Jason Heath’s Double Bass Blog

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On Wednesday, March 8, Boston Symphony principal bass Ed Barker gave a fantastic mastercless. The class was held in Roosevelt University’s beautiful Ganz Hall (pictured above) and was open to the general public free of charge. Four Roosevelt University students performed, and Mr. Barker devoted a half-hour to each of them. [...]

Boston Symphony principal bass Ed Barker will be presenting a masterclass on Wednesday, March 8th from 9-11 a.m. at Roosevelt University (Michigan and Congress) in Ganz Hall on the 7th floor.
Only Chicago College of Performing Arts students will be performing, but all are welcome to audit!
About Edwin Barker
Associate Professor of Music, Double [...]

I encourage all of my pre-college double bass students to get involved with either the Midwest Young Artists program or the Chicago Youth Symphony. Both of these Chicagoland youth orchestra programs are really top-notch. I have work with both of them if various capacities over the last few years, and I send students [...]

Bass students of today (and we all remain students of this instrument) have some really awesome and helpful tools to assist in practicing. Computers have changed every aspect of music making, from composition to recording technology, and practicing is no exception. The array of tools out there to develop your musical skills is [...]

This is a repository of resources helpful to the current and prospective music educator. There is an emphasis on resources for string players (especially double bass players) given the slant of this blog, but most music teachers and students should find some helpful information here. The following information is intended to serve [...]

Fresh bow hair is one of the most important tools of the trade for classical double bassists. Almost all of us should get our bows rehaired more often. Ideally, your main bow should be rehaired two to three times a year, but everybody should get a rehair once a year at a minimum. [...]

Summer is still many months off, but now is the time for serious (and even not-so-serious) double bass students to think about some summer study. One can learn more in a one-week music camp than in an entire year of study. this is the case even with an excellent bass teacher. There [...]

Here is a list (updated regularly) of double bassists on MySpace. Please e-mail me if you would like to me included on the list, or you can always become my friend on MySpace (my name is jasonheathbasspage, which is about as lame as one can get:

MySpace Double Bassist Archive
Aren - Kendallville, IN bassist
Artemis - [...]

1) Summary of Master Class by Boston Symphony Principal Bass Ed Barker
2) Joining Midwest Young Artists or Chicago Youth Symphony
3) Practicing With Technology
4)The Importance of Summer Festivals
5)Choosing Bass Strings
6)Bow Rehairing
7) Requirements for Music School Auditions (undergraduate)
Humidity and the Bass
9) Reaching the Low Notes
10) Buying a Bass Part I: Three Basic Categories

Libertyville Studio
Scott Ba.:
Scott’s action list: Vanhal 1&2, Eccles 1&4, B5 mvt 3, Br 1 E, Br 2 mvt 4 recap, Mozart 40 mvt 4 exc. 1, Mozart 39 mvt 1 pg. 1 (Allegro), all 3 octave scales - slur 4 notes, and 3 octave arpeggios - slur 3 notes, 1 Sturm etude, 1 Storch-Hrabe etude, [...]