Must-read post on DBB.org

I had actually just finished the next segment of the "Toughest Question" series when I read this incredible post by Jason Heath. This post is a must-read for aspiring musicians at almost any place in their careers - deciding whether to be a musician, in the midst of their studies, or even an old wizened professional like me! Check it out.... I'll post my new stuff in a couple of days.

First analog contact between Jason and I captured on audio...

I had the pleasure of finally speaking live on the phone with bass blogging overlord and PBDB aficionado Jason Heath this week, and he went and made a lovely Contrabass Conversations episode out of it! It was a lot of fun, and I think I did a pretty good job of fulfilling my two primary goals in this interview:

- Don't say anything so outrageously stupid that it gets me fired, arrested or beat up; and

- Speak SLOWLY ENOUGH that people could understand at least a third of what I was saying. (I'm a notorious fast talker, and I spent the whole interview concentrating on slow talkin'.)

Thanks a always to Jason for having me on and for his continued support of PBDB!

Jason Heath Kudos, August Quarterly Edition

I’d be pretty shocked if there were any readers over here who didn’t also read Jason Heath’s Bass Blog, or partake in some other form of his vast media empire. Between blogging, podcasting, and ISB convention-ing, the guy is pretty much the Supreme Ruler of the Bass Intertubes. He’s also been kind enough to have me as a guest blogger for some time now, which I very much appreciate.

Over the Summer, I’ve had a slew of “wow!” moments while reading the blog - Jason has had a bunch of thought-provoking posts. In my typical way, each time I read one of them I told myself that I needed to blog about (or at least thank Jason for) sharing his ideas with us. And each time, in my typical way, my heat-addled brain would be distracted by some bright shiny object and I’d never get around to it. Now that my vacation time is ebbing away, I’m going to simply consolidate all those blog kudos into one mega-post under the “better late and consolidated than never” theory....
So, here goes:

- Jason’s post on university websites was fantastic, and certainly hit home for me as someone wanting to use the Web and new media in general as part of the teaching and outreach mission of Peabody. I don’t think there is a single university website out there yet that really realizes the potential of even a basic webpage, much less other more “advanced” options involving media and real-time interaction. I hopefully won’t get myself in too much trouble with my bosses by saying this, but a lot of decisions about how much attention and resources go to university music websites are made by folks who either don’t understand their potential and importance, or who are threatened by their own lack of knowledge about the internet. It will take time for often change-averse universities to really make the investment in time and money that will make their websites truly accessible, open and accurate! I’m happy to note that Peabody has made some great strides in this area, especially in adding more timely and useful video and audio to the Conservatory website, but lots remains to be done.
Frankly, if any university wants some sense of how to do it, they might want to survey what Mr. Heath has accomplished for a few inspirational examples....

- Obviously, this post on blog fatigue was one I read carefully. My own blogging commitment has moved in fits and starts, and revealed all too clearly one truth that Jason doesn’t state openly, but clearly demonstrates in everything he writes - blogging is work! For me, it’s good and deeply satisfying work. I like to write, and I like to have a place to put out my thoughts and observations on teaching and playing. And I’d be foolish to deny that this blog can be a useful recruiting tool for me as a teacher and for Peabody in general - many interested bass students have contacted me after reading the blog, and it provides a sort of online advertisement for my teaching ideas and for the Peabody program in general. However, rather like other good-for-me things that require focused commitment and work (such as, say, practicing...), I’m a master at finding ways to avoid blogging. Jason’s post reminded me that I need to set concrete goals (and schedule time) for my blogging life if it’s going to continue to be rewarding to me, both personally and professionally.

- Finally, I wanted to mention his great post on mixing string sets. I’ve experimented with mixing different types of strings, and it’s certainly something folks should try to do. I generally find the string that often is the most problematic for me in a complete set is the E string. On many basses, the response and sound quality of the E string doesn’t seem to end up matching the other three strings as well as I’d like. On both of my good instruments, I’ve tried out a variety of E strings, and on my big Prescott bass I currently use a D’Addario Helicore long E string alongside three Flexocor Permanent strings.

One big trouble with trying out strings is that’s it can be a very expensive thing to try. Strings aren’t cheap, especially the European-made types. I maintain a “lending library” of strings that I loan to students who are experimenting with strings combos on their basses. While the strings aren’t all brand new, they can at least give students some idea of whether a certain string works for them before they plunk down the cash and buy something.

Thanks Jason for all the good summer reading material and keep it up!

Does it matter if your teacher doesn’t use the same bowhold as you?

This is a question that is always rattling around out there in Bassland. Many students stress out about the role that the teacher’s bowhold should play in their choice. Many parents of students seem to stress out about it even more than the students!

