Bass World Vol 41 N2 Low Rez

BASS WORLD
The Magazine of the International Society of Bassists
Remembering
George Vance
Ten Years Later
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Volume 41, Number 2 1
BASS WORLD
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Volume 41
March
Number Two
2019 The Magazine of the International Society of Bassists
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June July Aug
Volume 41 Number Two
Departments Features
President’s Corner 4 7 Milton Hinton: More Than a Foundation
Different Strokes 13 31 Equipment and Setup for Jazz Bassists
Teaching Tips 21 37 George Vance: In His Own Words
Body & Bass 23
Luthier’s Corner 25
In The Zone 45
Rumblings 49
All That Jazz 52
The Latest Score 57
Sounding Board 62
Milestones 65
about the cover... ISB Advisory Board

The photo of George Vance on the cover of this issue of Steve Bailey
Bass World was taken by bassist Victor Dvoskin. Victor Thierry Barbe
is on the faculty of Virginia Commonwealth University’s Maxime Bibeau
Department of Music. He initially gained popularity in John Blackburn
the former Soviet Union in the early 1970s with the jazz Jeff Campbell
combo Allegro led by pianist Nikolai Levinovski. He Peter Dominguez
first came to Washington, DC in 1991 as a part of the Paul Ellison
Russian/American jazz quartet Jazznost. Since moving to Caroline Emery
the US, he has led several jazz ensemble tours through Claus Freudenstein
Russia, including a summer 2002 tour to Moscow and Bruce Gertz
St. Petersburg He also tours with VCU’s Mary Morton Tobias Gloeckler
Parsons Jazz Masters, a faculty ensemble that presents Mark Gollihur
solo and group sessions at schools throughout Richmond Johnny Hamil
and beyond to acquaint children with jazz, funded by Larry Hurst
a permanent endowment donated by patrons of jazz Mimi Jones
through a challenge grant from The Mary Morton Andres Martin
Parsons Foundation. Lisa Mezzacappa
Wanda Ortiz
Lauren Pierce
Rufus Reid
Lynn Seaton
2 International Society of Bassists

The International Society of Bassists publishes
PRESIDENT’S CORNER its membership magazine Bass World three times a
Nicholas Walker, ISB President
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closely to one another and appreciating the work, dreams, Founder: Gary Karr
and unique individuality of our fellow musicians, luthiers,
scholars, composers, and enthusiasts? Department Editors: Bruce Gertz, All That Jazz;
Alex Hanna, Different Strokes; Randall Kertz, Body
& Bass; Gaelen McCormick, Teaching Tips; Brian
As I prepare to hand over the sacred “presidential
Perry, In the Zone; David Gage, Luthier’s Corner;
tailpiece” to John Schimek, I have been reflecting that Heather Miller Lardin, Rumblings; Rob Nairn,
the role of President has been like a front row seat at a two-year long convention, Sounding Board
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Nicholas Walker, President & Chair,
The first is about who we are. Strategic Planning Team
John Schimek, President-Elect & Chair,
• This week I pulled out my crate of past ISB journals and publications, and browsed
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me this week (when hate speech and hate crimes terrorize in every newsfeed) is Advisory Board
how we seem always to have been a group of inclusion, open-mindedness, integrity, David Murray, Secretary
kindness, and generosity. Marcel Villaflor, Treasurer & Chair, Financial Team
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• We “crossed over” with multi-genre “fusion” while others were still staking out
exclusive territories. We convened to exchange ideas and discoveries while others DIRECTORS
protected trade secrets. We celebrate our racial and ethnic multiculturalism, and Travis Harrison, Chair, Technology Team
we are striving to erase the gender imbalance we still have in the bass world. Jason Heath, Chair, Marketing Team
We cultivate progressive pedagogies, extended techniques, new repertoire, and John Kennedy, Education Team
Tom Knific, Chair, Development
reimagined traditions. Standing, sitting, plucking, slapping, bowing – overhand/
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underhand, various tunings, shapes of instruments, string technologies, ancient Sandor Ostlund, Chair, Competitions Team
music, improvised music, avant-garde, communal music, electric, acoustic – we surf Brian Perry, Strategic Planning Team
the ever-reforming wave of all-things-bass. Everyone is welcome. Our admission Tracy Rowell, Chair, Education Team
tickets take only our own joyful curiosity (plus our modest annual ISB dues). Donovan Stokes, Membership Team
Hans Sturm, Chair, Governance Team

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The second is simply that what we are doing matters. Patricia Weitzel, Chair, Membership Team
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honoring legacies, supporting dreams, questioning, expressing, listening, fostering Madeleine Crouch, General Manager
Connie Martin, Editor
a community in which to learn and grow – it all matters.
Daniel Meyers, Editorial Assistant
• I can see it every day from this vantage point. OK, we are not curing cancer, but Jeremy Baguyos, Composition Competition Chair
we are certainly touching souls, forming citizens, and building a network – one of Andrew Kohn, Research Competition Chair
many around the planet – grounded in mutual affinity and shared appreciation. Dustin Williams, Makers Competition Chair
This matters.
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Milt Hinton: More Than
A Foundation
by Gerald Massoud
When a jazz bassist first approaches learning how to play After moving to New York, I realized the importance of
a walking bass line, there is a standard list of musicians studying the history and background of every jazz bassist
to listen to and transcribe. Most often sourced are Ray with intent. This forced me to reconsider my approach
Brown, Paul Chambers, Ron Carter, Oscar Pettiford, to being a musician and how I practiced. I needed to
Jimmy Blanton, Percy Heath, and many others who made learn every aspect of each musician: bass lines, biography,
their way onto early iconic recordings. And then there are discography, compositions, arrangements, and anything
bassists who shape specific styles, such as Scott LaFaro, connected to their creative process.
Charlie Haden, Dave Holland, Niels-Henning Ørsted
Pedersen, Christian McBride, Jimmy Garrison, Eddie Then the day came when I wanted to transcribe Milt
Gomez, and the list goes on. Hinton’s bass lines on Branford Marsalis’s album Trio
Jeepy.1 My curiosity wasn’t sparked by Hinton, but by
No one could cover the entire rich lineage of jazz bassists, Marsalis. Years ago, after having dinner with Marsalis and
even if we had eight hours a day to practice for the rest of his band, I realized there was much more to learn. During
our lives. Someone I missed, or arrogantly skipped over, dinner, after nervously refusing to have a glass of Marsalis’
was Milt Hinton. As a young musician, I went after the wine, he said, “In my family, we share everything that is on
typical and “cool” bassists. This was a disastrous mistake. the table, including wine.” I didn’t believe I was family, but
Not only did I miss a magnitude of musical information an outsider. While pouring me a glass of his wine, Marsalis
specific to jazz bass, but I sidestepped the learning process. said a line that has stuck with me forever, “You probably
Branford
Marsalis on the
left with Jeff
“Tain” Watts
on the right.
Photo by Milt
Hinton, ©
Milton J. Hinton
Photographic
Collection.

play like this too.” After the shock wore off, I realized he Keeping Your Head Down
was right. I am not my true self while playing. I am sure you have heard the idea of keeping your head
down. But if you haven’t, this is where you mentally ignore
I started to research all the bassists that have recorded with the success of others, what others think, and your own
Marsalis throughout his career. It was imperative that I inner demons in order to push yourself through life. I don’t
figure out what they were doing, and deduce why Marsalis think of keeping your head down as putting on blinders
hired them to play on his records. The first album I chose and moving forward. To me this concept is about taking
was Trio Jeepy because it is an iconic chord-less trio every opportunity and running with it. Anyone that tells
recording which included Marsalis, Hinton, and Jeff ‘Tain’ you that you need motivation, you need a plan, you need
Watts.2 The idea of transcribing a bass line unencumbered this or that, are projecting their own values on you. In the
by chords fascinated me because I knew there wouldn’t be end, you either do something or you don’t. Keeping your
any influence on Hinton except melody and rhythm. head down is the act of focusing on what you want, not the
I learned lessons about being a musician and a bassist. The process of ignoring everything else.
most important lessons I learned were the importance of
Trio: Milt
Hinton, left;
Branford
Marsalis, middle;
Jeff ‘Tain’ Watts,
right. Photo by
Milt Hinton, ©
Milton J. Hinton
Photographic
Collection.
keeping your head down, learning to identify and learn This is an excellent time to ask yourself what you want
specific musical ideas and techniques, and being open and out of life. You don’t have to enter an existential crisis,
honest with yourself while playing. Keeping your head but now is a good time to find out what you really want as
down is not a physical act, but a challenge to yourself. a musician, or even if you want to be a musician. Asking
I will discuss the process and how to reframe your core yourself the tough questions and finding these answers is
values. Since this is a bass-specific magazine, I will explore your own journey. But when you reach the conclusion
a few jazz bass concepts I learned from Hinton and how that you want to be a jazz bassist, start clean by shedding
to apply these practices to your playing. And finally, I will your expectations, your self-value, and what you think you
talk about my revelation on how to be open and honest know about being a musician. Every person arrives at their
with yourself and how the idea is constantly a work in destination differently, and you have to find your own
progress. These three areas are important to share with path. Now I want to focus on the act of changing your
you so you don’t make the same mistakes I did as a young core value system and explain how I changed mine after
player. this transcription project.

As stated before, I was determined to figure out how when I have a great idea on a new hydroponic system (a
Marsalis chose bassists to play on his records. Instead of gardening system that uses no soil to grow plants), I can
figuring out a way to ask him directly, I decided to create immediately get that thought on paper and move on to
more work for myself. If you ask my wife, there is no way music. I channel my creativity so I spend as much of my
of changing my mind once I decide what I want to do, mental power on music and less on devising new tank
even if it means generating weeks of unnecessary effort. systems. Last, learn to be present in the moment while
I transcribed Trio Jeepy and spent months denying the working on music. When I practice, I turn my phone
simplicity of Hinton’s playing. Yes, this is extremely on airplane mode, I turn off the TV, and I finish what I
closed-minded, and I have regretfully spent most of my wanted to accomplish in the practice session. Is it worth
life with this mindset. I am still amazed at how far I have ignoring social media or being late to dinner so you can
come in the music industry while thinking this way. But move one step closer to your musical goals? Your answer to
aside from my own issues, I could not accept the outcome. that question will let you know what is important to you.
The problem was my expectations: I wanted Hinton to
have perfect intonation, perfect time, killer solos, and a Jazz Bass Concepts
monster sound. Well, he doesn’t have all these qualities
I desired, and I denied learning any lessons from him for After transcribing Hinton on Trio Jeepy, I learned how to
months. be the foundation for others to play freely. There are two
parts to this concept, which include how to interact in
This changed when I had a hard time playing the real time and how to take a back seat. I will explain both
transcriptions after taking some time off from playing ideas and give you practice tips on how to work on each
bass. I was even more frustrated and almost wanted to quit concept.
playing. I hit a wall and I had no idea how to get through
it. For the first time in my life, I wanted something so badly It is easy to close our ears and our minds while playing jazz,
and had no idea how to get it. In my frustration, I decided forcing ourselves to play what we think is going to sound
to just play the transcriptions every day for weeks and see great. This defeats the entire purpose of jazz, because the
what happened. I stopped playing gigs and secluded myself music is a continuous dialogue between ourselves, the
voluntarily. I began to transcribe Sonny Rollins, Lee other musicians, and the audience. I am talking about the
Konitz, Ray Brown, Jeff Coffin, Avishai Cohen, Charlie balance between playing an idea that is conversational
Parker, and many more. For some reason, the quest for versus playing something that is selfish. It means you can’t
knowledge was so important to me, I wasn’t focused on all just sit up there on stage and play whatever you want. You
the expectations. I kept my head down and focused on one have to listen, analyze, and formulate a musical response
thing for as long as my mind could take it. appropriate to what you hear. For example, listen to
The Nearness of You and discover the dialogue between
I broke through my wall. No, I am not some amazing Hinton and Marsalis. There isn’t a moment when Hinton
bassist, but I know who I am and what I want to do. It is ignores Marsalis. Sure, there are plenty of repeated ideas
easier to smile at gigs, to interact with other musicians, and patterns, and Hinton plays plenty of root notes. But
and to enjoy myself. This dark cloud has moved on and I listen to the note choice and the rhythm of Hinton’s
can hear things I was never open to hearing before. And playing when Branford changes his mood. They are locked
before you think this process cured me of the typical jaded together. Even though Hinton is playing very simple lines,
jazz musician mindset, I still have negative thoughts run those ideas speak louder than trying to play disingenuous
through my mind every once and a while. But it is much responses.
easier to move on and get back to loving music again.
Keeping my head down and focusing on what matters to To practice this concept, you are going to ignore your bass
me is driving me further than I ever thought possible. role and become a melodic instrument. First, find a favorite
ballad performed by someone you love listening to on a
Here are a few ideas on how to help you reframe your regular basis. Now listen to that ballad two to three times
mindset and keep focused. First, reorganize your space, and concentrate on the melody, paying close attention to
both mentally and physically. For example, I deleted my the space between each phrase. After listening, pick up
personal social media accounts and only use social media your instrument and play ideas that feed off the melody,
to follow people that inspire me. There is a sign in our only playing in the empty spaces. Imagine yourself a horn
bedroom that reads, “What are you doing today to make player filling in the gaps for a singer. Play around until
yourself a badass musician?” I also stopped working with you feel comfortable enough to play lines that augment,
musicians that were jaded, negative to others in the field, not outshine, the melody. Now you can play as a bassist
and didn’t challenge me. Do what is necessary to move by playing along with the ballad and interject melodic
toward your goals. Second, I have notebooks everywhere and rhythmic ideas in your bass line. As you become
to write down any thoughts I have on other projects. Now, comfortable with this process, you can try the technique

while playing a session with friends or even at a gig. Just all the technical projects I have taken on over the years,
make sure you are listening to everyone and respect the this one was the most revealing and the most frustrating.
conversation. Sometimes, you can shine and sometimes So don’t let this process discourage you, but face it head on
you will take a back seat so others can stand out. You will as part of your learning process.
develop your ability to process musical responses in real
time, develop your concept of melody, and tame your ego Open and Honest
by not interrupting the musical conversation.
Being open and honest is a long journey, but one that starts
I also learned how to enable other musicians to be as by making a deliberate and conscious decision to identify
creative as possible while supporting their efforts. During who you are and why you do what you do. For me, I have
Housed from Edward, there is a moment at 3:40 when spent most of my life as a musician, but I have dabbled
Watts starts to play with the placement of the pulse over in many different interests. I have not stopped cooking,
Hinton’s bass line. When I first heard this, I thought it gardening, playing golf, baking, or stargazing. The change
was a mistake. However, pay attention to where Marsalis for me was to allow myself to focus on the task and to open
places his pulse. You may need to listen to it a few times, my mind to all possibilities. The act of doing work and
but Marsalis follows Hinton. Watts separates from the redefining your core values has to come from experience.
tempo as a deliberate choice to create an intense level of
tension. I realized through the transcription project that I did not
possess the mental facility nor the technical abilities to
Understanding the complexity of this situation is crucial be a bassist for Branford Marsalis. This meant I needed
for bassists. As stated before, I have a bit of an insecurity to evaluate myself and figure out what was necessary to
problem with my playing. If this same thing happened to get better. As a bassist, there are a few categories that we
me, I would change my tempo to correct course. But you always focus on: time, intonation, repertoire, and soloing.
have to learn when a musician is deliberately playing with But there is more to getting better than focusing on the
the placement of the beat versus a musician that is rushing technical issues of being a musician and a bassist. Each of
or slowing down. Having that level of confidence in your us has an inherent system we use to judge our own worth
playing and analysis of the music is key. Your response and abilities. This is what really has to change for you to
to that information tells others how good you are as a get better.
musician.
The transcription project was one of mixed emotions and
You can practice for this situation by working with a frustration. I was angry at myself that I did not do this
metronome and a recording device. First, set up your project sooner, and I was also excited to get work done.
practice space with your metronome, a recording device, The frustration came because I was expecting to learn
and a notebook. Hit record, start your metronome at 100 something special from the transcription and I didn’t.
bpm [beats per minute], and walk five choruses of a blues. Hinton’s bass lines were simple, the technique required
Then slow it down 10 bpm and play five more choruses. was not hard, and he didn’t take any complicated solos. I
Repeat this process until 40 bpm, or your metronome’s could not figure out why Marsalis hired Hinton.
slowest setting, and then stop. Take a listen to your
recording and analyze where your pulse lands on all beats, I hope you were paying attention to the emotions I chose
especially on one and three. You will immediately know if to reference: anger, excitement, and frustration. The anger
you place your pulse ahead or behind the beat. Take notes was misguided, the excitement was disingenuous, and the
about your tendencies at the different tempos so you can frustrations came from expectations. Frankly, everything
catalogue your progress. You can take this a step further stems from expectations. I expected to get better, to
and practice this process with different songs, playing the learn something, and to find out why Hinton was hired.
melody, taking a solo, or even do a complete song yourself: Nothing really happened. While transcribing the album,
melody, walk a bass line, and solo. You are working on I was on an emotional roller coaster. But something did
your pulse and understanding your tendencies at different change about my earlier evaluation of Hinton on the
tempos. If you are not solid, how is someone else going to record. He plays simple, doesn’t use extended techniques,
be able to create rhythmic tension on your pulse? and doesn’t take burning solos, because that is who Hinton
is as a person.
After transcribing the album and taking time to evaluate
myself, I adjusted how to sense and conceptualize the Not once will you listen to Trio Jeepy and think that
tempo. It was only a few weeks into analyzing my own Hinton was not honest with himself and his playing. Not
tendencies that I noticed exactly when I rushed or once. Understanding the difference between honesty
slowed down. You also quickly learn who understands the and playing to meet expectations is difficult. But when
collective pulse in an ensemble and who does not. Out of you figure it out, the world and music changes. Your

perceptions of music and musicians will never be the same.
Hinton was hired because he was a fun, caring, and gentle
human that also happens to be a proficient bassist. Every
note he played highlights every attribute. So how did I
come to this conclusion? Maybe it was a combination of
life events or the month-long emotional roller coaster, but
I let my guard down and accepted the fact that I was not as
free with myself and my music.
“You probably play like this too.” Yeah, I do. I am insecure,

