1. Art and Diseño

•
"The Czech--'II&d<It''I'>.'."1L''>v
solves all th problems of
making real sound portabl
Michael Moore
"
CONTENTS
ue,partm nts:
President's Corner,. .... ,. .. " " ,. " "
Child's Play
GO
""""
8
luthier s Corner .
"
.
..
""
..
....
""..
Different Strol<es"..
to
to"
"
"
..
......
Sounding Board
....
,.
..
GO
.. .... " " . " ,.,.
" ..
..
Young Bassist Page..
..
""
. . "
GO
5
...... 39
GO
..
Bnternational Bass Club Directory .
The Latest Score . .. .
2
.."" 31
. . ""
Body & Bass " ........ ",."
OJ..
....
. "
OJ"
43
44
,,46
....
54
...... ,. .. 67
Features:
A Sound AU Its Own: Sydeman's
'!lIFor Double Bass A.onef!fI
fifty
ars later
to
to
"
"
"
..
....
.."""
......
7
usic for Low String Ensemble:
fining a Gap in the Repertoire .. " . " " " 11
History of the Double Bass in China" 15
Drying Wood for Bass lutherfie
.
"" 25
ABOIJT lmHE AR1TIST
Scott Sund is an artist living and working in Walcott,
Iowa.. His current projects include creating artwork:
for music festivals and music publications through-
out the United States.. He has been working on a
series of paintings and drawings he calls uTile
ChagaU Consort," using musicians and themes from
the etchings and paintings of Marc ChagaBt Scott
Bikes to think of the characters in Chagall's work taking on lives of their own outside of the paintings they
inhabit,. Also a cellist, Scott has a large teaching studio and is currently a member of three area orchestras and the String Arts Trio .
Volume 33, Number 3
the time you are
be
this that
to bud around you and
PurlXsluta~Wn(~v Phil;
some
fJpnnQVI\1~nl~
winter!
seenlS to be
and there
of bass events on the calendar
n1any others: The Hawaii Contrabass Festival In
March, Richard Davis Foundation Conference and
Bass
in
and 2010 Violin
Bradetitch
in June, The Polish Bass Festival and
The 6th International
in
in
and the October
do check out the ISB website for details.
Convention in Berlin .... ) so
It's no 'new' news that in the current financial clinlate so Hlany arts
power of 111usic to
when the nlusicians and the
In
are
lives is
Ch;11h~n~~ed
on~arl1Z(HH)nS
afloat.
The ISB's
tive about
C'1....
is
a .... ('ll.·'Y'lIT
,,""~.·hC>.~'rL:~d
nlelTIbers, and the
h3J'.h nn. I
r"'....' ,
co-chairs Ron Carter and Hal
to foster our endowment, and we are
events around the country (stay tuned).
i1,j-r,hIY\('f
we ailn to be a foriuD
across the world and across all nlusical
our
T'lr'l
at ways to use available
and to initiate collaborations with other
for COlTIlnUnication mnong
to
very proac-
other events,
our annual
Robinson, Hans Stunn
tUllldJ'al:S1ng
board is
our future health and
and
with services and inforn1ation that assist and foster the
advancenlent of research, the
next l're>·.... e>.·nf",In....,
of our
and the education of the
The Music Teachers
a "Year of Collaborative
of all ages and skill levels to
on as a partner Of,!;;aluzatlon
up
and
COlTIlnittee (with Dave
Kurt Muroke, Jon Deak
sonle bass-related collaborative lTIusic events
the year.
Madeleine in the
office heard fronl ISB l1lelTIber
credi ted with
gr2mdtatJl1er
bass
is
Orchestre
PI11HlannonlClue Sainte Trinite, the
de facto National
however, has
lost a'''J~..,,'thll~"",n
v'J.U.l~/"'V.! which housed the orchestra and the conser.. ,
While the hUll1anitarian needs are of course paramount, the
into ways to
our bass
there as well. If you have
let us hear fron1
for a wanner clilnate for the arts
2010; tinle for all
Rob
2
International Society of Bassists
'-J!I-JUJllUllV;';;:',::l
to
Volume 33, Number 3
3
("opie de
Gand-Bet~nadef
it paris c.1876
Steve LaSpina, virtuoso who
and recorded wi Jim Hall,
Wi
and Benny
· new Wa
All hand carved in the old tradition~ using
best wood, ateriaIs and accessories.
@
$
4
International Society of Bassists
G
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t
m e
an- ernadel
asses@
ISlt
CHILD'S PLAY
Virginia Dixon, Editor
A Young Teacher Teaching Young
assis
l1li
Young student in lesson with Pippa while others observe and learn!
On Novenlber 4, 2009, the first group of
Suzuki bass teachers, eight in nunIber, were
graduated after passing their exanIS with
Virginia Dixon and three Suzuki cellists,
Anders Gron fronI Dennzark, Hauker
Hanneson fronl Iceland, and Ruben Rivera
from France. Pippa MacnIillan, !roln
London, was amongst theln. -Virginia Dixon
By Pippa Macmillan
Many Inusicians find themselves teaching at SOine point. Their Inotivation to teach
and the approach they use to teach varies
enonnously. To becoine a good teacher,
musicians need to study their instrument
with a view to how they will teach it, and if
teaching children, know sOinething about
child psychology. Experience in teaching is
also important!
I am 21-years-old and studying double
bass perfonnance at the Royal AcadenlY of
Music, London. Many of IllY peers are starting to teach - often with little or no training
in how to teach. I have an advantage in that
I trained for three years as a Suzuki cello
teacher, and for the past year have been
training in Denmark as a Suzuki double bass
teacher with Virginia Dixon. These training
courses and the observation of other Suzuki
teachers opened my eyes to the complexities
of teaching a musical instnllnent to a child,
taught me how to break down necessary
skills into manageable chunks, and how to
present these to children.
Faced with a new 7- or 8-year-old bass
pupil, where to start? CeI1ainly not with
learning to read Inusic that is a separate
skill. First, children Illust become cOlnfoltable with the instrument itself, whether
standing or sitting. Many games can be
played to develop good posture with the
instrunlent and to gain a feeling of the
whole instrument, for example by doing ski
jUIllpS (bringing both hands to the nut then
sliding them down the fingerboard towards
the bridge and plucking the strings when
you get to the end of the fingerboard).
Rhythlll games help develop a sense of
pulse. Singing helps train the ear. Learning
froln teacher training courses what to do
with children in the very early stages, and
observing these games being played, helps
one to start devising one's own activities.
Parental involvement is very much at the
forefront of the Suzuki approach, and when
starting out as a Suzuki teacher it is important to know how to inspire pupils and their
families. The teaching and learning process
Inust be a positive and encouraging one -
not just for the pupil, but also for the
teacher. For teachers to keep up their own
enthusiasm and enjoyment of teaching, they
need to feel that they are receiving as much
effort as they are giving, and that they are in
paI1nership with the pupil (and the parents).
My personal experience of learning and
teaching is almost solely through the Suzuki
approach. I was a Suzuki child from birth,
Iny Inother is a Suzuki piano teacher, and
now I aIn a Suzuki cello and Suzuki double
bass teacher. I know there are many other
wonderful approaches to teaching an instnlment and I would encourage anyone thinking of teaching, and also anyone who wishes to develop their teaching skills further (as
I believe any dedicated teacher should want
to do), to attend teacher training courses of
any kind and to observe other teachers, as
one can learn so Inuch froln other people.
Teaching is such a rewarding experience,
and I love watching the three young bassists in
my studio develop into musicians. The oldest
of thenl has been learning for almost three
years now, and it is a wonderful journey that
we have travelled on together. He has taught
Ine many things about teaching, made me
question why I do things on the bass in a certain way, and forced me to explain ideas and
concepts that I as an experienced bassist take
for granted, in tenns that the as yet uninitiated
can follow. The knowledge gained from
teaching my first pupil has celtainly helped
me enormously with teaching nlY two subsequent pupils. In short, although it isn't my ailn
to become a full-tilne teacher, I couldn't imagine life without my pupils and their families!
Pippa in discussion with fellow bass teacJ~el; Nicoline Asberg
de Waal from the Netherlands.
Volume 33. Number 3
5
6
International Society of Bassists
A Sound All Its Own: Sydeman's "For
Double ass Alone" Fifty Years Later
By Janina Riveire
with Bertram Turetzky
Look in the New Grove Dictionary of
Music and Musicians and you will find a
ShOl1 but informative at1icle about William
Sydeman; but in the selected works list, you
will not find For Double Bass Alone. Yet, in
the opinion of the man who· premiered the
work in 1959, Bertrmn Turetzky, this work
is a landn1ark for the elnergence of unaccompanied solo literature for the contrabass.
Before 1959, the solo literature for the
contrabass was dOlninated by works for
bass with piano or orchestra. In tern1S of
unaccompanied literature, what was there?
Unaccompanied music specifically for the
double bass begins, perhaps, with
DOlnenico Dragonetti's unaccompanied
Waltzes. In these waltzes, Dragonetti used
waltz rhythms and lnelodies that featured
enough arpeggiation to suggest harmonic
structure, creating a convincing waltz
mood. There are only perhaps a dozen or
fewer unaccolnpanied bass works written
between Dragonetti and Sydeman, most of
which date froln the 1940s-50s. Of particular note from this period are the Bach-influenced Suite inz Alten Sti! (Suite in Olden
Style) (1954) by Hans Fryba, Four
bnprovisations (1954) by Elizabeth
Maconchy, and the Suite (1958) by Marcel
Bitsch. Bert
has further identified
a Passacaglia by Frank Moulaert froln
1928, and a Solo Sonata by Otto Leuning in
1958. There is also Sonata for Bass Alone
by Barney Childs dating fron1 1960, which
was likely being written around the same
time as the Sydeman (letters dated March
12 and Aug 13, 2008). Philip Clark has
written a Eurocentric view of the explosion
of repel10ire and new techniques cOlnposed
for the bass in the 1960s, attributing much
of this growth to the activities of emerging
virtuosi Kan', Turetzky, Buckoke, Guy and
Leandre ("Brave New Soundworld,"
Double Bassist 38 (2006) p. 24). All of
these bassists, with the possible exception
of Buckoke, cOlumissioned new cOinpositions for the contrabass, and some COlnposed themselves. Many of these composi-
tions for the unaccompanied contrabass
during the 1960s are documented in
Turetzky's The Contenzporary Contrabass,
published in 1974 and 1989 by University
of California Press. The bibliography of
scores in the 1989 edition includes 63 solo
works (not necessarily unaccolupanied)
written between 1960 and 1969.
