Contrabass Conversations

When Moulin Rogue bandleader and bassist Bernard Gallone reached out to me about doing an episode on the unique challenges of being a left-handed bassist, I was intrigued. I am also a left-handed bassist, though like many other left-handed people, I was taught to play in the traditional, "right-handed" way.

Bernard plays the bass left-handed, with his right hand doing the fingering and his left hand plucking the strings. He keeps the string order the same, so his G string is on the same side as the standard bass set-up.

We dig into issues that left-handed people (and bassists in particular) face, the impact that learning an instrument with the non-dominant hand might have early on, and much more surrounding that topic.

We also dig into Bernard's career, the time he spent studying at Berklee in Boston, what it's like leading the band at Moulin Rogue, and how the aging process affects performers. Enjoy!

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

Contrabass Conversations is sponsored by:

Upton Bass String Instrument Company

Upton's Karr Model Upton Double Bass represents an evolution of our popular first Karr model, refined and enhanced with further input from Gary Karr. Since its introduction, the Karr Model with its combination of comfort and tone has gained a loyal following with jazz and roots players. The slim, long "Karr neck" has even become a favorite of crossover electric players.

D'Addario Strings

This episode is brought to you by D'Addario Strings! Check out their Zyex strings, which are synthetic core strings that produce an extremely warm, rich sound. Get the sound and feel of gut strings with more evenness, projection and stability than real gut.

A440 Violin Shop

An institution in the Roscoe Village neighborhood for over 20 years, A440's commitment to fairness and value means that we have many satisfied customers from the local, national, and international string playing communities. Our clients include major symphony orchestras, professional orchestra and chamber music players, aspiring students, amateur adult players, all kinds of fiddlers, jazz and commercial musicians, university music departments, and public schools.

Contrabass Conversations production team:

• Jason Heath, host
• Michael Cooper and Steve Hinchey, audio editing
• Mitch Moehring, audio engineer
• Trevor Jones, publication and promotion

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

James Ham is a legend in the double bass luthier world. After a multifaceted background that landed him in Victoria, British Columbia, James Ham created a series of revolutionary designs for the double bass.

His first instrument was commissioned by Gary Karr after a deep analysis of the various positive and not-so-positive traits of the Karr-Koussevitzky bass, Jim created a marvelous instrument on which Gary Karr still plays. In fact, Gary will only perform somewhere these days if there's a Jim Ham bass waiting for him! Here's a photo of me with Gary and his lovely Jim Ham bass.

We dig into Jim's adjustable and removable neck system, which eliminates the need for bridge adjusters. We also talk about Jim's founding of the Violin Society of America Double Bass Workshop at Oberlin. We even dig into our shared South Dakota roots!

This is a great chat with a luthier that has had a big impact on the lives of many bass players. Enjoy!

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

Contrabass Conversations is sponsored by:

Upton Bass String Instrument Company

Upton's Karr Model Upton Double Bass represents an evolution of our popular first Karr model, refined and enhanced with further input from Gary Karr. Since its introduction, the Karr Model with its combination of comfort and tone has gained a loyal following with jazz and roots players. The slim, long "Karr neck" has even become a favorite of crossover electric players.

D'Addario Strings

This episode is brought to you by D'Addario Strings! Check out their Zyex strings, which are synthetic core strings that produce an extremely warm, rich sound. Get the sound and feel of gut strings with more evenness, projection and stability than real gut.

A440 Violin Shop

An institution in the Roscoe Village neighborhood for over 20 years, A440's commitment to fairness and value means that we have many satisfied customers from the local, national, and international string playing communities. Our clients include major symphony orchestras, professional orchestra and chamber music players, aspiring students, amateur adult players, all kinds of fiddlers, jazz and commercial musicians, university music departments, and public schools.

Contrabass Conversations production team:

• Jason Heath, host
• Michael Cooper and Steve Hinchey, audio editing
• Mitch Moehring, audio engineer
• Trevor Jones, publication and promotion

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

Fellow International Society of Bassists board member Marcel Villaflor suggested that I get in touch with high school junior Haruki Gonai about winning the Yonkers Philharmonic Concerto Competition. Haruki is the first bassist ever to win this competition!