I play what I think people want to hear, and I am afraid
to take on projects to learn more about jazz because I am
afraid as to what I am going to find out about myself. Now,
I am working on changing this issue, and I make sure that
every decision I make is because I want to do it. This
means I need to spend more time working on myself and
my abilities as a musician.
————————————
Hinton taught me many things even though I never met

him. I am learning to be honest and to focus on what is
important, all while developing new ideas and techniques
on the instrument. Shaping your core values is vital.
Developing the right mindset and shaking off expectations
is hard. Now I feel confident enough to transcribe difficult
music and really experiment with what I can learn from
an album. Sure, I have transcribed other bassists and While working on his DMA, Gerald won the Houston Public
musicians, but this project really spoke to me. This process Media Composers Contest, writing new music for the Charlie
deeply impacted why I play bass and why I play jazz. Chaplin film The Rink. This award created new opportunities
to write and arrange music for film, small ensemble, jazz
I hope this article inspires you in some way to re-evaluate orchestra, and symphony orchestra. During the summer
yourself and your playing. We often get lost in the hustle of 2016, Gerald was invited to perform with the Piccadilly
of work and personal life, but rarely do we take the time Symphony Orchestra as a guest artist during the International
to contemplate our well-being. And after studying who Conductors Festival in Danville, Kentucky. Gerald Massoud
we are as a person and as a musician, how often do we is currently performing in the New York area, writing music for
take action to fix the problems? For me, the transcription various ensembles all over the United States, and working on
project led me to realize my own core issues, and I am his first album.
continually reconfiguring myself to be a better musician
and a better person. This all started with Hinton.
Endnotes:
1
Branford Marsalis, Trio Jeepy, Columbia, CD, 1989.
Gerald Massoud is a bassist, composer, arranger, and writer. 2
Delbert Felix plays bass on Doxy, Peace, and Random
Following high school, Gerald moved to Tucson, Arizona to Abstract (Tain’s Revenge).
study music with Patrick Neher, his bass teacher, and Jeff
Haskell, his mentor. He learned classical technique during
the day and worked with many local jazz musicians by night.
In 2008, he moved to Austin, Texas where he went on the
road with Salero, a premiere salsa band in Texas. In 2011,
Gerald worked with Tapestry Dance Company as their bassist
for a tour in China showcasing the Souls of Our Feet: A
Celebration of American Tap Dance. The show featured
classic movie and TV tap sequences performed live with a jazz
trio. This same show went on tour in Canada in 2012 for the
Vancouver Tap Dance Society Festival.

DIFFERENT STROKES Alex Hanna, Editor
3rd Finger in Low Positions:

A “Hybrid” Fingering System for Improved
Intonation and Increased Physical Ease
by Scott Dixon • Extension: fingers pointed straight

• Diatonic half-step: different-letter (e.g. D-Eb, G-Ab) In
In my observation, a great deal of physical tension Just-Intonation these are “wide” half-steps
and poor intonation result from playing diatonic half- • Chromatic half-step: same-letter (e.g. D-D#, G-G#) In
steps between [1-2] in low positions. The narrow half- Just-Intonation these are “narrow” half-steps
steps, “raised leading tones”, and wide Major 3rds of
“Expressive Intonation” do not belong in bass lines; Here, intervals also imply their cross-string derivatives. A
in ensemble playing we should tune harmonically, not diatonic half-step finger spacing played across strings could
“melodically”. be, for example, a Major 3rd, Major 6th, diminished 5th.
A whole-step spacing played across strings could be, for
Using [1-3] instead of [1-2] for diatonic half-steps in low example, a Perfect 5th, octave, minor 3rd, minor 6th.
positions might interest you if:
• You do not have large hands For clarity and simplicity, a “position” will be a whole-step
• You have a large bass spacing between [1-4], with no pivot, shift, finger extension,
• You have hand/arm pain or tension in low positions or thumb.
• You struggle with intonation in low positions
•You struggle with Major 3rd double stops in low Background
positions Most people can comfortably play a whole-step in
• You teach somebody for whom any of the above apply. low positions with [1-4]. People with smaller hands
might need some degree of finger abduction; people
(Measurements of a typical “large” hand and a typical with larger hands might need some degree of finger
“small” hand are in approximately a 4:3 ratio. Let’s say adduction. Nevertheless, a [1-4] whole-step is a natural,
you have “large” hands and you play a standard 41.5- comfortable spacing for most people on most basses.
inch string length; for you to know what it feels like to
play on your bass with “small” hands, you’d need to play So far, so good. But now we must divide 4 into 3: with
a bass with a 55-INCH STRING LENGTH!) [1] and [4] playing a whole-step on one string, we have
one note in the middle, but two fingers to choose from. 4
Notes & Definitions: evenly spaced fingers, 3 evenly spaced notes.
For most of this article assume Equal Tempered intervals
for the sake of simplicity: evenly spaced half-steps and Generally, there are two ways of dealing with this:
enharmonic equivalents (e.g. A# = Bb, D# = Eb). I’ll • What I’ll call the “Traditional” system that most of
discuss applications for Just Intonation briefly toward the us are familiar with, which uses [1-2-4]. It puts the
end of the article. abducted finger spacing between [1-2], and the neutral
finger spacing between [2-4].
• Numbers in brackets refer to fingerings. For example, • The “Italian” system, which uses [1-3-4]. It puts the
[1] = 1st finger, [1-4] = 1st finger to 4th finger. neutral finger spacing between [1-3], and the abducted
• “Frets” in the photos are marked with tape to help clarify finger spacing between the [3-4]:
spacing.
• Neutral finger spacing: the way your fingers curve
naturally, with minimal muscular effort
• Abduction: fingers actively spread apart
• Adduction: fingers actively pulled together
• Flexion: fingers pulled into a curl

Both the Traditional and Italian systems result in chromatic hand-shapes, fixing the 4 fingers into an evenly spaced 3
semi-tone shape. These fingering systems are designed to play two adjacent linear half-steps on each string without shifting
or pivoting; the fingers are poised ready to play all the chromatics in any given position.
Yes, Francois Rabbath’s Nouvelle Technique, which I use and teach, organizes the fingerboard diatonically, by fluidly
connecting positions via pivots. An important distinction, though, is that a pivot is a motion not a fingering. The Nouvelle
Technique still uses the “suspect” [1-2-4] fingering system in low positions.
In one position (with no pivot, shift, or finger extension) these systems yield a pitch collection like this:
This pitch collection makes sense in Bebop or 12-tone music, but in most contexts it is cluttered and non-tonal. It’s fair
to say that most of the music that most people play most of the time is mostly diatonic. Relatively, how often do we play
two adjacent linear half-steps on one string, compared to the amount of time we play all other possible interval combinations?
With the exceptions of Jazz and 12-tone music, most chromaticism results from:
1. Modulation/tonicization (one diatonic set followed by a different diatonic set, where most of the notes remain
unchanged from old key to new key)
2. Chromatic inflection (chromatic neighbor-tone excursion, mode mixture, etc.)
3. Connecting two chord tones by “filling in” the space with chromatics
Only the third type implies two or more adjacent linear half-steps.
Consider the following list of standard orchestral excerpts — there’s something that they all have in common:
Mozart 39, Mvt. IV, Development; Haydn 88, Mvt. IV, Development (bars 108-141); Beethoven 9 Recits; Bruckner,
Symphony 7, Mvt. I, Letters E-G, Mvt. IV, Letters P-4 after letter R; Strauss, Ein Heldenleben, Battle Scene; Verdi,
Otello, soli; Mendelssohn “Italian” Symphony, Mvt. I, bar 41-Letter A; Brahms 1, Mvt. I, Letter E; Beethoven 5,
Mvt. II, Letter C, Scherzo and Trio; Mussorgsky, Pictures at an Exhibition
With all the chromaticism, modulation and tonicization in these passages, there is not a single instance of adjacent linear
half-steps in this entire list of excerpts! The interval combination that most fingering systems prioritize doesn’t occur in
this entire list.
Don Juan by Strauss is an obvious exception; it has adjacent linear half-steps built into the primary thematic material.
Even still, the bass part has relatively few instances of consecutive linear half-steps, compared to all other consecutive
interval combinations played.
The Traditional fingering system forces an abducted spacing between [1-2] in order to be available for chromatics even
when they’re not sounding. Does it really make sense to use an asymmetrical semi-tone chromatic fingering system,
alternating between neutral spacing and abducted spacing, when most music is fundamentally diatonic? Even music with
many accidentals is usually made up of overlapping diatonic sets.

If we run these fingering systems through a “diatonic filter”, we get something like this (diatonic to F Major, for example):
Both systems have a neutral finger spacing and an abducted finger spacing. Why not take the neutral finger spacing of
both systems, and avoid the abducted finger spacing of both systems?
Here is the same passage, using the neutral finger spacing taken from both the Traditional and Italian systems:
Examples
Trills: Low Position trills are a good “gateway” into low-position 3rd finger. Most people find that the [1-3] half-step trill
is easier and better in tune than the traditional options.
Consistency of spacing: Play the fingerings below. It might take some time to become accustomed to using [3] in this way,
but you’ll likely find that [1-3] matches the intonation of the [2-4] better than [1-2]. Also, [1-2] might require a different
arm orientation, and the abducted finger spacing fatigues more quickly than a neutral finger spacing.
Without going into the complex mathematical “proofs”, the half-step A-Bb below is the same physical distance as the
whole step F-G. Most fingering systems prescribe playing F-G with [1-3], yet prescribe A-Bb to be played [1-2].
Availability of non-playing fingers: For each printed note, find a relaxed, comfortable hand-shape; vibrate to be sure
you’re not holding tension.

In Example A, which notes are most available to the non-playing fingers? F# and B natural, neither of which is in the
key of F. In this position, this hand-shape makes sense for Gb Major, but not for F Major.
In example B, diatonic pitches E and A are readily available to the non-playing [1].
In example C, which finger naturally falls closest to diatonic pitches G, C, F and Bb? [3] already is comfortably there,
but [2] has to “stretch” to get there.
Fast passages: Play the passage below using the three different fingerings.
Major 3rd Double-stops: Play the following fingerings. Many people find that the second set allows for more consistent
intonation and more consistent arm/hand position from double-stop to double-stop.
The [1-2] Major 3rd requires a different arm position and different hand-shape from the [2-4] Major 3rd. Also, [2] is
“occupied” during the first double-stop, and must “hop” from one string to another to get to the second double-stop

Chords: Play the barred 4th with [1]. Notice which finger naturally falls closest to the Eb on the A string.
Playing the Eb with [2], as prescribed by most methods, pulls the bar out of “square” with the strings, and is out of tune.
Applications for Just-Intonation: We don’t actually need to divide 4 into 3. In Just intonation there are two discrete
notes within a whole-step. Between A and B, for example, are both A# and Bb. They are not enharmonic equivalents;
A# ≠ Bb. Chromatic half-steps are narrower than diatonic half-steps.
Just-Intonation theory is far beyond the scope of this article. The simplest way I can think to put it is this: Just-Intonation
is about matching shared overtones between two or more notes.
Sharps are low, flats are high, Major 3rds are “narrow”, minor 3rds are “wide”. Diatonic half-steps are “wide”, chromatic half-
steps are “narrow”, etc. Yes, this is the opposite of what violin soloists call, “Expressive Intonation” (see the first paragraph).
Pure Just-Intonation is impractical in most large ensemble settings. Aim for what I call “Resonant Intonation”; this
falls somewhere between Just and Equal-Tempered intervals; play the version of the note that is most in tune given the
context. In a bass section, it’s always better to match those around you than to be “right” but not matching.
Try the following example. You’ll need two friends to play the other lines; be sure your open strings are precisely in tune
with each other.

But, isn’t 3rd finger “weak”?
Try this: On a tabletop, firmly tap each of the four fingertips or finger-pads as if playing a piano. Try to make the sound
of each fingertip the same. Now, alternate one finger, then the other, in all the possible pair combinations: [1-2], [1-3],
[1-4], [2-3], [2-4], [3-4].
Repeat the above with the fingers (a) Abducted (spread wide apart) (b) Extended straight out; then (c) With your palm
lying flat on the table. What do you notice? How does each combination feel and sound?
You’ll find that 3rd finger is “weak” when:

• Used in opposition to adjacent fingers (due to the arrangement of shared tendons)
• Abducted
• Extended (when the finger is straightened)
• Used in flexion in the finger muscles (located in the forearm)
And [3] finger is “strong” when:

• Dropped with the grasping muscles (located in the palm of the hand), starting from a neutral, arched hand-shape.
This is the way the hand should look while playing.
“Hybrid” Fingering System for Diatonic and Chromatic Passages

The easiest way to start incorporating [3] in low positions is simply to be aware that it’s there. The old rule from Simandl
(that you don’t use [3] until thumb position) is so ingrained that we’d sooner give ourselves tendonitis and play out
of tune than consider [3] as an option. If a fingering causes strain in your left hand, chances are that’s a good time to
consider [3].
Whole Steps: [1-4]

• The two “outside” fingers, [1] and [4], are used as normal in the Traditional systems.
Diatonic Half-steps (different-letter name): [1-3] or [2-4]

• The two “inside” fingers, [2]/[3], are interchangeable depending upon intervallic context; use whichever finger
allows a neutral hand-shape and neutral arm position:
A diatonic half-step above [1] is played [3]
A diatonic half-step below [4] is played [2]
Chromatic half-steps (same-letter name): [1-2] (more often) or, [3-4] (less often)
• The “narrow” chromatic half-steps reflect the closer natural spacing between [1-2] and [3-4] These fingerings help
“modulate”; they connect one diatonic set to another. They occur far less frequently than diatonic half-steps.
• I n very fast chromatic playing, simply use [1-2-4] as you always have.
In most keys in most circumstances: [2] generally plays naturals or sharps; [3] generally plays naturals or flats.
The “tuning harmonics” position illustrates the diatonic fingerings well, because all notes played with [1] and [4] are
naturals, all notes played with [2] are sharps, and all notes played with [3] are flats.
You can extrapolate this chart to the other positions. You’ll find that each position tends to “prefer” one hand-shape over
the other, given the most common keys.

Closing
I first learned of using [1-3] for diatonic half-steps in low positions while I was a fellow at the New World Symphony. I was
having a lesson with Harold Robinson, who demonstrated the following passage from Beethoven 5, II, with this fingering:
I asked, “Did you just play half-steps with 1 and 3?!?”
Hal smiled and said, “Yes, but don’t tell anybody” ...
I’ve asked his permission to share this, and he agreed,

adding, “I use [3] in low positions when I don’t have to
employ [4]. And for chromatics I still use [1-2-4]. This comes from my desire to “weight” the strings down by hanging
from the fingerboard, rather than pressing the strings between fingers and thumb. I have never been a proponent of the
“perfect” spread hand-shape. My goal is to keep my hand weighted and comfy as possible” (paraphrasing).
There are many very well-known bass players who use this idea to some degree. I’ve found it enormously
helpful, and I think it is time to get it out in the open. I certainly don’t “require” my students to use
my Hybrid fingering system. I simply suggest [3] as an option when it will solve a problem. It usually
substantially improves low position sound, ease, and intonation.
You’ll want to decide for yourself how far up the fingerboard to take this idea. If you have larger hands
you may use it in only the lowest positions; if you have smaller hands you might want to use this system
all the way up to thumb position.
Let your body inform your brain, not the other way around.
Scott Dixon joined the Cleveland Orchestra bass section in 2007. He is the String Division Chair and Double
Bass Department Head at the Cleveland Institute of Music and is on teaching faculty at Domaine Forget.

