Contrabass Conversations

Contrabass Conversations

double bass podcast

860: Composing new music for double bass

My Intermediate to Advanced Classical Bass course with Discover Double Bass featured compositions from seven of the most exciting composers writing for double bass.

In this episode, we talk with the composers about writing for double bass and the stories behind the pieces they wrote for this course.  Enjoy, and be sure to check out these seven great composers through these links:

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Check out our Online Sheet Music Store with 100+ wide-ranging titles for bassists.

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Check out my Beginner’s Classical Bass course and Intermediate to Advanced Classical Bass course, available exclusively from Discover Double Bass.

Thank you to our sponsors!

Upton Bass String Instrument Company – Upton’s Karr Model Upton Double Bass represents an evolution of our popular first Karr model, refined and enhanced with further input from Gary Karr. Since its introduction, the Karr Model with its combination of comfort and tone has gained a loyal following with jazz and roots players. The slim, long “Karr neck” has even become a favorite of crossover electric players.

Carnegie Mellon University Double Bass Studio – CMU is dedicated to helping each student achieve their goals as a musician. Every week each student receives private lessons and participates in a solo class with Micah Howard. Peter Guild, another member of the PSO, teaches Orchestral Literature and Repertoire weekly. They encourage students to reach out to the great bassists in their area for lessons and direction. Many of the bassists from all of the city’s ensembles are more than willing to lend a hand. Every year members of the Symphony, the Opera and the Ballet give classes and offer our students individual attention. Click here to visit Micah’s website and to sign up for a free online trial lesson.

Ear Trumpet Labs – They make hand-built mics out of Portland, OR and they have an excellent mic for upright bass called Nadine. The Nadine is a condenser mic with a clear natural sound and incredible feedback rejection. This mic is a completely new design — the head mounts in between the strings above the tailpiece with a rubber grommet, and the body securely straps to the tailpiece with velcro elastic. A 14-inch Mogami cable connects the two parts making it easy to place on any bass. It’s durable and holds up to the demanding needs of the instrument while offering excellent sound quality. Ear Trumpet Labs is offering a free t-shirt just for Contrabass listeners with the purchase of a mic, just visit EarTrumpetLabs.com/contrabass to claim yours and check out the Nadine!

Contrabass Conversations production team:

507: gear talk with Donovan Stokes

Donovan Stokes is a one-of-a-kind artist.  I’ve been captivated by his playing ever since hearing him over a decade ago, and it has been a real pleasure getting to teach alongside him at the Golden Gate Bass Camp.

Donovan and I were able to carve out 30 minutes prior to a concert at the camp, and we dug into a bunch of gear-related questions that I’d been wanting to ask him, like:

  • why Donovan plays on bows that weigh 240 grams
  • how his bass is tuned and how he thinks about pitches on it
  • the unique spin on the Marvin tailpiece that Donovan uses
  • when he started to use the Labor-style endpin
  • how he still plays traditional 4-string tuning for rockabilly gigs
  • the influence of heavy metal in his compositions

…and much more!  We’ll have to do a “round 3” soon with Donovan—I’ve got many more questions to ask!

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Contrabass Conversations is sponsored by:

Robertson & Sons Violins

For more than four decades, Robertson & Sons has specialized in providing the highest quality stringed instruments and bows to collectors, professional musicians, music educators, and students of all ages. Their modern facility is equipped with three instrument showrooms as well as a beautiful Recital Hall available to our clients to in their search for the perfect instrument and/or bow.

Upton Bass String Instrument Company

Upton’s Karr Model Upton Double Bass represents an evolution of our popular first Karr model, refined and enhanced with further input from Gary Karr. Since its introduction, the Karr Model with its combination of comfort and tone has gained a loyal following with jazz and roots players. The slim, long “Karr neck” has even become a favorite of crossover electric players.

D’Addario Strings

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.

A440 Violin Shop

An institution in the Roscoe Village neighborhood for over 20 years, A440‘s commitment to fairness and value means that we have many satisfied customers from the local, national, and international string playing communities. Our clients include major symphony orchestras, professional orchestra and chamber music players, aspiring students, amateur adult players, all kinds of fiddlers, jazz and commercial musicians, university music departments, and public schools.

Contrabass Conversations production team:

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CBC 49: Donovan Stokes interview 2

This week’s Contrabass Conversations Episode features the second part of our interview with double bassist Donovan Stokes. We last spoke with Donovan on episode 40 of the show, discussing his early years on the instrument, his experiences attending various universities, and his former and current double basses. This week, we continue our discussion about instruments and delve into Donovan’s compositional process, practice techniques, and advice on how to get the most out of studying with a private teacher.

Learn more about Donovan at www.donovanstokes.com. Enjoy!

CBC 40: Donovan Stokes interview and music

This week’s podcast features an interview with double bass performer, composer, and teacher Donovan Stokes. We featured music from Donovan on episode 13 of the podcast, and it’s a pleasure to feature this great musician again. Gadaha, the album that we feature this week, was recorded with no overdubs whatsoever, which is amazing considering the intricacy of much of this music.

You can learn more about Donovan at www.donovanstokes.com. Enjoy!