Bassists
You're interested in "new music" or post-classical or living composers or generally speaking the music of the past 120 years or so. Maybe this is because, aside from music we steal from cellos and other instruments, there just isn't that much for our instrument that isn't more recent. Or maybe it's because you simply like the wide variety of sounds and musical ideas that flourish in our more contemporary musical culture. Either way, you're here and you can learn techniques that will make you better at playing this music over in the lessons section. You can also hear others perform some of this music over in the listening party section. Both of these parts of the site are constantly being updated and if you register (for free) you'll get updated once every week or so about what has been added. In addition you'll get access to use the comment section. I also hope that if you are having a recital you drop me a note so I can add you to the recital list. Which reminds me, I've taken some care in setting up the "tags" on this site. If you find a particular piece of music that interests you in the listening party, for example, you will see the title and composer listed on the page. To see an example of this, here's all the stuff tagged to Nino Rota's Divertimento Concertante. If you click that, you will see all the performances and recital programs and lessons that are feature this work of music. I do this so as I plan my own recitals I have a sort of database of performances so I can get inspiration and ideas on interpretation etc. I hope you find that useful too!Composers
Perhaps you've been commissioned to write a piece for bass. Perhaps you've got a friend that is banging down your door to write something for bass. Hopefully you will find the listening party useful in learning what other stuff is out there including the wide range of musical sounds we can make on this instrument. As the sound glossary gets built out you'll hear some specific examples and see the sort of notation that bassists might recognize as calling for the techniques outlined. But honestly, most bassists are pretty flexible and understanding if you give us something to go on. More than other instruments we tend to find ourselves in a wide variety of musical genres and performance settings. And we're grateful that you're writing for us! If you have a premier or performance of your work please let me know so I can include it in the recitals. One of my very sincere wishes is for more of the new works to get 2nd and 3rd performances, beyond just the one world premier. I hope you find this to be a useful resource for your compositions!Musicians making a go of it in the 21st Century
Many pixels have been burned in the declaration of the end of the orchestra/symphony industry. The structures and organizations that supported it through the previous couple hundred years are somehow not holding up entirely as the economy shifts—globally, industrially, digitally, educationally. But I think there's an incredible future for those who are looking to make their own way in the new industry of music. And I think that bassists are uniquely situated to serve as leaders in this. Hear me out:- Bassists have historically frequently crossed the line between classical and popular forms of music.
- Bassists have historically frequently crossed the line between all kinds of genres.
- The temperament of being a supporting role in most ensembles translates well to natural community building and care for our fellow musicians (ok, in some people more than others, but you get what I mean here).
- Our performance opportunities are rich with variety in terms of where we perform, the size of ensembles we perform with, and the terms under which we perform.
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Or you can just remember to come back. That's cool too.