Contrabass Conversations

Most musicians don't have a day dedicated to them in their hometown. Shinji Eshima does. In 2011, the city of Berkeley, California named the day December 6th Shinji Eshima Day, in his honor for his contributions to the arts. Even fewer musicians play an instrument featured in a Degas painting. But Shinji Eshima does. His Plumerel bass is the very same instrument painted by Degas in L'Orchestre de l'Opera. Shinji's impact on the double bass world has been tremendous. He has performed with the San Francisco Ballet and San Francisco Opera Orchestras for decades. He teaches at San Francisco State University and the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. His students have gone on to perform with the San Francisco Symphony, Utah Symphony, London Philharmonia, Montreal Symphony and the Concertgebouw of Amsterdam. But Shinji is also a composer… and what a composer! In 2011, the San Francisco Ballet commissioned him to write a ballet. RAkU was the result, and it has been performed across the globe by the San Francisco Ballet. RAkU has also joined the repertoire of The Joffrey Ballet. Swimmer, his third ballet for the San Francisco Ballet, premiered in 2015. We talk about Shinji's early years on the instrument, studying with David Walter, performing in the pit, getting into composing, and much more! Links to check out If It's Tuesday it Must be Up-Bow from Soliloquy album (performed by Patrick Neher) San Francisco Ballet in RAkU (YouTube) RAkU: A Conversation with Shinji Eshima (YouTube) Swimmer - ballet composed by Shinji Eshima (YouTube) Shinji's 1843 Plumerl double bass as portrayed by Degas in Orchestra of the Opera Listener feedback links: Ray Parker - bassist Ira Gold's new project on mockauditions.com Jason's appearance on The Entrepreneurial Musician Jason's appearance on A Musical Life This episode is brought to you by D'Addario Strings! Check out their Zyex strings, which are synthetic core strings that produce an extremely warm, rich sound. Get the sound and feel of gut strings with more evenness, projection and stability than real gut. Enter the D'Addario strings giveaway for Contrabass Conversations listeners at contrabassconversations.com/strings!

Jazz is Frank Proto's native language. Growing up in Brooklyn, Frank spent his days studying with Fred Zimmermann and his nights hanging out at Birdland. I love hearing Frank describe what it was like studying with Fred. In fact, Frank's lesson slot was right after Charles Mingus. Talk about being a part of jazz history! Frank's journey from the jazz clubs of New York City to the Cincinnati Symphony is remarkable...and that's putting it mildly! Here are just a few of his many career highlights: Bassist and composer-in-residence for the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra Over 20 large-scale works premiered by CSO Countless shorter works and arrangements premiered by CSO Over 400 performances of Carmen Fantasy for Trumpet and Orchestra Over 500 performances of Casey at the Bat Composed music for Dave Brubeck, Eddie Daniels, Duke Ellington, Cleo Laine, Benjamin Luxon, Sherill Milnes, Gerry Mulligan, Roberta Peters, François Rabbath, Ruggerio Ricci, Doc Severinsen, Richard Stoltzman and Lucero Tena I could go on and on. Frank has impacted the world of the double bass immensely. But he has gone way beyond that. Best of all, he hasn't slowed down. In fact, he is continuing to explore new ideas and unexpected collaborations. I can't wait to see what he does next. Links to check out: Frank Proto on Wikipedia Liben Music (Frank's publishing company) Brandeis Jazz Festival - Fred Zimmermann, Charles Mingus, Gunther Schuller, George Russell Brandeis Jazz Festival (YouTube) All About Rosie (YouTube) Harry Lookofsky: Stringsville 'Round Midnight - Harry Lakoofsky performance (YouTube) Music featured in this episode (all written by Frank) Sonata No. 2 - with Catalin Rotaru Sonata No. 3 - with Szymon Marciniak Sketches of Gershwin - with Eddie Daniels String Quartet No. 1 Duo for Viola and Double Bass My Name is Citizen Soldier Variations on Dixie Ghost in Machine Thanks to our sponsor! This episode is brought to you by D'Addario Strings! Check out their Zyex strings, which are synthetic core strings that produce an extremely warm, rich sound. Get the sound and feel of gut strings with more evenness, projection and stability than real gut. Enter the D'Addario strings giveaway for Contrabass Conversations listeners at contrabassconversations.com/strings!

Craig Butterfield loved Edgar Meyer's bass playing ever since discovering it. Lately, he has been following in Edger's footsteps. Performing American roots music with mandolinist Jesse Jones is now a key creative outlet. Craig also teaches at the University of South Carolina. He shows young bassists how to hone their technique to explore creative new paths. But that's not it. Craig also loves recording. He mixes and masters his own recordings in ProTools. His popular YouTube overdub videos have gotten tens of thousands of views. We talk about: his time studying with Jeff Bradetich at the University of North Texas touring with Maynard Ferguson career opportunities for musicians ...and much more! Links to check out: Craig's website Craig's YouTube Channel Pisces (new album with Jesse Jones) Stickerfoot (album with Jesse Jones)

Corey Brown started out on the "traditional" music school path. Starting out at the University of North Texas, Corey left and became a graphic designer. He began developing on the web in the early 1990s. Fast forward a few years, and he created Squidoo with bestselling author Seth Godin. Squidoo became one of the most-visited websites ever with over 85 million monthly visits. Corey fused his passion for the bass with his passion for the web in unexpected and impactful ways. First, he created and ran the official Jaco Pastorius web site, working on it from 2002 to 2007 and again in 2014. Next, worked on the Portrait of Jaco… the Early Years box set. He designined and produced the packaging for the release in 2003. But Corey wasn't done with innovating for the bass. In 2008, he founded no treble, which turned into the most popular online bass magazine on the web. With over a dozen regular contributors and hundreds of thousands of monthly visits, no treble has re shaped the way bassists worldwide connect with and learn from each other. Learn about Corey's fascinating career fusion of music and design in this interview! Links to check out: no treble Corey's blog Corey's web consulting Corey on Facebook Corey on Twitter Corey on LinkedIn

Nina DeCesare's creative musical quest is inspiring. First, she won the 14 and under International Society of Bassists solo competition. Then she won it again for the 15-18 division. She studied at Rice University, Tanglewood, and Domaine Forget. Also, she won a scholarship to study with François Rabbath in Paris. Nina ended her time at Rice by winning a position with the Oregon Symphony. She has done more in her brief career than many do in their entire life. But it hasn't always been easy for her. In fact, she went through a serious playing injury during her time at Rice University. Her bass playing ground to a halt for months. But through careful analysis, she changed her approach to the bass. She problem-solved her way out of the injury and changed her approach to the bass in the process. We talk about what it was like studying with George Vance and Paul Ellison, playing in Portland bars, thoughts on training as a soloist versus as an orchestra player, and much more! Links to check out: Nina's Website Nina's YouTube Channel How an Injury Saved my Playing (blog post by Nina) Too many young double bassists prioritise solo technique over orchestral expertise (by Chi-Chi Nwanoku - from The Strad)

Hans Sturm isn't afraid to reinvent himself. Everything changed for Hans when he first met François Rabbath. Before he knew it, he was in Paris soaking up these new concepts. Fast forward many years, and we find Hans playing the second Rabbath Concerto with Sylvan Rabbath on piano. If you look at the music for this concerto, you'll see that François dedicated this piece to Hans. But that's not it. Hans also realized that not everybody could hop on a flight to Paris to study with François. So he began to think... How could he get these teachings to a wider audience? What could he to do take these concepts beyond the printed page? Here's the answer: Art of the Bow Art of the Left Hand Hans has reinvented himself in many ways throughout his career. He shaped the digital plan for the International Society of Bassists during his time as president. He explored creative uses of DVD technology in the Art of the Bow and Art of the Left Hand. He even left the stability of a tenured position for new adventures in a different part of the country. Through these journeys, he has brought tremendous value to the bass community. His commitment to education and to furthering his own education throughout these chapters of his life. Learn more about his time working with Richard Davis, Jeff Bradetich, and François Rabbath, practice techniques, and the genesis of this most recent album A Day in Paris! Links to check out: Hans' website A Day in Paris (new album) Art of the Bow Art of the Left Hand Our Rabbath Technique video series (you'll love the cats in the background)