A Little History
The bass has had its virtuosi over the last
several centuries, the lnost famous being
Dragonetti, Giovanni Bottesini, and Serge
Koussevitsky. They were the Bach,
Beethoven and Brahn1s, if you will, of contrabass history. Each was known for pushing the boundaries of technique, and contributing to the development of the literature
for the contrabass. The bass' role in the
orchestra is said to have changed after
Beethoven heard Dragonetti play his G
lninor cello sonata
thereafter
Beethoven's orchestral bass pat·ts change.
SYlnphonies No. 1-4 lnostly treat the bass
as lower reinforcelnent of the cello line.
FrOIn Sylnphony No.5 on, the bass is more
independent, but also doubles the cello line
in important rapid passages. The recitative
at the beginning of the Ninth Syn1phony's
final moven1ent, standard audition repertoire, is further evidence of the independence with which Beethoven came to treat
the bass.
own unaccon1panied
waltzes for the bass demonstrate the agility
of the instrument, primarily within the
lower half of the fingerboat·d.
Bottesini, an opera conductor, created
challenging interpretations of some of the
best-loved arias of the day, in addition to two
concerti and nUlnerous other recital pieces.
All exploit the upper half of the fingerboard.
Koussevitsky's concerto and recital pieces
extend Bottesini's legacy into the twentieth
century. They all den10nstrate "cello envy."
(Bert Turetzky, interview May 2007)
Since Bottesini, virtuosi have played in
an extended range on primarily the G (highest) string. There is a legend that
Koussevitzky, not long after taking over as
conductor of the Boston Symphony, played
his bass for the orchestra, and that one cel-
list said to himself as he listened with eyes
closed, "that is not a bass, that is a lousy
cello!" (Scott Beach, Musicdotes. Berkeley,
CA: Ten Speed Press, 1977. p.13). While
one can make a case for the bass' G string
being the "chanterelle" of the instnlment, it
is our contention that the focus on G-string
playing is the result of the bass being perceived as the cello's lonely step-child: "an
octave lower and an octave slower". (Bert
Turetzky, interview May 2007) A simple
look at the repertoire of recital literature
published for contrabass in the twentieth
century shows a prevalence of pieces featuring often pyrotechnic displays of passagework in the upper register of the instnlment. Turetzky observed in The
Contenzporary Contrabass that in the
1930s-1950s, composers tended to utilize
the two upper strings, and scordatura or "D"
tuning (with the strings tuned F-sharp, B, e,
a). Turetzky also illustrated the actual difference in tessitura and timbre between the
cello and bass (The Contelnporary
Contrabass, pp. 10-11).
The twentieth century's composers
brought challenges and extensions to all
instrlunents, but their exploration of
extreme pitch and new timbres has caused
lnany to realize the potential of the contrabass. A look at orchestral bass parts from
Brahms to Wagner to Richard Strauss
makes it clear that contrabassists were considered capable of performing complex
rhythms and passagework. The extensions
made in the music of Stravinsky, Mahler,
Bat10k and Prokofiev show an interest in
the patticular colors of the full range of the
bass, both high and low. The opening of
Stravinsky's Firebird shows the lower register color, and the bass-trombone duet in
Pulcinella shows some of the higher register color used by Stravinsky. Mahler's first
symphony features a well-loved bass solo in
the upper register but also utilizes the lower
register effectively. Bartok in his Concerto
for Orchestra used both the low and extended range of the bass, not shying away from
notes above the octave G. The works of
Prokofiev, from the Classical Symphony to
Lt. Kije to Alexander Nevsky show an easy
Volume 33, Number 3
7
use of the full range of the bass. So the
orchestral bassist in the twentieth century
was expected to have increasingly broad
technical abilities, breaking from the more
traditional, familiar sounds of the romantics. Similarly, the solo literature of the
twentieth century asked more of the bassist.
But before Sydeman, the solo literature was
Inore romantic and cellistic than the orchestral repertoire.
Sydeman Breaks Ground
For Double Bass Alone breaks from the
solo literature that preceded it. The literature
was pushing the range of the bass higher and
higher with the influence of the works of
composers like Giovanni Bottesini.
Some of these rather "cellistic" works
seemed to have forgotten the contrabass has
four strings! Thus, Sydeman presented a
new paradigm, much like Kodaly's Sonata
for Solo Cello, Op. 8 (1910) presented to
composers who patterned their solo cello
works after l.S. Bach. Both compositions
allow the listener to experience the broad
range of pitch and timbre possible on the
instruments.
For Double Bass Alone utilizes the full
orchestral range of the bass without
dwelling in the upper octave. It examines a
variety of timbres and articulations, both
arco and pizzicato. The eleInents of tilDe
and dynamics are siInilarly pushed to fonn
revealing contrasts. While the work is not
atonal, there is no dominant modality, just a
sense of tonal center. While other music of
the last 50 years appears complex at first
viewing and in rendering eInerges quite
simple, this piece looks simple when you
first gaze at it. Upon rehearsal and listening,
however, one discovers rich cOlnplexity in
its juxtapositions of time, pitch and timbre.
The piece as a whole looks fairly conventional: three n10vements of contrasting
tempi; begins and ends with the same tonal
center with a move to a different home tone
in the central Inovement; motivic kernels
used as unifying elements and melodic generators; and some exploration of rhythm.
Yet upon closer examination one finds a
few surplises. For one, the teInpo pattern is
slow first Inovelnent, fast second movement
(slightly more than double the first), and the
final movement begins slowly. In rather
classical fashion it juxtaposes the two tempi
in dramatic alternation, but the timbral contrasts coupled with the tempo changes are
not classical. Second, the bass never arpeggiates or spells full chords, not even at
8
International Society of Bassists
cadence points. This adds to the modal
ambiguity of the piece. Rather, intervallic
relationships are explored: the major seventh' the perfect fourth, and the minor third.
Their inversions are used strategically in the
piece. Rhythmically, the piece deals with
moving accents, changing meters, and
duple versus triple subdivision in addition
to the contrasts of tempo mentioned earlier.
These things play out in each movement
slightly differently. I will elaborate on each
individual movement.
Looking specifically at the first movement,
the opening gesture of low A to double stop
octave A to double stopM7 (A-G-sharp) sets
the stage for this study of consonance and
dissonance. The opening gesture is stated
three times but not identically: it is developed.
The second statement suggests a move away
from A as tonal center, foreshadowing the
importance of D as the second tonal center of
the piece. Its third statement expands and
Inoves to a fOItissimo cadence on D Inajor.
The tenth from D to F-sharp is particularly
resonant on the instrument (Ex. 1).
The tessitura of this movement does not
indicate that the bass should suffer from
cello envy. Moving away from D, a new
idea is explored, G-A-B-flat, in a shortshort long rhythmic relationship (Ex. 2).
This rising minor third motive becomes
central in the second movement, but in this
first movement it is interrupted by another
expression of the opening gesture that
expands into a third idea, descending broken minor thirds. There is a left-hand pizzicato accompaniment to the melodic line of
the G-A-B-flat motive. The movement
ends with a rhythmically augmented statement of the descending broken minor thirds
idea, fading away. The final tone played
arco is D, but the movement ends with two
pizzicato As. The brisk second moven1ent
takes the rising minor third motive in an
extended pizzicato passage and develops it
into a melody, expanding it over several
starting pitches (Ex. 3).
Influenced by jazz bass timbres (confirmed by the composer), the opening section is full of energy. The composer includes
Example 1: Excerpt from first movernent, mm. J-9
Example 2: Excerpt from first movement, mm. 10-12
--1'-"'"
Example 3: Excerptfrom second nlovem.ent, min. 1-5
sececp -== with
driving energy
Example 4: Excerptfi'om second movement, mm. 19-28
Example 5: Excerpt from second movenlent, mm. 29-32
Example 6: Excerpt from second movement,
I1Un.
42-43
SUb.P~J!f
glissandi rising half a step in this opening
melody, indicated by an asterisk in the
excerpt above. The composer interrupts with
a surprising arco passage full of changing
colors, moving quickly from ordinaria to
jete to collegno and back to ordinaria, with
a fermata cadence on a B-flat-F perfect fifth.
This is approached by repeating a slurred
descending third in doublestop fifths, almost
forcing a glissando in performance (Ex. 4).
Following this pause, the movement
resumes with a development of the rising
minor third motive, this time in pizzicato
octaves. It is a unique sound, even today,
and this was perhaps the first instance of its
use in print (Ex. 5).
A contrasting section,furioso, arises with
double-stopped exploration of fourths and
fifths alternating with thirds and sevenths.
Its motor rhythms evoke the energy of
Bartok and Stravinsky (Ex. 6).
This section climaxes and moves toward
a clever diminuendo on the A-D I'@rfect
fourth, which leads to the da capo recap.
This movement uses a broad collection of
articulations, from sforzando, jete, pizzicato, and arco doublestops to portan~ento, col
legno bauuto and pizzicato doublestops.
The tonal center of the movement starts on
G, Inoves to B-flat, then to D/A and back to
G. There is a non-major modal feeling but
not unequivocal.
The well-constructed, almost classically
organized third lTIOVelnent contrasts two
tempi, three timbres, and two types of
lnusic: lyrical and percussive. The telnpi are
marked at quarter note=60 and quarter
note=126. The three timbres are ordinaria,
sul ponticello and sul tasto, with the tasto
passage featured only in the slower, selfreflective, central section. While most of the
movement is lyrical in style, the percussive
tremolo intrusions in the ponticello timbre
contrast dramatically. The different resting
points of the lyrical passages are on A, G, Fsharp, E, C-sharp, and B. The percussive
sections rest on G-sharp, B-flat and A.
Taken together they form a map to the home
tone of A.
The opening statement of the third movement reflects back on the A-G-sharp opening gesture and its longer rhythmic values,
with opening phrase tones going 10 beats,
to three and a third, to one and a third, to
just over one to a half beat, then landing
hard on another seven-beat tone (Ex. 7).
This phrase is repeated with an extended
closing, then there is an abrupt intemlption
at more than double tempo featuring tremolo ponticello scattered eighth notes, leading
to G-sharp (Ex. 8).
Ponticello timbres were still unusual in the
1950s; it is a tone color that composers were
only beginning to exploit. The tren~olo combined with ponticello, as used by Sydeman,
is a very distorted or saw-toothed sound.
This passage is quite unsettling in its placement immediately following the long tones.
Returning to tenlpo primo, the opening
phrase is repeated again with a different ending and connecting to another trenl0lo ponticello eighth note passage ending on G-sharp.
