Marcos Machado
Classical Double Bass Tutor
Dr Marcos Machado is a Brazilian-American world-renowned performer and teacher. He is Professor of double bass at The University of Southern Mississippi, and is the founder and pedagogic director of the Festival Internacional Música no Pampa (FIMP Bagé) in Brazil, now in its tenth year.
Machado has earned both “teaching” and “performing” diplomas from the L’Institut International de Contrebasse de Paris under esteemed double bassist, François Rabbath. He has recorded two solo albums with Brazilian pianist Ney Fialkow, the latest being “Fantasy” (2018). As part of the Austin-based Conspirare Ensemble, he has toured and recorded the CD “Threshold of Night” which received two Grammy nominations, and “A Company of Voices - Conspirare in concert” which also received a Grammy nomination.
Machado has published two volumes of “Tao of Bass” starting a revolution in left-hand technique, which has been adopted as a required technique book by many universities.
“Marcos Machado treats us as intelligent and curious performers, suggesting that instead of blindly adhering to all of the rules and dogma of any given method, we play to our physical and mental strengths by finding those left-hand techniques that work best for us.”
hear Marcos machado play:
Watch this incredible performance of Bottesini's Cadenza from Double Bass Concerto #2, which highlights his amazing technique and musicianship.
Watch Marcos teach a quick lesson on the position of the thumb, which is a preview of his course, integral technique.
Marcos Machado’s Bass
Marcos plays a double bass made by Andrea Spada, an Italian-born luthier who lived in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It’s an unusual size as it is somewhere between a 1/2 and a 5/8 bass. This bass was custom built for Marcos and is based on his spectacular solo bass from David Tecchler (c. 1700). In the videos we filmed, the strings Marcos is using are Thomastik Spirocore medium E and A with Belcanto D and G in orchestra tuning.
To find out the whole story about his bass, take a look at this interview and read what Andrea Spada wrote about making it.
Marcos Machado and Discover Double Bass
In 2019, Marcos Machado filmed his first course for Discover Double Bass on integral technique.
behind the scenes of the recording sessions:
interview with Marcos machado
Marcos Machado and Geoff Chalmers discuss using the third finger in all positions in this interview, with demonstrations by Marcos.
Integral Technique
Integral Technique is Marcos Machado’s first course for Discover Double Bass. Offering 4 hours of content across 80 lessons, it is a comprehensive study of left-hand technique with demonstrations from solo and orchestral repertoire. Watch the trailer below to find out more about the course.
“With these lessons, you will learn to play with total freedom to express your musical ideas. ”