Diana Gannett might be the most thoughtful double bass teacher I've ever encountered. Her approach to teaching is comprehensive and nuanced. She incorporates everything from group warm-ups to Aikido principles on her website. Every bassist out there should have this site bookmarked! But she's not just a great teacher—she's a jaw-droppingly talented performer. You have to hear her sound to believe it. She energizes every note she plays with this magnificent and distinctive tone. We go deep into her approach to teaching and feature excerpts from her wonderful solo album Lady Bass. I know you'll enjoy this episode! Links to check out: Diana's website Lady Bass (solo album) Diana's Practice Room resources (bookmark these!): Study Sheet Practice Modes Toys Bass Class Exercises Phase Warm-Ups

Hugh Sung is the ultimate musical entrepreneur. After years spent teaching at the Curtis Institute of Music, Hugh co-founded AirTurn, a company that produces pedals designed to turn pages on a tablet device. Hugh is also an author. In fact, he wrote From Paper to Pixels as a result of using tablet devices for reading music. Now Hugh has moved into the world of podcasting with his show A Musical Life, getting a quarter of a million downloads in only a few months. In addition, he recently launched A Musical Life Mastermind, a membership site devoted to helping musicians explore opportunities to grown their career. Learn how he does all of this and much more in this interview! Links to check out: Hugh's website A Musical Life (podcast) A Musical Life Mastermind AirTurn

Teaching improvisation is like Fight Club. The first rule of teaching improvisation is you don't talk about improvisation! That's Project Trio's approach, and it's totally compelling. 10 years ago, Peter took all the energy and drive he had for the audition circuit and poured into getting Project Trio off the ground. We talked about it back then. Fast-forward to the present, and the results of this hard work have paid dividends. Learn about what Peter did and the results he got in this interview! Links to check out: Project Trio website YouTube channel

Danny Ziemann couldn't find a book on bass lines that worked for him. So he created The Low Down. Now he's released his second volume, and he's looking to expand way beyond that. Danny is committed to teaching the fundamentals in a clear, step-by-step process. It's a fresh approach to jazz bass pedagogy from the mind of a committed music educator. Learn more about this dynamic young musician in this interview! Links to check out: Danny's website The Low Down Vol. 1 and 2

Lauren Pierce started out on the typical music school path. But something happened along the way. In the midst of grad school, Lauren decided to quit. She struck out on her own and asked herself a critical question: What if? Instead of grad school, Lauren decided to: - put dozens of videos on YouTube - learn how to write code - build up a worldwide social media following - start a membership site - create video courses - teach Skype lessons Learn how taking the road less traveled helped Lauren launch her career in this interview! Check out these links: Lauren's website Lauren's YouTube channel Lauren's teaching site Bowing course on Discover Double Bass Codeacademy

This is Emilio Guarino. He plays bass. But that's not all he does. He makes music with computers. He also teaches and performs in many musical styles. He's even written a book to help musicians figure out how to find a foothold. On his blog and Youtube channel, Emilio asks questions like: Are you the type of person you'd hire for a gig? Are auditions a problem-solving activity or a chance to beat up on yourself? When does the real world actually start? We dig into these topics and much more in this interview! Check out these sites: Emilio's website Make It (book) Emilio's YouTube channel Book recommendations: Meditations by Marcus Aurelius The Art of Deception by Nicholas Capaldi Managing Oneself by Peter Drucker The 4-Hour Workweek by Tim Ferriss James Clear (writer) Mark Manson (writer)

Christine Hoock is a tossed salad of musical genres. Maybe she's playing Phillip Glass. Perhaps she's performing Arvo Pärt. She could even be playing tangos or jamming with a DJ. But regardless of what she's playing, it's with her beautiful, compelling sound. Günter Klaus and Franco Petracchi taught her, and she has taken the double bass a new level. She has total command of the bass and is a compelling world-class artist. Learn how she does it in this interview! Resources we covered in this interview: Christine's website Christine on YouTube Christine on the Vanhal Concerto (Strad Magazine) Contrabajisimo (album) other albums by Christine

Pablo Aslan breaks bow hairs. A lot of bow hairs. In fact, he rivals the guys in the Met for most-frequent rehair at his NYC bow shop. He also makes killer bass lines. He's truly the Ray Brown of bowed marcato bass lines. Learn how he does it in this interview! Resources we covered in this interview: Pablo's website AvantangoMedia (Pablo's YouTube channel) Piazzolla in Brooklyn (album) Tango Grill (album)

Sam Suggs calls himself an omnivorous musician. I love this tagline. I feel like I'm eating at a fantastic fusion restaurant when I hear Sam's music. I'm not expecting these flavors to work, but they are so good together. First, he takes a little 1750s galant style. Next, he adds a dash of Verdi. He finally tops it off with—I kid you not—Skrillex and Daft Punk. Then he marches over to a bar and gives it a battle test in front of the patrons. Best of all, he does this without a looping pedal in sight. Learn more about how he works his magic in this interview. Sam is also kicking off the upcoming International Society of Bassists convention. We dig into what he's planning in our chat, and I know you'll love what he's got in the works. Resources we covered in this interview: Sam's website Sam's YouTube channel Study with Sam at James Madison University Music in the Galant Style by Robert Gjerdingen (book recommendation)

On both the blog and the podcast, I've always taken the stance of making things as good as I can and then putting them out in the world without any apologies. Nothing drives me crazy more than listening to a podcast and heading the host apologize for a few minutes about this or that. I resolved never to do this. I would make the best product I could and then just present it without and excuses or "aw shucks" commentary. Today, I'm letting loose. This is all the stuff that I have struggled with behind the scenes over the years. All the times I slapped my head in frustration at my missteps. Check out the accompanying blog post, (featuring similar but not identical content) and enjoy these tales of podcasting gone wrong! You can also check out the three-part series I wrote for ArtsHacker about podcasting for more nuts & bolts information about the technology behind making a podcast.

Thierry Barbé is a man in constant motion. When he's not performing as principal bass of the Paris National Opera or teaching at the Paris Conservatory, Thierry can be found in all corners of the globe, performing lesser-known gems from the bass repertoire and giving clinics along the way. He is a technical synthesizer, pulling from many different schools of playing, even incorporating German bow into his bag of techniques. Thierry is a pioneer in uniting the European double bass community. He organized the first European Bass Conference in 2008 and started the European Society of Bassists shortly after that. He also has a new CD/DVD, which are must-haves for any bassist. It's available from the Triton label and as an MP3 download on Amazon. Best of all, Thierry is a warm and caring person who brightens the day of anyone he runs into. I had the good fortune to work with him on the International Society of Bassists board a few years ago, and he brought a marvelous energy to the organization. Check out the full interview using the audio player, and subscribe to the podcast to get interviews delivered to your inbox or device automatically! Resources we covered in this interview: Thierry's website Thierry's YouTube channel French Impressions on Amazon (MP3 download) French Impressions - CD/DVD on Triton

It's time for our 2016 listener survey! This survey will only take a minute or so to fill out, and it's incredibly helpful for me. Why? First off, I love hearing from you! Also, it shows me what you find most compelling about what I put out for the podcast. But most of all, it helps me to create podcast content that helps you. If you can find the time to take the survey, I'd really appreciate it!