TEACHING TIPS Gaelen McCormick, Column Editor
Why My iPhone is Essential to My

Public School Suzuki Bass Program
by Heather Miller Lardin chairs, backpacks, etc. – we even dressed up a couple of kids
as “stand-up basses” with cases draped over their heads.
The Philadelphia public school system has a good Completely low-tech, but it was fun!
number of half- and three-quarter-size basses in its
inventory, but many stand silent – even in schools that
still have instrumental music programs. After-school
string ensembles here tend to have trouble attracting
bass players. The reasons for this are not entirely clear,
but bass students typically start later than their upper-
string peers for practical reasons (i.e., size) and thus may
drop out if they have trouble keeping up.
In my Suzuki training, I observed a culture of well-

prepared tiny bassists in cities like Cleveland and
Chicago. I very much wanted to develop something
similar in my hometown. Through a local nonprofit,
Musicopia, whose mission is to bring music education
into Philadelphia schools, I launched an in-school
Suzuki bass program in January 2018. Musicopia
purchased ten bass outfits in fractional sizes for children
Heather Lardin helping her students become “stand-up
in first and second grades (5-7 years old), and budgeted
basses!” Photos provided by the author.
funds to pay for two hours of lessons per week. I teach
20-minute private lessons for three weeks and then hold
one week of group lessons so that the students have both
experiences.
Our goal: Get some kids ready to stand up and play those
dormant school instruments by the time they grow into
them.
Two hour-long parent meetings got everyone on board

with the basic tenets of the Suzuki philosophy and my
expectations for the program.1 Each parent learned to
make a bow hold on a straw. I asked them to teach the
bow hold to another adult and send me a photo before
the second session. This exercise came to me via Kate
Jones, who generously shared ideas and documents from
her thriving public school program experience with me.
“Box basses” and their handlers
It gives parents a sense of their child’s experience and
previews their own role as the home teacher.
Our classroom is located directly off the cafeteria/gym
We made stand-in “box basses” so that the kids could and is very noisy; this slows down the pace considerably,
practice handling them. Many of the children could have and kids tend to check out when they can’t hear. This
skipped this step, but personalizing and naming their fake is unfortunately a typical issue faced by public school
instruments got them excited about earning their real music teachers. Tracking down children, unpacking,
ones. And everyone loved navigating the obstacle course tuning, and packing up take a great deal of time away
(another Kate Jones idea) made of classroom objects: from instruction. The noisy room doesn’t help.

Partner activities keep students more engaged because Parents send me a practice update weekly. Many send
they must be close enough to hear each other: ‘mirroring’ short videos of their children practicing, which I review
games, counting repetitions for each other, clapping hands and send back comments. Others simply send a text
together, etc. It helps to rotate lesson times so that students telling me what they’ve been doing and asking questions.
take turns in the quieter post-lunch slots. I quickly learned Texting keeps things brief, so neither parents nor I feel
to limit the number of activities I tried to get through each overwhelmed. I like being able to offer support and
week to three at most. For homework, I make very specific encouragement quickly, and the kids adore making and
and short assignments: i.e., make 10 bow holds, listen to sending videos! These direct communications are much
Twinkle, clap a rhythm 5 times, etc. more meaningful and effective than the paper practice
charts I initially sent home, which frequently got lost or
By far, the biggest obstacle we face is communication. In appeared to be mindlessly checked off.
regular Suzuki lessons, a parent attends until children are
mature enough to practice independently – usually not We schedule brief FaceTime check-ins when parents and
until the teenage years. Our lessons happen during the kids are having difficulty with an assignment between
school day, and parents can’t always be there. Very few lessons. I can usually resolve any issues and diffuse tension
have any kind of musical background. I had to figure out between parent and child in less than 10 minutes. Parents
how to communicate with parents about how to work with are very respectful of my time and are reluctant to ask for
their children at home. This has taken a good bit of trial these extra meetings, but I encourage them to reach out
and error, and I’m always looking for ways to improve. when they need to. We also do FaceTime lessons during
While I don’t consider myself particularly tech-savvy, I weeks when I travel for performances and can’t make it
find my smartphone absolutely essential to our progress. I to school.
use it in a number of different ways.
A year into the program, our enthusiasm remains
I take the last few minutes of each lesson (I set an alarm!) strong. The students don’t always want to practice, but
to record a short video reviewing what we did and what they definitely don’t want to quit either! Each family
the focus should be that week. I send these videos – and is committed to our program, and it works because we
sometimes still photos – individually via text message make the effort to stay connected despite the barriers
because parents find this convenient and it preserves privacy. we encounter. I’d love to hear how other teachers use
It’s also a huge time-saver: no need to type individual emails smartphones in private and group lessons; please email me
to parents later on. I recently purchased an inexpensive at heatherlardin@gmail.com.
folding tabletop tripod to make taking videos easier.
Endnotes
Sometimes I demonstrate exercises myself and upload 1
Most school instrumental programs begin around the
them to my own YouTube channel as ‘unlisted’. I send the 4th grade, when children are 9-10 years old. The Suzuki
link to all parents via the Remind app. Occasionally I’ll method is generally introduced at a younger age, around
make a ‘practice video’ with repetitions of an exercise so 4-5 years old. It is based on the idea that all children can
that the children can watch the video and do them along learn to play an instrument in the same way they learn to
with me throughout the week. I have fun with these and speak their native language: lots of listening, repetition,
try to make them a little bit silly with props or cat photo- and breaking skills down into bite-size pieces.
bombs, so they’ll want to watch more than once. Again,
these are uploaded to YouTube and links sent to parents.
I can track the number of views to see which videos are Heather Miller Lardin divides her time between performing
most effective. on historical basses and teaching young bassists in the greater
Philadelphia area. She is principal bass of
the Handel and Haydn Society in Boston
and is a member of the Philadelphia
Baroque orchestra Tempesta di Mare.
Heather directs the Temple University
Early Music Ensemble and regularly
serves on the faculties of the Curtis Young
Artist Summerfest and the Amherst
Early Music Baroque Academy.

BODY & BASS Randall Kertz, D.C., Editor
Friends Don’t Let Friends Do Sit-ups!

Hello everybody – hope all is well in your worlds!
As we all attempt to balance busy lives with trying to

stay healthy, some form of exercise necessarily enters
into the picture. For some, this could be yoga, or pilates,
or running, or time at the gym, or any of a number of
things in this vein. For some it is basic movement, such
as walking, calisthenics, etc., and we may revert to such
tried and true gems as the sit-up and push-up. While it is
laudable to introduce any form of exercise into one’s life,
there is one exercise in particular I am going to pick on,
and suggest not doing, and this is the venerable sit-up. Photo provided by Randy Kertz
The sit-up is the one exercise anybody can do, to varying Shown above is the far superior crunch exercise. Here
degrees, as it requires only a place to lie down. We have one comes up off of the ground just enough so that the
all learned this exercise in our formative years in school, bottom of the shoulder-blade, or scapula, is elevated,
and when one mentions this exercise everybody knows engaging the abdominal muscles without straining the
what they are talking about. There’s just one problem: low back. The neck is not craning forward, straining
it is a terrible exercise! those muscles unnecessarily, and it is a smooth, effective
exercise.
Photo provided by Randy Kertz
Shown above is the classic sit-up. It is one’s job to lift

their body up to a point where their back is off the
ground, their head comes close to touching their knees, Posterior view of the body, with the shoulder-blades
and then back down and start over again and repeat, indicated in red.
some more quickly than others in order to get it over
with. The main problem here is that once your back
is elevated past a certain point, i.e. above the bottom So in conclusion, crunches good, sit-ups not good.
of the shoulder-blade (scapula), there is certain and
unnecessary strain put on the low back muscles. This As always, a pleasure to be with you and to hear from
strain is in no way useful, or helpful, and any benefit you, and I wish you all the very best always,
that your abdominal muscles would be getting, which is
the point of the exercise, is nonexistent, but the strain Randy
on the low back muscles is very real. Not good! Also
there is strain on the neck muscles, but I think I’ve
made my point.

LUTHIER’S CORNER David Gage, Editor
Pioneer Luthier Lisa Gass sets her

stake and raises the bar out West
“It was so nice having Lisa here. She had the whole
back room to herself. Suddenly we had all of these
great musicians coming through our shop – Ray Brown,
Charlie Haden and many others. Happy people all of the
time!” Tom Metzler reminisced about Lisa Gass, who
worked at Metzler Violins for over 13 years. Tom quickly
learned not only about bass players’ general friendly
demeanor, but also of Lisa Gass’ abilities to do fine work
while allowing her clientèle to feel comfortable. Tom
added, “She always did great work, and she had a way
of figuring out a solution to something that she may not
have ever done before.”
Ahh! This speaks to the needed skill set of the bass

luthier coming of age in the 1970-1980’s when not much
good work on basses had been done. Lisa exudes a quiet
humility that can mask a strong determination that has
gotten her through the fiery hoops of the music world,
both as a fine bassist and as an excellent luthier. She was
one of a handful of young luthiers who were upgrading
the quality of repair on basses by rethinking how string
bass work should be approached. The string bass was
coming of age in America. Hand in hand, bass playing
and bass lutherie were making strides upward. Our noble
pioneer Gary Karr once told me years ago that there is no
reason why a bass bow couldn’t be made at the same high
Lisa with a bass, taken in Penn Square in Reading after the bass
level as the best violin bows; he said, “It should be made
section of the Reading Symphony had performed the Recitative
with the same standards as a fine piece of jewelry.”
from Beethoven’s 9th Symphony on a flatbed truck, publicity for
a concert. All photos provided by Lisa Gass.
Alluding to that (hopefully) bygone era of bass repair,
Lisa recounted an interaction in the early days at the
Metzler shop. “One of the other employees there who about repair techniques – the only actual experience we
worked on the small instruments gave me a favorite would get was if we screwed something up that was fixable.
quote (after dealing with a violin diva), “It must be I did my first sound post patch at Tom’s (Charlie Haden),
nice to work for bass players because they don’t expect my first neck-graft, different kinds of plaster and non-
much.” You have to laugh sometimes … I think it’s nice plaster casts, different edge doubling techniques, retouch,
to work for bass players because they’re (mostly) pretty crack filling, neck resets etc., and Tom [Metzler] and David
easy to get along with, but they do prefer the work to [Rivinus] set a high standard for the quality of repair in the
be good. (Though maybe back then they really didn’t shop. I even made an entire rib structure for a bass that was
expect much. I haven’t had to hacksaw off a top that in a car crash. The ribs were pretty much splinters but the
was nailed on in quite a while).” top and back were somehow OK. Before we got the bass
shop up and running, I was repairing a lot of violins, violas
When I asked what specific thing that she learned at the and cellos. So I think that’s an advantage, I just had to
Metzler shop she said, “So I pretty much learned everything figure out how it all applies to basses.”
about any repair that wasn’t ‘bass specific’ at the Metzler
shop. I guess I learned bass-specific there as well, since I I asked Lisa how she was first introduced to the string
had to figure those out, and I had Paul and Hans to help me bass. She nicely wrote this to me:
with that if I needed them. In school we only had lectures

OK, here goes: My Life Story: joints in the school with some help from the other students.
I first started working on basses sometime around 1978 Practical jokes were common, and one of them spot-glued
with Chet Olsen in Philadelphia. It was my bass teacher the rib structure onto my back porch bench, but it was so
in Reading, Wes Fisher, who suggested it. I was freelancing heavy and hard to move anyway I didn’t even notice, so
in a bunch of orchestras at the time and working in the the joke was on them. The bass is a copy of the bass Neal
archeology crew of a historical restoration company during Courtney played in the Philadelphia Orchestra that was
the summers, but didn’t see that as a viable way to make owned by the orchestra. I had worked on it in Chet’s shop
a living; so I was thinking of getting a “real” job with the and wanted to copy it because it was the best bass I had
post office, since sitting in a cubicle translating Russian ever played at the time. It’s supposed to be a Panormo, but I
didn’t really appeal to me. Wes knew that I had enjoyed don’t know if it really is. (Coincidentally I play with one of
woodworking since I was a kid, so he suggested I look into Neal’s students in the Pasadena Symphony now.) I finished
bass or horse-drawn carriage repair. (He had those as well the bass a few days before I graduated in 1984 and played
as basses, so I would be useful to him doing either, but the Capuzzi Concerto on it for the graduation ceremony.
sadly for him I didn’t stay in the area to do either).
So, he got his former student John Schaeffer, the principal

bass of the New York Phil, to take me to see Rene Morrel
at the [Jacque] Francais shop. He told me that to work
in any shop I would have to have at least 1 year of study
in one of the violin-making schools. So I figured OK, but
was a bit intimidated by the scroll drawing requirement
of the entry exam. So I think it was John who got me
an apprenticeship with Frank Torres, a bow maker in
New York. I took a bus up there from Reading and back
every day for two months that summer and learned bow
rehairing, but didn’t see how I could possibly live in NYC
on $5.00/bow, so when Frank closed the shop for his
August vacation I decided not to go back.
Then Wes got me the apprenticeship/job with Chet Olsen

in Philly, so I worked there and continued playing in the
orchestras for a couple years until the summer of 1980,
when I figured I might as well fly out to Salt Lake (less
scary than Chicago) and take the exam for the Professional
Violin School of America. Lo and behold they accepted
me! I especially remember the corner carving on the spruce
part and thinking, “Well, violins can’t really be made with
this annoyingly difficult to carve wood!” Oh well. Lisa working on a fingerboard.
So, once I was there I figured I might as well do the whole 4 After graduating I moved to L.A. and got a job with the
years. I continued with Chet in the summers, but the summer Metzler & Rivinus shop (now Thomas Metzler Violins) in
before my last year I went back early to start making my bass. Glendale because they wanted to start taking basses in for
repair as well as the little instruments and be complete. So
My boyfriend at the time lived in Los Angeles, so Peter I set that shop up with help from Chris Dungey who was
Prier, the director of the school, suggested I contact Paul there at that time. I worked there for 13 years, then opened
Toenigges in L.A. to see if I could get some wood from my own shop, Los Angeles Bass Works, in Silver Lake in
him. He sold me a set of 80-year-old wood and gave me April 1, 1997. In 2005 I moved to the Granada Building
one closing clamp so I could make my own. When I later in the Westlake district of downtown Los Angeles. Along
moved to L.A., he and Hans Benning were so wonderfully the way I gained my sanity-saving assistant Gabriel Golden,
helpful to me, Paul sold me more wood and a lot of bass- who bugged me until I gave in to let him come help out in
specific clamps that he had had made that I still use; the summers while he was still in high school back in 1997
neither he nor Hans wanted to deal with basses anymore, or ‘98. Now he practically runs the shop – I so lucked out!
so they were thrilled I did. We repair and sell basses; we also sell bows but don’t carry a
lot of accessories due to lack of room and time to keep track
Anyway, I made my bass on the back porch of my apartment of stuff like that. No bow work, again no time and you need
in the school apartment building, though I shot the center way too many little bits of things to really work on bows.

there. I also got to work with Paul Ellison for a summer in
1977 when I went to Congress of Strings in Cincinnati.
I played with the Reading, Allentown, Lancaster, and
Harrisburg symphonies as a regular, and various other
chamber groups while I lived out east. I almost could have
been in the Delaware symphony but went to the Violin
Making school instead.
In Los Angeles I’m a member of the Pasadena Symphony,

the California Philharmonic and the Riverside County
Philharmonic. I sub with the Long Beach Symphony and
play various church gigs and shows. Sometimes I even
get to share a stand with my husband. I find it extremely
helpful to be able to play the instrument I work on at least
fairly well, it gives me a chance to maybe understand what
the players are looking for, though I feel I’m not nearly as
sensitive to nuances as some of them are. I had a brief run
at pretending to play jazz which helped me understand a
lot of what those players are dealing with, and I’ve had to
play electric bass for a couple shows so now I have an idea
about where those guys are coming from. But it’s difficult
for me to explain to an electric player, when asked to
‘intonate’ a string bass, that you can’t ‘intonate’ a string
bass as you would an electric bass with frets.
Lisa with Gabo Golden, her assistant, at the Granada
Building in the Westlake section of Los Angeles.
I played the bass I made, (and still do at times) for many
years and it’s a very good bass, but now I play an amazing
We work with classical, jazz and film studio luminaries, John Lott Sr. bass. I already knew the difference a good
students young and old, and on visiting artists’ travel disasters. bass could make to a player, but now I know what a great
The best thing is seeing customers who came to me as young instrument can do. Bows are a whole other bit of magic.
beginners become major players in various fields. Kind of sad
to see when others decide it’s not going to work for them and
find another path. The worst is the young players who blow
out their hands or shoulders and have to stop.
So that’s the bass repair bit.
I first encountered a bass when I was 12, I think. My Dad

had started me (and my siblings) all on piano when we
reached 5 years old. I wasn’t very good so for some reason
I ended up taking violin lessons, maybe at 8 or 9. There
was, however, no orchestra in the higher grades, so I guess
the band director, who had been my Dad’s band director
when he was in high school, asked if I would switch to bass
because by the time I got to 9th grade and the high school
they were going to need a bass player for the stage band.
So I did, and it was a lot of fun playing Sammy Nestico
arrangements of Count Basie tunes. I even won a trophy
– best bass player on the Eastern Seaboard (there were
only 2 upright players in that competition, the rest played
electric so I figured that’s how I won, hmmm, but maybe
not...) That’s when I also started taking lessons with Wes,
who later got me pretty much all my orchestra work once
I got to college. I never went to school for music, my only Lisa’s John Lott bass, with her c-extension. Lisa was
other teacher was Audrey Bush while I was in Salt Lake. making c-extensions with through-bolted adjustable
She was principal of the Utah Symphony when I was gates 20 years ago.

