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Damian Erskine

Damian Erskine

Columnist

Damian’s popular “Ask Damian Erskine” column debuted on June 24th, 2009, and it has been going strong ever since. Damian is an adjunct professor at Portland State University in Portland, Oregon and has also appeared as an instructor at Gerald Veasley’s Bass Bootcamp, the National Guitar Workshop as well as the Berklee College of Music’s Guitar Week. He’s also authored his own books, Right Hand Drive and The Improviser’s Path.

Have a question for Damian? Send him an email at [email protected].

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Latest from Damian:

Ask Damian Erskine: Farewell (For Now)
Ask Damian Erskine

Ask Damian Erskine: Farewell (For Now)

For over a decade, Damian Erskine has published his “Ask Damian Erskine” column every week. That’s 533 columns. After that impressive run, Damian has decided to take a break. We can’t thank him enough for his contributions over the years.

Should You Record Yourself Practicing?
Ask Damian Erskine

Should You Record Yourself Practicing?

A reader asked Damian about his thoughts on recording yourself practicing. Damian, who has long been an advocate of this, breaks down the benefits of recording your practice sessions in this week’s “Ask” column.

Reading Rhythms
Ask Damian Erskine

Reading Rhythms

There’s an art to figuring out rhythms. Ultimately, it comes down to feeling smaller subdivisions. For today’s “Ask Damian” column, we have a video to help us walk through different rhythms and how to decipher them on the fly.

Playing How You “Should” Versus How You “Want”
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Playing How You “Should” Versus How You “Want”

A reader sent Damian a question that starts like this: “Sometimes I feel like I am supposed to be a certain type of player (especially after watching too many YouTube speed demons).” Check out this week’s column on “playing how you ‘should’ vs. how you ‘want.’”

Moving Between Triplets and 16ths
Ask Damian Erskine

Moving Between Triplets and 16ths

This week, Damian got a question about moving between triplets and 16th notes within a single line. He decided to reply with a video on how he feels and practices the divisions.

Playing Bass with a Drumming Background
Ask Damian Erskine

Playing Bass with a Drumming Background

This week’s “Ask” column focuses on an interesting question for Damian, and his focus on drums early on before switching to bass. The question included other bits, including thinking rhythmically, harmonically, melodically, and more.

What I’m Worth vs. What I Can Get
Ask Damian Erskine

What I’m Worth vs. What I Can Get

The topic of this week’s “Ask Damian” column focuses on the topic of money. This is a frequent discussion on social media and elsewhere, and Damian dives in on the subject of “What I’m Worth vs. What I Can Get.”

How to Stay Healthy When Touring
Ask Damian Erskine

How to Stay Healthy When Touring

Damian Erskine lost 72 pounds since the beginning of the year, and he did it over a time of lots of touring. A reader noticed and asked Damian to cover “How to Stay Healthy When Touring” in this new “Ask” column.

Triad Pairs On Bass?
Ask Damian Erskine

Triad Pairs On Bass?

A reader asked Damian to share insights on triad pairs in bass lines, solos, and how to use them. While Damian isn’t a fan of triad pairs for bass, he does offer some background on them - and some other ways of thinking in this new “Ask” column.

What’s the Trick to Slap Bass?
Ask Damian Erskine

What’s the Trick to Slap Bass?

This week’s “Ask Damian” column focuses on the subject of slap bass - in two parts. First, the basics, and second, the rhythm patterns. Damian expands on this to explore learning all styles in this new column.

Ending A Song: Knowing What To Play
Ask Damian Erskine

Ending A Song: Knowing What To Play

This week a reader sent Damian this question: “I’ve noticed that are a lot of stock endings for songs... How do you know which one to play?” Damian responded with a column that focuses on musical vocabulary – and fluency with the language of music.

Reaching the Next Level in Your Music Career
Ask Damian Erskine

Reaching the Next Level in Your Music Career

A 40-year bass veteran is taking all the right steps to hitting that next level of playing. He reached out to Damian for advice on how to “break out.” Check out what Damian has to say.