I wrote a three-part series for Drew McManus' site ArtsHacker earlier this year, and this got my brain going: what if I also put out some "pulling back the curtain" podcasts about how I do all of this and what I've learned in the process? So that's what today's episode is. I'm breaking this into two parts: today I'm covering "the art of the interview" and seven lessons I've learned about interviewing. Next time we'll go deep into the tech behind recording, editing, and putting these episodes out. Podcasters like me end up having this strange skill set where they're half Jay Leno and half IT guy. While some of the bigger podcasters split these duties into various team members, the vast majority of podcasters (myself included) fill both of these roles. Early Days: Discovering Podcasts I discovered podcasts not too long after getting my first iPod Video in 2005. My first podcast was This Week in Tech with Leo Laporte (who I've actually seen live! my wife and I went to the TWiT studio in Petaluma last year to see a live taping of This Week in Tech). I was hooked from the get go, and it wasn't took long before I thought, "What if I did my own podcast?" I filed that thought away for a year. My blog was starting to grow, and I was having a good time riding that wave. But the more I got into blogging, the more I thought about how cool it would be to have a podcast. I was loving listening to interview shows, and I had broadened my listening to include about 20 podcasts at that point. It was basically all that I listened to outside of some music. It had totally supplanted any other form of talk radio or television. As 2006 progressed, I resolved to start my own show, and the last few months of that year were spent purchasing gear, setting up a website, getting hosting for my new podcast, and learning how to use my gear to record and edit. I did some unreleased test episodes at the end of 2006 and put out my first podcast on January 1st of 2007. Getting My Sea Legs Recording yourself makes most people self-conscious, and listening back to yourself as a host can be particularly awkward. Like most people, I hated how I sounded on the mic, and I didn't really know how to use any of the gear that I had that well, so it was trial by fire for sure. I had this questionable Acer laptop at the time, with caused all sorts of problems early on, but I'll save those details for the tech episode next time. I put out what I thought was a pretty decent first episode, just stating the purpose of the show and what I hope to do. The funny thing is that I have done pretty much exactly what I said on that first episode! I went back not too long ago and listened to that episode, expecting some truly cringe-worthy material, but to my surprise it was actually pretty tight. My first three episodes had no guests—they were just me rambling into the microphone, and it's amazing to hear how stiff and stilted my delivery was. It was all new to me, and that's the first big lesson I have for this episode: no matter how well-versed you may be in public speaking, it takes time to find your own rhythm and your own voice in front of the microphone for a podcast. Imitating someone else may work at first, but ultimately you have to find your own style. It's tough! My First Guests I finally got a guest on episode 4—Andy Anderson from the Lyric Opera of Chicago, and I am eternally thankful to him for being willing to take a chance on something like this. Andy is an incredibly open guy, which was amazing for a first guest. He made it so easy for me. I can think of a lot of other people I interviewed after that which would have been much more challenging interviews, but Andy was amazing and was really helpful for building my confidence. I mean, I really didn't know what I was doing. I had listened to podcasts for a while at that point and had taken in a lot of interviews, but doing your own interview is not the thing entirely. It can feel kind of formal and weird—I actually think that it's one of those deceptively difficult skills that seems easy when done well but is in reality incredibly challenging to do at a high level. Lesson #1 - Starting an Interview I hear moments of quality interviewing even in those first episodes, but I cringe as I hear what I call extended resume-type questions: then you went to this school, then this school, then you auditioned for x, y, or z, etc. I still start basically all interviews with some talk about the musician's early years, but I no longer expect to talk about each minute detail of their progression through school, training, and employment. It's not necessarily that interesting… I mean, sometimes it is, and if so that's cool, but what I do now is listen intently to what they are saying and listen for any sort of interesting twist in their path or any extra passion in their voice about a particular aspect of their upbringing. A tip I picked up from Tim Ferriss that I pretty much always use these days: talk with a person

Today's episode features Thomas Martin. Tom has worn many hats throughout his career, working as an orchestra principal bass, soloist, champion of Bottesini's music, luthier, teacher, and conductor. We cover a wide variety of topics, including Tom's early years, playing in the Army Orchestra, studying with Roger Scott, the process of uncovering the music of Bottesini and reconstructing how Bottesini approached the instrument, making basses, and the bass revolution that's currently taking place. Enjoy! Links: Tom's website Tom's Bottesini recordings: Bottesini Collection Vol. 1 Bottesini Collection Vol. 2 Bottesini Collection Vol. 3 Bottesini Collection Vol. 4 Bottesini Collection Vol. 5 Listener feedback links: Cassie LaMarche's GoFundMe for BASS2016 Music Podcasts I've been Enjoying: The Entrepreneurial Musician Divergent Paths Clarineat A Musical Life

Welcome to the fourth and final installment of Winning the Audition, a special series from Contrabass Conversations featuring advice from leaders in the field about preparing and executing auditions successfully. This series is drawn from interviews conducted with dozens of bassists from orchestras like the Boston Symphony, Cleveland Orchestra, National Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, Chicago Symphony, and Houston Symphony, plus some of the most influential pedagogues in the field. I'd like to thank Discover Double Bass for sponsoring this series. They've got several in-depth courses available, including the Double Bass Scales Play-Along Collection, Double Bass Bowing Technique, Beginner's Course, and Creating Walking Bass Lines. Each of these courses includes hours of HD videos, PDFs of exercises, and access to a members-only study group. There's a lot of free content on the site to check out as well, including previews of each of these courses. Check out these courses and much more at discoverdoublebass.com! Today's episode dives into common characteristics and mindsets that distinguish audition winners. We talk about techniques for battling nerves, adopting a more musical approach to the audition process, and processes for developing a good mental state for auditioning.

Today's episode features Berlin Philharmonic principal bassist Matthew McDonald. Originally from Australia, Matthew joined the Philharmonic in 2008 after spending time in orchestras in Denmark and Germany. We cover bow distribution, resonance, the performers mindset, practicing, advice for students, and several other topics. We also feature excerpts of Matthew performing pieces by Hindemith, Bruch, Bottesini, and Koussevitzky. Check out these complete recordings and more on Matthew's YouTube channel. Enjoy! Tracks featured: Hindemith Sonata Bruch Kol Nidrei Bottesini Grande Allegro alla Mendelssohn Koussevitzky Valse Miniature

Welcome to the third installment of Winning the Audition, a special series from Contrabass Conversations featuring advice from leaders in the field about preparing and executing auditions successfully. This series is drawn from interviews conducted with dozens of bassists from orchestras like the Boston Symphony, Cleveland Orchestra, National Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, Chicago Symphony, and Houston Symphony, plus some of the most influential pedagogues in the field. This episode is sponsored by Discover Double Bass, and they have a play-along scale package written by founder Geoff Chalmers that covers 17 different scale types in all 12 keys. The package includes slow and fast MP3 backing tracks and drones, plus PDFs with fingerings and advice for specific types of scales. Check this out and much more at discoverdoublebass.com! Today's episode follows along with the preparation routines used by several bassists holding high-profile positions, including Cleveland Orchestra principal bassist Max Dimoff, Houston Symphony principal bassist Robin Kesselman, and Chicago Symphony principal bassist Alex Hanna. Book discussed: Toughness Training for Sports by James Loehr

Today's episode is a "round two" with Justin Locke. After playing double bass for many years with the Boston Pops, Justin is now a management coach, speaker, author, and playwright. We talk about many concepts, including the Toyota Lean Manufacturing system and how it relates to the Simandl technique, crazy stories from the Boston Pops, arts education, lessons from the music world that can be applied to the corporate world, workflow and timing, the "Mozart in the Jungle" effect that Justin has experienced, and his latest book that explores the physics of emotional energy. Check out the original interview from nearly a decade ago here. Books mentioned: Justin's books Real Men Don't Rehearse Principles of Applied Stupidity Getting in Touch with Your Inner Rich Kid Time Light Love Mozart in the Jungle The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing

Welcome to Winning the Audition - a special series from Contrabass Conversations featuring advice from leaders in the field about preparing and executing auditions successfully. This series is drawn from interviews conducted with dozens of bassists from orchestras like the Boston Symphony, Cleveland Orchestra, National Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, Chicago Symphony, and Houston Symphony, plus some of the most influential pedagogues in the field. This episode is sponsored by Discover Double Bass, and they have a course on bowing technique with Lauren Pierce that I highly recommend checking out. This course is divided into 37 HD lessons, and Lauren gives a short video overview of the three categories that these videos cover: the basics, bow control, and real world techniques. There's also a free preview lesson on phrasing with the bow. Check out over 70 free lessons and much more at discoverdoublebass.com! About Winning the Audition This series provides actionable advice that you can use to take your auditioning to the next level, and while we're speaking with bassists for these episodes, the advice can certainly be applied to other instruments and disciplines as well. This series is divided into four episodes: Preparing for Audition Success, Practicing Techniques for Peak Auditions, Preparation Routines That Work, and Sealing the Deal. Special thanks goes to John Grillo, who was my co-host for many of these interviews. Today's episode includes advice from dozens of major figures in the bass world, including Lawrence Hurst, Michael Hovnanian, Ranaan Meyer, Ian Hallas, Brandon Mclean, Robin Kesselman, Ira Gold, Max Dimoff, Jack Budrow, Andrew Anderson, Rob Kassinger, Peter Tambroni, Greg Sarchet, Andrew Raciti, Marc Ramírez, Gaelen McCormick, Joseph Conyers, Colin Corner, Ju-Fang Liu, Jeffrey Turner, Owen Lee, Brad Opland, Alex Hanna, and Ed Barker.