Again returning to tempo primo, the composer calls for sul tasto playing in a section that
explores minor thirds (both stepwise and as
pure interval). It also includes two references
to the rising minor third motive so heavily
featured in the second movement two (Ex. 9).
This section settles uncomfortably on Csharp which moves to trenl0lo ponticello in
another more extended rapid eighth note
passage, this tilne ending on B-flat.
Together with the previous G-sharps, this
points us to the overall key center of the
work, A. The final melodic section in tempo
prinlo feels like a coda; its mood is more
hopeful, more questioning than any previous part of the piece. It seems at the
mOlTIent to be a completely new idea. The
melody is an inversion of the falling minor
thirds of the first movelnent, this time rising
thirds with left hand pizzicato accompaniment. There is a vague evocation of Charles
Ives' Unanswered Question, with a
descending major sixth, a rising major seventh and descending Ininor third (Ex. 10).
A fermata on a tritone (B-F) sets the listener for a final flurry of tremolo ponticello
eighth notes and four final A pizzicati.
Tonally, the composer has taken the listener on a journey frOlTI A to D to G and
back via a circuitous path to A.
Example 7: Excelptfrom third movement, l1un. 1-9
Moderato J:: 60
"""'---"'"
cresco malta
1.
~
.P
Example 8: ExcerptjiY)m third movement, l1un. 19-22
Example 9: Excerpts from third nwvement, m. 36 and l1un. 41-42
Example 10: Excerpt from third movenlent, mm. 68-71
Volume 33, Number 3
9
Rhythlnically the listener experiences long
soothing moments that are jarred with
stark contrasts and flurries of activity, but
also purposeful statements of short-shortlong.
Summary
Because it has been out of print so
Inany bassists are not familiar with this
One point of view finds this an
excellent student composition. Its range is
contained in the first octave and rhythmithe piece is not very difficult. This is
a reasonable evaluation of the technical
challenges of the piece, but Inisses the
musical
ch(lHe~nge.
For Double Bass
a careful rendering of its
Alone
timbral content, and a thoughtful presentation of its tonal and motivic relationships.
choice not to utilize the upper
octaves of the bass's range in this
nor less of a masdoes not lnake it
terwork.
For Double Bass Alone was recorded in
1964 by Be11 Turetzky and was re-issued
in 2008. The Inusic itself is out of
With this article I hope to encourage its
emergence and availability. For the contrabassist, this
presents an excursion
of the
into many iInportant
Inid-twentieth century, all
in a
structured and unique lnanner. All in all, it
is a quite
musical journey.
While it looks
Bibliography of published nlaterials:
Beach, Scott (1977). Musicdotes.
Berkeley, CA: Ten Speed Press.
Clark, Philip (2006). "Brave New
Soundworld", Double Bassist 38, p. 24.
Willianl (1959). For Double
"",\VllP1TI:-ln
Bass Alone. New York: McGinnis &
Marks.
Turetzky, Bertratll (1989). The
Conte111porary Contrabass, 2nd edition.
Berkeley and Los
CA:
University of California Press.
Author's Note: En1ail cOl1ul1unications
with David Reyes and Dennis Tren1bly
also infonned this article.
10
International Society of Bassists
Music for Low String (ns,mbl,:
Filling aGap in th, R,p,rtoir,
By Paul Christopher
Ensemble petformance is a valuable educational experience that offers opportunities
for musical development that are not possible through the study of solo repertoire.
Technical skills are reinforced while developing good intonation, rhythmic confidence
and the ability to listen and· adapt to other
musicians. It also provides students the
opportunity to musically participate with
their peers while exploring new repertoire.
I am an Assistant Professor of Low
Strings in the College for Creative and
Petforming Arts at Northwestern State
University of Louisiana (NSU) in
Natchitoches. The music department currently has an enrollment of more than 250
students, of which 75 percent are music
education majors. The school has been designated an "Area of Excellence" by the
University of Louisiana System Board of
Supervisors, and we are very proud of our
rapidly growing strings program.
Like many other low string faculty I am
responsible for both cello and double bass
applied lessons. In addition to weekly
lessons, my low string students also attend a
non-credit studio class for their major
instrument. One of the most important and
enjoyable features of studio class is the
opportunity to play cello and bass chamber
ensemble repertoire that reinforces musical
and technical skills attained while also
developing camaraderie and teamwork
among colleagues. Thus, studio class has
been an invaluable learning experience for
musicians with a wide range of differing
skill levels.
Polished pieces are petformed during our
annual studio class recital, and these help
prepare the students for their jury petformance. In an effort to combine the two
classes, I have often asked the basses to
double the lower cello parts in cello ensemble literature. However, I have always
regretted the lack of repertoire written
specifically for a heterogeneous ensemble
of celli and basses.
To fill this gap in the repertoire, I was
awarded a NSU Faculty Enrichment Grant
for the purpose of commissioning an original composition for my low string studio
class. The commission was accepted by
Thomas Hundemer, a native of Louisiana
and principal French horn player in the
Shreveport Symphony Orchestra. Mr.
Hundemer holds the Bachelor of Science
degree in composition from the University
of Southern Mississippi, and a Master of
Arts in French horn petformance from the
University of Iowa. His compositions
include the orchestral pieces Spring Rains
(1992) and On Highways & Byways (2003),
commissioned
for
the
Shreveport
Symphony's commemoration of the bicentennial of the Louisiana Purchase. Mr.
Hundelner was awarded the Shreveport
Regional Arts Council's (SRAC) Artist
Fellowship in Music in 1997, as well as
SRAC's Individual Artist grants in 1999
and 2001.
Mr. Hundemer wrote a six-minute fantasy based loosely on the prelude from 1. S.
Bach's Solo Cello Suite No.1. The title of
this commissioned work, Pauli's Prelude,
is a friendly reference to my first name. Mr.
Hundemer's selection of source material
follows in a long tradition of using Bach's
music for transcription and re-composition.
It was an excellent choice for a work written for low string ensemble.
Pauli's Prelude is scored for six celli and
three basses and was premiered on October
16, 2008, at NSU, with its second petformance at a presentation entitled "New
Music for Low String Ensemble" at the
Louisiana Music Teachers Association convention on October 24, 2008, at the Hurley
School of Music, Centenary College, in
Shreveport, Louisiana. The grant commissioning the work stipulated that a paper on
the project be written for publication consideration and that the new composition be
repeated as a presentation on NSU
Research Day in April 2009. Mr. Hundemer
also arranged a version for eight celli which
was premiered in November, 2008, in
Cleveland, Ohio, by the Cleveland Cello
Ensemble. Mr. Hundemer offers the following comments on his composition:
Bach has a personal connection for me
as he was the first "classical" composer
whose music I experienced. The opening
notes of the Bach Prelude-G-D-B form an
inherently beautiful, elelnental chord in
open position. I played with the original 1IV-I progression, which led to the idea of
"stretching out" the pacing of the original.
At a certain point in working with the
ideas I had to make a decision on whether
to go through the entire prelude or not (I
decided to do the whole thing) and the
potential problem of perhaps stretching
too much (Figure 1) led to the idea of
speeding up the music, i.e., playing with
sixteenth note sextuplets. (Figure 2)
Figure 1: Bach original, m. 34, Cello IV
Cello
Figure 2: Bach original, m. 48-50, Cello I
Cello
Volume 33. Number 3
11
ally doubled in a multitude of parts. All students received a bowed
and a fingered part, a score and a computer generated CD of the
work over the summer. Individual parts were studied as part of each
student's weekly applied lesson. After several weeks students began
rehearsing in small groups. We began weekly full ensemble
rehearsals one month before the premiere.
Instead of a formal plan I just followed my ear. I frequently
thought of one of Stockhausen's statements, which I found in the
album notes for a recording of Hylnen, an electronic work of
Stockhausen's that is based on various world national anthems:
"compose what you expect to come next."
The NSU low strings studio class for these performances consisted of twelve celli (eleven students and the author) and five basses. (See Table 1: Academic Class and Instrument). Of the sixteen
students, nine are either nlusic majors or music minors. (See Table
2: Academic Major). We were fortunate to have a student from the
NSU viola studio serving as our conductor.
Table 3: Clefs, PositionJRange by Part
Table 1: Academic Class and Instrument
Academic Class
Freshmen
Sophomores
Juniors
Seniors
Graduate
Number and Instrument
Seven (six celli and one bass)
Three (two celli and one bass)
Three celli
Two basses
One bass
Table 2: Academic Major and Instrument
Academic Major
Undergraduate Music Education
Undergraduate Performance
Undergraduate double major
including Music Pelformance
Graduate double major in Music
Education and Pelformance
Music minor
Other majors (excluding lTIusic
minors): Veterinary Technician,
Art, History, Interior Design,
COlnputer Science, Engineering
Technician, Psychology
Nunlber and InstrUlTIent
Four (two celli and two basses)
One bass
Two celli
Pat1
Cello I
Other Clefs in addition to Bass
Tenor and Treble
Cello II
Tenor and Treble
Cello III
Tenor
Cello IV
Tenor
Cello V
Tenor and Treble
Cello VI
Treble
Bass I
Tenor and Treble
Bass II
Tenor
PositionslRange
All positions
including thumb
All positions
including thumb
First through sixth
position
First through fifth
position
All positions
including thumb
All positions
including thumb
Two octaves and a
major second above
open G-string
One octave above
open G-string
Major seventh
above open G-string
and an extension
necessary for E flat
below open E-string
Bass III
One bass
One cello
Seven (six celli and one bass)
As previously mentioned, the work is scored for six celli and
three basses. In general the parts are in decreasing order of difficulty, Cello I and Bass I being the most challenging and Cello VI and
Bass III being the least demanding. (See Table 3: Clefs,
PositionJRange by Part). Many of sections feature divisi that is usu-
RhythlTIic challenges include subdivisions of triplet quarter
notes, duplet and triplet eighth notes, sixteenth notes in groupings
of four, five and six notes, and thirty second notes at a tempo of
quarter note equals 96. Adding to the difficulties are the layers of
lTIultiple rhythms as in the following two examples.
In an effol1 to help the students become confident with these
rhythms, I spent time at each lesson explaining, clapping and speaking the subdivisions and then layering them against conflicting
rhythmic patterns with and without the aid of a metronome. This
Figure 3: m. 15-17, all parts
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12
International Society of Bassists
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Figure 4: In. 51-53, all parts
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process was repeated at the initial full
rehearsals that I led. Once a reasonable
level of ensemble was achieved, the final
two rehearsals were led
our student
conductor,
where
indicated and
any
ensemble issues.
satlsl;:lCh)rv balance between
the parts is
because of the thick
textures and the low tessitura. It is also
itnportant to
Bach's
as it winds its way
Pauli's Prelude.
