Contrabass Conversations

Former Guildhall Strings solo double bassist Chris West has built a tremendous resource for learning thumb position, and he's finally unleashed it upon the world.   Titled Reaching the Heights - Thumb Position on the Double Bass , it's chock full of useful exercises and pieces that will have you navigating the upper reaches fo the fingerboard in no time.   Chris and I dig into all kinds of cool co...

When I heard that Danny Ziemann was filming courses for Discover Double Bass,  I couldn't wait to sit down with Danny and Discover Double Bass founder Geoff Chalmers to learn more details about the project. Both Danny and Geoff are past podcast guests, and they happen to be two of my favorite people in the bass world.  This new course is called The Bass Player's Guide to the Trio.  It's set to lau...

Dan Carson is the latest member of the Lyric Opera of Chicago's bass section.   I've had the pleasure of knowing Dan for over a decade.   He grew up in the suburbs of Chicago and worked with Andy Anderson and a few other teachers (including me!) during high school. Dan attended Indiana University and won principal bass of the Alabama Symphony during his junior year. After a few years, he decided t...

Dr. Jacqueline Pickett has built a remarkable career as a double bass performer, educator, and community activist.   From managing nonprofits to launching programs in the public schools, Jacqueline has been a major force for good in the double bass world. She teaches bass at Columbus State University in Columbus, Georgia as well as serving as principal bass for the Columbus Symphony.   We dig deep...

I had the good pleasure of spending time with Oregon Symphony and Grant Park Symphony principal bassist Colin Corner recently.   We did a deep-dive interview on auditioning, being a principal string player, and much more.   Colin and I also talked about getting some recent playing of his up on the podcast, and he shared this recital from the 2017 Pittsburgh Double Bass Symposium .    You'll hear t...

Today's episode is a deep-dive into double bass strings.   We take a look at D'Addario's Kaplan, Zyex, and Helicore strings and learn more about how these strings play, feel, and sound.   You'll hear perspectives on strings from the following D'Addario Orchestral Artists: Alexis Cuadrado - New York-based jazz bassist, composer, and educator Andres Martin - Mexico-based soloist and composer Barry G...

I've known Dan Chmielinski for over a decade, and it has been a real pleasure watching his career unfold.   Dan grew up in metro Chicago, and I had the privilege of being his bass teacher through middle and high school.       Dan started playing bass at age 3 with Virginia Dixon, and he has one of the most natural and fluid approaches to the bass that I've ever seen.   After high school, Dan atten...

Pascale Delache-Feldman has been a frequently requested podcast guest, and it was such a pleasure to get a chance to connect with her!   Pascale enjoys a multifaceted career as a soloist, chamber and orchestral musician, and teacher.   She is the founder of the Boston Bass Bash and is co-founder of the co-founder of Duo Cello e Basso (formerly the Axiom Duo) with cellist Emmanuel Feldman.   She al...

I was first introduced to Melody Chia by our mutual friend Lauren Pierce .   Melody is located in Melbourne, Australia, and in addition to being an excellent bassist, she has worked for many years in marketing.    Melody has also begun making shoes, and you can follow along with this fascinating process and all of her other activities on her Instagram feed .   Melody and I talk about all kinds of...

I had the opportunity to spend some time with Chuck Israels during my recent trip to Portland, Oregon.   In fact, we even took a trip together to visit Seth Kimmel 's shop in Eugene! Both Chuck and Seth are past podcast guests, and I thought that a rebroadcast of my conversation with Chuck was in order.   Chuck and I dig into a wide range of topics, including: meeting Charlie Mingus playing with B...

A podcast listener recently suggested that I re-interview Colin Corner about how he has managed to win audition after audition.   It turned out that I would be in Portland, Oregon for a couple weeks, and Colin and I sat down for a terrific deep-dive into auditioning, the role of a principal bassist, and much more. Prior to his current positions of principal bass for the Oregon Symphony and Grant P...

Henry Chen and I go way back.   In fact, I remember meeting Henry at DePaul University over a decade ago! At that point,   he had not had much orchestral experience, but he was a fabulous solo player who won the concerto competition with the Bottesini Concerto. Chicago was Henry's choice because of the orchestral training he knew he'd receive there.   He spent his time studying with Chicago Sympho...

