A few years ago, I was searching in vain for a YouTube video of one of George Vance’s Progressive Repertoire pieces. This search proved futile–the best thing I could find was a blurry cell phone video of a 12-year-old playing it at a recital. Frustrated at not...
Most string players own several different bows during the course of their playing career, usually starting on a fiberglass or inexpensive wooden bow in early years of study and upgrading many times on the journey toward professional-level playing. Like strings, rosin,...
I got the following question from podcast listener Josh Zimmer a few weeks ago, and I passed it along to our podcast community group. Nearly 60 comments came in over the next couple of days. I love this topic, and I decided to go through and organize the responses...
The world of double bass technique is constantly shifting as we discover new ways to tackle this large and noble instrument. As strings, setup, and instrument construction have made playability easier, new thumb position opportunities have opened up for bass players....
I’ve been using Progressive Repertoire for the Double Bass by George Vance and Annette Costanzi ever since I started teaching the bass. This series of books and the underlying philosophy behind it has transformed the way that I think about learning the double bass. In...