For easy reference, whenever Bach's
Prelude appears in its
form it is
Inarked with lneasure nlunbers that con'espond to the solo edition.
able to recognize Bach's original
in Mr.
Hundelner's
enhanced the student's
of the work. A nUl11ber of
theln were
to study it afterwards.
cOlnr)le1:ed a prequestionnaire to gauge their
initial reaction to the work. This was followed
COlnDjlete~d
after the October oren1H~re.
The
survey found that 7
a cOlnpoout of 16 (44%) had never
sition for cello and bass enselnble. A presurvey
assessed the students' initial
UllllJ.lL-.'-',)IVll, and a follow-up question in the
post-survey assessed their final ilnpression.
The results showed that 15 out of 16 (94%)
had a
iInpression in both surveys.
ff
f
ff
f
ilnbuedme with a strong feeling of n10tivation and chance for growth."
"The overall
is
nice.
My pmt was fairly simple (Bass III), but
when you put all the parts
it is
very L-V.l.llIJ.l\..-A.
Selected
impressions:
"This enselnble piece was
unique. It was a good
of lnusic and
it was incredibly
to hear and
play it. I would love to do it
"I felt at the beginning of our quest
through Pauli's Prelude that the rhythmic
saturation was too thick. When playing
two parts the
did not lnake
much sense. However, when the other
basses and celli were added a thick, beautiful sound was created."
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Selected pre-performance impressions:
@
"The intense texture and brevity of lny
part are what appeal most to 111e. This is
also the most challenging enselnble piece
I have played to date, which from the start
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Volume 33, Number 3
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The results of both surveys showed that
the students ranked four different skills in
the same order when asked what they
expected to develop and then what actually
did develop as a result of learning and playing this piece. They ranked rhythm (subdivisions) as the top skill, followed by intonation, then left-hand technique and lastly
right-hand technique.
Students were also asked the following
question in the post-performance survey:
In your opinion, what did this project
accomplish for you as a college student, as
a low string musician, and as a representative of your school at a state-wide professional music convention?
sentative of the school at LMTA: it was a
great representation of the entire low
strings group as a whole and our ability to
play together as an ensemble."
" "It taught me how to play in a smaller
ensemble. It also showed me what you
can accomplish with only celli and basses. I also thought that having a local write
the lnusic was a great idea. It also gave
lne a fresh look at what could be done in
an ensemble setting. It was nice to be able
to represent NSU prelniering a piece at a
different university. It brings attention to
this program and what it can accomplish
when everyone works hard and is passionate about their instnlment."
Selected responses:
CONCLUSION
"As a college student: playing a rewardpiece in an ensemble. What is wonderful about a piece like this is that it is
based on a familiar piece, yet there are
lnany pat1s that have to be in harmony. It
seelns simple on paper and then in an
ensemble setting it is difficult. I think it
was the perfect balance in the level of difficulty and the actual successful outcome.
It was very rewarding to play together. As
a low strings lnusician: playing a low
strings piece with six cello and three bass
parts, an awesome compilation. As repre-
In conclusion, I believe the cOlnmission
and performance of Pauli's Prelude was a
worthwhile project. The preparation for
perfonnance resulted in increased technical
facility in string crossings and thumb position. The many subdivisions and independent rhythlnic lines also helped develop a
greater sense of pulse and rhythlnic confidence. Also, the tealnwork and camaraderie
of working on a low strings ensemble piece,
specifically written for students, has led to
improved ensemble within the low strings
sections in their school orchestra. Most
importantly it provided an opportunity to
highlight not only the low strings class at
NSU but also a Louisiana composer
through the composition of a new work that
fills a significant gap in the repertoire for
celli and basses.
Paul Christopher is assistant professor
of low strings and nnlsic theory at
Northwestern
State
University
in
Natchitoches, Louisiana. He received a
bachelor of music education degree fronz
the New England Conservatory of Music,
and a 111aster's cello peljor111ance froln the
University of Me111phis. In SLl1nlnerS he is
assistant principal cello with the Peter Britt
Festival Orchestra in Jacksonville, Oregon.
His articles have been published in the
Jacques Offenbach Society Newsletter,
Strings 111agazine and American String
Teacher, and he serves as String Chair for
the Louisiana Music Teachers Association.
He is a Nationally Certified Teacher of
Music in Cello with the Music Teachers
National Association, and has recorded
four CDs devoted to the cello duos of
Jacques Offenbach on the Human
Metrono111e label.
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HISTOR OF THE
o U L B S
IN HIN
By Chen Ziping
Professor of Double Bass
Central Conservatory of Music
With the assistance of Han Sturnl
Professor of Bass, Ball State University
and past president, ISB
three phases: Tough Learning: Before and
After the Founding of the People's Republic
of China; Self Development; and Opening
Doors to the West.
Tough learning: Before and After
the Founding of the People's
From the end of the Second World War
until the early 1990s, China underwent
Inassive and significant political changes.
Given the previous positive bilateral relations with Russia, many cultural and artistic
exchanges took place. However, as SinoRussian relations soured and as China experienced the ten years of the Cultural
Revolution, the peIt'ormance of Western
music was in a highly unstable position, to
the point of being non-existent. After the
period of the Cultural Revolution ended,
Preinier Deng Xiaoping emphasized international relations and Western music performance was revived in China.
Due to these political changes, the double bass community in China can be said to
have developed in "tough" times. When the
country closed its doors to the West,
Chinese double bassists created personal
teaching materials and composed their own
pieces, many influenced by Chinese folk
music. As pert'ormers focused on the technical and artistic aspects of double bass
playing, they neglected establishing historical records, and so information on the
development of the double bass in China
was only briefly mentioned in limited written records. Through interviews with the
older generation of bassists and materials
provided by them, the development of this
instrument in China during the fifty-year
period after the war to the 1990s can be
more clearly understood. The history of the
double bass in China will be discussed in
Republic of China
In 1945 during the Anti-J apanese
Period, the Chinese governinent established the National Conservatory in
Chongqing and National Conservatory
Children's Program in Qingmuguan,
Sichuan. The Children's Prograin recruited
a group of orphans and underprivileged
children with the intention of grooming
them musically to build a foundation for
the introduction of Western symphonic
Inusic to China. After the war, the Chinese
government relocated to Nanjing and the
Children's Program was scheduled to
move there also. However, due to the ruins
of the war, there were no classrooms in
Nanjing. So in 1946, the Children's
Prograin Inoved to Changzhou in Jiangsu.
Fronl 1946 to 1948, the Children's
Progranl recruited students through newspaper announcements in regional centers
including Nanjing, Shanghai, Wuxi,
Changzhou, and Hangzhou. The forefathers of the Chinese double bass scene,
Shao Genbao and You Kui, enrolled in the
Children's Program in 1947.
In 1949, "New China" (now known as the
People's Republic of China) was established
and the government prepared to build the
Central Conservatory of Music in Tianjin. As
both the National Conservatory and
Children's Program were regarded as Inajor
programs within the Central Conservatory of
Music, the Children's Program was relocated
again. On April 15 and 16, 1950, seventytwo students and teachers from the Children's
Program mTived in Tianjin and began classes
on May 2. By this time the students from the
Children's Progrmn were now older, and the
Children's Program was renamed the Youth
Group of the Central Conservatory of Music.
Nine professors relocated from Changzhou to
Tianjin: Dean Zhao Dongyuan, Vice Dean
and cello professor Huang Yuanli, lecturers
Qian Baohua, Liu Wenying, Qui Yanghua,
Wang Huiting, teacher Cai Erhe and teaching
assistants Liu Minxing and Lu Qikun. A total
of sixty-three students were divided into five
classes. No students were enrolled during
1950, due to the quota on student enrollment.
In 1951, recruitment resumed and the school
admitted the first female student (Song 2006;
Xiao 2004).
From the cello to the double bass
The string section of the Youth Group in the
Central Conservatory of Music in Tianjin had
no students majoring in double bass in 1950.
Due to the need for double bassists in the
orchestra, several students who nlajored in
cello and minored in double bass were
encouraged by cello professor Huang Yuanli
to play double bass in the orchestra. Such was
the case with Shao Genbao (enrolled in 1950).
In 1951, he became principal bassist of the
China Youth Wengong Tuan (Orchestra) and
performed in Europe. He also played in the
Central Song and Dance Troupe from 1952
onwards, becoming principal bassist in 1954.
Because there were no students majoring
in double bass perfonnance and no qualified
double bass teachers, students who wished
to learn more about the bass enriched themselves through researching books and publications, attending concerts of overseas performers, observing rehearsals, and paIticipating in limited exchanges. l
Volume 33, Number 3
15
Regional development of double
bass community
Compared to the lack of qualified teachers in Beijing, the southern city of Shanghai
and the northern city of Haerbin had better
qualified teachers for double bass playing.
Shanghai
The National Conservatory (now known
as the Shanghai Conservatory of Music),
established by educator and philosopher
Cai Yuanpei and music educator Prof. Xiao
Youmei, enrolled its first string, woodwind
and brass lnajors on November 27, 1927.
Faculty were foreign guest musicians
appointed froln the Shanghai Municipal
Comlnittee SYlnphony Orchestra. In 1943
Deren was
into the
Shanghai National Conservatory to major
in double bass performance and was
China's first musician to
the instnllnent at the
level. He did so
of Russian professor
under the
Shevzoff. In 1946 Zheng Deren was
appointed
to the
Shanghai City
Government Symphony Orchestra (known
as the Shanghai Symphony
Orchestra) where he relnained a full-time
professional until his retirement in 1991.
Northeast China
In Haerbin, Northeast China, the Polish
lecturer R. F. Svenchitzky was a strict and
serious double bass teacher. In coaching the
double bass perfonners in the Hqerbin
Symphony Orchestra he advocated that
"left hand movements should not be huge
of the finbut
and "to use the
gers to help press the strings securely and
not by lifting the
up high" (Liu and
Liu 2002: 343). Under his
Northeast China nurtured a strong group of
double bassists, including Haerbin's Wang
Jue, Wang Xinmin (known as
Bass'), Qi Lin, Sun Dazhi, Jin Zhuhong of
the Yanji Chaoxian borders~ Shen Xianwu,
Han Hua, and Wang Shuyuan of Haerbin.
