Emilse Rios
Let's study together
The membership
The problem isn't that you're short on time to practice. It's that you don't know what to do with the 30 minutes you do have.
This is the first membership for bass players. And we focus on the German bow. One concept a month to keep you active with your technique: coordination, vibrato, bow strokes —legato, spiccato, staccato—. One specific exercise a week. If you want to sharpen your technique and have support while you do it, see you inside.
In 2012 my only job was to play, as well as I possibly could, the symphonies of the composer I love most in the world. But it wasn’t always like that, and in this story I’ll tell you something that might help you manage your practice time better — if you feel like you don’t have time, this might interest you.
That year we played all of Mahler’s symphonies. At the Walt Disney Concert Hall, with the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra and the Los Angeles Philharmonic together on stage, conducted by Gustavo Dudamel.
A full month in California. A five-star hotel with such special treatment that one of the gifts they gave us was taking the whole orchestra to Disneyland — without a doubt the most fun day off of that tour — I felt like we were all ten years old again. For about four more years, my life looked more or less like that.
And in 2016 I emigrated. I had to leave my country.
I arrived in Argentina. And while I waited for my papers, I couldn’t audition, or play, or teach anywhere. I ended up working twelve hours a day in an ice cream shop.
I shared a flat with friends, so the only moment I had to practice was before seven in the morning. And the only place where I wouldn’t bother anyone was the rooftop of the building.
So there I was, carrying a double bass up the stairs to a rooftop in Buenos Aires. Some days I made it. Half an hour, an hour if I got up earlier. Other days exhaustion won.
I discovered 3 things:
The first:
the excuses, complications, lack of time — they’re there, that’s life and there’s nothing we can do about it. What we can do is train our discipline and be consistent. A great way to start is with 30 minutes — some days it might be more.
The second:
Goals matter. Without goals, you stand at the music stand, you tune, and… now what? What are you going to play? The same as always — you end up feeling like you’re not moving forward.
The third:
There are plenty of exercises floating around the internet, but finding and organizing them takes longer than actually practicing them. The way I see it, YouTube often steals more practice time than it gives back.
Having a goal makes us move — it makes us carve out space in the calendar, it trains our consistency. That’s my advice to you: write it down. It can be a piece you always wanted to play, or getting to know the high register of the instrument. Whatever it is, write it down. Build a plan to reach it.
This membership is about doing just enough — sustaining your consistency week after week, improving without piling up exercises you’ll never watch or practice (that’s what YouTube is for).
Every Thursday, when the new exercise comes in, the previous one disappears. Yes, you read that right. I delete the previous content.
Why would I do that?
Because libraries overwhelm. Having fifty exercises archived “for later” ends up in doing none of them. And not just that — with the guilt of not doing anything.
Need help? A clear guide? That’s exactly why Let’s study together exists.
This membership is for you if…
- You have little time to practice each week but want a clear guide to keep advancing on the double bass.
- You study on your own, without a teacher, and often don’t know “where to begin.”
- You’ve spent years stuck on the same repertoire, the same book or method of exercises.
- You struggle to be consistent with your practice.
- You’ve reached a level that lets you play in orchestras and ensembles but you have technical gaps that hold you back on basic bow strokes: spiccato, staccato, legato.
- You feel your technique limits you from advancing in interpretation (better vibrato, connection between notes, etc.).
- You’re in the jazz world and want to learn and master the bow.
It’s not for you if…
- You’re after an endless library of exercises to save and watch “someday.” There’s no library here, no archive, no “I’ll see it later.” There’s one exercise this week. If you don’t do it, it’s gone and another arrives — no guilt, simple.
- You’re looking for help toward a specific goal: getting into a conservatory or an orchestra. That would call for private lessons. This membership is meant to keep you fit and technically active. We won’t work through specific repertoire problems, though these exercises do help you build the foundations to solve them later.
- And if you’re not willing to make space in your life to practice, even a couple of days a week, then don’t bother joining. This membership isn’t for you.
- The exercises will be adapted for several levels, but everything starts slow, so you take it in and understand it. If you don’t have the patience to study slowly, it won’t work for you.
Courses come to an end. So do method books. This membership doesn’t: every week a new exercise comes in that keeps you active with your technique. And yes, there’s support. You ask your question in the chat and I answer it personally.
Let's study together Estudiemos juntos
Price
€65/mo
The membership is €65/month. That price freezes for you: the day it goes up, you keep paying the same for as long as you stay in.
- A new exercise every Thursday on the platform, based on a core concept.
- Every month I explain one topic — a core technical concept — so you understand where the movements, coordination, and sound come from. Just one concept. Simple.
- Platform access, 24/7, wherever you are.
- A questions forum — I answer personally, and you can see other members’ questions too; you learn from the group as well.
Cancel anytime, no questions asked.
You pay each month on the date you joined. For example, if you join on the 20th, your month runs from the 20th to the 20th. You never lose days. You can cancel whenever you want, no explanations needed. One thing though: if you leave and later want to come back, you join at whatever price is in force at that moment.
A lot for a lot of you. A gift for anyone who wants to learn the technical concepts that help you improve your double bass playing exponentially, and enjoy the sound of your instrument. Simple as that. Let’s study together!
P.S.
I made this membership for the Emilse of 2016 — the one carrying her double bass up the stairs of that rooftop, full of determination not to give up the instrument, but who over time was left not knowing what to study. I owed it to her. If you’ve ever felt like you don’t know where to begin or what to study, then this is for you too.
— Emilse
Frequently asked questions
1.Can I pay in my own currency?
Payments run through Stripe. When you join, it automatically detects your card’s currency and you pay in it. Right now it’s €65 a month, about $75 USD. The price you join at stays frozen for you as long as you’re a member.
2.Do I need to be advanced to join?
No, but you should at least know the first positions of the instrument. I’ll leave each exercise adapted to a beginner, intermediate or advanced level. These are basic concepts we all need to study throughout our careers, whatever our level — and the sooner you start, the better.
3.I play French bow. Does this membership work for me?
This membership is designed specifically for the German bow. Some left-hand concepts will help you either way, but I teach bow strokes with German technique only. Why? Because I consider it easier, faster, and more natural for the body. It’s the one I recommend.
4.What happens if I join mid-month, can I see the previous content?
You’ll have access to whatever exercise is live that week until it’s replaced — a new one arrives every Thursday and replaces the previous one. The core concept, though, stays for the whole month: it’s a video that helps you understand the foundation of each exercise.
5.How does payment work?
It’s a monthly subscription, just like your others (Netflix, Disney, etc.) — an automatic monthly charge. In this case you pay the day you join and that becomes your billing day each month. The price you join with freezes for you as long as you’re a member.
6.Can I cancel anytime?
Yes, from your account, with no explanation. You keep access until the end of the period you already paid for. If you later want to come back, you join at the price in force at that moment, not your previous one — you’d lose the founder price.
7.How do I ask my questions?
In the classroom chat. I answer them, everyone can read each other’s questions and answers — that’s another place you learn.
8.What language is it in?
This version is in English and Spanish; you can register in the language you prefer.
9.How much time do I need?
Half an hour a day, the days you can — that’s enough. Simple as that.
10.What hours can I access the platform?
It’s available to you 24/7.
11.I have a question that isn’t listed here:
Write to me and I’ll answer you personally at info@emilserios.com
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