Bells Plucked From Air: Bass Harmonics Book

from Kyle Motl

Book/Magazine

Second Printing

This book clarifies harmonic (flageolet) production on the double bass in general, and specifically provides materials towards developing facility with various pizzicato harmonic techniques which have not been thoroughly explored in pedagogical materials. The techniques explored have applications in contexts from solo to ensemble playing across idioms and provide an entry way to further exploration for the curious bassist.

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“Kyle Motl’s Bells Plucked From Air, a guide to (mostly) pizzicato harmonic techniques for the double bass is an elegant book by an expert in the field of solo contemporary double bass crossing composed and improvised musics. 

Filled with insightful explanations about the overtone series, notation and (most importantly) how to play harmonics is just the beginning of what the book offers. The following chapters delve into related harmonic techniques, all presented logically, sequentially, and grounded in musicianship studies. The text is supported by useful photographs and clear graphics.  

In addition, he has included transcriptions of early and baroque music as well as original works, all well suited for a recital program. Kyle Motl’s perspective is both detailed and open. He invites the reader to engage, invent and transform the materials into one’s own. Bells Plucked From Air is a significant contribution to the literature from an original thinker and innovative player.”

Mark Dresser
Distinguished Professor of Music
UC San Diego

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about

Kyle Motl Brooklyn, New York

Kyle Motl is a bassist, composer, and improviser described as “spectacularly adventurous and dynamic” whose playing is noted for both its “iridescent delicacy as well as abrasive force” (The Wire). His music "promise[s] to change us by revealing things we could never have imagined” (Free Jazz Collective).

Photos by Peter Gannushkin
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