Film Friday – Awesome Upright Bass Solo

I’m always on the lookout for fantastic videos of musicians who excel at their instrument, are amazing singers, etc.  When I stumbled across this video, I knew that it was a must-save because it’s pleasing to watch, has some great musical content, and is relaxing.  Adam Ben Ezra is the musician behind this video and is a wonderful example of a jazz bass player.  He has to play background percussion, sustain a melody, accompaniment notes, and keep it all at a fast pace without breaks.  The video shows kids a different side of the instrument that they don’t see as often and is a great segue to jazz!

You could use this video for so many different purposes. You could talk about the upright bass and its many uses in different settings (classical vs. jazz).  You could spend some time talking about jazz history and how the upright bass fits in with the jazz trio, etc.  You could talk about instrument technique and how Adam is playing this instrument without a bow and hitting the body of the instrument to create percussive sounds.  If you did that, you might also look through Adam’s other videos where he “samples” music and uses the one instrument to create a full song with a variety of overlapping and unique sounds.  HERE is a great example of that.  So much to talk about!

Also, you’ve gotta love that dog, right?!

How would you use this video in your classroom?  Do you see some possibilities that I don’t?  Leave a comment below to share your idea so that we can all benefit!

Do you love incorporating videos into your classroom to give examples of really quality music?  I especially like adding videos in when they help to illustrate concepts (sometimes someone else can make a video that really helps kids connect) or show something done exceptionally well.  Click the link “Film Friday” on the “Tags” section below or in the right sidebar to see all my posts about Film Friday and the many videos that I’ve highlighted.  Also, click the “links” dropdown above to see the videos I show students and the videos I review when I want to learn!