Interview Guests – Page 128

318: Marcos Machado on the Tao of Bass

Marcos Machado is in the middle of launching his excellent and fascinating series Tao of Bass. I saw this book pop up in my Facebook feed in the fall, and I got in touch with Marcos to do an interview about this project.

We dig into topics like:

how 20 years of scratching his head about bass technique led to this series
why he settled on Tao of Bass for a title
the wild mix of pedagogical styles that Marcos draws from
how important supple technique is for sound
how the 3rd finger is a secret weapon
taking a non-dogmatic approach to bass technique

…and much more!

Links to Check Out:

More about Marcos:

Marcos Machado is the only South American to have earned both the “Teaching” and “Performance” diplomas from the L’Institut International de Contrebasse de Paris where he has studied with renowned double bassist François Rabbath.

While in Brazil, Machado began his double bass studies with Uruguayan professor Milton Romay Masciadri (1931-2009), the former principal bass of the Porto Alegre Symphony Orchestra.

Machado later moved to the USA and earned his BM and MM degrees at the University of Georgia, where he was a student of Dr. Milton Walter Masciadri. Marcos holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign where he studied with Professor Michael Cameron.

Thanks to our sponsors!

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316: Enrico Fagone on yoga, meditation, and evolving musically

Enrico Fagone teaches and performs in Lugano, Switzerland near the Italian border. He’s also incredibly active as a soloist and master class teacher.

Enrico’s musical journey has continued to evolve in exciting ways throughout his career.

We dig into topics like:

switching to German bow
becoming deeply involved with yoga and meditation
how becoming a father changed his world view
Japanese audiences and their enthusiasm for bass and classical music
his ever-evolving approach to teaching and performing music
studying conducting

…and much more!

Here’s a video featuring Enrico performing the Brahms Cello Sonata:

Links to Check Out:

Thanks to our sponsors!

Enter our latest string giveaway for Helicore strings at contrabassconversations.com/strings!

313: Tracy Rowell on sound, balance, and teaching

312: Chromatic Endpin Kickstarter

Update: The Chromatic Endpin is now available! Check it out here.

Emilio Guarino has just launched a Kicksarter campaign for his chromatic endpin. Support has been great so far, but clock is ticking, so be sure to check out the campaign and pre-order or pledge your support!

Check out Emilio’s full Contrabass Conversations interview if you haven’t–it was a great conversation!

Check out more about the endpin in this video:

311: Bernard O’Neill on arranging, teaching, and recording

Originally from Ireland, Bernard O’Neill has been a bassist, arranger, and educator for over 30 years. He works regularly with Sinead O’Connor and Rufus Wainwright, and he recently put out a project called Syriana: The Road to Damascus.