I try not to force anything on players and to do what they DG: I have seen a couple of Paul Toenniges’ basses with
would like me to do if they know what that is. I don’t the thick ribs and large diamond shapes cut in the c-bouts.
believe there is any absolute ‘right way’ to set up a bass – Was he still making basses at that time when you met him?
they’re all so different, so I try to keep an open mind. I do
have a standard starting point, but from there it’s whatever LG: No, he had stopped making basses. He was winding
it takes to make it work the way they want. Of course it down at that time.
also often happens that they don’t know what they want
me to do so then I will do things the way I think will make DG: What was the Chet Olsen shop experience? I never
it better and it usually does, fortunately.” met him but I have seen some of his bows. A bit along the
lines of a DeLuccia.
David Gage: You mention Paul Toenniges and Hans
Benning. Could you tell me more about their input. I LG: At Chet’s I was also doing rehairing at first. He was
know that they supplied you with good wood. a bass player in the New Orleans symphony for a while
before he came to Philly, and was self-taught in repair,
Lisa Gass: Besides being willing to answer any questions so there was some interesting stuff going on there. Our
I had, the biggest thing Paul and Hans did for me was to ‘benches’ were two saw-horses and maybe a folding chair.
send anyone who asked them for bass work to me after I After my first year at the school he deferred to me, which
got set up at the Metzler shop. Tom continued to do the was a bit scary, but he was more than willing to listen to
same after I left if he felt/feels it’s beyond what they can what I had learned so far; and since by the end of the first
do there, as does the Benning shop. So that’s pretty big, I year at school you had completed three violins, I did at
think. They also sold many of their hand tools. Paul gave least know how things should be put together. Still, it
me his jig to install bridge adjusters. wasn’t optimal. He was a very kind man though, and easy
to work for, and it did give me a good start and a chance
Paul gave me his bass making molds, which were unique to see some great instruments. He also gave me a whole
in that he only used a mold for the c-bout as he must have bunch of orchestral bass parts, which I still have in my
“free formed’ the upper and lower bouts. ‘library’ and use often. I think I only worked there one year

and maybe two summers. I never met DeLuccia though, and/or put on a record and tell some stories. So it was well
he had passed away before I got into all this. I did buy a worth the drive.
DeLuccia bow out here a while ago – but I recently sold
it – too heavy for me, unfortunately. I don’t think Chet And I need to give a lot of credit to Tom Metzler – I
knew him, that I recall at least, but maybe. I was pretty learned all the non-bass specific repair techniques at his
clueless back then. shop in the 13 years I worked there.
DG: Do you have any anecdotal stories that you would DG: In working with your clients, how far will you go to
like to share about your repair experiences? advocate for your opinion on what should be done?
LG: The long screwdriver story was for a very nice young LG: Only if I feel that something is injurious to the health
woman on tour with a musical out of NYC – there was a of the instrument will I insist on certain work. I have a
weird rattle-buzz, so after going around the bass (which (good-natured) sound-post war going on with someone
she was borrowing for the tour from someone) and gluing who makes square sound-posts that can dig into the top
all the funky fish glue seams that were open we finally plate. In this instance I will mark where that sound post
narrowed the source down to the neck area. So looking was and put in my sound post. If they don’t like it I can
inside I saw there was a flat-head screw with a loose washer always put it back. For all I know, after I fit a new sound
on the inside of the neck block – great! How to fix that!? post the customer may go back to the other luthier and
So I tried smearing museum wax around on it, but that have the square one put back in.
didn’t work, so Gabo went and got a couple of long socket
wrench extensions and a screwdriver tip to go on the end DG: OK, how about the fact that when you first started
– picture him supporting it in the middle with a sound post I could count the number of women bass players and
setter, while I try to get the tip into the slot on the head luthiers by using my fingers. Orin O’Brien, Lynn Hannings,
of the screw through the endpin hole. It was kind of like a Barbara Wilson, Carleen Hutchins, Gail Kruvand and
carnival midway game. We did get it eventually – actually several more, but nonetheless a mere handful. How has
had to do it twice, the first time I tightened it because I that affected you?
didn’t know if it was really what was holding the neck in,
but it came loose again, so then I had to go back in and LG: You know, things have gotten better. Still, I get
take it out. As far as I know the neck is still in the bass. annoyed when I say something and a person comes back
to me and repeats what I just said after a guy tells them.
One of my favorite things to do is to restore scrolls that That still bugs me. But I tend to just go on with things and
have been cut for extensions. So I did one for a customer laugh about it.
who then sent the bass to another shop for an extension to
be made. Unfortunately he didn’t realize that at the time DG: Last summer I asked many luthiers to send me an
that shop always cut the scroll for extensions whether it “It Worked for Me” piece that I could collect for this
was necessary or not, and sure enough, they cut off the column and as a fun thing I added “and if you don’t have
piece he’s just paid me a bunch of money to make! anything, send a bass haiku.” Lisa wrote a haiku; here’s her
explanation:
For another customer, I had just done a clean and polish
with quite a lot of retouch involved. I was playing an “In case an explanation is wanted for my haiku, it was a
outdoor gig with him and at the break he took the bass, Wilfer bass and there was a thumb tack stuck in one of the
with no bag on it, put it on its back, and slid it under the bottom corner blocks – I imagine they tack paper there to
brass-section risers. I could hear it scraping along all the cover the F-holes before they do the varnish. The head
dirt and grit under there –sigh. of the tack was rattling and making a somewhat amazing
sound for such a small thing. The guy had taken it a couple
I have one long-time customer who is so sensitive to any other places and they’d all given up on it. It’s always nice
change in his basses that he’s constantly bringing them in to succeed at something like that – makes up for all the
for me to adjust the post and bridge. He always leaves to go other times.”:
get us coffee and donuts while I drop the post and bridge,
one day I’m going to get up the nerve to not touch the bass Here is a classic Lisa response:
and see if he thinks it’s better when he gets back.
Annoying metallic buzz
I do have something to add to Charlie Haden – the best No one could find it
thing about having to go out to his house was he would Tack left in a corner block!!
always give me a copy of his newest CD (if there was one) The moral – keep looking…

Equipment and Setup
for Jazz Bassists
by Fumi Tomita
Like many young jazz bassists, I spent more time learning bassists, this is a necessity since they play unamplified. For
how to play the instrument than I did thinking about jazz bassists, however, it requires more energy and finger
equipment. As I started to gig more, I discovered that to pluck the string. If you’re not used to playing in this
equipment and setup were important elements of bass way, it can be very exhausting and can also lead to injury.
playing. It helped me control my sound and directly Lowering the bridge makes the bass quieter in volume but
affected how I played. This article outlines essential much easier to pluck and the benefits are worthwhile.
equipment and setup for jazz bassists.
With a felt tip pen, mark a line on the top of both bridge
Acoustic bass adjusters. This will act as a reference point when you rotate
the wheel. To lower the action, simply turn the wheel until
Setup you see the black line again; to raise the action, simply
Acoustic basses are finicky instruments, and as the seasons turn the wheel in reverse. Bridge adjusters make life as a
change so does the bass: in the summer the wood retains bassist easier, and can also prevent any further issues with
moisture, thus expanding and raising the action (which the instrument, as high action puts a lot more pressure on
refers to the height of the strings off of the fingerboard). the neck and body of the bass and can result in open seams
Conversely in the winter, the wood shrinks and the and cracks. If you are renting or buying a bass, make sure
action becomes much lower. Maintaining an even setup adjusters are installed.
is important and for this reason I recommend bridge
adjusters (see Figure 1). Bass Humidifier
Another important piece is the mini bass humidifier,
called a ‘damp-it’. Consisting of a rubber tube with a long
thin sponge inside, this little device can save your bass
from cracks and open seams due to dryness during the
winter. Simply soak the tube in water, drain the excess
water, and place it inside one of the ‘f’ holes of the bass.
Keep the instrument in its case and change the water every
few days and your bass should remain in good condition.
Overall, it is an affordable way to maintain the instrument
and an essential item, especially for those living in colder
climates.
Strings
Another important consideration with regard to setup and
Figure 1. All photos by Eric Berlin.
playability is the strings on the instrument. Orchestral
Although some bassists prefer to have a minimum of strings are designed for arco and thus lack the punch,
potential barriers that would affect the natural sound of sustain, and volume required for pizzicato playing. Strings
their basses, bridge adjusters are important and worth designed for pizzicato styles, on the other hand, often
the investment. These metal wheels in the bridge rotate don’t have the same bow response. Having the right string
and allow adjustment of the action or the height of the can greatly affect your sound and is a cost-effective way
bridge, which affects the distance of the strings from the to upgrade your instrument (rather than getting another
fingerboard. When the action is high, as often happens acoustic bass). For example, if you play in both orchestra
during the summer, the player is required to exert much and jazz band, then having a versatile string that is ideal for
more energy to play the instrument. High action on a both arco and pizzicato playing will give you the benefits of
bass results in a louder acoustic sound, and for classical both without sacrificing one.

Pickups and preamplifier to loosen the truss rod by making a counter-clockwise turn.
Though acoustic bassists work on getting a strong acoustic If the action is unusually high, then the truss rod needs to
tone, the volume is insufficient for a combo, let alone a big be tightened with a clockwise turn. Doing this may mean
band. Therefore, they need to be amplified and require a taking the strings off the neck or even taking the neck off
pickup. An acoustic bass pickup allows the instrument to altogether, but it is worth the effort and will enable you to
be amplified and is generally not too difficult to install. In have a consistent instrument. Like acoustic basses, the best
an emergency situation you can use a microphone, but I way to maintain an electric bass is to store it in its case. If left
recommend using a pickup whenever possible. unprotected for long periods of time, the neck may become
so warped that you won’t be able to make any adjustment,
Getting a good sound from an amplifier is always a challenge reducing its playability and its value.
with acoustic bass and if you wish you can purchase a separate
preamplifier (preamp) to improve the sound. The preamp has It is also important to maintain an even volume no
an equalizer that can greatly enhance the sound of a bass and matter which string you are playing on. So, if the ‘G’
can be particularly effective for low-grade plywood basses and string happens to be too close to the pickups, it will be
low-quality amplifiers. Both K&K Bass Max and Fishman louder than the other strings, even if you pluck with the
produce solid preamps that allow you to equalize (EQ) the same force. To adjust the action on an electric bass, you
sound on the preamp. will need an Allen key (one of the smallest at 1/16”)
which you can use to lower or raise the saddle (located
Purchasing an acoustic bass at the bridge) which controls the action. Be careful that
The price range for a good plywood bass (with a soft case) the strings are not completely even, otherwise it will be
is approximately $1500-2500. Any lower will depend imbalanced! The lighter strings do not vibrate as much,
upon the instrument and should be done in consultation and the pickup won’t fully translate the sound; having the
with a professional bassist. Acoustic basses require some strings slanted downwards towards the highest string will
maintenance, so you should invest in one with the fewest provide an even sound.
number of issues over time. Cheap basses on eBay or ones
sold through music education companies tend to be poorly Electric basses are not nearly as expensive, and so if you
constructed and more trouble than they are worth. The are looking to purchase one, depending on your budget,
instrument has to hold up against changes in weather and current Mexican Fenders and Squires are a good place to
minor bumps against doors, etc., so purchasing a quality start, and either Precision- or Jazz-style basses are fine (see
instrument is worthwhile. Used basses are generally descriptions below).
preferred as the wood will have settled in over time, but
newer companies like Shen and Upton are making excellent Strings
basses at affordable prices. As I mentioned earlier, make sure Since the electric bass is easier to play, changing strings
you get one with bridge adjusters and a pickup installed. is not a big issue. But generally speaking, if you are
playing walking bass lines and swing music, you’ll want
Electric bass a deep, round bass sound, and you can get it by using flat-
wound strings. These strings have a stronger fundamental
Electric bass is a suitable alternative if there is no acoustic sound with a warm and dark tone, and they are similar
bass to play. They are usually sturdier construction, are in construction to acoustic bass strings. Most basses come
generally built to withstand changes in temperature, and with round-wound strings, which are generally brighter.
are cheaper to purchase. Unlike acoustic basses, setup Mind you, having the strings on for a long time will reduce
problems rarely pose any physical harm to the player, the brightness, and they will become warmer and darker
but learning to make a few adjustments can keep the sounding as they age.
instrument in good condition and increase playability.
Pickups
Since the neck is made of wood, it is susceptible to changes The other point about electric bass is understanding the
in weather often resulting in low action in the winter and ‘electric’ part of the instrument. On acoustic bass, the tone
high action in the summer. On an acoustic instrument, we is mostly achieved by the player, but on electric bass, the
would adjust the bridge height (action) on the bass, but on an bassist can control his or her tone by manipulating the
electric we adjust the curvature of the neck. All necks come controls on the instrument and the amplifier. Different
with an adjustable truss rod that runs through the middle styles of music require different tones from electric
and can be seen on one end of the neck. With a larger Allen instruments; a tone appropriate for reggae or heavy metal,
key (usually 3/16”) simply make a quarter turn and wait an for example, will sound inappropriate for jazz band.
hour or so for the wood to settle. Any more and you risk
damaging the instrument permanently. If there is excessive A pickup captures the sound vibrations from the string
buzzing or the action is lower than usual, then you will need and converts it into an electric signal through an amplifier.

