Bassist. Musician. Columnist. Teacher. Student.

Oct

A place for Europeans to check out my Skjold:

Bass Direct in the UK is now an official distributor for Skjold basses and is taking orders for my custom series. If nothing else, check out the site! It’s just chocked full of goodies and wonderful gear!

Bass Direct UK

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Notreble.com Column

Getting Noticed – Part 1: Your Demo May 22, 2013
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 in the context of being a musician as opposed to an artist who has written songs? How do... […]
Damian Erskine
The Bass Solo: A Guide to Soloing More Freely May 15, 2013
Photo by P.B. Photography Q: I am at a stage with playing jazz where I feel confident playing bass lines, such as walking through challenging pieces. Given time to learn the chord sequence, I am pretty confident at playing solos over the top of backing tracks and grooves. My problem is that when playing with... […]
Damian Erskine
SmartMusic: A Look at the New Music Education App May 13, 2013
SmartMusic’s website is already a fantastic resource for students and educators, and they’ve recently started to expand their software to the iPad. If you already have a Smartmusic account, you can use that login to gain instant access to the full library available to you as if you were operating through the web portal. Future... […]
Damian Erskine
Performing Live: Memorization vs. Reading vs. Improvisation May 8, 2013
Photo by istolethetv Q: I’m not a professional musician, but lately I’ve been performing a lot more often. I play both upright bass and bass guitar, and I like to play just about any style of music: pop, funk, folk, jazz. These two things have made me somewhat “in demand” in part-timers’ circles and has... […]
Damian Erskine
Right Hand Technique for Bassists: Expanding Your Finger Patterns May 1, 2013
Q: How do I improve my playing by using the three-finger technique and yet maintain the groove with my thumb? A: Something I’ve come across with many students is a preconception of how they want to use their thumb. With some students, this has actually stood as an obstacle to their growth. I think this... […]
Damian Erskine
insTuner: A Look at the Chromatic Tuner for iOS April 29, 2013
For quite some time, my go-to tuner app for iOS has been ClearTune (see my earlier review). So when I was asked to check out insTuner, I figured that if nothing else, I would be able to write a review about it. As it turns out, I’m switching iOS tuners. insTuner is a fantastically pleasing... […]
Damian Erskine