Reaching for the utmost limits – Making a process visible with The Hands, the Bow, and the Bass by Johannes Nästesjö

Can I, by reaching for the utmost limits on my instrument, in dynamically, technically and pitch related ways both find, for me, new contemporary techniques and expand the ways on how to play and perform them on the double bass? Can I, by illuminating, documenting, studying, organizing and re-documenting my musical process, design a toolkit for improvising bassists with contemporary techniques? Can I, in my musical process both act as the first person, i.e. the subjective musician and as the third person, i.e. the objective observer?  If so, can I, as the observer objectively observe and organize the ”discoveries” that I am doing in my daily work as first person. Can I create this tool kit through the limitations that my instrument offers acoustically (the hand, the bow and the bass). And can I through this immerse and widen my musical expressions? - A richer language - more elastic - with more colors.

My Musical Diaries

During my studies in the two year Soloist program at RMC in Copenhagen, I have been making a diary with notes from my individual practice, rehearsals and performances.

A musical diary with thoroughly written notes of my daily work. A work that has been divided in six parts:

1: motor activity and “working out exercises”

2: conventional playing - play bass as a traditional bass player

3: unconventional playing - playing bass as if it was any other kind of instrument or artifact

4: Improvisation

5: Analyze, dissect and select

6: Memorisation and distribution in my personal repository of sounds.

I also have an additional diary.

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Johannes Nästesjö - Reaching for the utmost limits – Making a process visible with The Hands, the Bow, and the Bass - 2022