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Category: General Interest
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James Pritchard Waud and James Haydn Waud
The history of the double bass has always held an enormous fascination for me, especially the players, teachers and composers, and over the past 40 years I have enjoyed rediscovering overlooked, long forgotten or unknown works. Each piece of music is part of the rich double bass heritage, every composer has made a unique contribution…
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The Fascinating Life of Karel Reiner
Sonata for double bass & piano “Karel Reiner (1910–79) – a major missing voice in Czech music – suffered under both of twentieth-century Europe’s major tyrannies. As a Jew he was imprisoned by the Nazis, miraculously surviving a series of atrocities: Terezín, Auschwitz, a camp near Dachau and a death march. Then, back in Prague…
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The double bass is a strange instrument!
We are part of the string family when it suits our smaller instrumental cousins and excluded when it doesn’t. Not that anything has changed during my 41-year career as a professional bassist. Many Heads of Strings have been wonderful to work with, some less so, and my final one always thought I should know my…
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The Elephant
Whether we like it or not, the double bass will be for ever linked with the large, lumbering and lugubrious elephant – much as the cello is with the elegant swan, or the tuba with Tubby! It wasn’t always the case however, and certainly in the 18th-century the double bass was an important and respected…
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When I Grow Up I want to Be a …
What did you want to be when you grow up? Amazingly, at the age of about 16 or 17 I wanted to be a publisher with a company specialising in music for the double bass, and do you know what? I achieved my dream and in two years time Recital Music will be 40 years…
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Music Theory for Parents – or anyone looking for ideas.
Playing an instrument is fun… or at least it should be. Theory? Well, the existence of any fun factor can be a little more difficult to find, but we have to try if only “because you have to” will only get you so far! Fortunately, there are things that can help. So, what is the…
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Which Bass Rosin Should I Buy?
Not a problem, I’ll look online – BUT: suddenly I am faced with dozens and dozens of different rosins, so which is the right one for me? There are so many factors to take into account. If you are an orchestral player, you will probably need one of the stronger rosins but if you are…
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Hen’s teeth & other rarities
So, this will probably seem a bit weird. Just to clarify things; we are an online company. Which means no shop, no premises, etc. However, here is the thing; I’ve worked since 1981 in various music shops. Yes, you’ve read that right, and it does make me quite old. In that time, if there is…
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It’s All About the Performance, Stupid!
Look, I know you might find that title offensive, but it’s not all about you. In fact in this case it’s not even about you. But it is about me. OK….. it might be about you as well. It depends if you’re going through what I went through when I started learning music. learning to…