Double Bass 101: Standing With The Bass
Developing a comfortable stance while playing the bass can take some practice for beginning bass students. Students can run into issues like resting the bass on their shoulder and finding a comfortable position with the bass. In this post, I’ll walk…
Double Bass 101: Developing a Comfortable Bow Hold
Developing a comfortable bow hold is challenging for young string players first starting out. Rather, maintaining a comfortable, relaxed, and flexible bow is a process that continues even today for me as I develop and grow as a musician. Over…
Double Bass 101: Left Hand Technique Fundamentals
Learning the double bass is a challenging pursuit. Building the endurance, muscles, and dexterity to get around the bass takes time and diligence. Young musicians looking to learn the bass will have to work at developing both solid left hand…
2019 Summer Bass Study Camp Recap
This last week I wrapped up the second annual Summer Study Bass Camp. The camp was created last summer to reach young bassists in my community who are interested in learning more about playing the bass, connecting with other young…
Double Bass 101: Thinking Like A Bassist, A High Calling
“How come we never get the melody?” “My part is boring!” Perhaps you’ve heard this lament from the bass section of your orchestra or rhythm section bassist. As a middle school orchestra director, I know I’ve heard this sentiment at…
3rd Annual Summer Bass Study Camp
You know the story: your child works hard all year on their musical studies. When you hear them play at the final concert, you can’t believe how far they’ve come and how great they sound. Then summer comes.
Challenges in solo playing – Working on intonation and rhythm
I was recently working with a student on a solo piece they had begun practicing. The student was playing the piece well, but the technical demands of the piece and the rhythm and time feel were proving challenging. After the…