How to Reduce the Bass Line - Preview Lesson

Free lesson from the course, Baroque Double Bass

In this preview lesson, How to Reduce the Bass Line, Heather demonstrates how to approach reducing a bass line in a Baroque style, using the infamous bass line from ‘Air on the G String’ from J.S. Bach’s 3rd Orchestral Suite. In the Baroque era, double bassists played from the continuo part, which was also played by other instruments in the ensemble. Therefore the bassist didn’t need to play every single note and needed to reduce the bass line, picking out the most important notes to sustain the harmony whilst conveying the mood of the piece to the audience. But how do you pick the most important notes? Heather covers this topic in more detail in her course, but this lesson shows a few different ways you can choose to reduce a bass line.

Heather is joined by her fantastic live trio to demonstrate her reduction, and you can follow along with the sheet music transcription here.

If you enjoyed this preview lesson, and want to learn more, check out Heather’s comprehensive course on Baroque Double Bass!

Ensemble

Heather Miller Lardin - Website, Instagram
Sarah Freiberg - Cello
Ian Watson - Harpsichord

BAROQUE DOUBLE BASS BY HEATHER MILLER LARDIN

LEARN TO MASTER HISTORICAL STYLE AND TECHNIQUE ON PERIOD OR MODERN DOUBLE BASS.

Baroque Double Bass is a course designed to teach you all about double bass playing in early music, written and presented by the renowned early music specialist, Heather Miller Lardin. The course comprises 43 videos over 3.5 hours and covers a wide range of topics on Baroque double bass.

Heather is joined in many of the lessons by her fantastic live Baroque trio (harpsichord and Baroque cello) who play a range of early music repertoire including pieces by Bach, Handel, Corelli, and Vivaldi.

Detailed transcriptions of Heather Miller Lardin’s musical demonstrations are also included in the course. There are 39 pages of sheet music, so you will have everything you need to practice at home!