Contrabass Conversations

Miami String is a string shop with a unique business setup.   Located in metro Miami and founded by Charles Winters, this shop recently added Dale Cockrum as a full-time master luthier.  We chat with Charles, his wife and business partner Katrina, and Dale about the string business in Miami, unique challenges facing double basses in this humid climate, the active double bass rental market, and muc...

Pablo Aslan recently released Contrabajo, Works for Bass and String Quartet .   This is Pablo's first "bass up front" release, and it's a musical tour-de-force.   Highly recommended listening! We talk about the new album, Pablos musical explorations in the electronic music world , staying current with business trends in the music industry, progressing as an instrumentalist, and much more in this w...

College Prep for Musicians is written by past podcast guest Dr. Don Greene along with Dr. Annie Bosler and Dr. Kathleen Tesar. This book is a step-by-step guide and outlines precisely how to apply for, prepare for, and win auditions at top music schools. The book introduces powerful strategies and tools for high school students to use during the audition process, gives insight into the admissions...

Annette Costanzi worked closely with George Vance to create the materials that would become the highly influential Progressive Repertoire series.   In this conversation, Annette shares her memories of the special magic surrounding the creation of this series, what George was like as a person, and how this series evolved. Listen to Contrabass Conversations with our free app for iOS, Android, and Ki...

Fumiko Wellington's father George Wellington left a lasting legacy upon the double bass world.   Raised in Boston and exposed at an early age to music, George studied with Warren Benfield at Northwestern University.   George moved with his family to Hawaii, one of the few places in which his multiracial family could live and work in the United States at that time. Fumiko shares all kinds of remini...

Today's episode features a Q&A panel with several clinicians from the 2019 Chicago Bass Festival. A big thanks goes to Liz Clawson for actually amplifying this panel discussion - I never got my acts together enough to make that happen The audience questions didn't get caught on the microphone, but Liz restates most of the questions, and I break in to let you know what they asked a few times as wel...

Pete Coco recently released Lined with a Groove , which is dedicated to bassists he's admired for years like: Charlie Haden Red Mitchell Ron Carter Ray Brown Milt Hinton   Todd Coolman wrote the liner notes to this new album as well. In addition to the new album, we talk with Pete about bass life on Long Island, studying at Hofstra and Stony Brook, starting the Music Academy of Garden City, life a...

It's a pleasure to bring you this episode with renowned educator, composer, conductor, bassist, and musical innovator Bob Phillips .   Bob has been a major influence on me and how I teach, and he's a treasure trove of knowledge on where we are and where we're going as music educators. Currently, Bob is the Director of String Publications for Alfred Music. He has served as president of the American...

This special episode features an interview between renowned double bass pedagogue George Vance and Cleveland Orchestra bassist Henry Peyrebrune .   This interview was transcribed by Johnny Hamil and Christian Chesanek and used for the genesis of an article in the International Society of Bassists ' Bass World (Vol. 41. No. 2).   A big thanks to everyone involved in making this audio available.   L...

In addition to Modacity and forScore , there are a bunch of apps that Jason regularly uses for teaching and practicing.   This final solo show of March 2019 covers some of these and how they can be used. Apps mentioned: AudioNote Tonal Energy Sight Reaching Machine Metronomics AnyTune Pro Gadget Cubasis Launchpad Blocs Wave TouchAble Notion   Listen to Contrabass Conversations with our free app fo...

Modacity and forScore are two apps that have become constant companions for Jason's practicing, performing, and teaching.   Today's solo show digs into ways that these apps can be used to dramatically improve organization and progress in various domains. Links mentioned: Modacity and forScore - blog post on how to incorporate both doublebassblog.org free sheet music library iDoubleBass - great app...

Electronic dance music and teaching strings… are these two things even vaguely related?   Today's solo show covers ways that Jason has discovered to incorporate all kinds of cool apps and controllers into various classroom and rehearsal environments. Links mentioned: Ableton MIDI Fighter MuseScore Press by Vince Oliver   Listen to Contrabass Conversations with our free app for iOS, Android, and Ki...

Why are strange things happening back there in the bass section?   We cover this evergreen and amusing topic in today's solo show, and also tips for developing stronger student bass sections.   Links mentioned: Speaking Bass - Keynote from TMEA 2019 Speaking Bass - PDF handout from Midwest Clinic 2018   Listen to Contrabass Conversations with our free app for iOS, Android, and Kindle! Contrabass C...

