Jason Heath’s Double Bass Blog

Grant Park Symphony and Northern Illinois University bass professor John Floeter put out a really interesting blog post earlier this fall, posing an excellent question:
How do people determine the proportion of basses to other string sections for a particular orchestra?
John writes:
I’ve often wondered what the “perfect” balance or even the “normal” balance of bassists [...]

My good friend Josh Nemith just put out a two-part series about freelancing in the economic downturn that we’re entering. It’s a great piece of writing and full of advice for folks in all sorts of various self-employed niches in the music industry. Check it out through the following links:

Part 1
Part 2

Labor disgraces no man; unfortunately, you occasionally find men who disgrace labor.
-Ulysses S. Grant
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For up-to-date coverage of the WCO strike situation, be sure to visit the musicians’ website (not the management’s site): wcomusicians.wordpress.com
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As I write this post (October 1, 2008), the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra is on strike. Here’s a summary of the the issues precipitating [...]

While digging through my old e-mail recently, I came upon this snippy exchange between management and musicians regarding compensation for cartage. This is the sort of thing that really makes my blood boil–cartage is compensation paid to musicians who must load a lot of gear in and out of a venue. The philosophy behind this [...]

My book Road Warrior Without an Expense Account is now available through Amazon.com! How cool is that? Now you can take advantage of Amazon deals and free shipping when ordering. If you haven’t picked up a copy and you’re a fan of the blog, doing so would really help to support all the projects we’ve [...]

Adaptistration blogger and Inside the Arts mastermind Drew McManus recently put out a post about summer music festivals that really caught my eye. In this post (dated 6/27/08), Drew writes:
Unlike regular season positions, music festivals have an added bonus by offering their exclusive location as an added incentive to performance and travel pay. Add to [...]

 

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We’re featuring a conversation with double bassist and composer Weldon Anderson on this week’s episode of Contrabass Conversations. In this episode, we’re chatting about Weldon’s experiences as a Broadway musician with the innovative Squonk Opera, his perspectives on freelancing, and an interesting back-and-forth on the music business in general. Check out the first part of [...]

Over time, professional freelancers develop a set of skills quite peculiar to the profession, alternately taking on the role of long-haul trucker, delivery man, cabbie, and crisis control expert. Though they share the same basic musical skills as their more stably employed colleagues, freelancers are constantly faced with foreign environments and unfamiliar faces, and are [...]

Author note: One of my favorite things about summer is getting the chance to finally spend some time outside, and writing on my MacBook sitting under a tree with the birds chirping and the sun shining in the sky (which I’m doing right now) has to be one of life’s great pleasures.
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Check out Part 1 [...]

The cycle repeats itself, the faces on the gigs and the music on the stand changing in a never ending cycle of concert halls, Styrofoam cups of coffee in underground orchestra lounges, hauling basses, stools, and stands out of parking garages.

Kennedy Expressway - 7 a.m. - jammed up on the freeway, riding the brake pedal, [...]