Contrabass Conversations

Contrabass Conversations

double bass podcast

995: John Kennedy on teaching

Today we feature John Kennedy, who has been one of the leading double bass educators for decades.  I’ve had the good pleasure to serve on the International Society of Bassists Board of Directors with him as well as on the faculty of several double bass camps, and he is a first-class performer, teacher, and human being.

I hope you enjoy this thoughtful conversation with a dear friend and wonderful member of the double bass community!

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Thank you to our sponsor, Dorico! It is my favorite software for music notation and composition. Designed for MacOS, iPad, and Windows, Dorico’s workflow allows you to spend more time making music. Download Dorico 5, their free iPad app, or their free version (forever), Dorico SE 5. 

Get Dorico: https://www.steinberg.net/dorico/

Listen to Contrabass Conversations with our free app for iOS, Android, and Kindle.

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

840: Micah Howard on the Carnegie Mellon University bass program

Micah Howard teaches at Carnegie Mellon University, which is one of the nation’s leading programs for double bass study.  CMU has recently come on board as a podcast sponsor, and Micah chats about the benefits of the program and what it’s like studying at CMU in this sponsored episode.  Enjoy, and you can click here to visit Micah’s website and sign up for a free online trial lesson.

Subscribe to the podcast to get these interviews delivered to you automatically!

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

Listen to Contrabass Conversations with our free app for iOS, Android, and Kindle.

Check out my Beginner’s 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:

761: Zach VanderGraaff on teaching general music during a pandemic

Zach VanderGraaff is an elementary school general music teacher who has been adapting his teaching during the global pandemic in interesting ways.  He launched his website Dynamic Music Room prior to the pandemic, and he has been offering resources like his 9 weeks of online lessons survival pack to teachers looking for guidance in unfamiliar new format of teaching.

We talk about Zach’s background, his wonderful interview for the Musicality Now podcast, the Kodaly method, and much more.

Check out Dynamic Music Room on Facebook and YouTube, and you can use the code JASON55 for $5 off of Zach’s  9 weeks of online lessons survival pack through the end of the year!

Check out our Online Sheet Music Store with 80+ wide-ranging titles for bassists.

Listen to Contrabass Conversations with our free app for iOS, Android, and Kindle.

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

Thank you to our sponsors!

Dorico – Dorico helps you to write music notation, automatically producing printed results of exceptional quality — and plays it back with breathtaking realism. It is easy enough for anyone to learn, yet has hundreds of advanced notations, features, options and sounds to satisfy even the most demanding professionals.  With its streamlined, natural user interface, students and those with less experience in scoring can compose and arrange straight into Dorico, making learning the language of music notation much faster and more intuitive. Editing and making changes — such as instrument, time signature or key — are straightforward, with the notation instantly and correctly adapting to include them, reinforcing the learning outcome.

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!

Practizma – The Practizma practice journal is packed with research based strategies to turn your ho-hum practice into extraordinary practice.  Develop your curiosity, discipline, creativity, daring, tenacity and zen.  Take a journey with four elements each week: goal setting, reflection prompt, action challenge, and journal pages to track your practice.  Curious? Download the introductory chapter of the journal for free – this gives you an idea of what it’s all about. 

Modacity – Are you a practice-savvy musician? Get Modacity – the music practice app that organizes, focuses, and tracks your progress.  Recorder… metronome… tone generator… timer… note taking… Do away with the random assortment of music practice apps in your arsenal. Modacity™ combines all the tools you need into one easy to use, music practice tool.  Organize, focus, and reflect on your practice – motivating you to increase retention in less time.  Modacity has a special offer for Contrabass Conversations listeners that includes lifetime access to the app.

Contrabass Conversations production team:

Subscribe to the podcast to get these interviews delivered to you automatically!

759: Susan Cahill on reimagining senior recitals

Susan Cahill has been rethinking the entire senior recital experience for her students at the University of Denver’s Lamont School of Music.  

In addition to playing a traditional senior recital, she has reconfigured the senior recital concept into a variety of new options:

  • Composition for bassists
  • Multi Instrumental Techniques for bassists
  • Chamber Techniques for bassists
  • Orchestral Auditioning for bassists
  • Not for Profit Study for bassists
  • Pedagogy and Studio Creation for bassists

Learn more about Susan on her website, and check out her past podcast appearances as well!

Subscribe to the podcast to get these interviews delivered to you automatically!

Check out our Online Sheet Music Store with 80+ wide-ranging titles for bassists.

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

Thank you to our sponsors!

Dorico – Dorico helps you to write music notation, automatically producing printed results of exceptional quality — and plays it back with breathtaking realism. It is easy enough for anyone to learn, yet has hundreds of advanced notations, features, options and sounds to satisfy even the most demanding professionals.  With its streamlined, natural user interface, students and those with less experience in scoring can compose and arrange straight into Dorico, making learning the language of music notation much faster and more intuitive. Editing and making changes — such as instrument, time signature or key — are straightforward, with the notation instantly and correctly adapting to include them, reinforcing the learning outcome.

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!

Practizma – The Practizma practice journal is packed with research based strategies to turn your ho-hum practice into extraordinary practice.  Develop your curiosity, discipline, creativity, daring, tenacity and zen.  Take a journey with four elements each week: goal setting, reflection prompt, action challenge, and journal pages to track your practice.  Curious? Download the introductory chapter of the journal for free – this gives you an idea of what it’s all about. 

Modacity – Are you a practice-savvy musician? Get Modacity – the music practice app that organizes, focuses, and tracks your progress.  Recorder… metronome… tone generator… timer… note taking… Do away with the random assortment of music practice apps in your arsenal. Modacity™ combines all the tools you need into one easy to use, music practice tool.  Organize, focus, and reflect on your practice – motivating you to increase retention in less time.  Modacity has a special offer for Contrabass Conversations listeners that includes lifetime access to the app.

Contrabass Conversations production team:

Listen to Contrabass Conversations with our free app for iOS, Android, and Kindle.

693: Elisa Janson Jones on online learning

We’re chatting with past podcast guest Elisa Janson Jones today.  I had the chance to spend some time in person with her during the NAMM Show in January 2020, and I was interested in learning about how she has been handling the current pandemic, with its many challenges and opportunities.

Elisa wears many hats: entrepreneur, author, educator, host of the Music Ed Mentor Podcast, and the founder of the International Music Education Summit.

We cover all kinds of online teaching topics in this helpful conversation, which Elisa also published on her podcast.  Enjoy!

Listen to Contrabass Conversations with our free app for iOS, Android, and Kindle!

I’d also like to thank the sponsors who have supported us over the months and years. If you’d like to help the bass community recover as quickly as possible, consider visiting their site and making a purchase: 

Contrabass Conversations production team:

Subscribe to the podcast to get these interviews delivered to you automatically!