Today's episode features Jory Herman, who is a member of the San Diego Symphony bass section and has just released his second solo album titled Life. In addition to playing in the San Diego Symphony, Jory is actively involved in community engagement in the San Diego area. He has recently become Director of Community Engagement with Art of Elan and is an active teacher and clinician. We talk about his early years in music, studying bass with Paul Ellison at Rice University, and his time playing in the New World Symphony, where he got bitten by the community engagement bug. We also discuss the recording of both his previous album of Bach Cello Suites and his most recent album, as well as what it's like to continue to develop as a player and a person after landing an orchestra job. Enjoy! Links: joryherman.com Art of Elan Bach album Life album Interview Highlights Early years piano first instrument, started cello in 5th grade and switched to bass a few months later First bass teachers were Becky Merritt and Dennis Whittaker, then Andy Moritz and Paul Ellison studied with Paul Ellison at Rice - 5 year honors program - BM and MM the student experience at Rice Early professional experiences New World Symphony getting the "community engagement bug" while in this program Spent a year playing in the National Symphony before joining San Diego Symphony in 2010 Continuing to set goals and develop as a musician "after the audition" lessons learned from Paul Ellison 1) Things you know 2) Things you know you don't know 3) Things you don't know you don't know. finding inspiration in the dynamically changing double bass community continuing to develop as a person feeding your soul as well as the technical aspects of your playing Jory's educational and community engagement work Art of Elan - Jory has just been named the Director of Community Engagement San Diego Youth Symphony Jory's Book of Warm-Ups learning to to present what you do - lessons from the world of science Bach album and Life album recording venues Brahms arrangement Work-Life Balance Listener Feedback links: bass for sale from Eric Windmeier

Welcome to Winning the Audition - a special series from Contrabass Conversations featuring advice from leaders in the field about preparing and executing auditions successfully. This series is drawn from interviews conducted with dozens of bassists from orchestras like the Boston Symphony, Cleveland Orchestra, National Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, Chicago Symphony, and Houston Symphony, plus some of the most influential pedagogues in the field. Our sponsor for this episode is Discover Double Bass. This site is run by Geoff Chalmers and provides lessons and step-by-step courses on a variety of double bass areas of study. They've got free articles, string reviews and a show called Ask Geoff and Lauren where they answer questions from the double bass community. Geoff does great work and has built this into a tremendous resource for bassists everywhere. Check out over 70 free lessons and much more at discoverdoublebass.com! About Winning the Audition This series provides actionable advice that you can use to take your auditioning to the next level, and while we're speaking with bassists for these episodes, the advice can certainly be applied to other instruments and disciplines as well. This series is divided into four episodes: Preparing for Audition Success, Practicing Techniques for Peak Auditions, Preparation Routines That Work, and Sealing the Deal. Special thanks goes to John Grillo, who was my co-host for many of these interviews. Today's episode includes advice from dozens of major figures in the bass world, including Lawrence Hurst, Michael Hovnanian, Ranaan Meyer, Ian Hallas, Brandon Mclean, Robin Kesselman, Ira Gold, Max Dimoff, Jack Budrow, Andrew Anderson, Rob Kassinger, Peter Tambroni, Greg Sarchet, Andrew Raciti, Marc Ramírez, Gaelen McCormick, Joseph Conyers, Colin Corner, Ju-Fang Liu, Jeffrey Turner, Owen Lee, Brad Opland, Alex Hanna, Links from the episode: Performance Success Audition Success Fight Your Fear and Win Flow

Jason reveals his "top secret" plans for the podcast!

Today's episode features a conversation with Ursula Dieterich-Pedersen, who is organizing the 5th European Biennial Double Bass Congress, which will be taking place in Prague this September 20-25. Ursula and I got a chance to talk recently about some of the details for the event. You can find all the details for this event at bass2016.eu.

Today's episode features David White, who works as an upright and electric bassist in the world of musical theatre. David is based in New York City and is currently on tour with the Bridges of Madison County. We talk about his time at the Berklee College of Music and working as a bassist for Royal Caribbean, moving to New York City and getting involved with the theatre scene, a week in the life of a theatre musician, developing networking skills, and much more. Enjoy! Links: David's website Shirtwaist Sisters Interview Highlights Early Years mom choir teacher, dad lighting designer started playing drums, then started bass in 6th grade attended Berklee College of Music for two years Working for Royal Caribbean's Brilliance of The Seas for 9 months weekly schedule varies depending on the length of the cruise production shows made by Royal Caribbean that are played for every cruise three of these productions for David's ship tango show rock song medley Broadway medley fly-ons or guest artists people that would come in and just do their one show for that cruise big band set / jazz set depending on the show generally no days off Getting into the theatre scene in New York David moved to New York with the intention of getting into the theatre scene joined the union (802), got the union book and started contacting bassists networking principles how subbing for a show works The Zen mindset of playing the same music every night Typical weekly schedules for a show Mondays typically travel day Tuesday is opening night for the show morning is free load-in during the afternoon - unpack instrument, get it plugged in, cords taped down, etc. soundcheck at 5 or 5:30 - cast is also getting a walkthrough in the theater (weird entrances for that particular theater, etc.) you get an hour before the show to eat and change Wednesday, Thursday, Friday have evening shows (mornings and afternoons are off) doubles on Saturday and Sunday close the show Sunday, pack up gear and head back to hotel Gear: what David uses for shows upright electric amp accessories Developing networking skills

Today's episode features Lloyd Goldstein, who has transitioned from playing in the Florida Orchestra to his current role working as a certified music practitioner at the Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa. It's so exciting to speak with someone who has continued to evolve so dramatically in his craft and career throughout his life. Lloyd's path is unconventional and inspirational. We get into all sorts details about Lloyd's life like his "burning bush" moment that propelled him into a career on the bass, his circuitous path to the Florida Orchestra, discovering François Rabbath, the multiple benefits he has experienced from his practice of yoga, and how he came to find himself in his current role as a certified music practitioner. Links: Lloyd's website PBS program featuring Lloyd's work at Moffitt Music for Healing and Transition Program Albums and book Interview Highlights Early Years bass first musical instrument no bass lessons outside of 1/2 hour weekly public school lessons graduated high school early, started college at 16 decided at 20 that he wanted to study bass had a "burning bush" moment propelling him to the bass during a table saw injury began to study bass through several Florida schools, eventually began to study with Lucas Drew practicing 5+ hours a day got a job in the Florida Gulf Coast Orchestra, eventually became the Florida Orchestra stayed there for 21 years Discovering François Rabbath 10 years into his time at the Florida Orchestra, Lloyd felt like he had hit a wall in his bass playing went to George Vance workshop in Washington D.C. area where Rabbath was teaching that was "the" moment for him started making yearly trips to Paris to study with François would practice all day and walk around Paris at night learning the "first bow stroke" - the son premier on which all other bow strokes are based the forearm is the conductor and the wrist and fingers are relatively passive François says that we never unlearn anything - you don't get rid of bad habits - you add new skills The Power of Practicing Yoga - 700 pieces of writing emanated from Lloyd's first two years of practicing yoga and 400 drawings - eventually compiled into Lloyd's book Inside Yoga Finding balance between organized practice goals and "obsessing" on something Working in a hospital environment Lloyd had started to compose simple melodies from which pieces emerged through yoga practice, kept getting this inner self message to do volunteer work began to volunteer at Moffitt Cancer Center learned about certified music practitioners through contact at Moffitt became certified and began to work in the Moffitt Arts In Medicine program took a year's leave from the Florida Orchestra to try out this new career and loved it got hired as an artist-in-residence at Moffitt 8 years ago performing versus giving a gift of music details about the experience of performing in this setting the idea of entrainment and meeting patients where they are entrainment has two aspects to it: physical psychological/emotional

