Contrabass Conversations

Latest Episodes:

253: Corey Brown on No Treble, Jaco Pastorius, and the opportunity of being first Sep 26, 2016

Show notes

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

252: Nina DeCesare on injuries, auditioning, and George Vance Sep 22, 2016

Show notes

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)

251: Hans Sturm on motion capture, François Rabbath, and A Day in Paris Sep 15, 2016

Show notes

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)

250: Diana Gannett on her musical journey Sep 12, 2016

Show notes

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

249: Hugh Sung on Musical Entrepreneurship Sep 09, 2016

Show notes

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

248: Peter Seymour on Hard Work Sep 08, 2016

Show notes

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

247: Danny Ziemann on Jazz Bass Lines Sep 07, 2016

Show notes

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

246: Lauren Pierce on YouTube fame Sep 06, 2016

Show notes

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

245: Emilio Guarino on Making It Sep 05, 2016

Show notes

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.