Contrabass Conversations

Contrabass Conversations

double bass podcast

315: Audition Breakthrough Summit

The first-ever Audition Breakthrough Summit will start on March 15, 2017.

I sat down with event organizer Will Timmons of mockauditions.com to chat about all the details.

Join former podcast guest and National Symphony bassist Ira Gold, Dr. Noa Kageyama of The Bulletproof Musician, Colin Williams of the New York Philharmonic, and several others for this unique and powerful event.

We have a special code for Contrabass Conversations listeners for this event.  If you enter ‘contrabass20‘ at checkout, you will receive $20 off any pass you purchase.

I’m also thrilled to be a presenter on this esteemed panel.  I’ll be presenting lessons I learned from interviewing over 25 audition winners for my Winning the Audition book.

More about the Audition Breakthrough Summit:

Many times you may run into a wall when it comes to your audition taking. What keeps you from playing your best? Could it be fear, anxiety, lack of preparation, not trusting yourself? There is a long list of things that contribute to a less-than-optimal performance and every person has a unique set of issues to work through.

We all need to be able to perform our best in any given situation. It’s time to get rid of those issues and allow ourselves the chance we deserve at winning our next audition. That is why the Audition Breakthrough Summit was created.

In this summit, we will focus on improving our MINDSET, STRATEGY, and FLOW. These three components are essential for achieving your audition goals. Each session will relate to at least one of these components, giving you the tools you need to excel and achieve your goals.

Remember to enter ‘contrabass20‘ at checkout and receive $20 off any pass you purchase!

314: Patrick Neher on pivots, natural tempos, and warming up

I first met Patrick Neher when I was an 18-year-old student at Northwestern University, and I’ve followed along with his career ever since.

Honestly, I can’t believe that it has taken me this long to interview him for the podcast!

After teaching at the University of Arizona for 28 years, Patrick has relocated to Bellingham, Washington.  He is immersed in composing new works… including two new double bass concertos!

We dig into all kinds of things:

  • growing up in New Mexico
  • attending Juilliard and studying with David Walter (be ready for a funny story about this!)
  • taking his bass on the subway and surviving blackouts in New York City
  • meeting François Rabbath and switching rom a block technique to an open hand technique
  • how the right hand is core to Rabbath’s approach
  • Patrick’s “natural tempo, natural forms” approach

Here’s a video featuring Patrick discussing the concept of pivoting:

We also feature several excerpts from Patrick’s wonderful solo albums.  It was a pleasure to spend some time with this active artist who has contributed so much to the double bass!

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.

 

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: