Rob Wasserman Teaches Acoustic Bass

Rob Wasserman

Homespun Tapes

A six cassette course in acoustic bass playing. On cassettes 4, 5 and 6 in the set Wasserman is joined by David Grisman and Mike Marshall who provide rhythm back-up. Cassettes 5 and 6 use Grisman compositions as the example pieces.

Cassette 1

• Basics for beginners and experienced players; holding the bass, proper hand positions, finding the notes on the fingerboard, scale exercises on each string

• Tuning with harmonics; scales in half and first position; improvisation; major and minor tenths; right hand picking techniques

• Exercises through all the positions; learning all the notes; study of intervals; barring; the thumb position

• Blues and Bluegrass patterns. Backing up Banks Of The Ohio. 12-bar blues with moving bass lines; rhythmic variations for the right hand; chromatic runs and leading tones; jazz chord substitutions.

• Dawg Music; Latin/bluegrass rhythm with song 16 / 16. Swing rhythm for Dawgma. Bass line for Fanny Hill in bluegrass style

• Ballad playing: Dawgmatism; fast walking; E.M.D.; taking bass solo and thinking melodically; altering scales to create bass lines; use of the bow; bass solos from Dawgma.

• Rob Wasserman - bass
• David Grisman - mandolin (rhythm back-up on cassettes 4, 5 and 6)
• Mike Marshall - guitar (rhythm back-up on cassettes 4, 5 and 6)

Further information will be provided when available.

Notes

The six cassete package was accompanied by an illustrated book and was sold in the mid 1980s for $65. The cassettes could also be purchased individually.