Jul 20, 2015 | Blog
Hi everyone
It’s been a warm and busy spring and summer for me and I hope yours has been good too. ??
Between playing double bass in the Evergreen Community Orchestra (ECO) and saying yes to a request to play in the orchestra for the musical Camelot, I played eight concerts in 5 weeks time. ??? The next concert for ECO will be at the Imagine Children’s Museum in downtown Everett on Saturday August 1st at 1:00 pm, located at 1502 Wall St, Everett, WA.
The golf links have been calling my name too so I have spent some time chasing a tiny white ball all over hell’s half-acre! I do sense I am getting better since last year. Which is encouraging! ⛳️
On the recording front I am excited to announce that I just finished mastering the CD “Give Us Peace”. This is an instrumental CD of relaxing music including my recordings of the beautiful Dona Nobis Pacem, which in English means Give Us Peace. The master has been sent out for disc manufacturing. The official release should be in the first week of August. Stay tuned! Here is what the CD cover will look like. And I have provided a link to a page on CD Baby where you can view the entire CD in breathtaking 3D.
Give Us Peace in 3D
And finally, beginning in May I launched a video series called “Double Bass Lessons”, which are different from other bass lessons out there in that I am presenting them as my step-by-step journal and commentary from a student’s perspective as I learn how to play the double bass. In each lesson I will cover what I have just learned, any struggles I have had and how I have grown. I welcome your comments and questions on each one. Incidentally, I was hoping to have at least another lesson video posted during July, but Seattle has had abnormally high temperatures (many days over 90 degrees Fahrenheit or, I believe over 30 degrees Celsius) and without air conditioning (many homes in the Seattle are have no AC) I just was in no mode to do the work. Anyway, feel free to send me any questions/comments you might have.
Double Bass Lessons
Jul 6, 2015 | Christopher J Music
I added a couple of new ringtones to my music store page. Now you can rock your phone with ringtones from Nacho Mama or the Sunflower Waltz and make all your friends ask where you got such cool ringtones.
My ringtones are available in the iTunes ringtone format with an .m4r filename extension. After you purchase a ringtone and download it, next you will have to send it to iTunes. Just open iTunes and drag and drop your ringtone into iTunes and the ringtone will appear under iTunes’ Tones heading in the Library pane.
Sync your iPhone to your Mac or PC and the ringtone will be copied to your phone.
To use the file as a ringtone, on the iPhone tap Settings > Sounds > Ringtone. You’ll find it in the list of ringtones. Tap it, and it will be the sound your phone plays when a call comes in. Of course you needn’t use it only for ringtones: On the iPhone you can choose it as an alert sound as well.
And, be sure to tell people where you got the ringtone. 🙂
Nacho Mama
Jul 2, 2015 | Blog, Health
Awesome article about Glen Campbell and his struggle with Alzheimer’s.
I’ve just watched an amazing film, and I hope you will too, if you haven’t already. It’s called “I’ll Be Me” and it documents Glen Campbell’s descent into the twilight: Alzheimer’s Disease.
Source: David Carroll: Glen Campbell And The Power Of Music – Chattanoogan.com
Jul 2, 2015 | Blog
There is a wealth of music, along with music-related artifacts and conversation, on the Internet, but the companies that control these vast resources don’t always prioritize permanence.
Source: Digital Underground : The Record : NPR
Jul 1, 2015 | Double Bass Beginner’s Course
Here is what I’ve learned so far about how to safely transport my double bass.
Watch The Video Lesson
About Transporting the Bass
This is lesson DB-5, “How to Transport a Double Bass” and is a continuation of my journal of things I have learned as a beginning adult double bass student. Be sure to check out my Double Bass Lessons page for a complete list of all of my lessons!
Today, I am going to talk about things to consider when you are moving or transporting your bass.
Number 1.
Use a bass bag. The bag that I have, which you can see in the picture, came with the bass when I bought it and it provides a good level of protection, but the padding is not very thick. I am considering buying a higher quality bag when I have the money. So far, the Eastman Presto Soft Case, model CB60, shown in the next picture looks good. This bag comes with wheels! I have had a few gigs where it has been a long walk from the car to the building and being able to roll Bubba (my nickname for my bass) would take a load off. You can get the Presto bag from Linda West.com. Here is a link to the Linda West product page: http://www.lindawest.com/product_p/cb60.htm
Number 2.
Get a stand. I have the Ingles Adjustable Cello and Bass Stand. The bottom supports are height adjustable. It has a hook to hang your bow on the back of the stand and it has a latch to close to keep the neck of the bass from jumping out of the stand.
Number 3.
Protect the edges of the bass with edge protectors. This is one of the first things I added to my bass. They are leather and keep the wood of the edges on the bouts off the ground when you lay the bass down on its side. I got mine from Gollihur Music.
Number 4.
In a vehicle: Be careful! The bass is large and bulky and things can easily get damaged if you are not careful loading it in and out of your vehicle. It’s best to put the bass on its side, with the back against a wall. If possible secure it with something such as a bungee cord, or at least brace it with something that won’t shift so it doesn’t roll over when going around a corner. See the picture for an example of the bass secured in the bed of a pickup truck. I would not transport the bass in a truck without the covering of a canopy to keep out the elements, unless you are going a very short distance and you are sure it is not going to rain!
If you don’t have a minivan, SUV or truck, watch the video for a demonstration of how to get a double bass into a small car! In this video I show you that it is possible to get a 3/4 size double bass into and out of a 4 door, mid-size sedan. Ideally, you will have something with more room such as a mini-van, an SUV or a truck. But, in a pinch this can be done!
Caution: If you have no choice but to lay the bass on its back, put something such as a folded blanket or a pillow under the shoulders to lift the scroll up off the floor to ensure no pressure is placed on the neck.