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Jazz

Double Bass

As a double bass player you will often lay down the foundation of the music. Whether it’s swing, groove music, or modern creative, as a bass player you need to be able to adjust to different settings. Both comping and improvising will be part of your artistic development. During the lessons you will focus on developing skills like timing, sound, intonation, harmony, technique, and composition. With your teachers you will be covering jazz in a broad sense, discovering the main jazz styles from the US, as well as jazz from other regions such as Europe or South-America. You will also be working on your skills with a bow.

Teachers

Guus Bakker

Guus Bakker obtained a master degree in both bass guitar and double bass. He is very active as a sought-after freelance bassist who is credited for the wide range of styles he masters in both jazz, and pop music. Guus has worked with a great variety of artists and groups such as Eric Vloeimans, Rembrandt Frerichs, Wouter Hamel, Rotterdam Jazz Orchestra, Robin Verheyen, Tutu Puoane, Ben van den Dungen & Jarmo Hoogendijk, Gare du Nord, Michiel Borstlap, and Wende Snijders.

Marc van Rooij

As a double bass player Marc van Rooij has great experience in a variety of styles. He is specialized in jazz, classical music, and tango. He has played, toured and recorded with jazz artists such as Johnny Griffin, Deborah Brown, Bob Mintzer, Rob van Bavel, Woody Shaw, Bert Joris, and many others. Marc has also been active in symphony orchestras and in the Dutch tango scene with groups such as Grupo del Sur and Tango Extremo. He composes and arranges, and actively promotes double bass playing for children.

Tijs Klaassen

Tijs Klaassen is considered one of the top notch double bass players in The Netherlands. Apart from leading his own quintet, he is a sideman in a large number of bands. Tijs collaborates with a wide range of musicians such as Ben van Gelder, Mete Erker, Franz von Chossy, Suzan Veneman, Reinier Baas, Kika Sprangers, and many others. He has studied both jazz and classical music, and also plays bass guitar. He has taken lessons with Ron Carter, Orlando Le Fleming, Rick Rosato, and Ben Street.

Candidates living in the Netherlands/ Belgium/ Western Germany will do a live audition.
Candidates from other countries will do an online audition.
Duration of the live audition is 15/20 minutes.

In the audition, you will be assessed on your ability to demonstrate rhythmical, melodic and harmonic insights. To assess your level of ability, you have to prepare three pieces. These pieces should represent different styles (e.g. jazz, latin, pop, et cetera), but at least one piece must be a jazzstandard, in which we hear you play accompaniment (walking bass) and an improvised solo.

Preselection:
Record a video containing three songs. We strongly prefer that you play with a band. If this is impossible you can record yourself playing along (with iRealPro e.g.). Make sure that you and your hands are clearly visible at all times and that the bass is clearly present in the balance. Your videos function as a first round.
Live audition:
When you are invited for a live audition, the commission prefers to see you perform and play your repertoire with a group or band of your own. So if possible, bring your own musicians to the audition to accompany you.  In exceptional cases the school can provide accompaniment, but this is not the preferred option. Please indicate this on the application form. There is no opportunity for rehearsal. Be sure to bring proper sheet music for your band members.