The Low End Studio

Bass-ics & Beyond

Welcome to the first edition of Bass-ics & Beyond! This summer camp is a little different compared to traditional ones which take place in a short time span, this one takes place over the course of 8 weeks, meeting twice a week, during the summer time! What this means is that this enables your child to attend other summer camps, that take the course over a week sometimes, as well as possibly attending vacation with your family and still being able to return to the goal that you and your child set for the summer.

What is the Goal of this Camp?

The goal of this camp is to be able to play the All-State Etudes at 50% speed in a relaxed and controlled manner while being able to work and expand on their technique into the advanced register of the Double Bass, Thumb Position and reinforcing the basic fundamentals. We will be covering and reinforcing proper practice techniques, how to methodically break down music into manageable chunks, Thumb Position Hand Shapes and how to shift in the Upper Register as well as have master classes and a mock audition at the end of the camp.

Every day’s schedule will be listed on the calendar for this camp so that students will know ahead of time what will be covered. This serves two fold. If a student has to attend another camp or vacation, they will know what they missed and can continue to work on it when they are able.

Every student will also receive a copy of the all-state etudes carefully edited by their main instructor, Mr. John Hunter, that will have all the fingerings explicitly laid out as well as a copy of his Scale & Arpeggio book on the first day of class as well as a practice graph.

Where will this camp be located?

This camp will be located in Addison at the Alpha Midway Dance Studio, located at 13740 Midway Rd #714, Dallas, TX 75244. We appreciate the cooperation of Alpha Midway Dance Studio for allowing us to use their facilities for our first edition of Bass-ics & Beyond. There will be restrooms available for students to use as well as a lobby for parents to wait.

What is the age level appropriate for this camp?

My vision is any entering 9th graders who want to get a head start on the all-state music all the way to graduating seniors going to college who need a refresher on how practicing is structured and to develop their technique.

If there are any 8th graders who want to attend, please email me directly at TheLowEnd42hz@gmail.com to discuss options.

When will this camp take place?

Bass-ics & Beyond will take place over the course of 8 weeks, 2 days a week, over the course of the summer. We will not be meeting twice during the week of 4th of July. The dates are still being finalized and will be coming soon!

What are the requirements for this camp?

There isn’t any requirements, rather guidelines that will make sure your child/student will not get left behind. Here are some of the guidelines:

Able To Perform 2 Octave F Major & G Major Scale & Arpeggios

Basic Bow Mechanics

Understanding The Difference Between Major & Minor Scales

Able to play 1 Octave Scales & Arpeggios Up to 4 Sharps & 3 Flats

Basic Thumb Position Technique (Hand Shape, Elbow Position, Hand Shapes)

What will my child/student need to bring to the camp?

Since this camp is taking place at a dance studio, we need to be respectful of their hardwood flooring. Every student is REQUIRED to bring a Rockstop or what I recommend, a Cello Strap or Anchor Strap. Your child/student will NOT be able to participate if they do not have a something to create a barrier between their End Pin and the floor. Even if they have a Rubber End, they will still need a Rock Stop.

Besides that, their usual equipment which includes the following: Double Bass, Bow, Rosin, Cleaning Cloth, Binder (For Materials) and pencils.

What will be the schedule be like?

Each class will take place twice a week from the hours of 1PM – 4PM. There will be a 15 Minute Set Up Period and a 15 Minute Tear Down Period and each session will be 2.5 Hours in Length. The rough agenda of the Summer Festival will be 60 Minutes on Technique (Which Includes: Scales, Apreggios, Bowing Exercises, Drills, etc…) while the 90 minutes will be spent on the All-State Etudes. During days with Guest Artists, the agenda will be extremely similar except the 90 minutes will be spent with three 30 minute Master Classes featuring students enrolled in Bass-ics & Beyond.

Who are the Guest Artists?

Guest Artists are still TBA. This camp will host 4 guest artists for 4 different sessions out of the 15 total sessions. The guest artists will be from a variety of professional organizations in the North Texas area such as…Fort Worth Symphony, Dallas Opera, Dallas Symphony, University of North Texas, Southern Methodist University, University of Texas at Arlington, Texas Christian University.

When the guest artists schedules are finalized, they will be emailed out to registered students and posted here.

What are the Payment & Enrollment Options?

Will there be Scholarships?

Unfortunately, since this is the first year and we are completely independently without sponsors, we will not be offering scholarships in the first edition. This is in the works for future editions, however.