Electric basses typically have one or two pickups,
sometimes more but not that often. Figure 2 is an example
of a bass with a single pickup, the Fender Precision Bass.
Figure 3.
This bass has three knobs, the first (closer to the

fingerboard) controls the volume for the neck pickup,
the middle controls the volume for the bridge pickup
Figure 2. and the third controls the tone. The bridge pickup has
a brighter, nasal tone, and the neck pickup produces a
The original electric bass to this day is still a popular warmer, rounder tone; therefore for jazz band you’ll want
brand among bassists of all skill levels and styles. Having to have the bridge pickup volume off and the neck pickup
one pickup makes it simple since there are typically just volume on. Again, having the tone knob three quarters of
two knobs: ‘volume’ (the knob closer to the player) and the way down will create a sound that is appropriate for
‘tone’. The ideal jazz bass sound is round and warm, so for jazz ensemble.
this type of bass simply turn the tone knob about three-
quarters of the way down so the low-end frequencies are Keep in mind that these are recommended settings for jazz
emphasized. If the tone knob is all the way up, the high- ensemble. Depending on the bass and the chart, you might
end frequencies will be emphasized and the bass will sound have to tweak the sound a little bit. However, for swing-
more treble. Figure 3 is the Fender Jazz-style Bass with a based charts this is a good starting point to learn how to
two-pickup configuration, one closer to the neck (neck dial a good tone for your electric bass. The knobs on the
pickup) and the other closer to the bridge (bridge pickup). instrument will vary depending upon your bass brand, but
they all relate to either volume or tone control. Some
brands even have up to three tone knobs with low, mid

and high. Determining the number of pickups on your bass to guitar amps, bass amps require more wattage for low
will help you understand the knobs on it. frequencies, so you’ll need one with at least 150 watts.
Any lower and the sound will distort at high volumes,
Amplifier which can damage your amp. If your amp has 300 watts,
then you have a lot of room for volume without pushing
While electric bassists obviously need amplifiers, so do your amp’s limits. If the volume dials on the amplifier are
acoustic bassists. Playing without one is admirable but past 1-2 o’clock then you are pushing your amp a lot. Most
requires a lot of strength and stamina to maintain a loud practice amps run between 15 and 30 watts.
volume, and one can get hurt in the process. So, like
electric bassists, learning how to dial in a good sound on Also affecting the volume is the size of the speaker cone.
an amplifier (amp) is a skill as necessary as playing a scale. On bass, the three main sizes are 10-, 12- and 15-inch.
Smaller amps also come in 8-inch or smaller but 12- and
Types of amplifiers 15-inch sizes are ideal for getting a nice full sound in a large
First off, there are several types of amplifiers and the most auditorium. You can still get a good sound from a 10-inch
common are combo amps. They consist of the amplifier speaker, but keep in mind that you will likely be pushing
(which amplifies the sound) and the speaker cabinet in the amp a lot in order to be heard. The numbers associated
one (hopefully) light and easy to carry package! They are with the amps usually indicate their wattage power or their
also manufactured and sold separately, enabling you to mix speaker size. For example, an Ampeg BA115 has 100 watts
and match amplifiers and cabinets, but a combo amp is the in one 15” speaker while the Gallien-Krueger MB150 has
most practical. 150 watts in a 10” speaker.
A clean sound (meaning without any effects) is necessary Understanding the dials
for jazz band, so volume-wise, you will need a strong enough Sometimes the first challenge of an amplifier is finding
amplifier that can push enough sound to be heard without where the power button is! They are often located on the
blowing out the amp or distorting the tone. Compared front on the right, but depending upon the brand they
might be on the back of the amp. To
make things more confusing, some
amplifiers have standby or speaker
switches, which shuts the speakers off
while still powering the amp.
Many amplifiers come with several

inputs that take a quarter inch plug,
and it can be very confusing which
one to use. Generally, the inputs on
the left side are for the instruments.
Sometimes there will be two inputs,
marked ‘0dB’ and ‘-15dB’ and these
are for passive and active electric
basses. Since active basses send a
stronger signal, an input designed for
these basses does not boost an already
hot signal. The majority of basses are
passive, and it won’t really matter
which one you plug in to.
Moving on to the dials, the most

important ones for you to familiarize
yourself with are volume and
equalization. If there are other knobs,
they aren’t as important for the sound,
unless you’re playing a rock chart, and
you needn’t worry about those except
to make sure that they are in the ‘off’
position.

Many amplifiers have two volume knobs: one called ‘Equalizer’ window (iTunes Window Equalizer) and
‘gain’ (sometimes called ‘input’ or ‘preamp’) and the you’ll see a 10-band equalizer which controls (from left
other ‘master’. ‘Gain’ controls the initial stage of your to right) the lows to the highs. Experimenting with this
instrument’s signal and controls the shape of your sound. feature and the different settings will help you understand
It also colors the tone; having a lot of gain can overdrive the basics of sound equalization. Some bass amplifiers will
the sound. That is obviously not ideal for a jazz band, so have this 10-band style of EQ, but most only have three
the gain should be kept in check. The ‘master’ volume, the knobs with some variation of bass, mid and treble (see
power amp, controls the overall strength of the sound. As Figure 4).
a general rule of thumb keep both at 12 o’clock on the dial
and then adjust the volume on the instrument. So what is a bass knob on a bass amplifier? Well simply,
the ‘bass’ feature on amplifiers refers to the low-end
While playing, the volume on the bass should be on frequencies of the note. Turning the ‘bass’ knob all the
maximum for the full tone of the instrument. Therefore, way down on your amplifier while turning up the mid and
the bassist should adjust the volume on the amp in hi will result in a bass sound with no low end. It will be
determining an ideal volume. very thin and treble-y, similar to the sound heard through
a transistor radio.
Equalization
Equalization works the same as the settings on your stereo. Now comes the hard part, determining the proper EQ
If that is still a mystery to you, listen to a song with iTunes setting for the room. Yes, the sound from the amplifier will
on your computer (with good headphones) and open the change depending on the size of the room, what the room
Figure 4.

is made of, and how much open space there is. This is an
on-going source of frustration for even the most seasoned
musician, but learning how to recognize important factors
that affect the sound (like whether there is a rug, the
number of people in the room, etc.) will help you better
control the amplifier.
Fortunately, you can practice getting a good sound in

your rehearsal room. Just remember that sound vastly
changes as you move into a performance space, which is
often larger with more space for sound to travel in. Even
more frustrating is realizing that the sound in a big empty
rehearsal space will change with people in the room:
bodies soak up sound. So, come concert time, be sure to
leave ample time for a sound check, and make sure to re-
EQ the electric instruments to achieve a clear and even
sound.
How you dial in your sound will depend on many factors,

but the best place to start is to place everything at 12
o’clock (which is right in the middle) and then adjust from
there. Thinking of the tone dials as having five options
(off, 9 o’clock, 12 o’clock, 3 o’clock and maximum) will
help to understand the science of adjusting the dials.
You will want to have a bass sound with adequate volume

and a well-defined tone with a strong attack. With
acoustic basses, the biggest rule is that ‘treble’ equals Bassist, composer, and educator Fumi Tomita was active in
trouble! So make sure that the treble is turned down. They the New York jazz scene for over fifteen years, performing with
also tend to have more natural low-end frequencies and Sheila Jordan, Steve Davis, Christian Sands, Luis Perdomo,
are often too ‘boomy’ in concert. This is easily remedied Dave Liebman, Jeff Coffin, Steve Wilson, Felipe Salles, and
by bringing the bass (or low), and perhaps the mids, down others. He has recorded two CDs under his name: Untold, a
to 10 o’clock. This may seem counter-intuitive for a bass set of original compositions, and Impromptu, a piano trio set
sound, but with an instrument that already produces performing standards. His newest recording, The Elephant
strong low fundamentals, added lows from the room and Vanishes: Jazz Interpretations of the Short Stories of
the instrument can overload or exaggerate the sound. Haruki Murakami, is due out in 2019.
Different combinations of basses, pickups, amplifiers, and
the setting you are playing in will greatly affect how the Tomita has presented his research at the Jazz Education
bass should be equalized. So keep in mind that the above Network, BassEurope, Massachusetts Music Educators
recommendations are merely a starting point toward Association and the National Association for Music Education.
getting a good sound. His book The Jazz Rhythm Section will be published by
NAfME in conjunction with Rowman & Littlefield in March
I hope these tips were 2019. He is currently Assistant Professor of Jazz at the
helpful. Feel free to University of Massachusetts Amherst.
email any questions or
comments to stomita@
music.umass.edu. All
photos by Eric Berlin.

George Vance:
In His Own Words
An Interview with Henry Peyrebrune
Transcribed by John Hamil and Christian Chesanek
The most influential bass pedagogue of the last 150 years was
not a famous soloist, nor principal in a major orchestra, nor a
professor at a prestigious conservatory. George Vance (1948-
2009) began studying the bass at age 21, and after brief stints
in the Birmingham (AL) Symphony and the U.S. Army Field
Band, he settled in suburban Washington, D.C. where he
maintained a small private studio in his house.
His pedagogy came to uniquely incorporate the work of Shinichi

Suzuki and François Rabbath – after having studied with each
of them. Originally conceived as the Suzuki bass method, his
method books, Progressive Repertoire for the Double
Bass, Volumes 1-3, and his scale book, Vade Mecum, were
eventually published by Carl Fischer – also publisher of the
Simandl method.
The power of the books lies in the thoughtful use of Suzuki’s

progressive pedagogy – where each new technical step is
prepared and anticipated in the previous piece – in order to
directly prepare young students for the sophisticated bow and
left-hand technique developed by François Rabbath.
Vance students who started with Progressive Repertoire

include Ted Botsford, Nina DeCesare, and Ardom Belton.
Meanwhile sales have continued to grow.
George Vance on Tony Bianco:

I would like to say that if I have a taste for teaching, it’s
because of Tony Bianco. I have the highest admiration Playing the bass is a capital idea!
for him. I feel lucky to have been his pupil, to observe
what great teaching can be like, and just to draw my own found out that his first reaction to me was that it was just
conclusions from that. a disaster and there was no hope. He’s proud of me now.
When I met him, I immediately had the idea that finally Tony was a very strict teacher. They used to call him the
I had met the guy who was going to teach me. I’d already Dragon. He used to smoke cigarettes and pace around in
had a half dozen teachers, but each one for a brief time. your lesson breathing fire. People would go out of there
But this one seemed like it was destiny, you know? Not to crying.
make it sound too grandiose, but he has an aura about him
as a teacher. There’s a certain authority, the way you have But he wasn’t like that when I met him. He had definitely
with certain conductors and you believe it. become more mellow. But he also wasn’t one to just throw
out compliments because he wanted to jolly you along. So,
But it’s kind of funny – years later, when I was no longer it was like going to the doctor – you found out what was
officially his student and we were more like friends, I wrong with you and went home and worked on it.

In between the classes, we were sitting out on the lawn
talking about what I was about to do – trying to develop
some material that you could use on the bass to teach
really young people to play the bass and with all the
implications from that like – where are you going to
get the small instruments? – and so forth. She knew the
Suzuki philosophy and methodology, but she didn’t know
how to play the bass. So between the two of us, we selected
some tunes.
I had the idea to teach from the neck heel first, and that
seemed sensible to me to get a nice sound on the bass right
away.
You know I think that the most difficult thing that a bass
player does is on the first page of the Simandl book – you
play a whole note on the lowest stopped note on the
instrument. What’s more challenging than to do that and
make a nice even sound? It would be like asking a violin
George Vance, left, with Francois Rabbath player to begin by playing the highest note he can reach.
George Vance on the Suzuki Philosophy: I already had a few tunes that I had written down by hand
As a person who is more or less devoted to the Suzuki – things that you could play in the neck block. The folk
philosophy, I think learning to play the bass, and well, is song Shortnin’ Bread, I knew, could be played there. And
very good for your development and your character, and I had written things out by hand for my first two pupils.
you can increase the amount of beauty in the world. I’m Or, taken some cello piece or something like that and
not doing this to swell the ranks of people who want to adapted it for them so that they were playing stuff that
go to music school. In fact, it’s not necessary for me to do was interesting.
that, because there are plenty of them.
The first little bass that I used was actually a cello that I got
One of the jobs I had was to teach at the DC Youth from the instrument closet of the DC Youth Orchestra. I
Orchestra, and the assistant director of the program asked had the idea to use bass solo tuning A and E on the bottom
me one day, ‘Why is there no Suzuki method for the bass?’ two strings and to tune the cello A down to G and to leave
And I didn’t know the answer – because I didn’t even the cello D string where it was, thinking that the student
know what it was – but he offered to send me to a Suzuki would have an easier time to press the notes down. This
institute for what they call teacher training. They did that was for a 5-year-old, and we began and after a few days, he
every year with their violin, viola, and cello teachers. So did succeed to stop a note.
he said, ‘Go take the cello class,’ and essentially make a
knock off for the bass, and I agreed to do it. It sounded And once I was playing with him and I asked him to match
interesting. a note I played. I said, ‘See, yours is the same as mine.’ And
he said, ‘Yes, but yours is deeper.’ That’s when I realized
When I got there, and came into the cello class, it turned that he didn’t want to play the cello tuned in fourths, he
out that the teacher trainer running the class was Annette wanted to play the bass.
Costanzi. She had just returned from a similar institute in
France, where a bunch of bass players had shown up. This So that turned out to not be the solution for the stringing
was the nascent Yorke mini-bass project led by Rodney of the instrument.
Slatford, of whom Caroline Emery is the most notable
exponent. So, anyway, Annette, once she saw me show Then I actually saw an instrument that had been
up with the bass that morning said, ‘What’s going on? Bass handmade in that size at a festival called Manchester
players are coming out of the woodwork.’ So, I took the Bass Week, organized by Rodney Slatford. It was his first
cello class for the introduction to the Suzuki method. presentation to the world of the Yorke Mini-bass project,
and he invited me and Annette Costanzi along as sort of
And coincidentally, Annette happened to be moving a Suzuki representation, even though I wasn’t a Suzuki
to Washington at the time. So when the five days of official anything at the time, but he knew Annette and she
the institute were over, we dropped the student-teacher encouraged him to invite me. And I took the same five-
relationship and became friends and just started working. year-old, the one for whom I originally tuned the cello in

Pioneering educators George Vance, far left, and Hal Robinson, far right, working with young bassists.
fourths, with his cello, and we made a presentation there. the 5- and 6-year-olds were using. Because of Bill, those
That’s where I saw an instrument that was actually made instruments are now mass-produced, made in Korea,
to be a bass for a five-year-old, in that size. China, everywhere.
When I saw the little bass that a French teacher had Annette and I had started to put together some tunes,
brought to Manchester bass week, I went home and I went and we had seven pieces at the beginning of the book
to Gailes’ Violin Shop in College Park, Maryland where I organized to start the pupil. We knew that we wanted to
had my instruments repaired, and asked Bill Gailes if he use the famous Twinkle variations, but I didn’t want to start
could cut the cello down, cut the shoulders, and make it people playing in first position. I wanted to start at the
shaped like a bass. Because, for the five-year-old playing neck heel. So, I used this tune Shortnin’ Bread, but I just
the cello, we had the right pitches, but the shape of the corrupted it completely so that the Twinkle rhythms could
shoulders didn’t make it that easy for him to get the be played on those notes.
posture right. He thought about doing that, and then he
decided that the architecture of the cello would make it So, they would start at the middle of the neck and
difficult to chop it down effectively and said it would be subsequently go back to first position and play Twinkle
better to build an instrument. And he built an instrument there later. And we kept adding on to the first book until
that became the prototype for the 1/10-size bass. we reached a point where it would be nice to say, ‘This is
the end of the book.’
Subsequently, I showed that instrument to another shop
in the DC area – Weaver’s. Bill Weaver deserves some I wanted to have like a graduation piece from the book. We
credit for becoming a patron of this whole idea, because were using folk songs and other tunes that had appeared in
he had the wherewithal to cause a factory in Romania to a thousand different instrumental methods, Go Tell Aunt
copy that instrument, mass-produce it, and also to make Rhody, Lightly Row kind of tunes, but to have a piece at the
another model along the same pattern that we were going end that would summarize what’s in the book, I thought
to call the 1/8-size bass, to go along with the 1/10-size it necessary to write the piece myself – because there isn’t