Volkan Orhon was one of my early podcast guests, appearing along with fellow Bad Boyz of Double Bass members Anthony Stoops, David Murray, and Paul Sharpe .  I chatted with the Bad Boyz ten years ago (!), and I realized that I'd never actually sat down with Volkan one-on-one for the podcast. We fix that today! Volkan had established himself in a professional orchestra in his native country of Turk...

This year's Winter Olympics inspired podcast listener Steven Bingham to write in the following topic request: "If I could suggest a future podcast topic, it would be "performance psychology" with a bassist or other musician who also is a subject matter expert, for example, a university teacher or researcher. Watching the Winter Olympics reminds me of what human beings are capable of achieving when...

Barry Green 's creative output is filled with surprises and unexpected new directions.   The last tie he was on the podcast, we were chatting with Barry and Jeff Bradetich about Anna's Promise . An article from Barry just came out in the American String Teachers Association 's journal.   Titled "Chair Factor," this article is an examination of body energy in playing, and how posture can indicate g...

I was first introduced to Erik Higgins by orchestra director and bassist Jonathan Lane .   Jonathan passed along a mesmerizing video of Erik performing an improvised duet with clarinetist Kinan Azmeh.  This duet is based on a Syrian Folk tune and took place during a live performance with A Far Cry and the Silk Road Ensemble.  Like New Century Chamber Orchestra bassist Tony Manzo , Erik has carved...

James Oesi is truly blazing new trails for double bassists worldwide.   Originally from South Africa, James spent several years studying in Russia before moving to the Netherlands.  Over the past decade, James has established a vibrant career for himself as a solo double bassist.   He also founded and hosted the Dutch Double Bass Festival in 2017. We dig into many meaty topics, like: How can you m...

This episode is one of those astoundingly complex projects that I love digging into!  We're featuring questions from double bass student Baylee Brown, which are answered by 27 noted double bass faculty members.   This idea was suggested by University of Texas at Arlington bass faculty member Jack Unzicker , who help design and execute this project. A big shout-out to Baylee, Jack, and all of the f...

The line-up for the 2018 TCU International Double Bass Festival (March 3-4, 2018)  is like a who's who in the double bass world! Founded and organized by Artistic Director and TCU Professor of Double Bass Yuan Lu , this fifth bi-annual festival is the largest such event for double bassists in North America. Learn more about this event on their website , and be sure to like TCU on Facebook to follo...

Gary Karr… I mean, what can I say?   He's the reason that I play bass. That so many people play the bass.   He's truly one of a kind, and he's not slowing down anytime soon! When International Society of Bassists General Manager Madeleine Crouch heard that I would be the guest artist for the 2018 Las Vegas Bass Workshop , she suggested that Gary Karr and I coordinate an "at home with Gary" podcast...

I first became acquainted with REMIC microphones through my good friend Adam Booker .  Adam did a comprehensive video review of the REMIC bass mics in 2017, and I was mesmerized by how well the acoustic sound of the bass is reproduced. When Trine from REMIC reached out to me and suggested that company founder Thorkild Larsen and I chat about the technology behind these mics, I immediately said yes...

Lauren Pierce has been a guest on the podcast many times in the past.   She's a great friend and is constantly looking for new ways to help bass players learn ket concepts. Lauren has just come out with a Left Hand Technique course through Discover Double Bass .   Talk about a big concept to tackle!   Lauren has done a magnificent job laying out a logical sequence of major concepts for the left ha...

How do we learn a piece? That's a question thatI recently put out to the Contrabass Conversations community .   The responses I got back were fascinating. While we all have a different approach to learning a piece (as you'll see in this episode!), there are certain recurring approaches that I discovered: Listening to recordings Watching videos on YouTube. Beginning with a "bird's eye" perspective...

We are chatting with Daniel Smith on today's podcast!   Daniel recently joined the San Francisco Symphony as associate principal bass after spending two seasons in the San Diego Symphony double bass section. About Daniel Smith: A native to Southern California, bassist Daniel Smith was recently appointed Associate Principal Bass of the San Francisco Symphony after performing for two seasons with th...

Today's episode covers injury prevention and recovery.   We feature excerpts from the following individuals: Randy Kertz Nina DeCesare Lloyd Goldstein Robin Kesselman Nash Tomey Susan Wulff Scott Devine Leigh Mesh Listen to Contrabass Conversations with our free app for iOS, Android, and Kindle! Contrabass Conversations is sponsored by: Robertson & Sons Violins For more than four decades, Robertso...