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Do you ever get nervous about performances? I certainly do. I’ll spend hours and hours learning material, charting it out, listening to it in the car, and getting everything in order for the gig, and even after all of that, I’ll still be nervous! For some reason, I think that everyone else will be cool as a cucumber, right? Wrong....

Q: I am going on my first tour with a band. Do you have any travel tips? Any travel tips relating to driving or flying tours would be appreciated! A: I most certainly do, as I’m sure readers of this column do as well. In no particular order, here are some things that come to mind: Flying Checking your bass...

So many of us play with unneeded tension and spend a great deal of time trying to remedy this. We spend untold hours searching for the freedom of motion that will allow us to transcend our instrument. One aspect of tension that is sometimes overlooked is a player’s breathing. If you have never paid attention to how you breathe when...

Q: I play with the Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots (Arlington, VA). The only founding member of the band who’s been with the band longer than I have has just decided to call it quits. He was responsible for the riffs on our first album, which is also still under production. Now while I am the band’s primary vocalist/bassist/songwriter, he...

Technology is a wonderful thing. Compared to a century ago, our day-to-day lives are completely different; we no longer need to hand wash our clothes, build a fire to eat, or take a horse and buggy to visit friends in an adjacent state. Instead, we can simply purchase magical devices such as washing machines, microwaves, and Toyota Corollas. While all...

Q: I was wondering if you could share your thoughts on playing around the beat: when to play behind the beat? Ahead? And so on… A: Good question! And also one that is a bit dependent upon how you feel the music. Generally speaking, it is up to you and the rest of the band to determine how a song...

Last time, we talked about left hand “pivoting” and its potential to make difficult passages more accessible. In order to execute a pivot with ease, however, we must have a supple thumb. In fact, for masterful left hand technique of any sort we must have a thumb that is light, flexible, and easily moveable. It should be independent of the...

Q: I’ve been playing bass for about four years, and I’ve had difficulty with understanding chord construction on the bass. I know my scales and their modes inside and out, and I know a lot about the fretboard. My technique is good too, but I figured when I was starting out that I really didn’t need to know chords “because...

Whether you’re embarking on a long distance run, sitting down to a delicious plate of food, or facing a mountain of material to learn, keep one thing in mind: pace yourself. Establishing a good pace for learning material or practicing a new technique is extremely important, especially when you’re looking at a deadline. It’s easy to let time slip away...

Editor’s note: Damian wraps up his series on Getting Noticed Out There with some advice on connecting with your local music scene. Check out Part 1: Your Demo and Part 2: Social Media. Q: I’ve reached the point where I know I need to meet new people to get my career up to the next level, but I don’t know...

Although I advocate a traditional left hand foundation (i.e. 1-2-4 fingering system), any bassist who plays long enough will come across passages that don’t lie well using this fingering system. “Pivoting” can be an attractive solution for such passages. Often, especially when playing two consecutive notes on the same string more than a step apart (for example: A-C on the...

Editor’s note: Damian continues his series on Getting Noticed Out There this week, focusing on social media. Check out Part 1: Your Demo. Q: I’ve reached the point where I know I need to meet new people to get my career up to the next level, but I don’t know where to start. What do you think makes effective networking...