Other strong double bassists Caine out of the
Osawa, including Yu
studio of
Yanhua and
Naizhi.
mn~r:rE~a!tlna
interaction with the
outside world
Following the establishment of the
People's Republic of China in 1949, SinoRussia exchanges became more frequent. In
1954 double bass related exchanges included several months of lnaster classes conducted by Dinovich, professor at the
Figure 1: Ye Zhengkai (left) and Zheng Deren (right) were the Double Bass Professors in North
(Beijing) and South (Shanghai).
Moscow
of Music and
Principal Double Bass of the Russia
House. He gave classes on the
double bass
and related techniques. Dinovich introduced a new
Inethod of holding the bow (known to the
Chinese as "the Russian bow holding
111ethod," which is now less used in
Russia) and several bassists adopted this
technique including Ye Zhengkai, Niu
Min, Wu Zenghuan and Zhang Baoyuan.
In 1956, the Moscow National
Symphony Orchestra caIne to China to
perform. Chinese bassists joined the
symphony's bass section in a performance
of Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture and Inet
with Anko Dlnitry, the principal double
bassist. All these activities provided
learning
opportunities
in
China.
According to Niu Min, even after the
Russian mUSICIans departed, they
remained in touch and sent lnany double
bass scores for the Chinese bassists to
study and perfonn.
from the Sino-Russia eXl:hclng:es,
You Kui recalls that in 1956, the Hungarian
Anny Band also caIne to China and interacted with Chinese nlusicians.
Self-development
From the 1950s into the 1970s, China
perceived that the nature of Russia was no
longer the saIne as before, moving from a
socialist and peace loving country to a capitalist and revisionist country (Huang 1998:
foreword 3-4). As for Western Culture, it
was thought to be a feudal, derogatory and
backwards capitalist culture. China ceased
all foreign exchanges and began her revolutionary search for her own national and cultural traits.
Volume 33, Number 3
17
China Teacher Qualifications
In the spring of 1951 Premier Zhou Enlai
initiated the "Campaign for Homecoming
Contributions by Overseas Chinese."
Attracted by the offer, Ye Zhengkai left his
post as Academic Dean at the Hong Kong
Conservatory of Music and returned to
Beijing, the capital, where he was appointed principal double bassist at the Central
Drama School Orchestra (now known as
the Central Opera School Symphony
Orchestra) and coach of double bass performance (Figure 1). After the 1950s, as
China's political scene began to change,
many foreign music performers and academics left the country. As a result Chinese
bassists relied on previously available
teaching materials and developed their own
systems. Ye Zhengkai developed a selftaught agenda and established his own system for bowings and fingerings for exercises in scales, double stops and harmonics. 3
Professor Fu Da of the Central
Conservatory of Music is another example
of a teacher who developed a successful
teaching career with little formal training.
In 1958, the Central Conservatory of Music
moved from Tianjin to Beijing. Fu Da, who
in his earlier years studied cello and double
bass performance in Shanghai, was sent to
serve as a Russian translator for the conservatory during its time in Tianjin. While
there he initiated his own study with Ye
Zhengkai in Beijing. Since there was a lack
of qualified teachers, and the conservatory
was in urgent need of instructors, Fu Da
began coaching the double bass at the middle school attached to the conservatory.
The Central Conservatory of Music is the
institute of the highest level of music in
China and Fu Da served the school for
n10re than 40 years in which he nurtured
n1any students majoring in double bass performance. Of these students, many furthered their studies overseas; and in 1999,
the conservatory accepted the country's
first graduate students in double bass performance, many of whom have become the
country's top talents.
In Shanghai, Zheng Deren taught students majoring in double bass at the
Shanghai Conservatory of Music (19561986) while playing in the orchestra. In
Northeast China, principal double bassist
'Wang Big Bass' of the Heilongjiang Song
and Dance Troupe (now known as the
Heilongjian Song and Dance Academy)
also nurtured numerous talents. This first
group of teachers who previously studied
double bass performance from foreign pro18
International Society of Bassists
fessors, together with their passion for the
instrument, ignited the flame for continued
double bass learning throughout China,
resulting in the nurturing of many talents.
Composing and Arranging
During the periods when there was a lack
of teachers and teaching materials, folk
music composition and local editions of
textbooks became increasingly important.
One important text was "Double Bass
Horizontal Shifting/Horizontal Shifting
Studies Finger Exercises" edited by Niu
Min and published by the Beijing People's
Music Press (renmin yinyue cbs), comprised of scale exercises, etudes and selected passages of orchestra music.
New works inspired by folk songs and
arrangements of famous melodies were
used as teaching and performance pieces.
Ye Zhengkai composed and arranged many
such works, including Red Wheat, Yellow
River Ode, Yellow River Lament, Protect
the Yellow River, Small Allegro, New
Spring Music, Rondo, Nocturne, and Aria. 4
Zheng Deren, during his time with the
Shanghai City Government Symphony
Orchestra, arranged pieces including
Changed Mountain Village and Race
Horses. s Zhang Baoyuan composed the
double bass solo piece Song of the
Grassland, and Niu Min composed
Thinking of Home, Suwu and Drunken
Dance which were broadcast on the Hebei
People's Broadcasting Station in 1985.
Zheng's Race Horses and Zhang's Song of
the Grassland were later recorded by Chen
Ziping in his first CD in June 2000. 6 Niu's
Grassland and Thinking of Home were
later performed on many occasions in the
United States and were well received.
American Stuart Sankey composed an
orchestral accompaniment to Grassland
which was performed and well received at
the Summer in Haerbin event in 1998.
Folk ensembles becoming
orchestra-oriented
Even while double bass performers and
the curricula were leaning towards the spirit of self-learning, traditional Chinese music
became more inclined to globalize. Folk
ensembles began to integrate western
instruments into their groups. As these
ensembles largely did not have a low register instrument, they incorporated the use of
the cello and the double bass to enhance the
lower registers of the music. One of the earliest folk orchestras was established by the
Central News Record Film Studio. The film
studio brought musicians from across the
country in 1955 and 1956 to create a
orchestra-folk ensemble, a combined
orchestra. Song Lvfei, who initially played
the erhu (two-string fiddle), began learning
to play the double bass from Niu Min. After
Song Lvfei, Zhu Zhifang continued to be a
double bassist at the orchestra, followed by
Cao Zengyue who graduated from the middle school attached to the Central
Conservatory of Music. Cao Zengyue
received professional double bass training
and his tenure with the orchestra made the
double bass section more stable. 7
Opening Doors to the West
During the 1980s, China built new relationships with the Soviet Union based on
these newfound understandings and did
away with the previous relationship hierarchy of 'big brother' and 'small brother'
(Huang 1998: foreword 4). China became
more lenient with its foreign policies under
Deng Xiaoping's open door policy and had
increasing contact with the West.
The open door policy made the introduction of Western musical influences much
easier. Europe, being the origin of the double bass, contributed the most lasting influences, especially from the early AustroHungarian Empire. Czech double bassist
Wenzel Hause (1764-1847) established a
teaching system that is still used by bassists
in China today. This system spread in two
movements: one was eastwards to the
Soviet Union and the other westwards to
America. As China began interacting more
freely with the West, European and
American double bass materials became
more accessible, including numerous translations of double bass related articles, musical scores, documentation of competition
pieces, and musicians' profiles. This new
policy also allowed for numerous Chinese
musicians to study overseas, learn from
Western masters and improve their mastery
of the instrument.
The first American double bass master
who came to lecture in China was David
Walter, Professor of the Juilliard Music
School in New York (Figure 2). He arrived
in Beijing in the summer of 1981. As China
had used Russian teaching methodologies
and performance techniques, this first visit
by an American lecturer meant new insights
to double bass performance and interpretation of its music, creating a huge stir within
the Chinese bass community. David Walter
4. Academic-oriented team research and
discussion.
S. Organize exchanges with overseas bass
performers
Figure 2: The .first exchange between East and West after the reopening (~f doors. American Master
David Walter (right) and the Bass Professor of the Central Conservatory of Music Ye Zhengkai (left)
conducted masterclasses and played a
recital. Teachers of the double bass and
other instnllnents froIn all over China caIne
to hear his recital, a treInendous success.
In August of 1982, China's bassist Wei
Baozheng was invited by Rodney Slatford,
the President of the International Bass
COInpetition and Research, to judge the 2nd
International Bass Competition held in
England
3). By invitation of the
Cultural Council, he also
in various activities in the
hdllfihlll<rrh
appointed secretary. Participants were
mostly bassists in Beijing. The visions of
the research
are:
1. To learn fron1
countries their
pedagogic Inethodologies and perforInance techniques
2. Introduce sound documents~ organize,
translate and edit text "Learning
Materials" (xuexi ziliao) for inten1ational
and national distribution.
3.
don1estic
between
in the saIne r.,,,'-.,, ..... .,f-.,r..,,
In 1986, the research team was renan1ed
"Chinese Musician Society Performing
Arts Committee Bass Academy", also
known as "Chinese Bass Academy."
According to the 1991 society report, IneInbership numbers reached 116, including
thilteen managing personnel Inainly from
the Beijing Central Conservatory of Music.
The thirteen personnel include Shao
Genbao (Central Philharmonic Orchestra of
China), Ye Zhengkai (Central Conservatory
of Music), You Kui (Central Philhannonic
Orchestra of China), Fu Da (Central
Conservatory of Music), Niu Min (China
Fihn Orchestra), Wei Baozheng (China
Broadcasting Symphony Orchestra), Wu
Zenghuan (Central Opera House), Fan
Hongxun (Central Philhannonic Orchestra
of China), Teng Chunshan (Zongzheng
Song and Dance Troupe), Peng Daru
(Zongzheng Military Band), Shao Bin
(Shenzhen SyInphony Orchestra), Cao
Changshu
(Central
Ballet
Troupe
Symphony Orchestra), and Zhang Baoyuan
(China Opera and Dance House). Also
included were eight additional adIninistrative personnel representing Inajor conservatories and symphony orchestras from across
China: Zheng Deren (Shanghai SyInphony
Orchestra, Shanghai Conservatory of
Music), Hu Jichun (Shanghai Symphony
Orchestra), Huo Cunqing (Shenyang
Conservatory of Music), Liang Zhaorong
(Guangzhou Xinghai Conservatory of
Musc), Ma Maolong (Tianjin Conservatory
of
Music),
Cao
1ian
(Shanghai
of Music), Tian Yuchun
International Music Festival, bringing Sinorelationships one step forward (Wei
Baozheng 1998).
The Establishment of the Chinese
Bass Society
With
the Chinese Musician
Society Pelforming Arts COlnmiUee, the
Chinese Bass Research Society in Beijing
was
established in 1979. This
cOlnprised of volunteer bass professionals and teachers, was formed to represent art institutions and groups in Beijing. It
was the first group froIn the Western string
hunily to becoIne a part of the Chinese
Musician Society. Shao Genbao and Ye
Zhengkai were responsible for the leadership of the society while You Kui was
Figure 3: China's bassist Wei (second row, far right) was invited to judge the 2nd International Bass
Competition held in England
Volume 33. Number 3
19
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4)
20
International Society of Bassists
(Music Department, Jilin Art Institution),
and Xie Zhongkun (Shanxi Province
Orchestra).
Outreach
The Chinese Bass Academy was devoted
to studying the education and pelformance
practices from developed countries. In an
effort to introduce Chinese bassists to these
new methods, the society produced fifteen
volumes of "Learning Materials" (see
Table 1 for content information) (Figure 4).
The volumes introduced translated text pertaining to the technical developments of
overseas bass playing, information about
and repertoire lists froln international competitions, and feature articles on renowned
educators and perfonners. The volulnes feature articles on perfonners (e.g. Serge
Koussevitzky, Gary KaIT, Lucas Drew,
Bertran1 Turetzky, Homer R. Mensch)
(translated fron1 1979 to 1980), bass
resources
Gary Karr, Lucas Drew,
Bertram Turetzky, HOlner R. Mensch)
(translated in 1980), and bass bowing and
left hand techniques (translated in 1984).
Featured bass pieces included F Major
Concerto (Antonio Capuzzi), E Major
Concerto (Karl Ditters von Dittersdorf), A
Major Concerto (Domenico Dragonetti),
Chanson Triste, Hun10resque, Valse
and
Concerto
(Serge
Miniature,
Koussevitzky). In addition, there are biographies of historic bassists (e.g. Serge
Koussevitzky, Josef Hrabe, Gustav Laska,
Franz Simandl, DOlnenico Dragonetti,
Giovanni Bottesini) (translated in 1979,
198 Land 1983). The society has continued
to seek out parts and scores for bassists,
consolidating and rearranging studies and
pieces for the bass community.
An advertisement for
Materials" reads: "New book for reservation "The Art of Bass Playing" by
American Warren Benfield and James
Seay Dean, 1r. Entire volulue is approxilnately 50,000 words, estilnated published
copies in the year is 200. Fees cover production costs. Interested parties please
enquire in writing."
This book was edited jointly by Shao
Genbao and You Kui and translated by Wei
Yushan. It is the first professional collection
on bass to be published in China, and was
printed in October 1985 and distributed
nationally (see Table 1).
Since the first Bass Appreciation
Meeting was held on May 9, 1979, the
society has continued to organize dozens of
bass-related lectures and events. The soci-
Figure 4: "Learning Materials" producedfrom Chinese Musician Society Perfonning Arts Comlnittee
Bass Academy
ety has invited many renowned foreign
bass professionals to conduct lectures and
classes in China, including Barry Green
(President, International Society of Bassists)
in 1983, Dr. Anthony Scelba (Professor of
Double Bass, Kean University), Stuart
Sankey (Professor of Double Bass,
University of Michigan) in 19998 , Wan'en
Benfield (Chicago Symphony Orchestra) in
1986, Lawrence Hurst (Professor of
Double Bass, Indiana University) for a
two-week exchange in 1992, and Chris
Brown (Principal, St. Paul Chamber
Orchestra) in 1996. These exchanges have
been highly effective in promoting the
developn1ent of the bass community, especially in providing new insights to the
young and increasing their passion for
learning the instrument.
Beijing District Youth Bass
Competition
On December 2, 1990, the society organized its 'Beijing District Youth Bass
Competition' with ten young bass participants (Table 2). After much consideration,
the committee decided to eliminate the
competitive element in this 'competition',
and instead to focus on the spirit of participation, encouragement and exchange of
ideas. Therefore, no rankings were established for this event and every participant
was awarded a prize in the various categories including the outstanding performance award, performance award, and
Chinese work performance award, al110ng
others. The event was warmly received and
was held again in January 1991 wit~ five
pal1icipants (Table 3).
Volume 33, Number 3
21
Conclusion
During the first-half of the twentieth century, before bass playing
was officially recognized by the Chinese government, the bass
community was hampered by unstable political situations and, as a
result, was separated from its mother system: Western culture. Yet
because of these circumstances, the Chinese bass community developed its own unique qualities, creating many original works for the
bass, teaching materials and training techniques based on classic
Chinese teaching methods. The double bass was integrated into the
traditional Chinese orchestra. Such remarkable progress and developments were made possible through our ancestors striving under
difficult environments. Hence, even with the later re-opening of its
doors to the west, the nationalistic spirit of the Chinese was
ingrained in the development of the bass community, awaiting with
anticipation the continued education of today and the results of
tomorrow.
Table 1. "Learning Materials" Distribution Period and Content OutUne9
Volume
1.
2.
3.
4.5.
6.
7.
8.9
10.
11.
12.
15. (13)
Period
1980.2
1980.3
Content Outline
"Critic of Left Hand Techniques in Double Bass Performance"; People Feature
Double Bassist Feature:
1. Josef Hrabe
2. Gustav Laska
3. Franz Simandl
1981.4 Two classical double bass concerti: 1. Karl Ditters von Dittersdorf 2. Domenico Dragonetti
1981.8 Information and Competition about the International Double Bass Competition
1981.11 Feature Giovanni Bottesini
1982.4 Critic of the Left Hand "String Switching" Preparation
1983.12 Collections of the International Double Bass Competition
1984.8 Bowing, bow grips and vibrato on the double bass
1987.1
Main Theme and Variation: A better practicing method on the double bass
1990.4 Meeting of the Hungarian double bass master and educator Lajos Montag and delnocratic Gennany "Markneukirchen"
international competition; Feature: Lajos Montag; Introduction to Sergej Kussewitzky No.3 Cadenza
1990.5 Participants' biographies of the "Geneva International Music Competition"
Table 2. "Beijing District Young Bassist Competition" Participant List for First Competition
No.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Participant
Wu Jialin
Bai Jianxia
Zhang Xiaodi
Ma Shaoyin
Xu Hongbo
Cai Chun
Luo Long
Sun Shaohong
GuXin
Wu Shaohong
Competition Repertoire
Concerto No.2, mvmt. 2 (Giovanni Bottesini), Variation (Giovanni Bottesini)
Road (Chang Suozhi), Main TheIne & Variation (Bai Jianxia), Horse Racing
Andante (Serge Koussevitzky), Fantasie 'SonnaInbula' (Giovanni Bottesini)
Bouree I, II (1. S. Bach)
Fishermen's Song of the Night, Nel cor piu non mi sento (Giovanni Bottesini)
Festival of Heaven and Mountain, D Inajor concerto (Johann Baptist Vanhal)
g Ininor Sonata (Henry Eccles), Great Beijing
g Ininor Sonata (Henry Eccles)
Sonata No.2 (Adolf Misek)
G major concerto (Dolnenico Dragonetti)
Table 3. "Beijing District Young Bassist Competition" Participant List for Second Competition
No.
1
2
3
4
5
22
Pm1icipant
Wu Shaohong
Ning Xuezhi
Piao Wei
Hao Wensong
Jiao Hongliang
International Society of Bassists
Competition Repertoire
G major concerto, mvmt. 1(Domenico Dragonetti)
G Inajor concerto, mvmts. 2 and 3 (Domenico Dragonetti)
Chanson triste (Serge Koussevitzky)
Prelude (Gershwin), Song of the Grassland (Zhang Baoyuan)
E major concerto, mvmt.l (Karl Ditters von Dittersdorf)
The author of this article thanks the following people (in alphabetical order) for
help in completing this article: Fu Da, Niu
Min, Shao Genbao, Wei Baozheng, Ye
the late Luan
You Kui,
Deren. The author also thanks
many esteemed
and friends
who care about the
of the bass
cornmunrtv in China - for
valuable sources and data in support of this article which would have been
to
without their
In addition, the
author thanks
Foo for her
in
\..A IllIe:"ie-r,ll~II~';II translation.
L....J.lcH""11;;;;'1'l...U1,
\,.-VIIUJJl\,.-l.\,.-
xiyang yinyueshi (History of Haerbin's
Western Music). Beijing: renmin cbs.
Song Ge (2006). yinyuejia de yaolan guanyu guoli yinyueyuan younianban de
yanjiu (A Musician's Cradle - Research
about the National Consercvatory
Children Program). The Journal of the
Central Conservatory oflY/usic 4: 58-66.
Wei
(1998).
tiqin
of the
bisaihi u
(Records
International Bass Comp,etlltlofl).
renlnin cbs.
Xiao Youmei Music Education Advocate
Wu Bochao de
(The Musical Life of Wu
Bochao). Beijing: Central
of Music
2004.
5. Interview with Zheng Deren.
6. Chen Ziping Solo Double Bass Album
(CD), published in Taipei, 2000, of
which includes three Chinese songs The
Shepherd's Song, Race Horses, and Song
of the Grassland.
7. Interviews with Niu Min and Song Lvfei.
8. Sankey visited China on three occasions
(1984, 1997, 1999) through invitations
from various
9. Chinese Bass Research Group (Chinese
Bass
(1979-1987). -L..i....,..'.... u.~J.J;;;;..
Matelials (xuexi ziliao) (1-13; 15 volumes in all).
Endnotes
Chinese Bass Research
(Chinese
Bass
(1979-1987). Xuexi ziliao
Materials) (1-13; 15 volumes in all). UnlJub hstled.
Xiaohe (1998). sulian VlnVHf~shl
(Music
of Russia) (First Volume).
Fuzhou: Haixia
cbs.
Liu Xinxin, Liu
(2002). Haerbin
i
1. Interview with Niu Min, Shao Genbao
and You Kui.
2. Interview with Fu Da and
3. Interview with the late Luau
4. Most of the
were
based
on exercl5ang and
needs of students.
J
th
J
th
JULY 11 th THRU JULY 16th
LE
LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY
th OR
J ULY 10th & 11 th
FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT
Summer Jazz Workshops PO Box 1244
New Albany, IN 47151-1244
@
1-800-456-1388 ext. 5
G'
YOU LOVE PLAYING BASS,
THIS IS A FANTASTIC OPPORTUNITY TO BECOME
A BETTER BASSIST IN A HURRY ..
0
[email protected]
WWW*
Volume 33, Number 3
23
24
International Society of Bassists
RYING
FOR
000
~AS
--UTI-IERIE
By Robert G. McIntosh
Bass players and luthiers alike, we are all
sensitive to the effects of moisture and dryness on our basses. We use the humidifier in
winter and the de-humidifier in summer. We
adjust the height of the bridge from season
to season. Some of us have a summer
soundpost and a winter soundpost. Just like
the planks of a wood floor, or a door that
sticks in the summer, our basses move and
change with the weather. Why? What is
happening here?
Wood starts out as the living tissue of
trees. It has vessels that transport water and
nutrients vertically to and from the roots
and the leaves, and horizontally from the
inside of the tree to the outermost layer
under the bark. When a tree is harvested and
sawn into lumber the wood is very wet. In
his book Understanding Wood, wood technologist R. Bnlce Hoadley compares freshly cut wood to a wet sponge. Let's say our
sponge is 4 inches wide, 6 inches long and
1inch thick. Wring out the sponge. It's still
the same size. It's not dripping any more but
it's damp and flexible. As the water evaporates, the sponge will shrink and become
lighter and stiffer. Wood behaves similarly.
If we put a piece of freshly cut spruce in a
vise and squeeze it, water will drip out of it.
What drips out is called free water. After
the free water has dried from our sample
and no water can be "wrung out", it is still
flexible and damp because the cells of the
wood contain water which is chemically
attached. Wood in this state is at its fiber
saturation point. This remaining water is
called bound water. If our piece of quat1ersawn spruce started out 4 x 6 x 1 inches
when green (freshly harvested from the
tree), after proper "seasoning" it will shrink
Fig. 1. Quarter-sawn (A) and plain-satvn (B) boards cut from a log.
to approximately 3.87 x 6 x 0.93 inches for
reasons I will explain below. A slab-sawn
piece will shrink to 3.75 x 6 x 0.97 inches.
The "grain" of wood runs parallel to the
vertical axis of the tree. Shrinkage along the
grain of the wood is negligible
Bound water will evaporate from the tissue of the wood into the surrounding air. As
bound water leaves the wood, the wood will
shrink. It will continue to dry and shrink
until it reaches a balance point with the air
at'ound it. The amount of bound water in the
wood at this balance point is called the the
equilibriuln l110isture content (EMC). If the
air becomes more humid the process is
reversed: water from the air becolnes bound
again in the tissue of the wood. The wood
adsorbs water vapor (and swells) until it
reaches a new EMC. (Wood scientists use
the word 'adsorb' when wood is taking on
water vapor, and 'absorb' when the wood is
taking on liquid water.) "Hygroscopic" is
Volume 33. Number 3
25
26
International Society of Bassists
Fig. 2. Characteristic shrinkage and distortion of flat, square, and round pieces as affected by the
direction ofglvlrvth rings. Tangential shrinkage is about twice as great as radial.
the tenn that describes this quality of wood.
Wood is always hygroscopic. It responds to
changes in atmospheric hUlnidity, losing
bound water (and shrinking) as the relative
hUlnidity (RH) drops, regaining bound
water (and swelling) as the the RH increases. EMC is expressed as a percentage and
represents the ratio of the weight of water in
a given san1ple of wood to the weight of that
sample after it has been completely dried in
an oven. Wood that is air-dried outdoors in
the New York City area will have an EMC
of about 12%. If a New York City apartment
has a humidifier that keeps the RH around
40% (a recommended minimum), by the
end of the winter everything in the apartnlent that's Inade of wood will have an
EMC of7%.
Water vapor is always present in the air
around us. The amount of water the air is
capable of holding depends on the temperature of the air: the warmer the air, the more
water vapor it can hold, and conversely, the
colder the air, the less water vapor it can
hold. If air is cooled enough it will become
unable to hold the water as vapor, and some
of it will become liquid. The temperature at
which water condenses is called the dew
point or saturation point. The condensed
water is called dew, rain, or condensation.
Relative humidity (RH) is the water vapor
content of the air relative to its content at
saturation. Saturated air has a RH of 100%.
The RH of outdoor air rarely falls below
30%, but when cool outdoor air is heated to
"rooln temperature" its ability to hold lnoisture is substantially increased and the relative humidity decreases. For example, if we
took a mass of 34 0 F air on a rainy day (34°
F at 100% RH) and heated it to 72° F, the
RH would fall to about 21 %. An environn1ent like this will cause wood to dry to
about 5% EMC, dry enough to cause a flatback bass to strain at its braces and seams.
When choosing a place to store a bass, we
should consider this: in the winter a cool
room will have a higher RH than a warm
room, and in summer a w,u'm room will
have a lower RH than a cool room, except
where an air conditioner is simultaneously
removing heat and water vapor.
Indoor climates in the Midwest and northeastern United States have extreme fluctuations. There are summer days when the telnperature is 90° F and the RH is 90%. There
,ue winter days when the temperature outside is -20°F and the RH is 25%. Most
homes have a chimney and many have vents
for kitchen and bathroom fans, all of which
create a draft which draws outdoor air in
through every crack. This constant exchange
of air replenishes the oxygen supply but also
removes moisture. If it wasn't for the many
sources of water in an average home (plants,
people taking showers, pets breathing, water
from last summer stored in the woodwork,
etc.), the RH could fall to 1% or less! A
practice room in an old university building
can have a RH in the low teens by the end of
winter break when nobody is around.
A good indicator of relative humidity is
your bow. Hair is dependably hygroscopic.
As a matter of fact, the best hygrometers
(the instruments used to measure relative
humidity) use a human hair as the sensor.
Picture a night club in New York in the middle of winter: the heat is on, and the air is
dry. As the music starts and the place fills
up with people drinking, talking, and sweating' the bass player will have to tighten
his/her bow as the hair lengthens with the
increased humidity. Thank the person who
rehairs your bow for being conscious of relative humidity. If the bow hair is made too
short in the summer or too long in the winter there may not be enough travel in the
frog to accommodate different conditions in
different venues and seasons.
Bass makers need to be equally conscious of relative humidity. We're dealing
with wood, which is hygroscopic, and we
live in a climate where the relative humidity changes radically with the seasons, from
25% in winter to 90% in summer.
According to the charts in the Wood
Handbook published by the USDA Forest
Products Laboratory, the EMC of a piece of
spruce will vary from 5.4% at 25% RH to
20.5% at 90% RH. The bottom bout of an
average bass measures 26" wide.
Theoretically, an unrestrained piece of quarter-sawn spruce 26" wide can change
dimension by as lnuch as 5/8 inch if
exposed to these extremes. The change
would be double that for slab-sawn spruce.
Thankfully there are mitigating factors, but
the message to us bassists should be loud
and clear: We're all weathermen now.
The main factor that mitigates these
dimensional changes is that it takes time for
moisture to move in or out of wood, making
the RH averaged over a few days a more
meaningful number. Also, wood is elastic to
a degree and will deform under stress
before it cracks. Other factors include:
(a) The fact that most instruments are
made with wood that has been quarter-sawn (radial cut), which is more
stable than slab-sawn (aka flat-sawn,
face-sawn, plain-sawn, tangential
cut). The dimensional change in quarter-sawn wood is about half that of
slab-sawn wood.
(b) The varnish, which inhibits the movement of water vapor.
(c) The fact that as wood ages it responds
less and less to variations in RH.
(d) Our own effolts to modify the climate, such as Dampits, humidifiers,
dehumidifiers, etc.
Volume 33, Number 3
27
We want to keep the moisture content of
our basses as constant as possible for two
reasons: to reduce stress in the wood that
might hinder tone production and to prevent
the wood from becoming so dry that it
shrinks away from itself, opening a seam, or
worse, cracking the wood. Plywood (lan1inated) basses are exempt from these w011 ies
except for the neck which, because it is
often a solid piece of slab-sawn wood, can
be a problem.
The luthiers of old Europe never paid
much heed to EMC and RH because the
clilnate in Europe isn't as severe as it is in
the northeastern U.S., and because houses
weren't heated to the comfort levels we
now take for granted. But in the last 60
years central heat has becolne the norn1,
and that has changed everything. In the
Manual of Housekeeping, a publication of
The National Trust of Great Britain for the
Conservation of Historic Structures, the
authors state: "In this country central
heating has become perhaps the largest
single factor in causing damage to the
contents and even to the structures of our
houses." Nobody anticipated the heartbreaking results of round-the-clock heat
in a historic house full of hand-carved
4
panelling, furniture, inlays, and musical
instruments.
One might think, "If we humidify the
air the cracks will close." But wood doesn't
quite behave that way, and herein lies the
nugget of new information that may surprise you. There is a phenomenon called
sorption hysteresis, which is described in
the Wood Handbook published by the
USDA Forest Products Laboratory, where
" ...the amount of water adsorbed from a
dry condition to equilibrium with any relative humidity (EMC) is always less than
the amount retained in the process of drying from a wetter condition to equilibrium
with that same relative humidity. The ratio
of adsorption EMC to desorption EMC is
constant at 0.85. Furthermore, EMC in the
initial desorption (that is, froln the initial
green condition of the tree) is always
higher than any subsequent desorptions."
In plain English it means that once
wood is over-dried, when it is placed back
in a normal atlnosphere at, say, 450/0 relative humidity, it will never completely
swell back to the dimension it had before.
To an antique that has never experienced
central heat, the dalnage is permanent.
Sorption Hysteresis. This has profound
JEFF BOLLBACH, LUTHIER, INC.
BASS REPAIR & RESTORATION
www.JeffBollbach.com
516 867-1395 • 359 Miller Ave. • Freeport, NY 11520
28
Intemational Society of Bassists
meaning for us because we know that there
will come a cold winter day when the
instruments we make will be stored in a
room with central heat. "But," you say, "my
wood has been drying for 30 years." This is
good, but age is only one of the mitigating
factors. Wood is always hygroscopic and if
it has never been dried in conditions comparable to a wann room in the winter in
Wisconsin or Boston, then when the bass is
brought home to Milwawkee the wood will
lose bound water until it is in equilibrium
with the alnbient air. The wood will shrink.
A flatback with a full-width cross brace will
become concave, the "potato chip" effect
that is so commonly seen. Come summer it
will flatten out to a degree, but because "the
ratio of adsorption EMC to desorption
EMC is constant at 0.85," it will never
regain its original shape. Here is the definition again: The anlount of water adsorbed
fronl a dry condition to equilibriunl ~vith a
given relative hunlidity is always less than
the amount retained in the process of drying fronl a wetter condition to equilibriLal1
with that sanle relative 11lunidity.
What this Ineans to bassists is that your
bass will eventually COlne into equilibrium
with its environlnent. When buying an
instrument, new or old, or when traveling or
Inoving to a different climate, you should
anticipate what effect the weather will have.