Haruki will be performing the Koussevitzky Concerto on Sunday May 20th, 2018 at 3:00 PM at Saunders Trades and Technical High School. The ISB has also arranged for Haruki to perform the Koussevitzky Concerto on the Karr-Koussevitzky bass!

Learn about Haruki's background, training, and hopes for the future in this interview—my first ever with a high school student!

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

Contrabass Conversations is sponsored by:

Upton Bass String Instrument Company

Upton's Karr Model Upton Double Bass represents an evolution of our popular first Karr model, refined and enhanced with further input from Gary Karr. Since its introduction, the Karr Model with its combination of comfort and tone has gained a loyal following with jazz and roots players. The slim, long "Karr neck" has even become a favorite of crossover electric players.

D'Addario Strings

This episode is brought to you by D'Addario Strings! Check out their Zyex strings, which are synthetic core strings that produce an extremely warm, rich sound. Get the sound and feel of gut strings with more evenness, projection and stability than real gut.

A440 Violin Shop

An institution in the Roscoe Village neighborhood for over 20 years, A440's commitment to fairness and value means that we have many satisfied customers from the local, national, and international string playing communities. Our clients include major symphony orchestras, professional orchestra and chamber music players, aspiring students, amateur adult players, all kinds of fiddlers, jazz and commercial musicians, university music departments, and public schools.

Contrabass Conversations production team:

• Jason Heath, host
• Michael Cooper and Steve Hinchey, audio editing
• Mitch Moehring, audio engineer
• Trevor Jones, publication and promotion

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

The Johann Matthias Sperger Competition is being held from 22 to 29 July 2018 in Ludwigslust / Germany. This competition is open to all double bass players with an age limit of 35. Applications are required to submit audio links.

Deadline for applications: June 1st, 2018.

Invitations and compulsory piece will be sent till June 15.

The final round will be played with the Orchetra of Staatskappelle Schwerin. Prize winners of Sperger Competition will have the opportunity of playing solo concerts with several German partner orchestras of the J.M. Sperger Society.

The International J.M. Sperger Competition offers an extraordinary and motivational experience to young double bassists. The challenge of competing artistically on an international level is combined with concerts and masterclasses by the top-level jury. The International J.M. Sperger Society, the city of Ludwigslust and the state of Mecklenburg-West Pomerania co-host the competition biennially.

Jury:

• Jury chairwoman: Christiane Hutcap (Germany)
• Jeff Bradetich (USA)
• Gunars Upatnieks (Latvia/Germany)
• Hiroshi Ikematsu (Japan)
• Christine Hoock (Germany/Austria)
• Dorin Marc (Romania/Germany)
• Dan Styffe (Norway)
• Emil Tabakov (Bulgaria)

Prizes:

• 1st prize: €8.500, -
• 2nd prize: €4.500, -
• 3rd prize: €2.500, -

Plus, many special awards, instruments, bows, concert and recital engagements!

New work for Solo Double Bass composed by renowned composer and conductor Emil Tabakov.

To apply, please complete the online application form on our website. Please note that video links of you performing a slow and a fast movement of a work of the Classical period are required.

For more information, visit our website at www.spergercompetition.com or email us at [email protected].

More links to check out:

• Sperger Competition website
• Sperger Competition on Instagram
• YouTube channel
• Marek Romanowski final round (winner of 2016 competition)
• Christine Hoock on Contrabass Conversations (2016)

Gael McKeon saved my bacon in 2017 on the way to a gig. I was headed out the door to rehearsal when I heard a worrisome wooden banging sound from my bass—never a good sign!

Opening up the case, I discovered to my horror that my tailpiece had cracked apart. My soundpost was rolling around the bottom of my bass, and my bridge and strings were splayed all over the place.

In a panic (I only have one bass!), I called Gael, and he had me in his shop and all set up with a new tailpiece in under an hour. I made it to the gig with plenty of time to spare, and my bass sounded better than ever!

Gael is leaving the San Francisco Bay Area (which makes me sad!) for new adventures in France. We talk about how he got into the luthier trade, his time spent working at David Gage's Shop and the Bass Violin Shop, how he ended up as a luthier in the Bay Area, thoughts on set-up, and much more!

I know you'll enjoy this conversation and be sure to follow Gael on Instagram to stay current with his new adventures!

