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David Heyes

Bass for Beginners: 30 Pieces for Beginner Double Bass & Piano (arr. David Heyes)

Bass for Beginners: 30 Pieces for Beginner Double Bass & Piano (arr. David Heyes)

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About the Collection

Bass for Beginners is a collection of short and enjoyable pieces for the young bassist. It brings together a wealth of popular and familiar melodies, which are useful for both study and concert repertoire. The piano accompaniments have been written with the bass teacher in mind and are simple and supportive, aimed at the teacher with some pianistic skills rather than the virtuoso. 

Bass for Beginners features open strings, and first and half positions, offering a range of accessible and fun repertoire during the early years of study. A limited number of keys and note values are used, and dynamics and bowings can be added and amended to create music that is both accessible and user-friendly. 

The introduction of additional repertoire and studies is also recommended, and three pages of easy scales and arpeggios have been added to the double bass part. All are playable in one position, and teachers should decide when to introduce position changes for each student. 

[David Heyes / January 2023) 

About the Composers

Hugo Schlemüller (1872-1918) was a German cellist, composer, and teacher. From 1902 he taught at the Hoch Conservatory in Frankfurt and in 1910, founded his own publishing company. He composed many works for cello, and several pieces in 'Bass for beginners' were adapted from his 'The Very First Performance Pieces for the Young Cellist'. 

Anton Hegner (1861-1915) was a Danish cellist and composer and the brother of Ludvig Hegner (1851-1923), the Principal Bass of the Royal Danish Orchestra. Anton was appointed Principal Cello of the New York Symphony Orchestra by Walter Damrosch and alongside composing many works for cello - both study and recital works. The works included in 'Bass for Beginners' were adapted from his 'Recreations for Young Cellists'. 

Václav Bech (1877-1936 was a Czech bassist and studied at the Prague Conservatoire with Vendelín Sládek and František Černý. He played in many orchestras and from 1909-1914 taught at the St. Petersburg Conservatoire, and from 1919-1936 taught at the Brno Conservatoire (Czech Republic). Bech composed a number of method and technical books for the double bass. 

Table of Contents

OPEN STRINGS

1. Hugo Schlemüller - Play My Bass
2. Hugo Schlemüller - Ski-Run
3. Hugo Schlemüller - A Hunting Song 

FIRST POSITION

4. French Folk Song (18th-century) - Au Clair de la Lune
5. Mahler - Solo from Symphony No.1
6. French Nursery Rhyme - Frère Jacques
7. Anton Hegner - Old Song (Long, Long Ago)
8. Patriot Song (c.1745) - National Anthem
9. Václav Bech - Czech Song No.1
10. Sea Shanty - Blow the Man Down
11. Somerset Folk Song - Searching for Lambs
12. Shaker Song - The Gift to be Simple
13. Sea Shanty - What Shall We Do with a Drunken Sailor?
14. Anton Hegner - Mary had a Little Lamb
15. Václav Bech - Czech Song No.3
16. Václav Bech - Slovakian National Song
17. Anton Hegner - American College Song (A-Roving)
18. Gloucestershire Folk Song - As I Sat on a Sunny Bank
19. Traditional Scottish - Auld Lang Syne
20. Spiritual - Steal Away
21. American Gospel Hymn - When the Saints Go Marching In
22. Václav Bech - Czech Song No.2
23. Anton Hegner - German Folk Song (Du, Du liegst mir im Herzen)
24. Anton Hegner - Old American Song (In the Gloaming)
25. Robert Schumann - The Wild Horseman
26. Václav Bech - Russian Song No.2
27. J.S. Bach - The New Squire (Peasant Cantata) 

HALF POSITION

28. Traditional - French Folk Song
29. Traditional - Early One Morning
30. Thomas Morley - It was a Lover and his Lass 

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