Jason Heath’s Double Bass Blog

You are browsing the archives of 2007 April.

National Symphony Orchestra Principal Bassist Robert Oppelt recently started a website that I think bassists out there would be interested in checking out. In addition to containing biographical information and a great photo library (click here to check out photos of double bassist Ira Gold dressed as Borat), Robert is starting a ‘tips [...]

Chicago Symphony bassist Michael Hovnanian recently put up a post on his CSO Bass Blog providing an interesting window into the rotation and time off policies of the Chicago Symphony. I also noticed that Patty from oboeinsight discovered this post. You can read her post about it here.
Check out Michael’s post here. [...]

Check out this video I found through gigglesugar from a Hank Williams Jr. concert. Four year old Hunter Hayes is seen here playing a tune he calls “Jambalaya” and singing. A few points to consider while watching…
1. This little guy’s got the moves down
This little guy has definitely got his hip shake down! [...]

Here is a shot of the Elgin Symphony bass section from our recent concert cycle at the beginning of April. One or another of us is often subbing out of a cycle for other work, so it is rare that the six of us are actually assembled as a section.
The players are (left to [...]

I’ve always thought that MS Paint (the drawing program included with Windows since the beginning of time) was a fairly lame program. This video certainly changes my mind. It is a video capture of somebody creating an extremely detailed car on MS Paint, and it is really amazing. I hope the grunge [...]

Violinist Holly Mulcahy sent me a link to this short and cute video of Monster, a cat with a vocal cord condition which makes him sound like a miniature opera singer every time he yawns. Check it out here.

I’d like to give readers a heads up regarding guests for the next few weeks of Contrabass Conversations. I think that people will be very interested both of the guests we have scheduled for the next couple of episodes.
This weekend, you will be hearing an interview I did recently with double bassist Ira Gold. [...]

This video is a little grainy and slightly out of sync, but it features great bass playing and allows for folks who are unfamiliar with the Hoffmeister Concerto No. 1 to give it a listen. Carmine Laino plays the double bass with Pierfrancesco Borrelli accompanying splendidly on Harpsicord.
If you can’t see a video below, [...]

One can learn so much about good string technique from watching Jascha Heifetz perform, and this video offers a great chance to check out his bow technique. The power of YouTube to both entertain and educate is truly amazing, and I hope that small minded media giants (i.e. Viacom) get off of their high [...]

Here is the next track in the Virtual Master Class Project. This is a recording of the first page of the Bottesini Concerto No. 2. Leave criticism, advice, practice tips, and the like by clicking on the ‘comments’ link below the player.
Sometimes these players take 10-20 seconds to load, so give it a little time [...]