Contrabass Conversations

Today we feature double bass performer and educator Louis Levitt on how to warm up when you don't have much time. Enjoy, and be sure to check out Louis' website, Rutgers University teaching profile, and Instagram, and be sure to follow along with his awesome group Sybarite5!

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Carnegie Mellon University Double Bass Studio – CMU is dedicated to helping each student achieve their goals as a musician. Every week each student receives private lessons and participates in a solo class with Micah Howard. Peter Guild, another member of the PSO, teaches Orchestral Literature and Repertoire weekly. They encourage students to reach out to the great bassists in their area for lessons and direction. Many of the bassists from all of the city's ensembles are more than willing to lend a hand. Every year members of the Symphony, the Opera and the Ballet give classes and offer our students individual attention. Click here to visit Micah's website and to sign up for a free online trial lesson.

Dorico - Unlock Dorico for iPad – For Life! Want to enjoy all of Dorico for iPad's subscription-only features – including support for unlimited players, freehand annotations in Read mode with Apple Pencil, support for third-party Audio Unit plug-ins, and much more – but don't want to pay a monthly or annual fee? Dorico for iPad now provides a lifetime unlock option, so you can access all current and future subscription-only features for a single, one-off in-app purchase. Visit the App Store today and unlock Dorico for iPad for life!

• theme music by Eric Hochberg

Renowned double bass luthier Arnold Schnitzer recently released a book titled The Handy Double Bassist; Maintenance, Adjustments and Repairs for the Non-Luthier. This book is available in print edition through the ISB Store as well as through the DBHQ digital store.

We dig into the inspiration for this book, what bassists can and can't do on their own, strange tales from years of maintaining basses, and much more. Enjoy, and check out our conversation from 2016 to learn more about Arnold's cool path into the bass building world.

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Check out our Online Sheet Music Store with 100+ wide-ranging titles for bassists.

Listen to Contrabass Conversations with our free app for iOS, Android, and Kindle.

Check out my Beginner's Classical Bass course and Intermediate to Advanced Classical Bass course, available exclusively from Discover Double Bass.

Thank you to our sponsors!

Carnegie Mellon University Double Bass Studio​, led by Micah Howard. Interested in studying with Micah? ​Read testimonials​ from his former students.

Dorico - Unlock Dorico for iPad – For Life! Want to enjoy all of Dorico for iPad's subscription-only features – including support for unlimited players, freehand annotations in Read mode with Apple Pencil, support for third-party Audio Unit plug-ins, and much more – but don't want to pay a monthly or annual fee? Dorico for iPad now provides a lifetime unlock option, so you can access all current and future subscription-only features for a single, one-off in-app purchase. Visit the App Store today and unlock Dorico for iPad for life!

• theme music by Eric Hochberg

Today we feature double bass performer and educator Louis Levitt on how to change a string much more quickly than normal. Enjoy, and be sure to check out Louis' website, Rutgers University teaching profile, and Instagram, and be sure to follow along with his awesome group Sybarite5!

Subscribe to the podcast to get these interviews delivered to you automatically!

Connect with us:

• all things double bass
• double bass merch
• double bass sheet music

Thank you to our sponsor, Dorico! It is my favorite software for music notation and composition. Designed for MacOS, iPad, and Windows, Dorico's workflow allows you to spend more time making music. Download Dorico 5, their free iPad app, or their free version (forever), Dorico SE 5.

Get Dorico: https://www.steinberg.net/dorico/

Listen to Contrabass Conversations with our free app for iOS, Android, and Kindle.

Check out my Beginner's Classical Bass course and Intermediate to Advanced Classical Bass course, available exclusively from Discover Double Bass.

• theme music by Eric Hochberg

Today we feature John Kennedy, who has been one of the leading double bass educators for decades. I've had the good pleasure to serve on the International Society of Bassists Board of Directors with him as well as on the faculty of several double bass camps, and he is a first-class performer, teacher, and human being.

I hope you enjoy this thoughtful conversation with a dear friend and wonderful member of the double bass community!

Subscribe to the podcast to get these interviews delivered to you automatically!

Connect with us:

• all things double bass
• double bass merch
• double bass sheet music

Thank you to our sponsor, Dorico! It is my favorite software for music notation and composition. Designed for MacOS, iPad, and Windows, Dorico's workflow allows you to spend more time making music. Download Dorico 5, their free iPad app, or their free version (forever), Dorico SE 5.

Get Dorico: https://www.steinberg.net/dorico/

Listen to Contrabass Conversations with our free app for iOS, Android, and Kindle.

Check out my Beginner's Classical Bass course and Intermediate to Advanced Classical Bass course, available exclusively from Discover Double Bass.

• theme music by Eric Hochberg

Today we chat with double bass maker Nick Lloyd about the story behind his bench copy of Edgar Meyer's Giovanni Battista Gabrielli from 1769. Nick copied Edgar's bass (#55) for Paul Kowert, and the Meyer bass copy that he bright to ISB (#60) was played by Gary Karr during the ISB headliner concert with Steve Bailey and Victor Wooten.