any folk song that jumps around and does all the stuff that Robinson. But when I found out about it, that unlocked
we did in the first book. the rest of it. So, at the beginning of the third volume of
my books, the idea of pivoting the left hand is introduced.
In the first book we introduce three positions – the neck It turned out I didn’t need to teach more places than the
heel, first position and then the octave above first position, nodal points, except for, of course, half position really does
which is just treated as if you’re playing first position all exist.
over again – just up there. That idea was novel-sounding
to Annette because the cello just doesn’t do that. My impression from my own experience in the Simandl
book was that by the time you finally crept up to the twelfth
I said that to make a graduation piece that had everything fret and put your thumb on it, one of the reasons why you
that was in that book I had to resort to writing it. But sounded so bad was that the music had gotten complicated
there were certain things that I hadn’t introduced yet. For by then. The first pieces in the second Simandl book are
instance, there was no place on the bass where the student not simple pieces.
could play the note C. I was introducing these nodal
positions but with just block fingering and you had three But, to play Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star up there is no
frets available, just like in Simandl, but in these three places. more difficult way than to play it in first position. So, I
So, I was thinking about that – what this piece would be think that’s important that they play all of the nodal
like – on a trip to Philadelphia and it occurred to me in my points on the bass early on, but they play simple things.
car. And when I got to where I was headed, I stopped in the Part of the Suzuki philosophy is you’re supposed to sound
driveway and wrote it down before I forgot, and that piece is good at every step, at every stage of development. You’re
called Country Dance. And it’s a piece in the key of G that supposed to make a ringing sound, play in tune, have good
has no C’s in it, because the student doesn’t know that note posture, operate the bow correctly, so to speak, right from
yet, and hasn’t used the C on the G-string. the beginning.
So, it was strictly a utilitarian type of piece and Bagatelle is Suzuki was a genius who laid out a way of doing that. For
the same way. There are certain things the student knows instance, he limited the amount of bow the beginner was
how to do at that point. In Country Dance there are also no permitted to use so that they can master using that section
slurs, because they haven’t been introduced yet. There are correctly. And the books are pretty slender because you’re
only two strokes then, but by the time they play Bagatelle, not supposed to turn the pages till you master that.
he can make slurs and he knows a few other notes.
Also, the Suzuki philosophy encourages playing the
Before I even began working on these books, I was thinking old pieces a lot. One of the Suzuki clichés was that we
about teaching the nodal points on the bass first. The neck develop our ability by playing the review pieces. That’s
heel, first position, which doesn’t have an actual place to true for me too. When I play a piece in public that I have
put your thumb to locate it, but for some reason we all find played many times in public, I’m able to express myself
that easily as a place to remember, and the twelfth fret, the with much greater freedom than when I’m doing it the first
octave harmonic. time. Some people were astonished to see my books and
how small they were. They have ten or eleven pieces in
My original intention was to teach those places first just each book. They don’t realize how long it takes to actually
using whatever notes were available and deal with how to be finished with that material.
fill in the cracks later. I would find pieces that I thought
were useful and then I would go and play them for Annette The other aspect of the Suzuki philosophy is the
and she would observe what I was doing and say, “Well yes, progressive, cumulative nature of the material. That’s
that’s good but, you just introduced five new things in this how I came up with Progressive Repertoire. It’s supposed
piece.” She had that idea of progression of teaching points to supplant the idea of playing etudes – that the etude is
down, so she would help me to analyze what I was doing. embedded in the piece and the teacher should recognize
what the purpose of playing the Lightly Row is at that
In terms of the development of my material, what happened point. If the teacher needs to supplement the piece itself
was that I, with Annette, had written what essentially by making up something on the spot and showing the
became Books One and Two. And it was approaching the student, then you do that.
point where I was going to have to answer the question,
‘Now, how do we fill in the blanks?’ Because we could play So, I try to have the students play things that they can play
all these places on the bass, but not the notes in between. in public, but whether they realize it or not, the etude is
in the piece. Each piece was chosen because it had some
And it happened, I guess not by chance, that right at that practical function at that point. The idea of these books is
moment, I found out about François Rabbath from Harold that the student would be enjoying themselves. It would

be a pleasure to play music. I didn’t think a five-year-old On studying with Dr. Suzuki:
would want to play Simandl, even though I was willing The original impulse came from the Suzuki philosophy,
to do it. and Annette was involved with that whole phenomenon
and it has an organizational structure worldwide. So she
After I’d been doing it for a while and I’d taught people was hoping and I was hoping – I was already plugged into it
of all ages, including adult amateurs, it finally occurred to philosophically, and I wanted to be plugged into it actually
me that if the pedagogy is good, then it’s not just for kids. also. I thought that their system of having workshops and
I don’t teach any differently when I teach an older person, arranging situations where many kids can get together
like an adult beginner or a high school student. All my from different places and play the same repertoire was an
students play the same stuff because I believe that it works. excellent idea, and that I would be part of that.
And if playing Twinkle seems childish, I just make some
comment to put them at ease about it. ‘You’re older so you So, we submitted the material to the Suzuki authorities.
will go through very quickly, but we are just going to do There was some confusion there about what arrangements
it to make sure we haven’t missed anything.’ But in fact, would be made to accept the material. And at a certain
even the adult enjoys playing and sounding good – playing point, it seemed the simplest thing was going to Japan and
Lightly Row in thumb position and making a nice sound present it to Suzuki himself, because he had already seen
out of it. the phenomenon at a couple of European workshops. The
Europeans were very quick after Manchester Bass Week to
When people heard about what I was doing by word invite me to make presentations at their annual workshop.
of mouth or by seeing the article Jeff Bradetich put in And so, Dr. Suzuki had been present at one in Sweden and
the bass magazine, I started getting letters from people another in Finland, where he had seen a roomful of bass
inquiring about it. And at first, I wrote a personal letter to players playing Twinkle in unison.
everyone and sent them a copy of the material – begging
for criticism. ‘Please tell me what you think of it,’ and And because it was hard to clarify the situation here, with
nobody ever criticized it – they just said ‘thank you and the people and the publisher, we decided that I would go
keep up the good work.’ But when it got to the point that to Japan and just see what he had to say about it. So, I was
the volume of that got to where I felt like I had to start lucky. It didn’t solve the problem of how to publish the
selling the books, a mail order business sort of grew up material, but it turned out great for me because I spent a
inadvertently on account of that. month in Matsumoto as a visiting student at his school
and it was a huge influence on me.
The same thing happened with the instruments because
the people who associate me with teaching kids would ask It turned out he was a fantastic bass teacher. When I came
me where they could get things like that. I ended up trying to my first lesson, the first thing that he said to me was
to influence people to make those things. You know I’m that when he was a student in Berlin in the 1920s, he had
not the only one, of course, who was doing that. heard many great soloists on the bass. And he said many,
specifically, like it wasn’t such an uncommon thing to hear
I’ll tell you, the first time I saw a full-page color ad on the a bass recital. And he even specifically mentioned hearing
back of one of the professional journals – I don’t know if it someone play Zigeunerweisen. So, I assume that he must
was MENC or something like that and it showed a row of all have heard Koussevitsky at that time – he was a traveling
sizes of basses going down to 1/10th size, and I had nothing soloist at that time, but there were others apparently. And
to do with it and I thought, “Wow! I did that.” The idea then I proceeded to play for him and he was already in
had gotten so far beyond me that it was going on without his 90’s, and I think he enjoyed hearing the bass because
my awareness. That’s what knocked me out about that. It the pitch was good for his – he used a hearing aid at that
wasn’t me doing that, but somehow the idea had grown. point. The pitch on the violin was getting harder for him
to discriminate.
Then I got tired of printing the books down at Kinko’s. I
made three envelopes to send to publishers. One of those He had spent a lifetime thinking about tone and could
was Carl Fischer, and lo and behold, about six months make astonishing suggestions just by listening. People used
later, I got a phone call from Lauren Keiser at Carl Fischer to send graduation tapes to him and he would listen and
and he said, ‘This stuff just crossed my desk,’ – and later I write back and say, ‘Your elbow is too high,’ and things
saw his desk, so I understood. You know he’s a very busy like that. From listening to a cassette tape, he could give
man with a lot of paper piled up. But he said, ‘I saw it this a lesson. Imagine. So, to be standing in front of him with
morning and I’d like to publish it.’ the bass, he would just jump up and say, ‘Pull your endpin
out farther.’ It was great.
So, I felt good, because it was like he was asking me. He
looked at it and said this was worth something.

And I realized that at his school, people were playing along they would imitate the nuances of the artist that they
with recordings constantly – and these were adults. They heard on the recording.
weren’t children he was teaching – they were people who
planned to go home to their countries and be teachers. But, far from being turned into robots, what I discovered
They arrived at every lesson with two cassette tapes – one when I tried it myself is that you don’t become a carbon
of some great artist playing the piece they were going to copy. That’s impossible. If you could do that, then I’d be a
play, and the other one a blank to record the lesson – and millionaire. If I could make everyone sound like François
his studio was set up like that. Rabbath, that would be great. But that’s not what happens.
What happens is the student gets a lesson that’s entirely
The lessons were pretty brief at first. They would play different than the lesson you give when you speak to
a piece to demonstrate how they were progressing in him about his technique. He gets a lesson directly in his
developing tone. That piece for the violins was the Chorus muscles because in the attempt to play along with what
from Judas Maccabeus. You heard that piece all day long, he’s hearing on the recording, the muscles search out the
all through the school – because there were no practice way. You don’t have to tell him you’re playing sharp or
rooms. People just played everywhere. And I tried playing flat or something like that – he finds the place. And to
that for him. In my case, he preferred to hear Twinkle in D make the sound that’s happening on the recording, or the
as a tonal piece. dynamic or whatever, the bow – he has to work out how
to do it. And it’s not an intellectual process, it’s physical.
That was the first part of the lesson, then he would sit down, So he gets a different kind of lesson, and he gets a lesson
light up a Camel cigarette, and he’d say, “OK, let’s hear your every day, from a great artist, right into his muscles – and
piece.” And what I observed right off was that everyone then that information travels back and can affect his own
was playing along. If you’re working on the Sibelius Violin musical imagination.
Concerto it would be Ginette Neveu playing or David
Oistrakh playing the Brahms Concerto – whatever artist On François Rabbath:
Suzuki admired you would have a recording of that, and you Later, when I found out about Rabbath’s technique and
would be practicing with that and playing along with it. integrated those ideas into the picture, I still didn’t know
if it was necessary to go through the Simandl layout of the
And some people who came passing through, teachers fingerboard, or could we just skip all that and teach the
who came to visit were sort of appalled when they saw nodal points and add François’ left-hand ideas to that and
that. At group lessons every morning, there would be 40 be done with it? It turned out to be the case.
violin teachers there onstage, and me. And they would
play through many pieces in the violin repertoire and if it It wasn’t until I met François that I knew what ‘real
was a piece that I could play, I would play along with them. encouragement’ is. He thinks everybody should become a
And if he was just demonstrating some idea, I would play. great bass player. That – if you would just do what he asks,
and he’s asking you in the kindest imaginable way – that
That’s when I realized that the bass was an inside-out you’ll become a virtuoso – and of course, that’s why you’re
violin. Because when he spoke about the E-string being the there – because you want to be a virtuoso. I don’t think
closest one to your body on the violin, it was the same on he has a conception of somebody who just wants to play
the bass. And that’s when I realized that what was extreme the bass a little bit and be sort of good, or because he likes
on the violin, the bass was just the opposite. Playing high being in the school band, or some motivation like that. He
notes on the bass shouldn’t be terrifying or unusual. That’s assumes that everyone he’s looking at over the bass would
where normal people can hear stuff. What’s unusual about like to play like him, and he behaves as if it were possible
the bass is how low it can play, which is why we play the if you would just do what he did. (Laughs) So when I first
bass. We like it, but not necessarily the first thing you met him, the very first time I got a chance to play a few
should do. notes in front of him, he put his big hairy face in my ear
and said, ‘You must become a very great bass player.’ I’m
But at the end of these group lessons, he would call not sure that’s actually ever going to happen, but it was
for whatever the big piece was that he was working on encouragement and I have changed a lot as a bass player
with them at that time. When I was there, it was the since then.
Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto, with David Oistrakh playing.
And, most of the teachers would sit down, but there would Just the discovery of his books made me a better bass player
be seven or so remain standing who could play it. And – immediately. More reliability in the left hand. And then
they would play it in unison. And I know some people when I actually started to work with him and find out he
were appalled, but when I saw that, I thought, in how was really concerned about the bow and not making the
many schools in America could you say, ‘Let’s all play the fingering system simpler – that’s when I feel like a whole
Tchaikovsky Concerto,’ and people would play it? And new stage of my playing began, right there.

He told me that he originally only planned to write
Volume 3 of the Nouvelle Technique, and that his
publisher, Leduc, asked him to prepare some material that
would be beginner’s material for that. Actually, anyone
who’s looked at his first book realizes it’s not something
for a beginner. The first and second volumes were written
after the third volume. And I am using those books now.
I said earlier that I have dropped the idea of playing etudes

altogether, but from François, I got the idea that if you
practice abstractions of music like scales and arpeggios and
double stops that are in his third book, that means you
don’t have to practice etudes. So, I prepare some material
for gradually inculcating the idea of becoming a scale
player for the student. It’s sort of like Scotch – nobody’s
born with it, but you acquire a taste for becoming a scale
player.
On Teaching:
Teaching is a matter of character structure. Some
people like to do it and are good at it. And others are
characterologically unqualified to do it. Some people
probably shouldn’t teach – no matter how big of a deal
they are and what capacity.
One of the things I liked about Suzuki setup was that they
had these workshops for teacher training. I used to think
that you could turn a mediocre teacher into a decent
teacher just by giving them information. But I’ve never George Vance, 1949 – 2009
found that a mediocre teacher ever came to a workshop!
The only ones that ever showed up were already very Henry Peyrebrune joined the bass section of The Cleveland
interested and have that spirit and drive to do it. I like Orchestra in 1997. In 2014, he took on additional duties as
the idea of teacher training, but I don’t know if I’ve ever a development gift officer in the orchestra’s philanthropy and
influenced a bad teacher into a good one because you can’t advancement office. Before coming to Cleveland, he served
get them to come to the workshop in the first place! as principal bass with the National Arts Centre Orchestra in
Ottawa, Canada, the Portland Symphony, Pro Arte Chamber,
I thought what I was doing was almost inadvertent, you Boston Philharmonic and Cantata Singers orchestras, and was
know. I wanted to teach. I like teaching. I like kids. a member of the Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra and the
For some reason, they like me. All that stuff was just Albany Symphony Orchestra. He has performed chamber
happenstance, in a way, but because of it, many nice things music and recitals throughout New England. Mr. Peyrebrune
have happened to me. I get to hang around with interesting holds a bachelor of music degree from the New England
people and I get invited to go to interesting places. That’s Conservatory of Music, where he studied with Edwin Barker of
pretty neat, because I certainly didn’t scheme to make the Boston Symphony Orchestra. He has taught at the Baldwin
anything like that happen. Wallace University Conservatory of Music, University of
Southern Maine, and the Longy School of Music. He has
Interview with Henry Peyrebrune, October 2002 served as a teaching artist with The Cleveland Orchestra’s
Transcribed by John Hamil and Christian Chesanek, October 2017 “Learning Through Music” school partnership program for
Edited by Henry Peyrebrune nearly two decades. He is a member of the board of directors
Photos provided by Martha Vance. of the League of American Orchestras, and board president of
NoteWorthy Federal Credit Union, which serves the Northeast
Ohio arts community.

IN THE ZONE Brian Perry, editor
Nick Myers,
Detroit Symphony Orchestra
As with any major life event, I’ve done much reflection

in the months after my successful audition for the
Detroit Symphony Orchestra. For a significant period of
time, the realization that I had accomplished what I had
set out to do was overwhelming. While the external,
institutional validation of the work I had put in was
gratifying, it also introduced an element of internal
pressure and comparison that I felt I had to live up to.
I’m continuously in awe of many fantastic bass players
of all ages, and I’m intimately familiar with the areas of
my own playing that I’m still not satisfied with. While
I’m confident that I was hired to perform the way that
I uniquely do, I’m certain that plenty of other players
have what it takes to contribute their own sound and
insight in the same role with just as much satisfaction.
In that respect, it’s my opinion that winning an audition
is mostly about being unfailingly true to your musical
ideals, presenting the most genuine performance that
you can in such an artificial setting, and being as
prepared as possible the days of the audition to ensure
that you’re representing yourself at your best. Nick Myers, photo provided by the author
I started taking professional auditions in my first year my intonation was rock solid, as well as metronome
of graduate school, and though part of me wishes I had work, in a variety of room types: big, small, boomy, dry,
jumped in earlier to understand the process better as a and just right. It was important to maintain self-esteem
whole, I’m glad that I had established my fundamentals throughout the most trying phase of the process, so
and musical approaches before putting them to the test. oftentimes I would do really detailed work in the small
From there, audition preparation was about fine-tuning and dry rooms to hear all the minutiae, performance
a convincing interpretation of each of the excerpts and practice work in the big boomy rooms to explore
solos on the list and being able to use excitement to my how I could fill the space, and in comfortable rooms I
advantage instead of allowing nerves to detrimentally could just play, trying to love each excerpt as much as
affect my performance. possible. In each space, I relied heavily on my recorder:
not only would I run lists or groups of excerpts to hear
During the embryonic stages of developing opinions how quickly I could switch styles, I would record one
and interpretations of the music on a list, I found it very bar or gesture or note at a time, over and over again,
helpful to have a “lay of the land,” so to speak. It was until what I heard in my head was what I heard in my
useful to run through the list early, once I’d gotten the earbuds. It was grueling work, but it helped me shape
notes under my fingers, and to be able to survey which the macro and the micro of my presentation to my
excerpts were in better shape than others. Listening was standards. During the middle phase of the work, I was
key in this stage, because I didn’t want to put in work probably doing four to six hours of practice each day,
on a version of the excerpt that I was unsure about. Of and it was very tiring.
course, there will be differences in how you play in the
orchestra and how you’ll play as the only one onstage During the two or three weeks leading up to the
in an audition, but I wasn’t comfortable cultivating audition, I reduced my hands-on practice significantly,
‘audition versions’ that were safer but compromised the and directed my efforts (or lack thereof) to adjacent
spirit of the music. It was key for me to stay grounded by pursuits, such as being well rested, being comfortable
always considering the symphonies as a whole. playing for people at any time, and having a consistent
product. I know that I’m the best version of Nick
Once I had constructed opinions of how I wanted each with 9 to 10 hours of sleep, so that’s what I got every
selection to go, it was time to frontload the work to night. Instead of allowing stress to consume me (‘what
attain my vision. I did a ton of drone work, making sure if two extra hours of practice every day is what would

