Check out this beautiful bass by Heartland String Bass Shop owner and instrument maker Chris Threlkeld-Wiegand.

This week's Contrabass Conversations Episode features the second part of our interview with double bassist Donovan Stokes.  We last spoke with Donovan on episode 40 of the show, discussing his early years on the instrument, his experiences attending various universities, and his former and current double basses.  This week, we continue our discussion about instruments and delve into Donovan's compositional process, practice techniques, and advice on how to get the most out of studying with a private teacher.

Learn more about Donovan at www.donovanstokes.com.   Enjoy!

International Society of Bassists President and Ball State University Bass Professor Hans Sturm and I got together recently and filmed a chat about the Rabbath left hand position technique. This final segment of our chat covers more general mental approaches to practicing the double bass.

This week's Contrabass Conversations Episode features the second part of our interview with double bassist Brad Opland.  Last time we heard from Brad (on episode 37), we talked about his experiences in the Minnesota Orchestra and Chicago Symphony, plus some of the most memorable highlights from Brad's performing career.  This episode we discuss Brad's experiences performing with the Berlin Philharmonic plus performing with the Chicago Chamber Musicians and some general advice for bassists.

We also hear from University of Oregon double bass instructor Tyler Abbott and the Toby Koenigsberg Trio.

Enjoy!

Sometimes things catch fire and explode.

International Society of Bassists President and Ball State University Bass Professor Hans Sturm discusses left hand pivot and position concepts involved in the Rabbath technique.

International Society of Bassists President and Ball State University Bass Professor Hans Sturm discusses left hand pivot and position concepts involved in the Rabbath technique.

These videos can be slow to load through the player in this post player.  You can also click on ‘Our Videos’, which will usually load them much faster (and at a higher resolution!).

This week's Contrabass Conversations Episode features the second part of our interview with double bassist, music educator, and author Peter Tambroni.  Last time we heard from Peter (on episode 32), we talked about his early years on the bass, classroom and school orchestra teaching techniques, studying bass during  his bachelors and masters degrees, teaching approaches, performance experiences, and much more.

We also feature a performance of the "Carmen Fantasy" by Frank Proto from Taiwanese bassist Henry Chen, plus share many news stories and interesting developments in the world of the double bass.

Visit Peter online at www.petertambroni.com

Enjoy!

International Society of Bassists President and Ball State University Bass Professor Hans Sturm discusses left hand pivot and position concepts involved in the Rabbath technique.

Welcome to the video version of Story Time with the Contrabass Conversations podcast!  This new venture was inspired by the great podcast Digital Flotsam (along with a healthy dose of This American Life), and it features me narrating my story about fitting basses in cabs, along with topical songs, sound effects, and more.

This week's podcast concludes our interview with National Symphony Orchestra bassist Ira Gold. We began this interview on episode 15 of the podcast and continued it on episode 18, as well as featuring Ira performing the Vanhal Concerto with orchestra.

Ira discusses his double bass set-up and mental toughness aspects of the audition, practicing, and preparation process for the double bass during this segment of the interview and features a recording of Ira performing the Gigue from the first Bach cello suite.

You can direct any questions to Ira directly at irajgold@gmail.com.

Enjoy!

International Society of Bassists President and Ball State University Bass Professor Hans Sturm discusses left hand pivot and position concepts involved in the Rabbath technique.