This is a special episode featuring International Society of Bassists 2017 Convention Chair and Artistic Director Nicholas Walker discussing plans for the upcoming convention. This 50th anniversary convention looks like it will be outstanding, with several new developments unique to this event. Enjoy! International Society of Bassists 2017 Convention June 5-10 at Ithaca College, New York Other ISB-related interviews you may enjoy include: Douglas Mapp - current president of the ISB Madeleine Crouch - general manager of the ISB Tentative Convention Details Headliners Confirmed: Sébastien Dubé Etienne LaFrance Christian McBride Gary Karr (keynote speech) Tentative: Edgar Meyer Renaud Garcia-Fons 2015 Competition Winner Recitals Mike Forfia Sam Suggs 2017 Competitions will take place Sunday and Monday (6/4 and 6/5) Competition Chair - Sandor Ostlund Opening Night Celebration on June 5 June 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10 - convention days Young Bassists Program organized by Gaelen McCormick Adult Learner Double Bass Program organized by Elizabeth Steves Tentative plans with Chicago Symphony principal bass Alex Hanna for a daily hourlong "orchestra repertoire throwdown" Joel Quarrington - Friday night recital a time each day where we all work out on the bass together - led by David Allen Moore dozens of presenters call for presentations will go out soon philosophical approach to the 50th anniversary convention great talk with Gary Karr about the ISB 50 years ago compared to today what connects us is that we all love and play the bass coming into contact with the instrument is one of the themes Nicholas would like to dwell on for this convention make sure that there's something at the convention for everyone opportunity to geek out on very specific topics get the luminaries of our bass world there - we covered this topic in our Douglas Mapp interview probably have a session where people can sit down and talk with Gary Karr about his life and career the halls are fantastic - great acoustics for bass Grammy-winning sound recording technology specialist Brian Dozoretz will be recording events at the convention Brian has recorded numerous luminaries in the bass world the convention will take place mostly in one building - vendors, sessions, etc. spaces for impromptu jams after hours event on campus at the pub Ithaca is within driving distance of most of the major Northeast population centers: New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Cleveland, etc. bass rental/borrowing for those traveling from far away—like Zipcar for basses

Today's episode features Ithaca College professor and International Society of Bassists president Nicholas Walker. In addition to teaching at Ithaca College, Nicholas performs between 170 and 180 concerts a years in a wide variety of musical genres, he is a prolific composer, and he has taught for many years along with Paul Ellison and François Rabbath at Domaine Forget in Quebec. Nicholas will be hosting the 2017 ISB Convention at Ithaca College next June 5-10. We talk about his early musical influences, his experiences working with Paul Ellison and François Rabbath, balancing performing with other activities, and the Ithaca double bass experience. We also go into great detail about a day in the life of a student at Domain Forget, which is a topic that we talked about with David Allen Moore back on episode 162 of the podcast. We also feature several musical excerpts from Nicholas, starting with excerpt of a tune with singer songwriter Tenzin Chopak called "Just Don't Go." We'll also play a few excerpts of some of Nicholas' solo bass compositions, and you can find complete recordings on his YouTube channel. Enjoy! Musical Excerpts: "Just Don't Go" with singer songwriter Tenzin Chopak Chorale - solo bass Watermark - with cellist Elizabeth Simkin Interview Highlights Background and Early Years started on piano, picked up bass in 4th grade, playing jazz early on and music with friends in addition to the public school started taking lessons with Duane Rosengard, who was a student at Eastman at the time played in the Rochester Philharmonic Youth Orchestra studying with Mark Foley with many of the people surrounding Nicholas, there wasn't a big distinction between jazz and classical playing - it was all part of musical life for him Working with Paul Ellison moving to Houston and meeting Paul Ellison Paul's teaching style the Domaine Forget double bass experience Buddhist philosophy - any student who shows up has earned the right to learn Paul's comfort moving from student to teacher role Working with François Rabbath the right time to hear something from a teacher how, exactly, can he help each particular person his first experience meeting François A Day in the Life at Domaine Forget put the bass players in a barn and let them work get up early 8:30 am - all meet together - 25 students plus the two teachers bodywork and 90 minute workout together Stretching Yoga Feldenkrais Method Alexander Technique Pilates bass workout together - all done by ear and by rote - no music stands - working together in a big circle shifting exercises bowing exercises specific left hand techniques hand frames drop thumb expansion pivoting hammer on / pull off fingering patterns etudes at the end of the two weeks, they have a 90 minute routine that they do together without stopping - one exercise after another all this material comes from meeting with all the students the first night and asking them their goals for the camp 10 am - break followed by two hours of lessons lunch 1:30 pm - back in the barn for another 90 minute class with the senior faculty member Paul does a lot of stroke work and body awareness opportunity to introduce concepts like balance, arm weight, anything that came up in prior master classes everything from the simplest open string playing to more complex bow bouncing, forward/reverse curve 3:00 pm - master class evening - concerts with notable visiting artists, bass recital, public master classes The Double Bass Program at Ithaca largely modeled on the way Domaine Forget operates one of the nation's oldest conservatories - Sevcik and Rachmaninoff were both on faculty group classes for technique, orchestra rep, studio class in addition to lessons alternative lesson approaches in addition to traditional one-on-one lessons Performing, Teaching, and Composing finding balance (or not finding balance) being at peace with the choices you make 170-180 concerts a year the concerts and individual practice are where the "important stuff" happens

Today's podcast features an in-depth conversation with Peter Tambroni. This is a "round two" conversation that builds upon the topics that we covered in our previous talk on episode 204. Today we dig into fallacies surrounding public school teaching, instrument setup, life planning, instrument insurance, practicing ideas, teaching philosophies, and much more. This episode is a gold mine for anyone interested in taking their teaching game to the next level! Pete is the author of An Introduction to Bass Playing, which is now in its seventh edition, and is an active bass performer, teacher, and author. You can learn more about Pete on his website petertambroni.com. Interview Highlights Fallacies Surrounding Public School Teaching you don't want to get too well-educated or you won't be hired Pete has never found that to be true in the various districts in which he has worked everyone wants the best person for the position most districts will do what they can to give you credit for your past experience the right person for the job is the right person or the department philosophy-wise and personality-wise people tend to focus too much on the nitty-gritty skills - it's more about fit than anything you should be interviewing them as much as they are interviewing you replacing people that are: good and well-liked good and not well-liked not good and well-liked not good and not well-liked Skills are easy to teach - personality and philosophy are not people tend to not ask enough questions in job interviews Pete always want to be somewhere where the administration supported fine arts performers practicing their craft - this was a question he posed in his interviews look at the distribution of music teacher positions - are people full-time orchestra, part orchestra and part general music, etc? what degree does fundraising play in the school? this can turn into a nightmare learning the other instruments as a music teacher Pete took two extra semesters of violin and viola music ed programs are not all requiring bass for music ed majors Instrument Setup the condition that many school basses are in - so easy to totally neglect them a bass with action that is too high is a catastrophically worse situation for a young player than a violin with action too high setup considerations for school instruments fingerboard bridge shaping the need for a proper luthier the extreme difficulty created for younger bass students by basses that are poorly set up the advances that D'Addario has made in strings recently for students Life Planning investing vs. saving index funds Apps and programs Betterment Wealthfront Robin Hood IRAs Roth IRAs 403b investment programs for educators Instrument Insurance get a separate policy apart from your homeowners or renters insurance - these may not cover your instrument at a paying gig Clairon Merz-Huber Practicing Ideas teaching replacement fingerings the challenge for bass players of heterogeneous string teaching (starting in D major, for example) nothing beats Simandl for mapping out the fingerboard Thomas Gale's book Practical Studies for Double Bass is great for younger students starts in 1st and 4th positions - allows for physical anchor point of thumb against the neck block helps eliminate the "old-school bass vertigo" teaching shifting finding the goal note should not be a fishing expedition! Mathias Wexler article about shifting in American String Teacher journal: "Throwing The Dart and Other Reflections on Intonation" from the November 2004 issue of American String Teacher. this is a link to the shifting exercise Pete describes shifting practice play stop evaluate play correct note if not in tune repeat above procedure until shift lands right on General Teaching Philosophies try to teach for 10 years down the road try to teach for the student's next teacher set people up so that things don't need to be fixed in the future having students nail a simpler piece versus struggle through a more difficult piece empathizing with your students don't ask questions to "put students in their place" it's never strings versus band versus choir - though there are doubles, there are "string kids," "choir kids," and "band kids" - offering all programs brings music to a larger portion of the student body we remember the emotion of experiences - emotion drives attention drives learning How Gigging Helps You to be a Better Teacher helps with empathy opportunity to observe other players opportunity to observe conductors being respectful of the student's time Listener Feedback Links: Pablo Aslan - tango bassist lloydgoldstein.com

