Contrabass Conversations

Contrabass Conversations

double bass podcast

320: Weekly Update for 3/6/17 – Double Bass News

Stories covered:

Thanks to our sponsors!

This episode is brought to you by D’Addario Strings! Check out their Helicore strings, which are are designed, engineered, and crafted at the D’Addario string factory in New York and come in orchestral, hybrid, pizzicato, and solo string sets.

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

Rosin Saver is a revolutionary storage device that keeps bass rosin feeling as fresh as the day it was made. It was developed in Sweden by a pair professional bassists and Rice graduates. What makes bass rosin so soft and sticky is the addition of natural waxes and solvents. Basically, as these evaporate, your rosin becomes a dry, powdery and useless.

Rosin Saver prevents this evaporation by completely saturating the air surrounding your rosin, The result is rosin that always feels and sounds great regardless of the weather, temperature or venue and vastly extends the life of rosin.

Rosin Saver is used by members of top orchestras including the New York Philharmonic, the MET orchestra, the Los Angles Philharmonic, the Cleveland Orchestra, the Seattle Symphony, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra among many others.

Use the promo code ‘HEATH’ at checkout for 10% off any and all orders from rosinsaver.com.

 

319: Andrew Hitz on hard work and blue ocean strategy

Andrew Hitz and I go way back.  Not only did we both attend Northwestern University together, but we actually lived in the same arts dorm!  In fact, I remember Andrew playing tuba in the great room for performance night.

We reconnected last year when I discovered his wonderful podcast The Entrepreneurial Musician.  He had me on as a guest in the fall, and I’m thrilled to have him on my podcast today!

We dig into topics like:

  • blue versus red ocean strategy and how we’re trained as classical musicians to live in red oceans
  • ways you can stand out in a noisy field
  • concepts from James Altucher
  • the best time to start a project.. and the second-best time
  • how so many people seem to be waiting around for people to become more educated and suddenly fall in love with classical music again
  • the crazy hard work that is behind every seemingly overnight success
  • lessons learned from shared podcast guests: Ranaan Meyer and Peter Seymour
  • Seth Godin – Andrew’s spirit animal

…and much more!

Links to Check Out:

More about Andrew:

Andrew Hitz is an internationally renowned soloist, clinician and speaker having appeared in over 40 states and 30 countries including Japan, Brazil, Russia and Singapore. He recently ended a 14 year tenure as the tuba player for Boston Brass. Andrew has also appeared with the National Symphony Orchestra, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Alarm Will Sound and the Marine Band of Mexico.
Andrew currently teaches tuba and euphonium at George Mason University and Gettysburg College. As an Educational Ambassador for Jupiter Band Instruments, he appears all over the world as both a teacher and performer. Andrew has presented at over 20 state music educator conferences and taught master classes at some of the finest music schools in the world including Juilliard, the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing and Yong Siew Toh Conservatory in Singapore. He has also spoken about entrepreneurship and music business at many colleges and universities including Carnegie Mellon, the University of Georgia and the University of South Carolina, where he appeared as a thought leader specializing in marketing and social media at The Savvy Musician In Action Retreat.

Andrew hosts two podcasts through his latest venture, Pedal Note Media, a digital media company founded with former Boston Brass colleague Lance LaDuke. Pedal Note Media provides products and programs to educate, entertain and inspire music teachers, players and fans.. “The Brass Junkies” is a podcast interviewing the best brass players in the world on everything from the serious to the ridiculous, just like the music business. Previous guests have included Joe Alessi, Carol Jantsch and Marty Hackleman. The other is “The Entrepreneurial Musician” which features interviews with some of the most successful people in the music business. Previous guests on TEM have included David Cutler of The Savvy Musician, Ranaan Meyer of Time for Three and Gavin Chuck & Michael Clayville of Alarm Will Sound. Both podcasts are available through iTunes or streamable through the Pedal Note Media website.

Andrew is also the author of “A Band Director’s Guide To Everything Tuba: A Collection of Interviews with the Experts” which features interviews with Sam Pilafian, Pat Sheridan, Dr. Tim Lautzenheiser and others. The second volume, “A Band Director’s Guide to Everything Trombone: A Collection of Interviews with the Experts”, features interviews with Joe Alessi, Harry Watters, Ralph Sauer and others and is available now.

Thanks to our sponsor!

This episode is brought to you by D’Addario Strings! Check out their Helicore strings, which are are designed, engineered, and crafted at the D’Addario string factory in New York and come in orchestral, hybrid, pizzicato, and solo string sets.

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

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!

This episode is brought to you by D’Addario Strings! Check out their Helicore strings, which are are designed, engineered, and crafted at the D’Addario string factory in New York and come in orchestral, hybrid, pizzicato, and solo string sets.

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

Hosting for Contrabass Conversations is provided by Bass Capos.  Bass Capos are an excellent choice for any bass player using or looking to implement a double bass extension. Easy to install and adjust, cheaper and more reliable than hand-built latches, also lighter and quicker in operation.

317: Concorso Bottesini Competition Overview

The 2017 Concorso Bottesini competition will take place April 18-24.  Enrico Fagone and Francisco Donati chat with Jason about the details surrounding this event.

The jury members for this event are:

Be sure to check out the website for Associazione Bottesini and follow along with this organization!

Continue Reading …

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!

This episode is brought to you by D’Addario Strings! Check out their Helicore strings, which are are designed, engineered, and crafted at the D’Addario string factory in New York and come in orchestral, hybrid, pizzicato, and solo string sets.

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

Hosting for Contrabass Conversations is provided by Bass Capos.  Bass Capos are an excellent choice for any bass player using or looking to implement a double bass extension. Easy to install and adjust, cheaper and more reliable than hand-built latches, also lighter and quicker in operation.