Congratulations!
TweetTo J. in my private studio. The student is now co-principal of the Chicago Youth Symphony. Hard work pays off!
Continue reading »Musings on Pirastro Strings
TweetMy bass recently went under some reconstruction to reset the neck joint. Since it was getting a whole new setup I thought this would be […]
Continue reading »Changing a string is not just changing a string.
TweetThis may or not become a series. But here’s part of being a public school orchestra teacher. ‘Mr.T., my string broke.” “No problem.” Sometimes this […]
Continue reading »Be Careful About Being Helpful
TweetA number of years back I was hired to do an Easter service concert in the west suburbs of Chicago. As is pretty typical with […]
Continue reading »DiscoverDoubleBass.com
TweetDiscoverDoubleBass.com is an outstanding resource that offers exceptional courses for any double bassist. DiscoverDoubleBass.com I hesitate to call the following a ‘review’. Lauren Pierce of […]
Continue reading »Holiday Arrangements for String Orchestra
TweetNeed some holiday music for your young string orchestra? I arrange and play these with my own school orchestras. Both students and audiences have enjoyed […]
Continue reading »String Orchestra Holiday Music Available
TweetHoliday Medley updated 7/3/2018 This is a simple arrangement for string orchestra of Jolly Old St. Nicholas, Good King Wenceslas and Adeste Fideles (O Come All […]
Continue reading »To play or not to play…the ink. That is the question.
TweetTo play or not to play…the ink. That is the question. Some people say to just play what’s on the page. Play what’s printed. Observe […]
Continue reading »How Tight Should Your Bow Hair Be?
TweetWhen the bow is tightened and ready to play, it should still be possible to for the hair to the touch the stick if your […]
Continue reading »Wiedoeft Rosin – Thoughts After 2 Months
TweetAfter using Weidoeft Rosin for two months here are my thoughts: It does not flake or chip off when applying it to the bow. I […]
Continue reading »Mini Reviews – Wiedoeft Rosin & String Emporium Bass Wheel
TweetI recently got two new bass accessories: Wiedoeft Bass Rosin and the String Emporium Bass Wheel. I have to say I’m really impressed with the […]
Continue reading »Teaching Long, Long Ago Variations on Violin
TweetAs a public school orchestra director I have my students perform solos out the Suzuki books. Long, Long Ago is a favorite but students struggle […]
Continue reading »The ErgoBass – A Review
TweetThe ErgoBass ABOUT THE ERGO BASS Designed by Petru Iuga, a bassist and university teacher in Germany. View his short YouTube video. He has done […]
Continue reading »Celebration for Bass Quartet
TweetHere’s a quick arrangement I did of Kool and The Gang’s “Celebration” for bass quartet.
Continue reading »March from The Nutcracker…for Bass Quartet!
TweetThat’s right! The arrangement bass players everywhere have been wishing for! Ok maybe not but I thought it would make a cool piece for bass […]
Continue reading »Bottesini Elegy
TweetHere’s a free download of my edits of Bottesini’s Elegy (updated 06/05/17)
Continue reading »Jazz Pizzicato
TweetLast year I did Samuel Applebaum’s arrangement of Leroy Anderson’s Jazz Pizzicato with my middle school orchestra. I wanted to demonstrate to my students that […]
Continue reading »Bottesini Reverie Accompaniment in Orchestra Tuning…and more!
Tweet I originally did this to have the accompaniment in orchestral tuning as I couldn’t find it elsewhere. As I was revising it I decided […]
Continue reading »Egos, the Students, and The Greater Good
TweetWhat do we want as teachers? All of us want our students to be successful in their endeavours. That success can take many forms and […]
Continue reading »Ramblings on the Future of Music
TweetOh no! Run for the hills. No, wait. Run for the old days. The internet is ‘destroying’ traditional income streams and product sales! People are […]
Continue reading »I don’t want to be a lapsed member any more!
TweetI’ll admit it. I’m not member of the International Society of Bassists or American String Teacher Association. Yep, I know. I was a member for […]
Continue reading »Valse Miniature Arrangment “Donationware”
TweetAs an orchestra teacher I rarely have access to an accompanist. But I see a string orchestra every day. And I’m sure there are bassists […]
Continue reading »What’s inside “An Introduction to Double Bass Playing”?
TweetHere is the table of contents for my textbook “An Introduction to Double Bass Playing”. Click here to download the table of contents PDF
Continue reading »3 Zombies & A Ballerina
TweetCheck out a short video I did on teaching beginning upper string players the bow hand.
Continue reading »Contrabass Conversations Podcasts
TweetI am fortunate to have been on Jason Heath’s Contrabass Conversations podcast several times. Thank you! My 2016 episodes made Jason’s top 5 most downloaded for 2016!! Wow!!!! […]
Continue reading »Which Way is Down?
TweetNeed help teaching bow direction? I’ve got ya covered with my new packet, “Which Way is Down?” 12/21/16 Updated & Improved
Continue reading »Free eBook Downloads
TweetOriginally posted 8/28/2009 Author Jon Gorrie has released a few free downloads and has given me permission to post them here. 1st Aid! For Controlling […]
Continue reading »BEADGCF Banner
TweetOnly 1 left in stock! A banner of the order of flats and sharps. I tried having two banners for each but students found it […]
Continue reading »Composer Pronunciations
TweetHow do you pronounce Bach? Debussy? Schöenberg or Lutoslawski? Unless you met the composer, it is probably slightly different than I or someone else says […]
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