Today's episode features jazz bassist and vocalist Katie Ernst. Katie was recently featured in the Chicago Reader, and Jason Moran describes her as "a great bassist, composer, and lyricist, she has an uncanny ability to mix traditions... following her voice is like reading a great novel." She is one of Chicago's most active young bassists, with two recent album releases: her solo project Little Words and her trio album Twin Talk. We talk about Katie's years growing up in the Chicago suburb of Naperville, her "yearly check-ins" at the Birch Creek Music Performance Center with Jeff Campbell, studying at Eastman with Jeff Campbell and James VanDemark, and her educational work at the Jazz Institute of Chicago. We also cover the Betty Carter Jazz Ahead program, her job directing the big band at the Wheaton Conservatory, differences between the New York City and Chicago jazz scenes, and much more! Katie's recent projects: Little Words - solo project set to the poetry of Dorothy Parker Twin Talk - trio album Listener Feedback Links: Noah Yanicki - The Mountain and the Moon - new release - excerpt of Jackrabbit played David White - The Bridges of Madison County Interview Highlights: Early Years grew up in Naperville, product of Naperville public school system piano starting in 1st grade - sang in church and in choir took bass lessons with Jeremy Attanaseo in preparation for Eastman audition Studied with Jeff Campbell and James VanDemark - worked on Romberg, Simandl, vibrato, other fundamentals with VanDemark lots of summer camps in high school, fiddle camp, other camps - eventually found Birch Creek Music Center right before 9th grade - used Birch Creek as her "yearly check-in" Jeff Campbell - focused on deep fundamentals - applied lessons she learned during the summer throughout the following year becoming a jazz vocalist while in high school - singing with the jazz band, etc. the experience of playing the foundation and singing the melody simultaneously - interesting way to experience tunes Katie encourages her bass students to sing as well - incredibly helpful for young improvisors Katie got a bachelor of musical arts degrees at Eastman as well—kind of like a "doctorate lite' - she studied linguistic analysis tools in jazz scat singing Betty Carter Jazz Ahead Program in Washington, D.C. - where she met Jason Moran What drew Katie back to Chicago didn't want to go directly to a masters program Eastman had a postgraduate internship program where they pay a stipend for you to work for a nonprofit Katie called the Jazz Institute of Chicago and proposed that she be an intern moved into Chicago itself - became connected with the community of creative music in Chicago differences between New York City and Chicago jazz scenes Current Projects Twin Talk interactive group - focus on exploring ideas together - elements of freedom and original compositions - groovy, melodic, experimental Little Words project under Katie's name - Dorothy Parker poems set to music powerful poems that have a singable quality to them - cultivated Lessons learned serving as Big Band Director at Wheaton Conservatory listening to the whole band thinking programmatically when selecting music how to articulate to a group of musicians how to "get" a certain style Jazz Institute of Chicago - education program director takes students to see performances monthly meetings opportunities to be an opening act for Jazz Institute concerts Finding time for creativity

Today's episode is a live performance of Jon Deak's quirky quintet Lucy and the Count: Love Dreams from Transylvania. Written in 1981, this is a theater piece divided into three scenes featuring the solo bass in a dramatic, virtuoso role. In the first scene, you can hear the creaking of the ship morph into a dramatic first theme. The second scene is a dinner party and features each instrument "talking" during a dinner party. The words that the instrumentalists are intended to imitate are written in the parts along with the contours of the speech, making for some crazy sonic effects. The third scene portrays a ruined chapel with a coffin containing the Count. The Count turns into a bat and visits Lucy in a particularly twisted finale. This performance was recorded live at the Midsummer's Music Festival for their Big Top Door County 25th Anniversary concert. I've had the pleasure of playing with this fine ensemble for the past decade, and it was a real treat to get to perform this soloistic work with them! Lucy and the Count: Love Dreams from Transylvania Live Performance: July 12, 2015 David Perry and Stephanie Preucil, violins Allyson Fleck, viola Walter Preucil, cello Jason Heath, bass Alan Kopischke, narrator Purchase parts through J.W. Pepper Recording by Steve Lewis

Today's show features Brandon McLean, who just won the associate principal bass position for the Pittsburgh Symphony. Brandon has most recently served as principal bass of the Colorado Symphony, and prior to that he held positions in the Vancouver Symphony and the Florida Orchestra. Originally from Seattle, Brandon did his undergrad at the University of North Texas, his masters at the Boston Conservatory, and studied at Carnegie Mellon after that with Pittsburgh Symphony principal bassist Jeff Turner. He played in the New World Symphony before landing his first gig with the Florida Orchestra. We dig into the details of the audition process, like how Brandon starts preparing long-term for the audition and how that preparation changes as the audition approaches, Brandon's technique routine, which he keeps up throughout the audition process, the benefits of getting to practice in a large space like a concert hall, and routines in the days prior to the audition. We also feature excerpts of Brandon performing the Dave Anderson Duets with Brendan Kane. Books mentioned: Audition Success by Don Greene Performance Success by Don Greene Interview Highlights Audition Preparation Strategies the process starts right after finding out what the list is looks at what are the more problematic excerpts for him and begins by spending time on those about 5 weeks out, he starts to get more disciplined for a long time did the system of ranking what the more difficult excerpts are and spending the most time on those, but he found that then the audition would come up and they'd ask for the excerpts that he didn't spend as much time on breaks up practice session into 10 minute increments; practices for an hour or an hour-and-a-half in a couple of different segments in the day keeps himself disciplined to no more than 10 minutes on a specific excerpt breaks up the last as many ways as possible: top to bottom bottom to top skip and do every 3rd excerpt 2-3 weeks out, he shortens that 10 minutes per excerpt to 3-4 minutes per except so that he's hitting everything briefly just about every day Brandon generally runs things at 75% tempo most of the time he can generally play this under tempo—it's getting them up to tempo that's the real issue there's some point between that 75% and 100% tempo that he can usually solve most of the technical problems problems associated with fast excerpts were dealt with away from those excerpts - dealing with technical studies that helped during audition prep, Brandon still spends at least 30-45 minutes still doing scales and technical exercises he cuts that down when getting really close to the audition Brandon's Technique Routine pick a scale slow bow practice (whole notes) using Intonia software then does a different scale with half notes, quarter notes, etc - gets himself playing pretty quickly do something similar with arpeggios after that right hand practice string crossings spiccato exercises to get his right hand moving a little quicker Playing in a Large Space and Recording the benefits of getting to practice in a large space (concert hall) - he didn't get this until later in life getting over the idea that he doesn't really know what he sounds like objectively (similar to getting over the way your voice sounds when you play back a recording) the angle that you play the bass - no one else will ever hear your bass playing from that angle—it's such a specific thing things started to turn on the audition front for Brandon when he started to get really serious about recording himself Brandon had a pretty steady path of progress in auditioning - not advancing, then getting to semis, then making finals, then runner-up for a bunch of auditions Brandon realized at a certain point that he just wasn't a very natural audition taker had to start treat audition taking as his job dealing with the mental discipline of audition taking was something that took him a while to get a grasp of Don Greene books helpful in terms of centering, etc. Brandon has gotten away from thinking that he just needed to have a really good day to win an audition after teaching students and observing them nervous and not nervous, he has concluded that there isn't nearly as much difference in the two states as the students think When he wasn't doing well in auditions, he had actually lost those auditions months in advance Routines as the Audition Approaches usually flies in the day before - flying in too early usually psyched him out it's amazing what tiny things can seep into your mind during an audition when he goes, he generally doesn't talk to people at the audition running is helpful doesn't try to change anything lifestyle-wise coming up to the audition - changes only cause problems Links from Listener Feedback: Summer Camps for Bassists The Low Down by Danny Ziemann Paul Ellison Interview Todd Coolman Interview I Found a Dead Body