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

Contrabass Conversations is sponsored by:

Upton Bass String Instrument Company

Upton's Karr Model Upton Double Bass represents an evolution of our popular first Karr model, refined and enhanced with further input from Gary Karr. Since its introduction, the Karr Model with its combination of comfort and tone has gained a loyal following with jazz and roots players. The slim, long "Karr neck" has even become a favorite of crossover electric players.

D'Addario Strings

This episode is brought to you by D'Addario Strings! Check out their Zyex strings, which are synthetic core strings that produce an extremely warm, rich sound. Get the sound and feel of gut strings with more evenness, projection and stability than real gut.

A440 Violin Shop

An institution in the Roscoe Village neighborhood for over 20 years, A440's commitment to fairness and value means that we have many satisfied customers from the local, national, and international string playing communities. Our clients include major symphony orchestras, professional orchestra and chamber music players, aspiring students, amateur adult players, all kinds of fiddlers, jazz and commercial musicians, university music departments, and public schools.

Contrabass Conversations production team:

• Jason Heath, host
• Michael Cooper and Steve Hinchey, audio editing
• Mitch Moehring, audio engineer
• Trevor Jones, publication and promotion

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

Charley Sabatino is on a mission to re-vamp the way people teach music theory. There's a lot of wariness and confusion around music theory for many players, and it often comes down to the way it's taught.

That's not all that Charley is up to these days, however. He's a man in constant motion: composing new music, teaching clinics on improvisation, and working with the next generation of players on the art, science, and business of music.

We dig into all kinds of topics today, like Charley's first trip to the NAMM show (and the unexpected cosplay happening in the halls!), the "tune/tone/time" pyramid, the umps and downs of a living as a creative artist, and much more.

Charlie's an awesome guy—be sure to follow along within on Instagram and Facebook for his great music theory whiteboard posts and much more!

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

Contrabass Conversations is sponsored by:

Upton Bass String Instrument Company

Upton's Karr Model Upton Double Bass represents an evolution of our popular first Karr model, refined and enhanced with further input from Gary Karr. Since its introduction, the Karr Model with its combination of comfort and tone has gained a loyal following with jazz and roots players. The slim, long "Karr neck" has even become a favorite of crossover electric players.

D'Addario Strings

This episode is brought to you by D'Addario Strings! Check out their Zyex strings, which are synthetic core strings that produce an extremely warm, rich sound. Get the sound and feel of gut strings with more evenness, projection and stability than real gut.

Contrabass Conversations production team:

• Jason Heath, host
• Michael Cooper and Steve Hinchey, audio editing
• Mitch Moehring, audio engineer
• Trevor Jones, publication and promotion

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

Ole Wilson is the CEO of Wilson Pickup Systems, which have been making the signature Wilson Pickup for double bass for over 34 years. Wilson provided the first commercially available piezo pickup systems for the double bass back in the 1980s, and it has been used by artists like George Mraz, Gary Peacock, and John Patitucci.

We dig into the history of the pickup, how the company has branded out into other string instruments, how the pickup is installed, and more in this special gear-centric episode!

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

Contrabass Conversations is sponsored by:

Upton Bass String Instrument Company

Upton's Karr Model Upton Double Bass represents an evolution of our popular first Karr model, refined and enhanced with further input from Gary Karr. Since its introduction, the Karr Model with its combination of comfort and tone has gained a loyal following with jazz and roots players. The slim, long "Karr neck" has even become a favorite of crossover electric players.

D'Addario Strings

This episode is brought to you by D'Addario Strings! Check out their Zyex strings, which are synthetic core strings that produce an extremely warm, rich sound. Get the sound and feel of gut strings with more evenness, projection and stability than real gut.

Contrabass Conversations production team:

• Jason Heath, host
• Michael Cooper and Steve Hinchey, audio editing
• Mitch Moehring, audio engineer
• Trevor Jones, publication and promotion

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

Yoshi Horiguchi is a Baltimore -based double bassist and educator as well as a faculty member of Maryland's thriving Bass Works program.

In the fall of 2017, Yoshi got in touch with me about putting his analysis of George Vance's Progressive Repertoire Book 1 online. We got it up on the blog, and it has proven to be a popular resource for bassists worldwide.

