lessons
Lesson: Scale Patterns from Tetrachord Combinations
We normally think of scales in terms of eight-note patterns and treat them as a unit. There are the standard modal forms for both major and minor, the bop variations, blues variations, but all of these still cling to the paradigm of an octave based scale unit (even if the total number of notes in [...]
Becoming a Great Band
What does it take be become a “great” band? Believe it or not the collective skill of a group is not determined solely by the skills of its individual members. There is a level of ensemble technique that really elevates a band to be beyond average and gets the group noticed. As with all things [...]
Creative Looping Within Your Means
If you can plug it in or mic it up, you can loop it. That is the conclusion I’m fast coming to when experimenting with live looping technology. Although another very important rule of thumb is, “Keep it simple, stupid” :)
I wanted to put a few short thoughts together on having a creative mindset when [...]
Crafting your Core Sound
As an upright player you have to make many moving parts work together in order to get the tone you want. Both hands play different roles in crafting your tone, but the real voice of our instrument comes from the bow. If you are new to the upright and haven’t taken the time to really [...]
Optimized Techniques for Marathon Gigs
How many times have you played a continuous four hour gig? Have you ever had to go from the studio to a gig? Or play two gigs in one day? If you have, you understand the important of having an optimized playing technique. If you have not, and are going to try, you need to [...]
Looping Lesson: Programming the Behringer FCB1010 with Mobius
This is a lesson based around use of the popular Behringer FCB1010 MIDI foot controller surface for hand-free control of the freely available and very capable, Mobius looping software from Jeffrey Larson at Circular Labs.
The Gear
The Behringer FCB1010 Foot Controller has 100 memory positions to store MIDI controller data for up to 5 separate MIDI [...]
Math and Music – Equations and Ratios
Previously in the “math and music” lesson we derived equations for expressing intervals as functions of relative frequencies. This week we’re going to define conventions for interval sizes and then derive three variables where we can determine the composition of any frequency ratio. Guess what – all intervals can be described as different combinations of [...]
Efficient 20 Minute Practice
How often do you hear people claim that it’s not how much your practice but how efficiently you practice? There are always claims that practicing 15-30 minutes every day versus a 3 hour session every Saturday will have a more positive impact on your playing ability – but how do you make the most of [...]
Math and Music: Intervals
Every musician should have an idea of the foundational concepts that allow us to create music. This lesson series will explore the basis for tonal structure in Western music.
I’ll warn you right now, this lesson is not for the faint of heart, or math-phobic. The purpose of this is to add to the [...]
Double Stops on the Upright Bass
The upright bass is frequently classified as a “single-line” instrument. In other words, the bass produces a single line of tones and does not play polyphonically. This is certainly the rule in many cases, but there are times where adding additional chord tones to your playing, especially in solos, can add a new dimension of [...]
