Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Life goes on.

It's sad about the demise of the Dave Shaw Fan Club but, hey, life goes on. Anyway, I'm thinking of starting my own me fan club after bass camp, providing nobody else beats me to it. Does anyone know, is it true that Richard (the guy who runs the bass bags) is moving to Russia?

Friday, January 22, 2010

Hey, my fan club has gone!

I just went in to check out the Dave Shaw Fan Club only to find that it has ceased to exist. This must be a technical problem because why would someone delete a fan club?

Thursday, January 21, 2010

Coming to you from the deep south.

I've noticed that Richard's Bass Bag 2 doesn't get many comments. Is he more interesting when he writes on Richard's Bass Bag and Richard's Bass Bag 3? I think not. Anyway, most of you probably don't care.
Bass Camp 10 is getting close and I'll soon be driving up north. I prefer to drive when I have to take my bass, I don't enjoy the stress of getting it onto aeroplanes. The orchestral parts they sent are easy, along with The Elephant, which is a grade 5 piece (Royal Schools). I'd love to be a fly on Richard's wall! He'll be panicking that he might have to play The Elephant in front of younger but better players. Poor old man!
I'll try to update this blog while I'm away; anyway, I'll have to give you the lowdown on Bass Camp.

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

I've linked to all three bass bags now, but only God knows why!

Hi all,
I've just added links to all three of Richard's Bass Bags. Following the three bass bags gives one the feeling of sifting through sand, it's like going to see a jazz group where everyone solos on every tune. Okay, we've just had the trombone solo, now here's the guitar again, and here comes the piano solo. Personally, I think that jazz has run out of ideas. Richard needs to experience the thrill of being part of a forty or fifty piece ensemble. Oh, hang on, I forgot that he probably couldn't read the parts. He'd be standing in the bass section and trying to make things up! How charming, he'd be playing his own little parts, he'd be improvising! Well, how clever is that?

Saturday, January 16, 2010

Coming to you from way down south.

Hi. I want this blog to be a way you can access information. You've got to be careful on the Internet, there are a lot of people giving advice, not all of which will lead you down the right road. I'm a trained orchestral musician and I play in Dunedin's only semi-professional orchestra, the Southern Sinfonia.
I've already added some interesting links, take time to check them out. You'll notice that one of the links is to a site called Richard's Bass Bag. He's a music teacher who plays a bit of bass as a hobby. Some of his posts are reasonably humerous, but, before taking his bass advice, you'd wise to check out one of the more reputable sites like Jason Heath's Double Bass Blog or Jonas Lohse's Double Bass guide. I'm sure that Richard (of Richard's Bass Bag) won't be offended by me saying that. After all, he'd be the first to admit that he's only an amateur player.
Yours in music and the arts,
Dave Shaw

Greetings!

I guess I'd better get started. I was reading a few blogs and thought that I have things to say that might be helpful to others. Does it sound cocky if I say that I think I could do a better job than some of the blogs I've read lately? I come to you from Dunedin, New Zealand, but more about me as we walk this path together.
Dave Shaw