have gotten me the gig!”) I went home and listened to my favorite
recordings of music both on and off the list, usually on the Berlin
Philharmonic Digital Concert Hall. I found that I woke up each
day super excited to try out things that I heard and stoked to delve
deeper into the musicality, avoiding list burnout. I would try to
play for a colleague each day, requesting comments or specifically
eschewing them when I felt I was set. Sometimes I’d do crazy
things like playing for people in my underwear. I’m not sure how
that helped but it probably didn’t hurt. I also was implementing a
lot of Noa Kageyama’s method into my preparation near the end
– I can’t recommend his strategies highly enough. [Noa Kageyama
teaches a class called ‘Performance Enhancement’ at Julliard for
master’s students. Information at bulletproofmusician.com.] A lot
of players utilize beta blockers to calm the physical manifestations
of nerves before a stressful situation; I don’t have any objection to
using them, but I felt like I was able to ride the wave of adrenaline
without introducing another variable into the mix more positively
and musically by abstaining, and I garnered more confidence on
merit of my preparation alone.
My preliminary round and my semifinal round in Detroit were on

the same day. I took the prelim very seriously, and because I was
a little nervous, I didn’t necessarily play my best, but I had sound
rhythm and intonation. After advancing, it was encouraging to
consider that the committee already liked how I played and wanted
to hear me again, and it made the semifinal round one of the best
performances I’d ever given. Throughout all rounds, if there were
any small slip-ups in the heat of the moment, I utilized a personalized
recovery strategy, mentally shouting down the inner critic with the
word ‘phrase’: it jolted my mind onto the task at hand instead of
fixating on something that the committee probably didn’t notice
anyway. Before I played the finals the next day, I played a lot of long
tones and scales in the warm-up room, getting in touch with my
facility of the instrument. I also listened to some deadmau5 tracks
in my earbuds, thinking about fond memories with friends and
remembering even in that stressful moment why I do what I do. I’m
overjoyed that the audition was such a positive experience and that
I was able to demonstrate the kind of music that I believe in, and
grateful that the result turned out in my favor. As my former teacher
Larry Wolfe told me time and time again, remember: music wins.

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Announcing the Ninth Biennial

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at Indiana University Jacobs School of Music
Bloomington, Indiana
June 3-4, 2019
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RUMBLINGS Heather Miller Lardin, editor
Viennese Bass Days, Amsterdam
by Margaret Urquhart Anthony Woodrow, Robert Franenberg and myself,

decided we would use Viennese tuning in the orchestra
“Arrange a festival devoted solely to the Viennese Bass? for the Viennese classical repertoire, such as Haydn and
Absolutely not!” This was my first reaction to the request Mozart. The Historically Informed Performance (HIP)
of a student three years ago. But after some persuasion, orchestra which is based in Holland and tours the world,
the ‘Viennese Bass Days’ were born. uses original instruments or copies of originals, and for
us it was a logical step to use an original tuning too. As
To give some background, the Viennese Bass is a large far as I know, we were the first complete orchestral bass
violone tuned at the 16’ octave, so the same octave as group to revive this tuning, and we’ve been playing and
our modern double bass, with five (later four) gut strings recording Haydn and Mozart this way ever since. Around
tuned in thirds and fourths. The instrument looks like a the same time, I began including the Viennese Bass as part
big viola da gamba, with sloping shoulders, a flat back, of the curriculum for students following violone courses
wooden tuning pegs and gut frets tied around the neck at the Royal Conservatory in The Hague and later at the
and fingerboard. From the top string downwards it was Amsterdam Conservatory. The Viennese tuning became
tuned A, F#, D, AA, FF natural. It became prominent an established concept in the Netherlands from those
around 1760, mainly in Vienna, and many of the bass early days in the ‘90s.
solos from the classical era, which we still play today,
such as those by Dittersdorf and Vanhal, were written From a humble start in 2016, the Viennese Bass Days is
for this type of bass. In 1991, the double bass section growing from strength to strength as a three-day festival
of the Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century, at that time in September, held in the impressive new building of the
conservatory of Amsterdam. The mission is to present a
platform for the HIP Viennese Bass and the performance
of original music written for the instrument, and
simultaneously to encourage contemporary performers,
composers, and musicologists to take an interest in the
tuning so that it reaches a wider public. We also hold
a competition divided into two sections: HIP performers
using gut strings, thirds tuning and frets, and the present
day ‘modern’ set-up with steel strings and fourths tuning.
The formula is a success, and again this year we had a
diverse and stimulating meeting of young players and
seasoned experts performing, competing and sharing
their knowledge. Over the past three years, we’ve had
performers, students, speakers, and listeners from Canada,
Japan, Mozambique, China, Ecuador, the USA, and all
over Europe.
To give a brief summary of this year’s events: we began with

the historically informed competition, accompanied on
the forte piano. The jury comprised Dane Roberts, David
Sinclair, Robert Franenberg, Peter Leerdam, and myself.
All the players performed by memory and gave very
contrasting and convincing interpretations. Severiano
Pauli won this section playing the Vanhal Concerto and
was awarded a set of gut strings generously donated by
one of our sponsors, Gamut Strings. Meanwhile, Szymon
Marciniak gave a morning of masterclasses to the classical
Maggie Urquhart and Robert Franenberg, photo players. In the afternoon, Robert Franenberg presented
provided by the author a lecture-recital entitled ‘Sperger: A Typical Court

Musician?’, contrasting the extraordinary compositional Our previous Viennese Bass Days have included
output of Sperger during 32 years of court service, not only masterclasses by Edicson Ruiz, who has had works
of bass music, but also of symphonies and other genres. commissioned for him with the Viennese tuning, talks and
He illustrated the talk with several musical examples demonstrations by makers and restorers, and performances
including the Duetto (1789), accompanied by Isabel of new works. Next year’s edition in Amsterdam in
Franenberg on viola. The day ended with a lecture and Q September 2019 will center on the Viennese bass in
& A by the double bass researcher Shanti Nachtergaele, Divertimenti works. For information about future
who is currently a PhD student in musicology at McGill events, visit the Viennese Bass Days website: www.
University. Her lecture ‘A Foreign bass in Vienna, A viennesebassdays.org.
Study on Anecdote, Performance & Legacy’, skillfully
and entertainingly led us through the myths and facts
surrounding Dragonetti’s alleged performance on the
double bass of Beethoven’s Cello Sonata, Op 5, No.2 in
Vienna in 1799 for Beethoven himself. A lively discussion
followed Shanti’s lecture.
The second day opened with the classical competition

with the same jury. Again, the competitors all gave fine
individual performances and the winner was the highly
talented fifteen-year-old Dutch bassist Sascha Witteveen.
She was presented with a historical bow made by David
Herman, another of our valued sponsors. David Sinclair
gave master classes for the HIP bassists. In the afternoon,
the virtuoso bassist Szymon Marciniak, who had travelled
in from Berlin at the last minute to take over from Wies de
Bouvé, who had been hospitalized days before the festival,
gave a stunning recital of Bach’s Sixth Cello Suite,
followed by a beautiful encore written by Nicholas Walker,
Eclore. Our last guest of the day was Maria Vahervuo, a
well-known violone player who also has a thriving practice
as an Alexander Technique practitioner. Her work
combines personal experience as a bassist and the life of a
busy free-lance musician with the benefits that Alexander
Technique can bring. Her lecture and workshop clearly
illustrated the ways Alexander Technique can be used for
enhancing awareness during our day-to-day practice and
preparation for recitals and auditions.
Maggie Urquhart, photo provided by the author
The final day included a viola da gamba consort
performance by students and teachers, introducing one of Margaret Urquhart is a violone and double bass player living
the precursors of the Viennese bass, the 8’ violone. The in the Netherlands. She is the first bassist of the Orchestra of
consort played works by Orlando Gibbons and J. S. Bach, the Eighteenth Century, and plays with many leading HIP
and was followed by the two competition-winners in a ensembles. She teaches at the Royal Conservatory in The
public concert. Paoli gave a short talk on how modern Hague and in Amsterdam, gives lectures and recitals abroad
bassists could investigate the original Viennese Bass and is currently researching for her PhD on Bach’s Basses.
tuning to widen their repertoire knowledge, and presented
classical and contemporary double bass works by Da Vinci
Edition. In the afternoon, David Sinclair rounded off our
festival giving a masterful and original recital accompanied
by Olga Paschchenko on the harpsichord. His program
included works by Gottfried Finger and Georg Philipp
Telemann, a Baryton trio by Joseph Haydn, and a viola
da gamba sonata by Frans Xaver Hammer, all of which
he transcribed and arranged for the Viennese Bass. He
performed on his own original Viennese bass, a lovingly
restored Leidolff.

ALL THAT JAZZ
Bruce Gertz, Editor
Building a Jazz Vocabulary Part 6,

The Minor Modes as Substitutes
Just as we have the modes from different degrees of the major scale, Harmonic and Melodic Minor scales offer us a wide
range of possible substitutions with added colors. If we take the relative harmonic or melodic (ascending) minor of any
major key and use its modes in place of major scale modes over similar chords, we get alternative structures. Listen to
Herbie Hancock comp behind solos on Miles Davis records, My Funny Valentine, E.S.P., Nefertiti, The Sorcerer,
Miles Smiles and others. Also, Wayne Shorter’s music employs chords from the minor modes. Songs such as Fall, E.S.P.,
Prince of Darkness, and many others actually have these chords in the written music. It is also common for players to
mix typical diatonic harmony with the minor modes and chords. There is often smooth voice leading between the many
different chord scales. In the beginning of Footprints on Miles Smiles, Herbie Hancock is combining the colors with
smooth voice-leading over Ron Carter’s bass part. Ravel and Debussy used these and other sounds in their Impressionist
pieces.
Both of these minor forms offer a great resource for improvisers and composers. If we build chords in thirds from each
step of these scales, the result will offer great variation of color from those of the diatonic major scale. They also provide
a good resource for bass line vocabulary. It can be compared to visual artists using combinations of color and light to
express an image.
Example 1. Shows the Harmonic Minor Modes. Practice them

individually and bask in their sonic colors for a while to get the
sounds internalized. Create melodies with the notes rather than
simply running the scale.
Example 2. Shows the Jazz, Melodic Minor Modes. Jazz Minor is

the same as the ascending melodic minor scale. A simple way to
look at it is a major scale with a minor third.
Example 3. Shows a melodic line switching between D Dorian

and D Dorian sharp 11, from the 4th degree of the A harmonic
minor scale.

Example 4. Shows the use of Eb and D major triads from the G Harmonic Minor scale over
Eb maj.7
Example 5. Shows the use of Db and Eb Major triads from the Ab Jazz Minor scale over a G7
Example 6. Is a transcribed line from a Charlie Parker solo on Charlie’s Wig. It uses a Harmonic
Minor Scale over a minor II-7b5 V7b9 cadence A-7b5 D7b9 to G-6 (jazz minor).
Part 7 of Building A Jazz Vocabulary will include other scale types, with examples using them
as substitutes through chord progressions.
Visit: brucegertz.net for lessons and play-along tracks. Also visit musicgurus.com and search
for “Bruce Gertz.”

THE LATEST SCORE
Please submit music for possible
review in a future issue of
Bass World to ISB,
14070 Proton Rd., Suite 100 LB
9, Dallas, TX 75244, USA
Topics in Jazz Lost

Bass: Volume The Missing
1, Harmony Frank Proto
Danny Ziemann Liben Music Publishers
w w w . www.liben.com
dannyziemann.com www.ISBstore.com
www.ISBstore.com
Dedicated to bassist Szymon Marciniak and
Danny Ziemann’s pianist Evan Mitchell, Lost is extremely
Topics in Jazz engaging and a most welcome addition
Bass: Volume 1, to the bass repertoire. As a virtuoso
Harmony is a text modern bass part with frequent leaps of
that jazz musicians major and minor sevenths throughout,
should be checking professionals and advanced students will
out, but every bassist must include this in their practice. enjoy both its lyrical and rapid sections.
This text follows Ziemann’s Low Down series of books Lasting about 20 minutes, Lost is divided
that discuss how to create supporting jazz bass lines. As into two movements. The first is generally
stated in the preface, it was inspired by the Barry Harris slower and more melodic and the second is
videos many jazz musicians are familiar with and cherish. more rhythmic and driving. Both change
With five chapters covering static harmony, adapting meters often, but the second has a more
harmony over two measures, triadic ii-V-I shapes, mixed-meter sound, alternating between
reduction harmony, and reduction harmony over rhythms 5/8, 3/8, 6/8, etc. Lost uses the entire range
changes, this book proves to be a fantastic resource for of the bass, and consistently uses natural
bassists to gain a deeper understanding of harmonic harmonics, adding timbral depth. Proto
implications within their bass line note choices. Danny’s often asks for these harmonics to ring for
simple approach starts out by introducing a concept as long as possible after a short attack,
that provides a simple but detailed analysis of the and the score provides a link to an online
examples. It progresses into a series of exercises based instruction video he has made about this
on the concept analyzed, which culminate in a full bass technique. In addition to this technical
line that aptly demonstrates the topic he is clearly and video, a recording of the premiere
concisely writing about. The use and reference of jazz performance by Marciniak and Mitchell
standards throughout the examples and complete bass can be found on the publisher’s website. The score comes
lines demonstrates how applicable the material is for any with a piano part for orchestral tuning and a solo tuning
jazz musician. You will find exercises written in 12 keys part is available separately from the publisher.
to insure visual comprehension as well. As Danny states,
“no book or source has the answers,” but this is a good A work for bass quartet and soprano, The Missing was
place to start to supplement your walking lines to become written for the Bassinova Quartet and premiered by them
a better jazz bassist. I adopted this book in my studio to at the 2017 ISB convention at Ithaca College. Proto’s
aid my students expanding their harmonic vocabulary as score requires the top two basses to play in solo tuning
they grow as bassists. As I have told my students, order and the bottom two in orchestral tuning, (the fourth
this text today if you are serious about expanding your part needs an extension or fifth string). My favorite
harmonic knowledge to assist in creating beautiful bass part of the work is the long quartet introduction, before
lines, as well as increasing your harmonic understanding the soprano enters from offstage. Lush harmonies and
and implication of each note that you choose to play. ecstatic rhythmic unisons dominate, interspersed with
It offers a unique and fresh approach that will prove solo moments for the individual bassists. While each part
invaluable in your development as a bassist. has its own technical challenges, the first bass part is by
– Review by Josh Skinner far the most virtuoso, spending most of the piece in and
above the treble staff. The soprano’s vocalise entrance
turns the bass quartet into something more like an organ,

frequently sustaining chords sometimes with a slow, Jacob Druckman), the first section demonstrates several
repeated rhythm. In this section, most of the quartet’s enlightening ways to incorporate the voice in regular,
energetic activity occurs during the soprano’s long notes everyday bass practice. He eases the reader-bassist into
or rests, and this make the soprano’s part sound more vocalizing while playing with simple counting exercises
like a recitative as they deliver the text. The harmonic that evolve from speaking into singing. Takács then
technique mentioned from Proto’s Lost is also used here, compiles technical treasures to enhance one’s playing,
with a link to the same video provided in the score. A invaluable to students and professionals alike, which
recording of the premiere performance is available on the include singing held notes to bring out certain voices in
publisher’s website, featuring the Bassinova Quartet and Bach, reinforcing extreme dynamics/character changes
soprano Julianna Emanski. with the voice in Verdi’s Otello excerpt, and developing
- Reviews by Scott Worthington a feel for difficult polyrhythms (useful in all genres).
The next section of the book focuses on vocalization:
Takács introduces concepts regarding diction, tone,
resonance and projection. Bassists beginning to sing
The Double Bass-Voice: and vocal veterans alike have much to gain from this
A How-To Guide concise, yet thorough, chapter on the voice, due to
Cody Takács its concise checklists concerning posture and text
www.ISBstore.com preparation. For developing coordination between vocal
and instrumental playing, the next section of the book
Cody Takács contributes a wonderful challenges the reader-bassist to try Takác’s own original,
piece to the pedagogical puzzle of hilarious etudes. He builds from easy, open-string text
combining diverse skills with his accompaniment to demonstrating how to harmonize
book The Double Bass-Voice: A How- with oneself, encouraging the reader to look up their
To Guide. Although the book tends favorite songs and practice karaoke-style. Finally,
toward conquering contemporary the book ends with showing bass/voice excerpts from
bass/voice repertoire (e.g. Failing contemporary repertoire, giving us a cursory explanation
by Tom Johnson and Valentine by of various types of bass/voice notation along the way.
Takác’s enthusiasm and fascinating
musical examples leaves the reader
wanting more, seeking to look up
the bizarre and unique pieces he
introduces. The Double Bass-Voice:
A How-To Guide provides a clear
path for the dual performer towards
honing their bass/voice skills and
helps bassists evolve the notion of bass
as your “instrument,” to that of your
“voice,” by incorporating the endless
variety of emotional expression
available in vocalizations into your
playing. And, for those readers lucky
enough to know the inimitable Cody
Takács themselves, you’ll find yourself
chuckling at the personal touch of the
blue-haired bassist on the front cover,
calmly announcing the book title.
– Review by Maggie Hasspacher