As with so many questions of this sort, the answer.... depends. However, I will certainly say the following with great certainty: You don’t have to study with a teacher who uses the same bowhold as you. You can learn very effectively from a teacher who uses either bowhold. How do I know? I, who played German bow pretty much exclusively until about four years ago, never studied with a German bow-playing teacher - they’ve all been Frenchies. I know of more than a few successful professional players who can say the same. So it’s certainly possible to develop an effective bow technique from someone who doesn’t use “your” bowhold.

That said, my story is certainly not the norm - most folks play the same bow as their teacher, and most folks keep studying with a teacher who uses the same bowhold even if they go on to study music in college. For their initial teacher this makes perfect sense - of course their teacher will initially train them on the same bowhold that they primarily use if at all possible. For one’s later teachers it is a bit more complex. I suspect that folks gravitate towards later teachers with the same bowhold because they suspect they’ll learn more, plus the teachers tend to more actively recruit students with the same bowhold because they feel they can teach them more effectively. This doesn’t tell us whether these people learned more effectively from these teachers because of the similarity in their bowholds. They might have learned just as much from a teacher with the opposite bowhold. All we know from this is that folks tend to use the same bow as their teachers.

So, which is it? Do bassists tend to study with a “similarly-bowed” teacher because it’s better for learning? Or do they do it out of habit, tradition, or an incorrect belief that it’s better for learning? Or are they one and the same? If you believe a teacher is better for you because they use the same bowhold, won’t you learn more simply because this makes you feel more motivated to learn?

Wow, we’ve gotten deep into the weeds on this! Most of these questions are not really answerable, since to my knowledge no one has done a long-term research study on the topic. I hereby offer it up to any enterprising education major who wants a dissertation idea - let me know your results....

Let’s pull back for a minute and focus instead on a more concrete situation that folks often encounter in the real world. You’re a French bow player applying to music school and you got into two schools that you really like. You’ve checked out both programs and you have met with the teachers you might be studying with. You like what they’re both have to say. One of them plays German and the other French - which one should you study with?

First, you should ask the German bow teacher about his or her views on teaching a French bow player! The teacher may have some good information to offer - perhaps they play both bows very proficiently and just prefer German overall, or perhaps they don’t play French at all and don’t seem to have much interest in exploring it. Either way, you’ll get more information to help you out.

Second, you need to think about how you learn - and more specifically, whether learning by visual imitation is a central part of your learning style. If you need to see someone demonstrate a skill in order to effectively understand how to do it yourself, you may be more of a visual learner. For some, visual learning is a key element of their studies; or others, it is much less important. Some learn more by auditory imitation - they try to reproduce the sound they are hearing from their teachers. For others, learning is more cognitive - they need to understand intellectually what they are trying to accomplish in order to make the most effective progress. For others, learning can be more related to touch and the kinesthetic sense - the sense of where their bodies are in space. Everyone learns by a combination of all these senses, combined with their own experimentation with what they learn.

If you are a more visual learner, then it may be more important for you to actually see your teacher demonstrating things using the same bowhold as you. Without this element, you might have more difficulty learning bow technique. If you don’t focus as much on what you see when you’re in your lessons, but rather how your teacher sounds or what they are saying to you, then it may be less important that your teacher play the same bow as you.

Having spilled so much (digital) ink on this subject, I’ll leave you with a quick summation: In my opinion, it’s not at all essential that your teacher play the same bow as you! I and many others out there who play the bass studied with folks who played a different bowhold than they do, and I think it’s far wiser to study with an excellent, highly respected teacher who plays a different bow than you than to play with a less qualified teacher who plays the same bow as you. However, if you’re choosing among several good teachers, what bow they use could be a factor in your decision, especially if you’re a more visual learner.

What do you think? Write me a comment - I know there are some strongly-held opinions out there on this subject....

The Karr-Koussevitsky Bass comes to Peabody

Peabody Senior and guest PBDB poster Lee Philip contacted the ISB and arranged to have the legendary Karr-Koussevitsky Bass loaned to him for his upcoming performances of the Bottesini Concerto with the York, PA Symphony. It's a thrill to have such a great and historic instrument visiting us at school. It's a tiny bass, and incredibly easy to play. The sound is amazing, and it looks good too! Gary Karr and Serge Koussevitsky are probably the two most important American bass players in the history of our instrument (Koussevitsky was a naturalized American, of course), and to play the same bass that these two giants used for so many years is a great way for our students (and faculty) to connect to that history.

FYI, Jason Heath used this bass as well and blogged about it here.

I've made the big time!

- of bass blogging, at any rate. Bass blog overlord and PBDB inspiration Jason Heath has kindly invited me to do some guest posting on doublebassblog.org. I'll be posting over there on a variety of topics, plus perhaps crossposting some stuff from here. My first post is about a great touring program my orchestra does - feel free to check it out, and while you're there enjoy the immense amount of interesting and helpful material that Jason is always adding to his new media offerings.