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College Upright Bass

This page is geared towards playing the upright bass at the college and university level. There are of course many opportunities to study music throughout the world. There has never been such a quick rise in the levels of any instrument like what has taken place on the upright, double bass. More, better made instruments, combined with huge technological advances have made the bass easier to play and more accessible to players. With so many student upright bass players seriously pursuing advanced studies, it's no wonder this is also advancing and moving into the university level.

It's not just for performance majors:  

At first glance, most high school players that have studied the upright bass during their school years get dumb founded as to what to do (with their bass) after school. One doesn't have to be a music school major to play in a college orchestra. In fact, many universities offer some pretty serious scholarships to entice decent upright bass players to do just that. Non-major students can actively participate along side with 'music majors' in just about every course curriculum they offer. As long as the pre-requisites are met, the courses, ensembles and even a lot of the faculty are accessible. While every school is different, it's best to look around and ask what is available. This is often a good way in choosing which university will be the most attractive choice.

Many universities offer "double majors". There are lots of upright bass players that while they still love playing the bass, wonder if that's all they want to do or study. The double major is nice because it allows the student to get degrees in two complete disciplines: Music performance and business? Music and Math (some say that's too close!) Music and a science? I went to school with a fellow upright bass major that is a now a pediatrician!

Upright bass college scholarships

There are scholarships that promote and allow students the opportunity to study at many schools that would ordinarily be un-afforable any other way. For example, for those wanting to study out of state (with those incredibly high 'out of state' tuition fees) get a scholarship that simply allows them 'in-state' tuition. That alone can be worth saving $10-20k a year! We frequently hear from students that actually wanted to study at an out of state school for something other than music, but got a scholarship there as a double major. What a great country we live in!

For the serious upright bass performance major and whom to study with:

As a professional, upright symphony bass player, I have a simple approach to tell the younger players that ask for advice on where to study and what teacher to study with. For me, this was the most exciting choice to make in which school I went to and why. If you are interested in studying music in college, as a major, what is the end goal? If it is to successfully study, and eventually play in a professional orchestra, you them must ask yourself: What teacher has the best results and has had the biggest success in helping his/her students achieve this? Don't be afraid to ask, it's your life! Same goes to the best Jazz teachers.

The teacher/player upright bass player.

This is another facet in choosing where to study upright bass. Often the teacher has his/her own style of playing. If you really love that style, then by all means this should be another consideration of choosing where to study. Many of the students that do this often incorporate the same type of music, studies and philosophies as the teacher. Today, playing upright bass in college is an exciting choice. With the successes achieved in music education, one can also pursue their love of music throughout college often opening other more exciting opportunities.

There is a nice little book out now by player/professor Joel DiBartolo called "A Guide To The Collegiate Audition Process -For Double Bass"  It's a good general guide which gets into how to audition, where to go and a lot of issues mentioned on this page.  It also has lots of traditional solos and etudes to choose from to help students decide what to play (for an audition) and gives some ideas on how to approach a college bass audition.  Good luck!

"A Guide To The Collegiate Audition Process -For Double Bass" by Joel DiBartolo for $19.95