All bass articles
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Premium ❘ DebateHow should string teachers approach an advanced adult pupil?
Understanding the physique and psyche of a new adult pupil should not be taken lightly, writes Pauline Harding
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FocusA moving tale: Travelling with a double bass
Fitting a double bass on an aeroplane or in the back of a van can present serious difficulties. Gary Karr’s agent Jane Davis shares her the tricks of the trade, in this interview from November 1999
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ReviewBook review: Complete Method for the Double Bass/String Quartet op. 2 (Giovanni Bottesini)
Leon Bosch reviews the first two publications in a project to create urtexts of all the Italian composer’s works
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ArticleDouble bassist François Rabbath demonstrates his crab technique
In honour of François Rabbath, who turns 90 today, we are republishing content from our archive related to the French-Syrian double bassist
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NewsJazz bassist Eugene Wright dies aged 97
As part of the Dave Brubeck Quartet, the musician performed on more than 30 albums and tracks including Take Five and Blue Rondo à la Turk
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Premium ❘ FeatureDouble bassist Peter Buckoke on treating head and neck pain
The Royal College of Music professor found a solution in Alexander technique
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VideoSonnet Mélancolique by Alexis de Castillon: double bass transcription
Double bassist Alexander Verster performs the ‘Sonnet Mélancolique’ from Alexis de Castillon’s song cycle Six poèsies d’Armand Silvestre, op.8. Verster’s transcription for double bass in standard orchestral tuning is available to download here and the piano score (public domain) here. The video was edited by John Reddihough, who is also ...
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VideoEnsemble of 52 double basses plays the Flintstones theme
Young bass players from the Bradetich Foundation’s North Texas Bass Camp joined in International Make Music Day on 21 June with this al fresco performance
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VideoBassiona Amorosa plays Bach Arioso
Filmed in September 2013 at the Erlöserkirche in Potsdam, this video features the double bass ensemble Bassiona Amorosa performing theArioso by J.S. Bach (arr. Klaus Trumpf). The musicians are: Artem Chirkov, Andrei Shynkevich, Roman Patkoló, Ljubinko Lazic, Giorgi Makhoshvili.
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FocusThe many basses of Barry Guy: from Gasparo da Salò to modern travel instruments
Barry Guy with his Roger Dawson travel bass (Photo ©Francesca Pfeffer) The following is an extract from a longer article in The Strad December 2017 – to read it in full, download the issue on desktop computer, via the The Strad App, or buy the print edition ...
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NewsBradetich Double Bass Competition names winner
Austrian 20-year-old Dominik Wagner takes $10,000 first prize and four-year career development deal
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FocusJeff Bradetich’s instruments: a 250-year-old Guadagnini and a modern bass made of old wood
The American double bass soloist talks about how each instrument fulfils different needs. Interview by Maggie Williams
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VideoUpton Bass: Laminated or Solid Double Bass Ribs?
’When you get inside an old old instrument, you’ve got grafted pieces of wood, you’ve got linen cloth… it’s essentially bad plywood’. Gary Upton of Upton Bass in Mystic, Connecticut, explains the benefits of plywood ribs on a double bass.
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ArticleDouble bassist Joel Quarrington performs Bottesini
Double bassist Joel Quarrington performs Bottesini's Elegy no.1 with pianist Andrew Burashko. Quarrington contributes a Masterclass on the work in The Strad’s November 2015 issue – download through The Strad App.Watch: Double bassist Joel Quarrington performs Korngold’s Garden Scene
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NewsViola wins only gold medal at 2015 Cremona Triennale competition
The winners of the 2015 Cremona Triennale lutherie competition have been announced. Although a total of 445 instruments were submitted for this year’s contest, by 334 makers from 31 countries, only one instrument received a gold medal. French luthier Charles Coquet won the award for a viola; he ...
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FocusLeft-hand pivots and the crab fingering system with bassist François Rabbath
The French soloist and teacher advises on how to improve intonation and dexterity on the double bass. From the October 2015 issue
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NewsKristen Bruya appointed Minnesota Orchestra principal double bass
The musician was formerly assistant principal bass of the Toronto Symphony
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ArticleSydney Symphony double bass masterclass † Beethoven Symphony no.9
In an audition situation, we're usually a little bit nervous, so we lose some of the energy in our playing. We therefore really have to think technically about how we can maximise our dynamic range'Kees Boersma, principal double bass of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, gives an orchestral audition ...
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FocusWhat criteria should be followed to determine what bowing to use in bass music?
Teacher Talk: your string teaching questions answered by our panel of experts
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ArticleAustrian double bassist and historian Alfred Planyavsky dies aged 89
Austrian double bassist and historian Alfred Planyavsky died on 18 June at the age of 89. A long-serving musician in several Vienna-based ensembles, he wrote extensively on the history of the double bass and the music of his homeland. Born in Vienna in 1924, Planyavsky received ...