BassJazz_PD

I taught bass at UW-Whitewater for five years (2002-2007)–great place to work!

- The Peabody Bass Works Collegiate Division will select up to six elite bass students, 18 years of age or older, for a six-day intensive program of study, lessons, practice, master classes, and performance from July 2-8, 2012. The participants will work on a daily basis with the entire Peabody Conservatory bass faculty, as well as with our guest faculty artists, San Diego Symphony Principal Bass Jeremy Kurtz-Harris and nationally renowned bassist and teacher Tracy Rowell. A typical Collegiate Division day will feature a morning master class or presentation by the faculty, private lessons with faculty members, and ample practice time with faculty supervision. Students will have solo recital opportunities and participate in a mock audition. Participants will also have time to socialize and to explore Peabody and downtown Baltimore.

Collegiate Division participants will receive a full tuition scholarship covering all expenses for the week, as well as a scholarship covering their room and board during the program.

Application to this division is by CD. The required repertoire is two contrasting solo pieces, so if you already have some material recorded for another festival or event it’s easy to submit that same material for PBW. The fee is only $25 so it’s very affordable to apply. The application and more details can be found on the Peabody website at http://www.peabody.jhu.edu/bassworks#CD

- The Peabody Bass Works Young Bassists Division, held each day from July 5 to 8, 2012, is designed to provide unique learning opportunities to bass players with at least one year of bass study. The program will offer an expanded program of lessons and supervised practice sessions that will culminate on the final afternoon with a thrilling concert that will feature all participants. A typical Young Bassists Division Day will feature small group lessons, supervised practice, and large ensemble work. Participants will also have time to socialize during breaks and lunch time – as well as opportunities to hear mini-recitals by faculty and Collegiate Division participants. Young Bassists will work on a daily basis with the entire Peabody Conservatory faculty, as well as with our guest faculty artists Jeremy Kurtz-Harris and Tracy Rowell and other guest faculty.

Lodging for the Young Bassists Division is available on the Peabody Campus on a limited basis, as well as in nearby hotels.

For all the details on Young Bassists, as well as an application and lodging information, please check our website at:
http://www.peabody.jhu.edu/bassworks#YB

Please feel free to contact me directly with any questions at peabodybassworks@yahoo.com

Thanks!

- Jeff Weisner.

How to Reduce Anxiety Before a Concert

by Ryan Rivera

Playing an instrument on stage is a lot like public speaking. You’re using your instrument as a method of communicating and as you play, all eyes are on you and your performance. Even the best bass players with years of experience feel a little nervous before a big event, knowing that they need to perform at their best.

But when your anxiety is actually affecting your ability to play – when the anxiety is so strong that you experience physical and mental stress – it can be a serious problem. Playing every note correctly requires confidence, and the ability to trust in your fingers and your experience.
Reducing Anxiety Before a Concert

Whether you’re on stage with an entire orchestra or playing by with a few of your college buddies at your first gig, you need to find a way to reduce that anxiety. The stronger it is the harder the process, which is why you will need to not only try to reduce your anxiety before you go on stage, but also work on reducing your anxiety afterward.
Long Before You Go On Stage

Practice Often

Playing the bass is not just about rhythm and skill. It’s also about the connection between your mind and your body. Your fingers start to create their own memories on the chords and know the next note long before you can think of it. The more you practice, the less pressure you’ll put on your mind and the more you can trust that you know exactly what’s coming next.

Cut Out Unhealthy Behaviors

Anxiety is cumulative, so before you go on stage you need to make sure you’re avoiding any behaviors that will add to your anxiety. Get a full night’s sleep, eat healthier food, avoid drinking – you should even avoid watching horror films or going on amusement park rides. If it increases your anxiety naturally, it has the potential to increase your anxiety on stage.