In this analysis, Yoshi interviewed Nicholas Walker, Tracy Rowell, Johnny Hamil, and Martha Vance about the pedagogy of George Vance. We dig into details about using this teaching resource and what Yoshi has learned through this research. Enjoy!

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

Contrabass Conversations is sponsored by:

Upton Bass String Instrument Company

Upton's Karr Model Upton Double Bass represents an evolution of our popular first Karr model, refined and enhanced with further input from Gary Karr. Since its introduction, the Karr Model with its combination of comfort and tone has gained a loyal following with jazz and roots players. The slim, long "Karr neck" has even become a favorite of crossover electric players.

D'Addario Strings

This episode is brought to you by D'Addario Strings! Check out their Zyex strings, which are synthetic core strings that produce an extremely warm, rich sound. Get the sound and feel of gut strings with more evenness, projection and stability than real gut.

Contrabass Conversations production team:

• Jason Heath, host
• Michael Cooper and Steve Hinchey, audio editing
• Mitch Moehring, audio engineer
• Trevor Jones, publication and promotion

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

As the son of Dominic Duval Sr. (Cecil Taylor's bassist for a decade), Dominic Duval Jr. grew up immersed in the world of avant-garde jazz. Dominic attended the Eastman School of Music, working with James VanDemark and Jeff Campbell. He has performed at venues like Carnegie Hall, Avery Fischer Hall, and many New York jazz clubs.

The classmate of former podcast guests Danny Ziemann and Eric Steffens, Dominic and I dig into all kinds of topics, like:

• playing cruise ships (it can be a crazy gig!)
• daily routines
• the highs and lows of a music career
• when to say yes to a project

…and much more! Be sure to follow Dominic on Instagram to keep up with his career, and it was a pleasure having him on the podcast.

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

Contrabass Conversations is sponsored by:

Upton Bass String Instrument Company

Upton's Karr Model Upton Double Bass represents an evolution of our popular first Karr model, refined and enhanced with further input from Gary Karr. Since its introduction, the Karr Model with its combination of comfort and tone has gained a loyal following with jazz and roots players. The slim, long "Karr neck" has even become a favorite of crossover electric players.

D'Addario Strings

This episode is brought to you by D'Addario Strings! Check out their Zyex strings, which are synthetic core strings that produce an extremely warm, rich sound. Get the sound and feel of gut strings with more evenness, projection and stability than real gut.

Contrabass Conversations production team:

• Jason Heath, host
• Michael Cooper and Steve Hinchey, audio editing
• Mitch Moehring, audio engineer
• Trevor Jones, publication and promotion

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

It was a pleasure to connect with Cielito de Jesus and chat about the vibrant double bass educational scene she has built in Southern California!

As the founder of the Rabbath Institute Los Angeles, Cielito has dedicated her career to teaching Vance-Rabbath pedagogy to middle and high school students throughout the Los Angeles area. She works with over 60 bassists each week.

Cielito has worked with many of the world's great bass teachers, including past podcast guests François Rabbath, Patrick Neher, and Thierry Barbé. She's a great person and is doing wonderful things for the double bass community. Be sure to check out the Rabbath Institute Los Angeles for more information about this great event!

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

Contrabass Conversations is sponsored by:

Upton Bass String Instrument Company

Upton's Karr Model Upton Double Bass represents an evolution of our popular first Karr model, refined and enhanced with further input from Gary Karr. Since its introduction, the Karr Model with its combination of comfort and tone has gained a loyal following with jazz and roots players. The slim, long "Karr neck" has even become a favorite of crossover electric players.

D'Addario Strings

This episode is brought to you by D'Addario Strings! Check out their Zyex strings, which are synthetic core strings that produce an extremely warm, rich sound. Get the sound and feel of gut strings with more evenness, projection and stability than real gut.

A440 Violin Shop

An institution in the Roscoe Village neighborhood for over 20 years, A440's commitment to fairness and value means that we have many satisfied customers from the local, national, and international string playing communities. Our clients include major symphony orchestras, professional orchestra and chamber music players, aspiring students, amateur adult players, all kinds of fiddlers, jazz and commercial musicians, university music departments, and public schools.

Contrabass Conversations production team:

• Jason Heath, host
• Michael Cooper and Steve Hinchey, audio editing
• Mitch Moehring, audio engineer
• Trevor Jones, publication and promotion

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