Today's solo show covers techniques to help align all the various projects you are involved in, and how one project and inspire and help another. Link mentioned: Gretchen Rubin's "four personalities" quiz Listen to Contrabass Conversations with our free app for iOS, Android, and Kindle! Contrabass Conversations is sponsored by: The Bass Violin Shop The Bass Violin Shop offers the Southeast's large...

We're digging into daily routines today on this solo episode of the podcast and how to position yourself for consistent and creative work on a daily basis. Links mentioned: Unemployment Never Sounded so Sweet (blog post from 2016) Moving to San Francisco (podcast from 2016) Tim Ferriss The "four quadrants" from The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People Pomodoro Technique Listen to Contrabass Con...

Rencontres de la Contrebasse will be taking place for the second year August 19-24, 2019.   Learn more about this cool event in today's conversation with Eleanor Martindale, and visit their website and Facebook page for more info.   Also, check out this cool video with faculty members Giuseppe Ettorre and Lorraine Campet ! Listen to Contrabass Conversations with our free app for iOS, Android, and...

I had a wonderful time chatting with Andrew Arceci for the podcast!   Andrew studied double bass, viola da gamba, and art history at Peabody and went on to study early music at Juilliard School and at Magdalen College in Oxford.   He currently teaches bass at Concord Academy, directs the Collegium Musicum at Wellesley College, and is quite active as a performer in all different kinds of musical st...

Kenneth Knudsen has just released his 4th album called TÉTÉ .   The album's recorded by 5 musicians from 5 different countries, and is currently being presented in many European venues. Jason and Kenneth talk about his musical background, studying with Marco Panascia in New York City, staying in shape not he road, creativity, balancing career and family, and much more in this wide-ranging conversa...

We're chatting about the International Society of Bassists today with past podcast guest and Houston-area double bass teacher Grace Lewis .   Learn more about the ISB and join today by following this link . Listen to Contrabass Conversations with our free app for iOS, Android, and Kindle! Contrabass Conversations is sponsored by: Steve Swan String Bass Steve Swan String Bass features the West Coas...

We're chatting about the International Society of Bassists today with ISB member and Virginia-based double bass teacher Lindsay Lam .   Learn more about the ISB and join today by following this link . Listen to Contrabass Conversations with our free app for iOS, Android, and Kindle! Contrabass Conversations is sponsored by: Steve Swan String Bass Steve Swan String Bass features the West Coast's la...

We're chatting about the International Society of Bassists today with ISB Membership Chair Patricia Weitzel .   Learn more about the ISB and join today by following this link . Listen to Contrabass Conversations with our free app for iOS, Android, and Kindle! Contrabass Conversations is sponsored by: Steve Swan String Bass Steve Swan String Bass features the West Coast's largest selection of doubl...

It's great to get a chance to sit down again with Danny Ziemann , one of my favorite podcast guests.   Danny recently put out a book titled Topics in Jazz Bass Vol. 1 - Harmony .   We dig into harmonic considerations for bassists, the dangers of trying to make lines unnecessarily hip without really understanding the harmony, practicing, and much more! Follow along with Danny's adventures on Facebo...

Rex Surany is the new Principal bass of the Metropolitan Opera in New York City. He is also working as an assistant teacher in cooperation with Harold Robinson, the Principal Bass of the Philadelphia Orchestra, at the Juilliard School.   His musical education began with piano lessons when he was 7 years old. After two years of piano, he switched exclusively to double bass with Robert Peterson of T...

I had a great time chatting with Gareth Montanarello , who recently released a cool new service at orchestralrentals.com .   Orchestral Rentals is a community that makes it easy for musicians to rent high-quality, professional-level instruments anywhere in the world. You can create an account for free and can look for an instrument or list your own instruments for rental.   All payments are handle...

Today's episode is a rebroadcast of a conversation with Megan McDevitt  about bass, gender, and women in the bass world, plus a live recording of her Bass and Gender talk from ISB 2017. Megan McDevitt  has been covering a topic that is of critical importance:  The Bass and Gender .   She presented a session on it at the  2017 International Society of Bassists Convention , and she had a session sch...