As I pack my bags and put the finishing touches on the next two week’s podcast episodes, I’d like to take a moment and let people know about several new projects we’re cooking up for the fall here on the blog and for the Contrabass Conversations podcast:

Podcast Developments

  • Double Bass “Lessons” from Andrew Anderson – This fall, we will be rolling out a set of videos demonstrating Lyric Opera of Chicago bassist Andy Anderson’s techniques for teaching certain double bass techniques and concepts. These videos will be available soon at the Contrabass Conversations website, and we will also be posting them here on the bass blog and on YouTube.
  • Ask a GuestTalkBass.com president Paul Determan gave me this great idea for expanding the user experience of the podcast. This fall, we will make certain past, current, and future Contrabass Conversations guests available for answering questions at the TalkBass podcast forum. Listeners can ask questions about any bass topic–schools, bows, basses, practicing, symphony life, practical advice–and these questions will then be answered both in the forum and on the show. We may even create shows every so often devoted solely to answering listener questions. This should help to give the podcast even more interactivity and enable us to really explore issues of interest to double bassists. Look for this new feature this fall!
  • Chicago Chamber Musicians showcase – Chicago Symphony bassist Brad Opland has worked out an arrangement enabling the podcast to bring you recordings of chamber pieces featuring the double bass in their entirety. The Chicago Chamber Musicians are an outstanding ensemble in the Chicago area consisting of Chicago Symphony musicians and faculty members at Northwestern, DePaul, and Roosevelt Universities. Being able to put out this repertoire from a group with such a high level of artistry is an extremely positive development for the double bass community, and I think that listeners will really enjoy the opportunity to hear these pieces. Look for our Brad Opland interview and the first of the Chicago Chamber Musicians offerings in September!
  • More guests from different corners of the bass world – Expect to hear interviews from jazz bassists, orchestral bassists, solo bassists, educators, and students from a wide array of backgrounds and nationalities. The list of prospective interviewees grows every week, and I can’t wait to bing you these different interviews! We’ve got some collaborators coming on board with interviews of their own this fall, so stay tuned for that.
  • More video content – Although the core material for the podcast is in an audio format, I love video as much as the next person, so expect short (around five minutes) video episodes to continue appearing. We’re putting out another Ranaan Meyer episode soon plus a great deal of additional Miloslav Gajdos content. This goes without saying (I hope), but I encourage everybody out there to download these videos, e-mail video links to friends, and embed them on their own blog or MySpace page. I also post all of the video episodes on the CBC Facebook group, so feel free to check them out and share them through Facebook as well.


Blog Developments

  • More stories and articles – This summer I have continued to put out new gig stories, essays on the music business, and articles about education, blogging, freelancing, and the like. Expect to see more installments from currently ongoing multi-part series This Crazy Business as well as more from the Basses, Planes, Trains, and Automobiles series. Additionally, I have a folder filled with emerging essays and articles, and the fall lifestyle (indoors, regular work schedule, lots of coffee and laptop time) will surely foster even more of these pieces. You can read all of my articles, stories, and essay (as well as those from all bass blog contributors) through the Articles link just below the tabs.
  • More downloads – I have a huge amount of sheet music and Finale files that I have been planning on making available for some time, and you can expect to see this in the fall. The Downloads tab provides a window into the current offerings here on the bass blog, and I am always happy to post and share any files that you have created which you would like shared with the community.
  • More reader contributions – I love getting stories, photos, videos, and links from readers, so please keep them coming! You will always be cited with links back to your website.
  • Expanded Bass Blog Music Store – I am in the process of greatly expanding the Bass Blog Music Store to include wheels, cases, rosin, stands, straps, rock stops, and other bass gear. Purchases from this store help to support the bass blog, and transactions are completely secure.

____________

Don’t forget to check in at the Contrabass Conversations website this weekend and next weekend–episodes 35 (Greg Sarchet) and 36 (Bjorn Berkhout) will “magically” appear. Also, I hope you enjoy the posts from our guest bloggers, and I’ll be back in September!

Bass News Right To Your Inbox!

Subscribe to get our weekly newsletter covering the double bass world.

Powered by ConvertKit