It is my pleasure to present this interview with Gabe Katz. Gabe and I have had so many commonalities in our career trajectory, and we have both ended up finding a really satisfying musical niche in the world of secondary school orchestral conducting. Now, by the time you're listening to this, I will have moved on from this career, but of the past seven years this is what I did, and this is what Gabe has also started doing these last couple of years. Prior to his current job teaching orchestra at the high school level in suburban Houston, Gabe held two overseas jobs: one in Durbin, South Africa, and one in Guangzhou Orchestra in China. He also worked in Singapore and in Macao. He ended up meeting up with Hal Robinson while in China and ultimately moving back to the US to study in Hal's private studio and take auditions. We cover the thought process that took him from the performance world into the education world, going back to school at Duquesne in Pittsburgh and his experience taking music education courses at an older age, and the unexpected joys and satisfactions of teaching in the public schools. Interview Highlights started college at Oberlin with Scott Haigh transferred in undergrad to SUNY Purchase and studied with Tim Cobb MM Carnegie Mellon with Jeff Turner Summer Festivals: principal bass of NRO Music Academy of the West others Manhattan School of Music for Performers Diploma - worked with Tim Cobb again driving all over the place doing freelance gigs, making it to semi-finals for some auditions, but started scouring the Internet for overseas opportunities got an orchestra job in Durbin, South Africa got a job as principal bass of the Guangzhou Orchestra in China also worked in Singapore and Macao meeting up with Hal Robinson while in China and ultimately coming back to the United States to study privately with him was thinking about going back to school - deciding between doctorate or getting certified to teach - postbox programs ended up doing a post baccalaureate program at Duquesne with Steve Benham, who is President-Elect of the American String Teachers Association Gabe's goal was to get a high school orchestra teaching job Gabe ended up getting a high school orchestra director job in suburban Houston - a plum gig for sure! the high level of high school students in this area - comparable to an undergrad population at many music schools getting into conducting - the high level of satisfaction that results from studying scores, planning rehearsals, picking repertoire Gabe knows that he's changing lives every day in this new gig - there's a positivity and excitement to it which he's feeling that you'll pick up on as you listen his 20-year-old self would have thought that he was a "sellout" Orin O'Brein: "You're never done learning." - music is a journey, a lifelong learning path conducting is a culmination of everything you've ever learned (Gabe says this and I totally feel that as well!) how Duquesne keeps its music education program elite The University of Michigan string teaching legacy - Steve Culver, Bob Gillespie, Bob Phillips, Steve Benham most Bachelors of Music programs train you to: A: Work at Starbucks B: Win an orchestra job Hal: "You're offering yourself as a product."

Today we're chatting with Gjorgji Cincievski, who is the principal bass of the Malta Philharmonic and has been putting out some very cool arrangements for Hoffmeister, including an arrangement of Bach's Goldberg Variations for violin, viola, and double bass. You'll be hearing excerpts from this piece on Gjorgji's new recording throughout the episode, and we have a link in the show notes where you can get a copy of the recording and of the sheet music, as well as several other arrangements by Gjorgji. Gjorgji will also be hosting the Malta Double Bass Summer Camp from August 22 - 28. Check out more details about this camp here. Interview Highlights growing up in Macedonia the polyrhythms that are a part of folksongs in this country life in Malta publications for Hoffmeister trio arrangement of the Goldberg Variations, for violin, viola, and double bass many other arrangement projects on the horizon for Hoffmeister

Today we feature double bass luthier Arnold Schnitzer. Arnold has had an interesting career path, from gigging around the East Coast as a youth to entering the corporate world and finally finding his way to the word of instrument repair. We talk about a wide range of topics, including information versus knowledge, wisdom, and street smarts, and the perils and pitfalls of the information age. We also dig into Mike Rowe's Dirty Jobs (there's a great interview with him on the Tim Ferriss podcast) - this all starts about 20 minutes into the actual interview - and training people for the jobs that actually exist, and the "in-between" jobs. This is quite a conversation—be sure to check this out. There's a lot of food for thought here. We also get deep into instrument construction, setup, maker competitions, wolf tones, and the Oberlin Bass Workshop, which Arnold serves on the faculty for and which sounds like a very cool event. I know that you're really going to enjoy this conversation with the always interesting Arnold Schnitzer! Interview Highlights Early Years born in Miami Beach (South Beach), FL moved up to Far Rockaway, NJ when he was young - dad was in construction dad got them a boat but Arnold and siblings had to figure out money for gas and fix it up his story of getting this Bohemian bass in his late 30s while working corporate recruiting gig and making good money but hating the job and basically just figuring out on his own (consulting people along the way) how to take this old beater bass apart and totally reconstruct it Information versus Knowledge we talk about information vs. knowledge/wisdom/street smarts - this is an illuminating discussion Arnold is a jazz musician from way back, and he sees instrument repair as a constant improvisation we talk about Mike Rowe of Dirty Jobs (there's a great interview with him on the Tim Ferriss podcast) - this all starts about 20 minutes into the actual interview alternate paths to going to college for x, y, z - people getting trained for the jobs that actually exist traditional jobs are disappearing the in-between jobs are the ones that aren't going away - electrician, plumber, instrument repair, air conditioning service - and these can pay really well! training people for jobs that have gone out of vogue being a luthier does involve working with your hands, but it really involves working with your brain - problem solving with your command center The Future of Employment looking at predictions of jobs in the future and the rise of the worker less economy, think twice about going to college and racking up $100,000 in student loans musicians are the most conservative people on the planet… especially rock & rollers Double Bass Setup and Construction ergonomic contrabass - thought it up while on painkillers wolf tones on the bass all basses will have some wolfiness clarity mainly comes from setup rather than construction what brands of strings can help with clarity other adjustments that can be made to help with clarity thoughts on maker competitions - judges are looking at basses through the eyes of the violin world motto of Oberlin Bass Society: "everyone teaches, everyone learns"

Today's episode features double bassist Jerry Fuller. I've known Jerry for well over a decade at this point and have found him to be such an interesting person. Jerry is best known in the music world for his work in period performance—in fact, he won an award for historically informed performance from the International Society of Bassists in 2015, and he is also a former ISB board member. We cover Jerry's early years in music, attending Northwestern in bass studio of rock stars including Hal Robinson, Curtis Burriss, and Rufus Reid, and his time spent performing in the bass section of the Lyric Opera of Chicago and in Switzerland. While he was in Lyric, Jerry attended business school at the University of Chicago and has worked for most of his professional life in the world of business while simultaneously keeping up an active musical life, and we talk about his what prompted this decision to attend business school and what his experiences in that world have been like. We get into details about how period performance differs from modern technique, how players can explore the world of period playing, and the role of the bass player in the continuo. We also have a great discussion on creativity in music and answer listener questions from Gaelen McCormick and Dan Carson. Jerry has gotten into traditional jazz recently, and we'll open up the episode with an excerpt featuring Jerry performing C'est si Bon, and we'll close with a duet by Bernhard Romberg with Richard Hirschl on cello. Links to check out: Jordi Savall Juilliard Baroque Program Angela Duckworth - Grit ArsAntiguaPresents.com earlybass.com Interview Highlights Early Years and Career grew up in Wisconsin - inspiring encounter with Roger Ruggeri of the Milwaukee Symphony accepted into Northwestern University bass studio with Warren Benfield joined Lyric junior year of college, promoted to assistant principal enrolled in business school at University of Chicago while still playing in Lyric went to work for American Hospital Supply Corporation and found an amazingly creative group of people there joined orchestra in Switzerland Early Music physical and mental differences in early and modern playing what instrument really "drives the bus" in continuo playing outlets for learning more about early music performance switching between early and modern setups Careers and Creative Outlets personality and temperament play a huge role into us figuring out what we should do in the world career-wise temperament over skill level creativity in music and life

Today's podcast features an interview with Todd Coolman, who has just released his latest album Collectibles. Todd is actually playing a CD release event tonight at Smoke Jazz Club in New York City to celebrate the release of the album, which also features Bill Cunliffe on piano and Dennis Mackrel on drums. This is the second time Todd has appeared on the podcast—you can hear his interview with Win Hinkle in our archives. Todd and I cover all sorts of interesting topics in this interview, including his experiences moving from a full-time faculty position down to part-time and the opportunities that opens up for him. We talk about his classical foundation on the bass and dig into classical and jazz crossover and how lessons learned in one genre are valuable in the other. We also talk about skills the modern music student needs to be successful and what colleges can do to help facilitate this, and we get into details about recording this new album. If you enjoyed this episode, check out our interviews with Carlos Henriquez, Chuck Israels, Larry Gray, Ron Carter, Lynn Seaton, and Rufus Reid!

