Ready! Steady! Bass! was composed during a short visit to Aalborg (Denmark) in December 2024. I have long been an advocate of using chamber music…
Ready! Steady! Bass! was composed during a short visit to Aalborg (Denmark) in December 2024. I have long been an advocate of using chamber music to help develop reading, ensemble and communication skills for young bassists and hoped that writing a series of easy trios for complete beginners would encourage these skills from the earliest stages of study.
The pieces are progressive, beginning with pizzicato and gradually moving to arco, introducing a number of bass percussion effects.
Chamber music is an important element when studying a string instrument and this collection of 12 short pieces is aimed at the beginner double bass trio. Each piece is 16 bars long and in 4/4 time, using a limited number of note values and rests, alongside employing a range of performance skills.
If the bassists are playing from the score, a piece could be performed three times, without a break, allowing each performer to play all three parts, developing reading skills and stamina. Stories or narration can be added and the performance possibilities are endless.
Dynamics have not been included, encouraging each ensemble to add their own, to create a unique interpretation at every performance, and the pieces can be played by trio or larger forces and in any order. [David Heyes, December 2024]
BASS RACE by David Heyes is a collection of 12 open string pieces for beginner double bass quartet.
