Bassist. Musician. Columnist. Teacher. Student.

Jul

Home sweet home

It’s been a wonderful and extremely hot few weeks in Texas with Kate Schutt, Anthony Jones at Kat Edmonsons amazing band! But I am very much looking forward to the perfect Portland climate again, I must say…
I will be keeping quite busy playing with Intervision, Alice DiMecele, Bobby Torres & lots of other Portland folk (including a Drew Shoals Collective reunion celebrating his return to PDX for the summer!). Check the calendar & I hope to see you at the gig!
Also, while I have ya here!

Leave some comments about the new website!!’

get in touch

Notreble.com Column

Circle Theory: A Look at the Circle of Fifths Reference App for iOS February 6, 2012
Spending time exploring the circle of fifths is a useful exercise for seeing the relationships between notes and key signatures. Circle Theory, by Artsiness, is a great iOS app for referencing and visualizing the circle of fifths. The app’s interface has the primary circle displaying the current Tonic note/key signature. The additional information options ar […]
Damian Erskine
Speakers and Power Amps: Don’t Blow That Cabinet February 1, 2012
Q: I’ve been thinking about getting a new amp head, and I want to make sure that it will work properly with my current cabinets. How do I make sure that the head I’m getting won’t blow a speaker or ruin my shiny new head? A: While I’m not a super “techy” guy, I have... […]
Damian Erskine
Stuck On A Song: How to Finish that Composition January 25, 2012
Q: I’m struggling with some new compositions. I have some solid parts I like, but overall I feel that the melody or changes (or both) don’t work everywhere in the tune. It also feels that it may need more movement. How do you approach fine-tuning a tune? A: While I have written and arranged music,... […]
Damian Erskine
Rhythms and Transcriptions: A How To Guide to Notating Rhythmic Patterns January 18, 2012
Q: I have a question about transcribing. I’m a pretty skilled player and can read, but I have a lot of problems writing down the rhythms that I hear either in my head or from a particular song. Any suggestions on how I should go about learning to notate more difficult rhythms? A: Rhythms can... […]
Damian Erskine
Lazy Horns and Keeping Time January 11, 2012
Q: I’ve started rehearsing with a big band and while I’m finding it a lot of fun and a good challenge, I’ve been having a hard time keeping the time. The horns seem to play way behind the beat much of the time and it just feels uncomfortable no matter what I do. If I... […]
Damian Erskine
ChordBot: A Look at the Songwriting and Accompaniment Tool for iOS and Android January 9, 2012
ChordBot is a wonderful, easy to use app which is equally powerful for songwriting as it is for accompaniment. The app allows you to develop and play chord progressions in a number of styles. ChordBot features 60 different chord types (including slash chords), 50+ comping styles, a song generator, as well as the ability to... […]
Damian Erskine