The English national style. The inclusion of a section on the famous
Double Bass English tuning machines is a true delight. Nothing else
Book would seem right on those stocky, thick-cheeked, tapered
Tom Martin & peg boxes than these tuning machines. It speaks to the
George Martin pride and care that it took to make these instruments in
Arpeggio Publishing the first place.
The authors of The One Italian bass is also featured, the famous Gasparo da
English Double Salò brought to England in December 1794 by Dragonetti.
Bass Book wanted to This instrument, along with Dragonetti’s influence, helped
make this book a redirect the modeling of English basses. It is now in St.
“fitting tribute to Mark’s Basilica in Venice, Italy.
the great English
craftsmen who The English Double Bass Book is a heartfelt telling of
produced so many how the bass came to England, and has me dreaming about
fine instruments.” what life must have been like for these remarkable luthiers.
The result is a – Review by David Gage
handsome tome that
is, in my opinion, an instant classic, over 500 pages with
766 color photos, beautifully bound and in a slipcover,
written with heart, knowledge and reverence. It will be
a major lynch pin of reference material to shops, schools,
auction houses, libraries and collectors for years to come.
Simply put, there is no other double bass book like it in
scope. As Charles Beare observes, “Here at last!”
At the heart of The English Double Bass Book are

forty English bass makers and their instruments, each
documented by text and full-length photos - front, back
and side, with four photos of each side of the peg box and
scroll. I found this format very conducive to instrument
to instrument comparison. The full-length side photo is
particularly helpful, as we can see the arching of the top and
back (for example, the Vincenzo Panormo round back),
and in many cases the elevation of the f-holes in the top
arching. The beautiful photography ranges from very good
to excellent (photographing detail on the John Devereaux
bass with its swirling red-brown opaque varnish couldn’t
have been easy). Fourteen different photographers receive
photo credits, and the photo presentations are amazingly
consistent despite being remotely sourced.
The Introduction is a good warm up to the main act to

follow. It ties together cultural, political and personalities
that were influential to the development of the English
double bass. Readers familiar with the existing literature
devoted to double bass history will find little that is new in
the Introduction, which contains a few minor errors. No
evidence is provided for the claim that Saggione “arrived
in Paris in 1700 before moving to London.” In fact, he
succeeded Michel Pignolet de Montéclair, whose name is
misspelled, at the Paris Opéra from 1737 to 1745, twelve
years after the date of death (c. 1733) that is provided.
French and the English bass makers have traditionally

featured their tuning machine heads, each with its own

Save the Dates!
2O19 ISB Convention
& Competition
Thanks to our host, Indiana University!
nal Societ
tio y
na
Join us for the 2019 ISB Convention

Inter
at the Indiana University Jacobs

School of Music, June 3rd – 8th
in Bloomington, Indiana.
of • Competitions • Concerts
B a s si st s • Masterclasses • Lectures
• Exhibits • Young Bassists Program
60
www.isbworldoffice.com/convention.asp
SOUNDING BOARD
Rob Nairn, editor
Please submit recordings for
possible review in a future issue
of Bass World to ISB, 14070
Proton Rd., Suite 100 LB 9,
Dallas, TX 75244, USA
Live at Malmitalo No Man’s Land

Otherworld Ensemble – a composer
Teppo Hauto-aho, double bass; portrait
Heikki Koskinen, tenor recorder, David Heyes, bass
e-trumpet, piano, flutes, kantele; With Gemma
Rent Romus, alto saxophone, kantele, Ashcroft, Josie
flutes, bells; Jobbins, Alexander
Mikko Innanen, alto, baritone Heather, bass;
and sopranino saxophones, flutes, Sarah Poole,
percussion soprano; Derek
Edgetone Records EDT 4132 Harris, piano
www.edgetonerecords.com primafacie.ascrecords.com
http://www.romus.net/Otherworld_Ensemble.html
No Man’s Land is a collection of compositions by
Recorded live in the Helsinki Cultural Centre in May David Heyes written over the last three years. The
2017, the liner notes describe the Otherworld Ensemble title track was written to commemorate the start of
as a “joint project led by Heikki ‘Mike’ Koskinen and the First World War, and in memory of both of David’s
Finnish-American Rent Romus, exploring the music of grandfathers who fought in that war. As with most of the
jazz and improvisation inspired by the Arctic diaspora.” selections on this recording, the music is sensitive and
Koskinen and Romus had been putting the repertoire gentle, contemplative and mournful at times, all played
for this group together for over a year before they came beautifully and effectively by David. The music on this
together for this concert. Described as a “synthesis CD is not flamboyant and flashy, but instead very singing
between free improvisation, avant-garde jazz, traditional and lyrical. The high harmonics at the end of Ilmarinen,
Finland music and experimental music intonations,” for solo bass, are particularly delicate and effective.
the music features the four musicians playing a huge Ilmarinen is the eleventh of his Finnish Sketches and is
collection of different instruments including saxophones, dedicated to bassist Jason Heath. Sarah Poole (David’s
trumpet, piano, bass, flutes, percussion, and recorders wife) has a clear and warm vocal quality which suits A
with traditional folk instruments like the kantele. Spotless Rose and Far Away to perfection. The Great Wall of
China, for bass quartet, is strikingly different in character
The music is vibrant and highly energetic. There is than the other pieces on the CD as it sounds closer to a
some gorgeously melodic playing, bursts of sounds, Chinese folk tune. The other selections are for one or
shouts and shrieks and complex layered textures, and two basses and piano, bass trio, or unaccompanied bass.
comic interludes, and it often sounds like a much larger The ensemble is excellent between all players, matching
ensemble. Teppo Hauto-aho is the bassist with this quality of tone, articulation, and dynamic balance in the
group, and it’s great to see and hear yet another recording multiple bass pieces. This recording is very personal for
featuring this legend. This is a different kind of program David, as is clearly demonstrated through very heartfelt
from many of Hauto-aho’s more recent releases with him and sensitive playing.
anchoring the ensemble very solidly, and it features some Review by David Murray
really virtuosic bass episodes (Hark and Hamy especially).
Koskinen’s trumpet is sometimes reminiscent of Kenny
Wheeler, but there are dozens of sonic influences.
It’s a great record to listen to at Halloween as there is
certainly something of the festive or party atmosphere
with an ‘other-worldly’ element or elements born of the
instrumentation as well as the synthesis of sounds and
colors.
Reviewed by Rob Nairn

Vivaldi Sonatas Sherlock+Hanlon “Duo”
George Speed, bass James Sherlock, Guitar
Se-Hee Jin, piano Ben Hanlon, double bass
CENTUAR records CRC 3655 www.jamessherlock.com
https://georgespeed.com
This release by two stalwarts of the
Vivaldi left Melbourne Jazz scene is a vibrant,
nine extant multifaceted program that covers a
sonatas for the diverse and really impressive musical
cello in three diaspora.
manuscript
sets. The best Ben Hanlon is a member of the
known are Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, and he studied at
the set of six the Colburn School in Los Angeles with Paul Ellison,
with the RV Leigh Mesh, David Moore, and Peter Lloyd. He is a
numbers 40, much-respected member of the local jazz community,
41, 43, 45, having performed at several Melbourne International
46, and 47, Jazz Festivals and at the Port Fairy Spring Music Festival
which were published in Paris in the late 1730s during among others, and he regularly appears at many of the
a surging vogue for cello music. Each has the familiar major Melbourne jazz venues.
four-movement Largo-Allegro-Largo-Allegro form, but
contains a great diversity of stylistic writing with real James Sherlock studied classical guitar at the Queensland
expressive breadth and profundity. The slow movements Conservatorium and has had a protean career which
in particular have a serious intensity. These sonatas have has seen him perform with a kaleidoscopic range of
long been favorite repertoire for bassists, and especially musicians including Jeff ‘Tain’ Watts, Leroy Jones,
for George Speed, who details his attraction to the Sheila Jordan, The Australian Chamber Orchestra,
works in the liner notes to this excellent new recording. The Melbourne and Queensland Symphony Orchestras,
Megan Washington, Joe Camilleri, and Howard Shore.
Speed is Professor of Double Bass at Oklahoma State The arrangements on this disc are all by the duo,
University and Principal Bass of the Oklahoma City and they are really impressive. Bill Evan’s Interplay is
Philharmonic, and these transcriptions are his own something of a masterclass in bass/guitar arrangements,
(now published by Recital Music), performed here in while their treatment of the Chopin F minor Nocturne
scordatura tuning. Speed mentions the influence of is really original and inspiring. Hanlon’s arco theme to
French cellist Christoph Coin’s 1989 recording with Massenet’s classic Meditation from Thaïs leads to sensitive
Christopher Hogwood, and he records the sonatas here and thoughtful interplay and a particularly beautiful
in the same order as that disc. Speed is a fine musician arco solo before returning to the theme again. Likewise,
and performer and has an obvious affinity for Vivaldi. his arco playing on what is probably Jimmy Rowles best
His recordings are passionate and elegant; the Largo known tune, The Peacocks, is gorgeous, hinting a little
from the A Minor Sonata, RV 43 is performed especially at Stan Getz’s 1975 recording. It’s a tune that has been
beautifully. The contrasts in dynamics, bowing and given some unforgettable treatment by the likes of Bill
articulations give a great variety to a program which Evans, John McLaughlin, Norma Winstone, and more
is constructed with great attention to detail. These recently Esperanza Spalding, but this version is right up
are certainly fine recordings of these Sonatas, and they there.
should encourage more bassists to take these works
(especially in these transcriptions) more seriously. The recording has a great ambient quality, balance,
Review by Rob Nairn space with both instruments really well defined and
tonally rich. The rest of program features works by
such artists as Sting, Schubert, and Sonny Rollins, all
receiving a thoroughly original and infectious treatment
by Sherlock and Hanlon.
Review by Rob Nairn

MILESTONES
Heather Miller Lardin

Kudos to long-time ISB member and column editor Heather Miller Lardin on her
recent appointment as Principal Bass of the Handel + Haydn Society (Boston).
In her home base of Philadelphia, Heather appears regularly with Tempesta di
Mare, the Philadelphia Bach Collegium, and nearby Brandywine Baroque. She
also serves as director of the Temple University Early Music Ensemble, and
directs the annual Amherst Early Music Winter Weekend Workshop. Heather
is the editor of the early bass column Rumblings in Bass World, and frequently
presents lectures and recitals at the ISB’s biannual conventions. Congratulations
Heather!
Heather Miller Lardin
Bill Slapin, a longtime supporter of the ISB, recently passed away orchestras as well as small jazz ensembles. An avid patron of the arts,
at the age of 76. Bill was born and raised in Newark, New Jersey. he served as president of Brooklyn Center/Brooklyn College and
He studied double bass and graduated from the Manhattan School was a founding member of the Brunswick Symphony Orchestra in
of Music. Bill became an active freelance musician in the New Brunswick, New Jersey. In addition to music, Bill’s passions included
York/New Jersey area, and performed a season with the Kansas wine collecting, aviation and ham radio operations. He held both
City Philharmonic. He later joined Slapin-Lieb & Co., his family’s pilot and radio operator licenses, enabling him to lend his skills and
insurance agency. During a career that spanned 45 years, Bill became quiet compassion during natural disaster recovery and rescue efforts.
chairman of Slapin-Lieb & Co., and served as president of the Bill is survived by his wife Michaela Gold, son Scott Slapin and his
Essex County Agents Association and the Big I - NJ Independent wife Tanya Solomon, son David Gold and wife Carolyne along with
Insurance Agents and Brokers Association. Music continued as their children Luke, Olivia, Gregory and Sebastian, daughter Jessica
Bill’s lifetime avocation and he performed with various New Jersey Gold, and brother Harold Slapin and his wife Jann.

Save the Dates!
2O19 ISB Convention
& Competition
Thanks to our host, Indiana University!
nal Societ
tio y
na
Join us for the 2019 ISB Convention

Inter
at the Indiana University Jacobs

School of Music, June 3rd – 8th
in Bloomington, Indiana.
of • Competitions • Concerts
B a s si st s • Masterclasses • Lectures
• Exhibits • Young Bassists Program
www.isbworldoffice.com/convention.asp
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BRUCE GERTZ MUSIC. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 NICK LLOYD. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
CINCINNATI BASS CELLAR. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 OTTAVA IMPORTS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
CONCERT DESIGN INC. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 PALOMBI MUSIC. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
CONCORD INTERNATIONAL GROUP, INC. . . . . . . IBC PED XING MUSIC. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
CONNOLLY & CO. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . BC QUANTUM BASS CENTER, INC.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
DAVID GAGE STRING INSTRUMENTS. . . . . . . . . . . IFC ROBERTSON & SONS VIOLIN SHOP. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
DISCOVER DOUBLE BASS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64 SCOTT LAFARO COMMEMORATIVE POSTER . . . . . 67
DOUGLAS MAPP MUSIC. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 SETH KIMMEL BASS VIOLINS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
HAL LEONARD PUBLISHING CO.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 SHANK STRING INSTRUMENTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
ISB MAKERS’ COMPETITION. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 STEFAN KRATTEMNACHER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
JD HILL MUSIC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 TEXAS CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
JEFF BOLLBACH, LUTHIER, INC.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58 UPTON BASS STRING INSTRUMENT CO.. . . . . . . . . 51
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Bass World Vol 41 N2 Low Rez

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What is the magazine about?

What is the magazine about?

What is discussed in the 'Features' section?

What is discussed in the 'Features' section?

BASS WORLD

The Magazine of the International Society of Bassists

Volume 41 Number Two

about the cover... ISB Advisory Board

2 International Society of Bassists

Copyright 2019 International Society of Bassists

...making music a joyful experience!

Volume 41, Number 2 7

8 International Society of Bassists

Volume 41, Number 2 9

10 International Society of Bassists

“You probably play like this too.” Yeah, I do. I am insecure,

Hinton taught me many things even though I never met

Volume 41, Number 2 11

3rd Finger in Low Positions:

by Scott Dixon • Extension: fingers pointed straight

Volume 41, Number 2 13

14 International Society of Bassists

Volume 41, Number 2 15

16 International Society of Bassists

Volume 41, Number 2 17

You’ll find that 3rd finger is “weak” when:

And [3] finger is “strong” when:

“Hybrid” Fingering System for Diatonic and Chromatic Passages

Whole Steps: [1-4]

Diatonic Half-steps (different-letter name): [1-3] or [2-4]

18 International Society of Bassists

I asked, “Did you just play half-steps with 1 and 3?!?”

I’ve asked his permission to share this, and he agreed,

20 International Society of Bassists

Why My iPhone is Essential to My

In my Suzuki training, I observed a culture of well-

Two hour-long parent meetings got everyone on board

Volume 41, Number 2 21

22 International Society of Bassists

Friends Don’t Let Friends Do Sit-ups!

As we all attempt to balance busy lives with trying to

Photo provided by Randy Kertz

Shown above is the classic sit-up. It is one’s job to lift

Volume 41, Number 2 23

Pioneer Luthier Lisa Gass sets her

Ahh! This speaks to the needed skill set of the bass

Volume 41, Number 2 25

So, he got his former student John Schaeffer, the principal

Then Wes got me the apprenticeship/job with Chet Olsen

26 International Society of Bassists

In Los Angeles I’m a member of the Pasadena Symphony,

So that’s the bass repair bit.

I first encountered a bass when I was 12, I think. My Dad

Volume 41, Number 2 27

28 International Society of Bassists

Volume 41, Number 2 29

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32 International Society of Bassists

This bass has three knobs, the first (closer to the

Volume 41, Number 2 33