Next Level Journals Strings Summer 2015

24This article is sponsored in part by Robertson & Son’s Violin Shopby Edgar). He helped me immeasurably in findingcreative solutions to unique problems. He alsoasked me to work on things that I didn’t see thevalue in initially, but in turn would improve myplaying in a dumbfounding way. Typically these“things” would be insanely slow metronome work,or it would be these crazy +-+-+-+ fingerings, or itwould be other “super” thumb fingerings that onlyhe could think of in the first place,and understand that they would behelpful in the long run.Whether it was intonation, rhythm,anything… I know now that slowwork is not only a great way to playbetter, but it is also a great way tounderstand something better.jumping through whatever hoops are identifiedfrom studying the excerpt in this way. I also thinkabout, other than the “why”, how to steer thepassage into being something that is enjoyableto listen to, not just “played correctly” or “nocomments”. If you can distract your futurecolleagues from the checklist that they have infront of them (that means their voting sheet), andMy Musical Mantra:Be your own self-made musician.I say this a lot and often to prettymuch any student I work with rightnow. A lot of the problems that weall face, as bass players, are facedalone. With the large degree ofvariance in the shapes and sizesof our bodies, along with the lackof tradition and guidelines of theconstruction of our instruments, andnot forgetting the seemingly tribaland unconsolidated educationswe all bring to the table, we don’thave that much in common at all,let alone advice for one another.Because of this, I find it reallychallenging to communicate whenit comes to teaching somebodywhat I know. A lot of what defines agood bass player in my mind, at themoment, is being willing to work withwhat you’ve got to come up withsolutions.Auditioning for the METLearn the “WHY” (why am I beingasked this excerpt)!When I start learning a list, Iask myself why is this excerptbeing asked. Then, once I think Iunderstand its purpose, I work onwww.INGUARD.com(866) 563-8821