Enjoy, and be sure to check out more of Nick's great work on his website, Facebook, and Instagram!

Subscribe to the podcast to get these interviews delivered to you automatically!

Connect with us:

• all things double bass
• double bass merch
• double bass sheet music

Thank you to our sponsor, Dorico! It is my favorite software for music notation and composition. Designed for MacOS, iPad, and Windows, Dorico's workflow allows you to spend more time making music. Download Dorico 5, their free iPad app, or their free version (forever), Dorico SE 5.

Get Dorico: https://www.steinberg.net/dorico/

Listen to Contrabass Conversations with our free app for iOS, Android, and Kindle.

Check out my Beginner's Classical Bass course and Intermediate to Advanced Classical Bass course, available exclusively from Discover Double Bass.

• theme music by Eric Hochberg

Today, we talk with former podcast guest Bill Harrison about his new memoir Making the Low Notes: A Life in Music. This is a great read about what it was like diving into Chicago's lively jobbing world through the 1970s and beyond. Enjoy, and you can pick up a copy on Amazon!

Subscribe to the podcast to get these interviews delivered to you automatically!

Connect with us:

• all things double bass
• double bass merch
• double bass sheet music

Listen to Contrabass Conversations with our free app for iOS, Android, and Kindle.

Check out my Beginner's Classical Bass course and Intermediate to Advanced Classical Bass course, available exclusively from Discover Double Bass.

• theme music by Eric Hochberg

Sean O'Hara recently won an audition for a double bass section position in the Fort Worth Symphony. In this episode, we talk about Sean's journey from the San Francisco Bay area to UCLA to study with Chris Hanulik, his time working with Brian Johnson at Cal State Fullerton, his with studying with Tim Pitts at Rice University, lessons learned after 33 auditions, getting into traditional Irish, music, and much more. Enjoy!

Subscribe to the podcast to get these interviews delivered to you automatically!

Thank you to our sponsor, Dorico! It is my favorite software for music notation and composition. Designed for MacOS, iPad, and Windows, Dorico's workflow allows you to spend more time making music. Download Dorico 5, their free iPad app, or their free version (forever), Dorico SE 5.

Get Dorico: https://www.steinberg.net/dorico/

Connect with us:

• all things double bass
• double bass merch
• double bass sheet music

Listen to Contrabass Conversations with our free app for iOS, Android, and Kindle.

Check out my Beginner's Classical Bass course and Intermediate to Advanced Classical Bass course, available exclusively from Discover Double Bass.

• • theme music by Eric Hochberg

This year's San Francisco Winter Bass Bash recital guest was Szymon Marciniak, a fabulous bass soloist and educator who appeared on the podcast in 2016. Szymon performed an inspiring program with his longtime collaborator and pianist Evan Mitchell. In this interview we discuss how Szymon and Evan have approached collaborating over the past decade. Enjoy, and check out more footage from this event here!

Subscribe to the podcast to get these interviews delivered to you automatically!

Connect with us:

• all things double bass
• double bass merch
• double bass sheet music

Listen to Contrabass Conversations with our free app for iOS, Android, and Kindle.

Check out my Beginner's Classical Bass course and Intermediate to Advanced Classical Bass course, available exclusively from Discover Double Bass.

• theme music by Eric Hochberg

Nicole Melrose is an orchestral string clinician for D'Addario and the founder of StringRise, which we covered with Nicole in a 2021 interview.

Today, we dig into the world of double bass strings, how they are made, what makes double bass strings unique, and the various strings offered by D'Addario.

D'Addario is a past sponsor of the podcast, and if you join their Players Circle with the code DCLINIC2023, you can get 50% off of up to five D'Addario products with free shipping.

Subscribe to the podcast to get these interviews delivered to you automatically!

Connect with us:

• all things double bass
• double bass merch
• double bass sheet music

Listen to Contrabass Conversations with our free app for iOS, Android, and Kindle.

Check out my Beginner's Classical Bass course and Intermediate to Advanced Classical Bass course, available exclusively from Discover Double Bass.

• theme music by Eric Hochberg

Alexander Verster is a composer and double bassist located in London. He was born in South Africa, but soon ended up in New Zealand prior to his move to London.

We talk about his deep dive into the double bass, how composing fits into his life, and much more. Enjoy and be sure to check out Alexander's scores and recordings and also give his YouTube Channel a follow!

Subscribe to the podcast to get these interviews delivered to you automatically!

Connect with us:

• all things double bass
• double bass merch
• double bass sheet music

Listen to Contrabass Conversations with our free app for iOS, Android, and Kindle.

Check out my Beginner's Classical Bass course and Intermediate to Advanced Classical Bass course, available exclusively from Discover Double Bass.

• theme music by Eric Hochberg