Deep Breathing
Deep breathing is one of many different types of relaxation strategies that can help you keep calm. You sit on a chair or lie on your back, keeping your body relaxed. You then breathe in very slowly through your nose, starting at your stomach and then filling up your chest. Hold, then release slowly out your mouth. Repeat this 10 to 20 times and it should be able to calm you down when you feel your anxiety building.
On the Day of the Concert

Before you set foot on stage, make sure everything you need is ready. Concerns over whether you have everything you need can be distracting, and make contribute to additional levels of anxiety. By ensuring that you’re completely prepared, you can rest your mind and focus on additional relaxation strategies while calming your mind and body. If you have your own method of relaxing – like skipping stones at a park or jogging – don’t forget to do them. Any method of keeping your mind and body calm is a useful one.

After the Concert
Reducing your stage fright is not just about preparing before an event. It’s also about performing the right behaviors after the event is over. After you’re done, even if you believe you did a terrible job, always remember to do the following:
Write Down Positives
Write down all of the things you did well. Try to come up with as long a list as possible, and avoid anything negative. You need your mind to remember all of the things that went right on stage, not dwell on all the mistakes you may or may not have made. Writing it down helps you do that, because it forces you to focus on the positives.
Relaxation Exercises

Once again, now would be a good time to perform relaxation exercises. A lot of bass players like to dwell on the adrenaline as a way of congratulating themselves on a job well done. But when you’re living with too much anxiety before a concert, you need to find a way to stop associating the concert with anxiety, which means relaxing after you’re done playing as well. You can try deep breathing, or any number of relaxation strategies that are effective.
Work on Your Own Anxiety

Finally, always remember to work on your own anxiety and depression issues. Anxiety builds on itself, so the calmer you are regularly, the less debilitating the anxiety you experience before a concert will be.
Maintaining Your Love of the Music

For many people, anxiety doesn’t stop them from playing well on stage. But it does take away the joy they experience bringing that music to others and that alone is tragic – both as a potential loss to you and as a loss to those that would love to listen to you. Learn to manage your anxiety so that you can continue to enjoy bringing music to everyone and live more comfortably every day.
About the Author: Ryan Rivera had a considerable amount of stage fright before big events, but worked on his anxiety with tips he shares at www.calmclinic.com.

Dear Colleagues,

Welcome to my annual letter announcing Suzuki Bass Teacher Training courses for 2012 in which I also share with you some of the newsy events of 2011.

This year I have two Book 1 courses to announce, one on either side of the North American continent!

My first west coast course will be at the Japan-Seattle Suzuki Institute (www.japanseattle.org/) from August 5 to 12. I am glad to better enable my west coast colleagues to attend, particularly following on the heels of my presentation, “Suzuki Secrets”, at the International Society of Bassists Convention in San Francisco in 2010. I hope all of you who established contact with me there can come. Many thanks to Anna Doak who was key in creating the course.

The second Book 1 course will be in Ypsilanti, MI at the Suzuki Institute at Phoenix Phest! Grande (www.phoenixensemble.com/) From August 12 to 19. I will be co-teaching with Derek Weller and Diana Gannett, so there should be plenty to experience during that long week. The area is surrounded by hotels, and camping is also available at the fair grounds.

My most scenic course will be my Book 2 course at the Colorado Suzuki Institute at Beaver Creek, Colorado from June 25 to June 30. This is resort condo living at its most reasonable and can be especially fun if you share a condo with other bassists! I can also advise you on how to camp in some glorious mountain scenery and where nearby bare bones hotels are. There is also very ample scholarship. Please check for details. The institute can be reached at www.coloradosuzuki.org or by calling (303) 399-5764.

My very first North American Book 5 course will be at the American Suzuki Institute at Stevens Point, Wisconsin from July 29 through August 4. ASI was the first and remains the most famous of the summer institutes. Here you can see the full gamut of Suzuki education as the student progresses from the earliest fun and games through an advanced chamber music program. The local camping can also spectacular! The institute can be contacted at www.uwsp.edu/cofac/suzuki or by phone at (715) 346-3033.

If you would like to see another course on the schedule, please let me know, and I may be able to run it in July right here in Chicago. I keep a list of names that I carry over from year to year. It is always a pleasure to hear from you!