Today's episode features Houston Symphony principal bassist Robin Kesselman. Robin studied with David Allen Moore and Paul Ellison at the Coburn School of Music and the University of Southern California, and with Hal Robinson and Edgar Meyer at the Curtis Institute of Music. He has also performed as Guest Principal Bass with the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, travelled internationally with both the Philadelphia Orchestra and the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and performed with the National, Atlanta, and Baltimore Symphonies. During Robin's time at USC, he sustained a playing injury that took him out of commission for a prolonged period. We dig into how Robin ultimately recovered from this and how it changed his approach to practicing and performing on the bass, and how he practiced while he was out of commission. This was a left arm injury, and Robin continued to practice open string and harmonics with the bow, going into his lessons and working on the Bottesini Concerto on open strings. We also discuss how Robin approaches the audition process: his preparation strategies, his musical goals for an audition, and using visualization techniques. We also feature excerpts from Krzysztof Penderecki's Duo Concertante with Eunice Kim on violin. Enjoy! Interview Highlights Discoveries During Playing Injury: sitting in practice room - "this hurts, but it also still sounds bad" - the mistake of pushing through pain this time spent not using his left hand ultimately took his bow game to a new level - he spent large amounts of time just practicing with the right hand - playing solos and excerpts on open strings / harmonics in lessons! "the building blocks with which I was making my shapes were not completely honest" - referring to the bow arm mental practice / visualization - he got into this during this time period learning the difference between an ache and something more serious Thoughts on Auditioning: there's nothing that isn't practicable timing and pulse mathematical pulse/note division vs. feeling right the fallacy of perfect audition rounds similarities between prepping for an audition and a recital auditions have to be an artistic endeavor and about musical expression if you walk out and your whole goal is to play notes that are even and in tune, the second that one note isn't exactly the same as another note you officially have nothing left to offer, because your single goal has crumbled if your goal is to make lines and to make shapes and be expressive, it's ok if one note is a little shorter than the others philosophy from David: as soon as you come in and things are in tune and in time, you are officially at zero The Audition Process in Detail: record constantly during this whole process -throughout the whole day first 50% of the interval really hibernate and work things super slow - considerably under 50% tempo move something up 40 clicks over a period of weeks A and B lists that kind of parallel each other (one Mozart Symphony on one and one on the other, for example) doesn't play for anyone during this time - nothing's put together - it's all really cut up at this point next 25% buff out the edges, smooth out the music, give it a shine playing with recordings, getting the flow right last 25% take the show on the road, play for anybody and everybody, start setting up mock auditions and lessons with other (non-bass) instrumentalists the last week go back to "hibernating" stop playing for people - running rounds - 4-5 excerpts in a row hours wise it's similar through he whole process, but the hours are being used differently all the way until audition time, there was never a day/time when he could not continue to make things better have a specific game plan for those 20 minutes of warm-up once you arrive at the hall bass players don't hire bassists - committees of other instrumentalists do

Today's episode is a tribute to bassist, film composer, and conductor Terry Plumeri, who was found murdered in his home in Florida on April 1st of this year. This episode features comments from former Terry Plumeri student Eric Swanson plus a clip from an early podcast in which I featured the music of Terry.

Leon Bosch is a remarkable figure in the world of the double bass. From his early years growing up in South Africa to his long tenure with the Academy of St Martin in the Fields and his proliferation of solo projects, Leon has approached each challenge with a focus and determination that are incredibly inspiring. This is a "must listen" episode for any musician eager to realize their greatest potential. After retiring from the Academy of St Martin in the Fields to devote himself fully to solo, chamber, and conducting projects, Leon has been working to bring undiscovered treasures of the repertoire to light and to encourage new works for the double bass from composers. New composition are being written for Leon from South African composer Péter Louis van Dijk, British composer Paul Patterson, and American jazz icon Wynton Marsalis. This episode is sponsored by Discover Double Bass, and they have a course on bowing technique with Lauren Pierce that I highly recommend checking out. This course is divided into 37 HD lessons, and Lauren gives a short video overview of the three categories that these videos cover: the basics, bow control, and real world techniques. There's also a free preview lesson on phrasing with the bow—check it out! We feature excerpts from Leon's latest album throughout the episode. Check out Leon's excellent albums (available both as digital downloads and CDs): Music of Rankl Sprongl & Hindemith (latest album) British Double Bass Russian Double Bass Catalan Virtuoso Virtuoso Double Bass Vol. 1 - Giovanni Bottesini Virtuoso Double Bass Vol. 2 - Giovanni Bottesini Pedro Valls - Music for Double Bass & Piano If you're enjoying these episodes, I'd love it if you'd give us a quick review on iTunes! These reviews help us with discoverability and they give me great feedback about how I can keep working on the podcast to make it as valuable as possible for you. Leave a quick star rating and if you could even jot down a sentence or two that would be great. You can also leave a review for our iOS, Android, and Kindle apps.

Today's episode features an entertaining couple of conversations that I had a few years ago with bassist, author, speaker, and playwright Justin Locke. These have been some of our all-time most popular and commented upon episodes, and bringing them back into the spotlight seemed like a good idea. Justin has written several books, including: Real Men Don't Rehearse Principles of Applied Stupidity About Justin Justin Locke came to Boston at age 18 to go to music school, and within a year he found himself playing every freelance gig in town, including the Boston Pops. His 18-year bass-playing stint with the Pops included the Bicentennial Concert in 1976 with Arthur Fielder, which is in the Guinness Book of World Records as the largest audience ever at a classical music concert. And of course he also worked with many of the great conductors of that era, including Leonard Bernstein, John Williams, and Henry Mancini. One day, after playing (and criticizing) a particularly dull children's concert, Justin was challenged to write one himself. The result was Peter VS.the Wolf, a courtroom comedy based on the classic Prokofiev fairy tale. Justin's work in other facets of "show business" continued to expand. Already a playwright and publisher, he then became a video producer, the "score reader" for live Boston Pops TV broadcasts, and manager of the Bose Philharmonic. His books, including his laugh-out-loud Pops Memoir "Real Men Don't Rehearse," have sold thousands of copies. Justin is now a management coach and speaker. He shares what the music business taught him about managing people, through his presentations, individual coaching sessions, his blog, and his books.

Today's episode features Madeleine Crouch, who has served as general manager of the International Society of Bassists for the past 25 years. Madeleine and I talk about her musical background, the value of a liberal arts education, the growth of the ISB over the years, and new developments for the organization like the ISB/George Vance Online Research Library, Online Journal of Bass Research, ISB Connect, teacher directory, and luthier directory. We also give a sneak preview of the 50th anniversary convention which will take place at Ithaca College in upstate New York. Enjoy! Summer camps we cover post-interview: Golden Gate Bass Camp (I'm on faculty for this event!) Kansas City Bass Workshop Peabody Bass Works Blog post I talk about: How I'm Doubling My Productivity and Increasing My Happiness

I'm thrilled to present this complete performance of the Prokofiev Quintet featuring DePaul University faculty member Jeremy Attanaseo on double bass. This performance was broadcast live in February on the radio in Chicago with the International Chamber Artists. I've known Jeremy for years—we both play in the Elgin Symphony and used to play in a bass quartet along with Michael Hovnanian of the Chicago Symphony. Jeremy's a great guy and a great bassist, and I know that you'll enjoy this performance of one of the greatest pieces in the double bass chamber repertoire!

I'm thrilled to bring you this episode featuring Joe Conyers. Joe is the assistant principal bass for the Philadelphia Orchestra and is the founder of Project 440, a nonprofit organization that brings music to young people in Philadelphia. We're joined on this episode by John Grillo, my longtime podcast collaborator. John and I talk with Joe about topics such as: growing up in Savannah studying with Hal Robinson at Curtis the audition circuit becoming comfortable with your own playing the mission of Project 440 conducting Philadelphia's All-City Orchestra Enjoy!

Today's episode features soloist, chamber musician, and recording artist Guy Tuneh. Guy was on the podcast way back in 2007, and a lot has changed for him in the intervening years. His previous interview was one of our most popular episodes of all time, and in this talk we go even deeper, digging into why Guy makes music, how he approaches every single note he plays, and what motivates him to search out new repertoire and bring it to the double bass. Guy has been working on several new recording projects, and we feature two of them today. We are including an excerpt from Beethoven's Romance in G Major before the interview, and we close out the episode with a complete track of Guy performing Bach's Allemande from the Violin Partita in D minor. You can learn about Guy's upcoming solo appearances, recordings, and other details at his website guytuneh.com and on his Facebook page. We also have a video version of this episode on YouTube. Enjoy!