Jason Heath’s Double Bass Blog

You are browsing the archives of teaching.

I fell backwards into teaching, making it one of the core components of my professional life without even realizing it. If I had been more perceptive, in fact, I probably would have resisted, kicking and screaming every inch of the way.
Why?
Well, I come from a family of teachers. My mom is a [...]

I’d like to thank readers for all of the great comments (both via e-mail and through the comments on the blog) about the most recent installment of Road Warrior Without an Expense Account. This information and perspective on the music performance degree curriculum at most music schools is in dire need of change, and [...]

In Part VIII of Road Warrior Without an Expense Account, the topic of freelancer burnout was discussed. This is a depressing and all-too-frequent result of engaging in this type of work, and the solution to this situation is quite complicated.

Actually, this whole topic becomes quite depressing, and the more one thinks about [...]

I’m happy to let readers know that Part I of my series Road Warrior Without an Expense Account was just published by Adjunct Advocate Magazine. You can click here to read the article on their site.
It is gratifying to see my writing featured more and more in print journals. I have been featured [...]

 

 Standard Podcast: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Here is this week’s Contrabass Conversations episode! This episode features an interview with double bassist Greg Sarchet (pictured here with Flea). Greg is a member of the Lyric Opera of Chicago orchestra and the double bass instructor at Northeastern Illinois University. You’ll hear Greg playing with the Vienna Waltz Ensemble, and at [...]

How quickly time flies! It feels like I just started this blog, and it is hard to wrap my head around the fact that I have pushed that ‘publish’ button one thousand times (and many, many more times than that if you count edits, rewrites, and the like). Think about it—if you looked [...]

I’ve gotten a lot of great feedback on my most recent Road Warrior Without an Expense Account post. This series is wrapping up (two more installments to go), and these last two articles will have a more positive and constructive orientation.
If you haven’t checked it out, you can click on any of the links [...]

A good friend of mine told me as I started my freelance career that musicians can only last ten years as freelancers. After ten years, the majority of people pack it up and look for other means of employment.
“Bah!” I said.
I was a tough cookie, able to put in six, seven, or eight [...]

 

 Standard Podcast: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Here is the next segment of our interview with National Symphony Orchestra double bassist Ira Gold. Ira was first interviewed on episode 15 of the podcast. Feel free to check that episode out, or click here to listen to any of our older episodes. Also, you can direct any questions to Ira [...]

People have been making some purchases through the Bass Blog Sheet Music Store, which I really appreciate. If you haven’t checked this out, it is a place where I list the repertoire that I recommend teaching to double bassists in the order that I teach it. I provide commentary about the pieces listed [...]