer and teacher in Germany and is the artistic director of Bass Camp NRW , which brings together dozens of bass students of all ages each summer in Heek, Germany.   He is internationally active as a clinician and regularly plays as a freelancer with professional orchestras like the Duisburger Philharmoniker and the WDR Funkhausorchester.   We talk about the ori...