Book 6 is now at the publisher, and we hope to have the bass part available soon. Be wary when buying Book 4. A Bass Book 4 cover has been slipped over the Recorder Book 1. The publisher is presently remedying this with the printer.

Scholarships are always available at institutes and the association (suzukiassociation.org/teachers/guides/scholarship/), and deadlines are generally February or March. Please do your research early. There has been much missing of deadlines, and I believe more bass candidates could receive scholarships. Many people want to see Suzuki Bass grow!

If you have any questions (and you may have many) please write me, or check with Stan Haskin’s excellent blog, Glued to the String at www.gluedtothestring.blogspot.com/2007/07/steps-to-suzuki-training-for-bassists.html. In addition to distilling a great deal of information that will make entry into the Suzuki world much easier, he has done a great interview with me and included some pictures. Enjoy!
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Also Jason Heath’s interview with me may be of interest at www.contrabassconversations.com. Mine is Contrabass Conversation No. 52. Jason does a wonderful job with his Double Bass Blog, and if you are not familiar with it, it is a gold mine of bass information.

You can also check my website at www.elmhurst.edu/~virginia/. It is my full intention to update it with new pictures and dates.

In July I traveled to winter in Buenos Aires and graduated my first two graduates of Book 5 ever, Santiago Calvetti, and Sergio Nievas! We continued celebrating by a day at an estancia in the countryside attended also by Santiago, tango performer Inés Rojas and my husband Mark. Sergio had to run off to youth orchestra meetings in Brazil.

Last year twelve new European Suzuuki Association Bass Teachers joined our ranks in Copenhagen when they passed their October ESA exams. Our next European course is scheduled for three times in 2012, March 16-20, June 1-5 and October 5-9 and exams on October 9-10. Levels I, II, and III will be offered, which takes people through Book 5. Much more information about their system is available at www.europeansuzuki.org/teacher_training.htm. For more course detail contact Claus and Marianne Rygner at rygner@gmail.com. Unfortunately SAA and ESA courses do not mix.

I hope to return to Lima, Peru in January, 2013. If you are interested please contact Caroline Fraser at www.suzukimusica.com.pe and let her know your needs. A trip to Peru can easily include a four-day adventure to ancient Cuzco and mysterious Machu Picchu.

Last of all, if you are a teaching member of Suzuki Association of the Americas, please add a profile of yourself at www.suzukiassociation.org/teachers/teacherloc/. This includes teachers in both South and North America. If you are a European teacher, then notify Sue Wimpeney directly at esa@europeansuzuki.org and please ask to be listed as taking new students. Many of you h who are not could profit by listing with your association.

I hope to see you soon!

With best wishes to each of you,

Virginia Dixon

Squarepushin on the Akai APC40 – Ableton – YouTube.

fresh inc festival

JOB OPPORTUNITY: Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana, is accepting applications for assistant/associate professor of music performance, double bass. This tenure-track faculty position is available August 17, 2012. Responsibilities include teaching graduate and undergraduate applied double bass, double bass repertoire and pedagogy; coaching chamber music; providing an artistic model in a fine arts setting; recruiting/maintaining a strong double bass studio; supervise course of studies; assist with job placement. Additional performance opportunities may be available regionally. Must have completed master’s degree in music and have a documented history of professional activity in double bass performance. Doctoral degree in music and/or significant professional experience preferred. Demonstrated ability to recruit and retain quality students on the college level. Send cover letter, complete curriculum vitae, three letters of reference written within the past two years (credentials file may be sent if letters are current), short list of additional references who may be contacted, live and unedited recording of varied solo repertoire made within the last two years, student evaluations if available, and certified transcript copy of the highest degree earned to: Chair, Double Bass Search Committee, School of Music, Ball State University, Muncie, IN 47306. Review of applications begins December 1, 2011, and will continue until the position is filled. www.bsu.edu

Illinois ASTA Award Nomination Form.