Keeping a hygroineter near your bass will
help you decide whether the environinent is
hostile. I recommend 40% RH as a Ininimum. Your bass case provides an effective
short-term barrier against harsh conditions.
What this means to luthiers in the
Midwest and northeastern U.S. is that, if,
before assembling an instruinent, we subject our wood to a "preview" of the dryest
conditions it Inight encounter we can benefit froin the 85% rule and eliminate some of
the shrinkage that might otherwise cause
problems later. Some guitar builders go to
the extreme of baking their spruce in an
oven before gluing braces. A COinmon practice of importers of "in the white" basses is
to open the seams except at the top and bottom blocks and hang the instrument in a dry
space for a winter. At the Pollman workshops there is a dry room where the roughcarved plates of new instruments are hung
for several years while the wood dries.
Whatever the Inethod, it requires some
forethought and patience to give the wood
time to do its worst shIinking before t~e
final asseinbly. We can create an environment where the relative humidity is, say,
25%, which translates to an EMC of 5.4%
(see Table 2). Even in the Iniddle of summer
a sn1a11 heater; and a thennostat. Incandescent
we can create a "dead-of-winter" condition by
light bulbs are an adequate heat source for our
adding a snlall anlount of heat. I'm not talking
purposes. Build an insulated closet large
about a dry-kiln, and we're
enough to hold your rough-carved plates and
that has
with wood
been properly air-dried for
neck, and heat it until the RH is low
several years. The tenlperatures
For
would
70°F, we know froll1 Table 2 that the EMC of
exceed
telnperature. Thin
of wood will
faster than, say, a neck
block. Neck blocks
range
because it takes 111uch
of wood to
of no
teUs us that to achieve that we need to lower
the
the RH inside the closet to about 25 cJ6. Table 3
process can crack the wood or make it prone to
So our artificial '\vinter" Innst be
your
your wood win be 9.2%. I suggest a
1110re than 5.5% EMC as a worst case. Table 2
for a thick
and
and be
if the RH in your shop is 50% at
monitored.
tens us that if we start with 500/0 RH we need
18OF, so the
to increase the tel11perature
thennostat will be set at 88°F (70°
18°). For
the wood lnnst be
our purposes here, "inside" refers to inside the
to the normal clilnate of
before
a
closet, and "outside" refers to the air in your
process that can take a matter of
for thin
Use the fan to
VY'JLL'\.G'AA'VIJ.
the air in the
The
closet froln
will ten
wood, weeks or l110nths for thicker wood.
you what the RH is wherever you put it. The
the wood to near its final
PS,yctlron1eter will tell you nlore accu-
dilnension will reduce the thickness and the
tilne needed to acclilnatize. It's very In'1t''\{")ll-t'<::J,,t
what the RH is, and you can use it to
calibrate Blc~Xl:;,enSlvre
when
"'\lirB""{\11npt'prc
wood that the end
J . . J . " J . L...."·. . . . . . . . h
be sealed with wax.
or a
we~lgJll111lg a
sealer. Moisture will
cOlnn1ercial
the pores of the end
leave
tinles faster than
your progress can be done
sll1all
on a granl scale. The
should be as thick as your thickest
six
ends.
caus-
the side
cracks and checks that will travel into the
board, sOlnetinles
II ....... 1.lV.l
.LJ ...
stops
but sonle,
lnoisture ll1eter is
relative
to 20% or less for
the
and SUlnl11er,
hBu-nlrhtu
stretches in
the wood to 40/0
n10isture content. When an instrul11ent made
with wood this
is
to, say,
Seattle, the wood will adsorb 1110isture and
will
if you have
tiA11e.
win
The result is that the
win
hl11"Y'llr1h·r1.l
'J Y
,;;.. •.• "
One
is to
and store the wood
in a hlunidified box. Whether the
clinlate in your
is
a year of storage in
enVir0l1111ent followed
a very
a ye,u' of
storage in what you consider a "nornlal" envir0111nent should
Add an extra
year or two for neck blocks and thick flitches
Use your
for
your
nonnal.
grow in width, pop the sealns, and increase the
at the
the
A
C'C r't=><ro 1 '111'\/
false
Luthiers in the southwesten1 U.S. n1ust
luake allowances for the
Las
and Phoenix
....... 1 ..
to continn
as to what is
and what is
In a nutshell the lesson is: know your wood
and
an eye on the weather, both indoors
and out.
a crayon and date every board
that comes into your
Beware of the
or hUlnid,
SaleS(len;On who assures you that the wood is
your instrun1ent should be built to be in the
to use". When in doubt treat the wood
between climatic extrelnes. It is
what
to
befall your instrlunent, but
you
decisions as you build.
the wood will swen and shrink.
Due to the inherent
to prevent
the histo-
ry and condition of your wood will
lnake
it has been
will
of wood our
u ....,
The tables and
air-dried, and take
i'-'~~u_·u.
used in this arti-
cle were taken froin the Wood Handbook
which is available froln the USDA Forest
Products
website:
http://wwwfjJIfsfed.us/docun1nts/fplgtr~fj)lgtr
instnunents will tolerate nl0derate fluctuations
113~fplgtrl13.htJn.
in clill1ate. To prevent
You can download the entire Wood
Handbook for Inore technical infonnation.
froln extrelne
conditions it is wise to use weaker
you want the sealns to open. In
where
it's
safer to build with wood that's too dry rather
than too wet.
It's easy to build a wood
'--"
...........1-.,...,.
...., .. u
1-
3 and 12 contain infonnation Inost
to this discussion.
You will
need to buy: an indoor-outdoor thermolneter; a
.,,,,rrrr\lY\,ptPl·· a
a slnall fan;
Volume 33. Number 3
29
©2010 Yamaha Corporation of America
Yamaha is a registered trademark of Yamaha Corporation
or America. All Rights Reserved. www.yamaha.com
LUTHIER'S CORNER
Luthie
David Gage, Editor
Q&A
INTRODUCTION
Due to the wide range of playing styles,
string types and sizes of string basses, there
cannot be only one 'con"ect' approach to
achieving a high level outcome. This fact
can be confusing to the string bassist whose
instrunlent is in need of work. In the end
the work should be cOlupleted so that the
instruluent gives the player a response and
feel that best fits the player's performance
needs within the confines of the instruluent's characteristics and limitations.
Structurally and luechanically the string
bass should be repaired with the minimulu
necessary reluoval of original wood while
holding up to the various weather changes
and general physical abuses. As luuch as
possible, repair should be done so as not to
interfere with future repair. Repair should
not create unacceptable new problelus.
Many repair solutions should be weighed
with respect to 'trade offs'; e.g., deepening
the fingerboard curve sOluewhat reduces
the fingerboard noise but luakes it luore
difficult to hold down the strings with the
left hand. You and your luthier should
always be open to discuss all of the consequences of proposed repair work.
I have invited JilU Hanl and Arnold
Schnitzer to join me in this colunln, and our
intent is to wIite sinlple, concise answers to a
few FAQs. All of these questions could be
dealt with in a luuch more detailed luanner, but
we're hoping that brevity will be a gateway to
flllther questions and a clearer view of a luthier's perspective. We hope to luake this the
beginning of a selies, so if you have any questions, please send thelu to Bass World editor
Jeremy Baguyos at [email protected].
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS:
1) What is your approach or goal
when shaping a curve or relief in the fingerboard in the direction from the nut
toward the bridge, the direction the
hand nloves while on one string?
JH: A bowed string vibrates differently
than a plucked string, so it is impossible to
have an ideal fingerboard relief (hollowness) for both arco and pizzo A bowed
string vibration has a kink formed at the
Jim Ham
point of bow contact when the string is displaced sideways in the stick phase of the
stick/slip motion, when the kink is released
(slip) the kink travels to the nut, then the
bridge and back to the bowing point completing one cycle: this is the Helmholtz
motion. Also, the bow tends to keep the
direction of string vibration in a direction
tangent to the fingerboard surface while
there is precession of the vibration direction after being plucked so that it can
vibrate towards the fingerboard surface. In
the Hehuholz motion, the kink describes a
curved path with its greatest displacement
Volume 33. Number 3
31
straight line. The fingerboard doubles as a
structural truss rod keeping the neck froln
warping. If the fingerboard and neck are
warping, I recommend a new fingerboard
and perhaps a carbon truss rod installed in
the maple neck, depending on the strength
and thickness of the Inaple neck. A propplaned fingerboard with a curve or
relief that is not too deep allows for greater
vibrato ability and
note sustain. We
plane the fingerboard so that the deepest
part of the curve is different for each
string. The deepest part for each
fonns a diagonal across the fingerboard.
The deepest part of the curve and the depth
at that point are: E
deepest at A flat
(major third up from open E), depth
approxilnately 1.5 Inill.; A
point D
fourth up froln open A),
depth approxiInately 1.25 mm.; D
deepest
A-flat (tritone up froln open
D), depth
1 mIn.; G
deepest point D (a fifth above open G),
depth 1nlln. The curve is continual fron1
the nut to the end of the
While
1'111 planing this curve or relief, rIll also
planing a left to right continuous arc or
radius in the fingerboard, about r-72 Illl11.
at the bridge end to a lesser r-90nl1n. radius
at the nut. I start with these dimensions, set
the bridge up at the
that the
wants and as Inentioned above,
al ter the fingerboard curve
depending on the player, string and instrunlent. Again, if the curve is correct (continuous, without bumps), then raising and
"'a~··'nrr the
can be the Inost reasonable way to
to obtain the desired
feel and response.
I .....
David Gage
at half of the \11rlr~1"lnotion of the
at the nut
sonle
extra clearance for the open
so the
of greatest hollowness of the
board for a bowed
should be half the
distance between the first
note (Aflat on G
and the
When the
IS
the
fonns a second
kink upon release which travels in a direction
to that of the first kink; these
two kinks describe a curve with a Inaxi11lUln
nearer to the ends so
the ideal
shape for pizz would
have the lowest point about one-third of
the
length froln the nut. I generally
lllake the depth of the lowest point
between half the string dialneter to one full
string diall1eter, this allows for the greater
32
International Society of Bassists
amount of hollowness needed for the
lower pitched strings. If a string is excited
with a bow and then the bow is removed
the string to continue vibrating,
the vibration then changes to the plucked
type. Since even classical players sonletillles pizz, I generally compromise with a
little extra hollowness closer the nut. This
ends up being a judgnlent call based on the
player's
type of string, etc.
.... L . ' V V • .LL.....
DG: I believe that, in principal, one
curve will work with all styles of music.
Starting with this premise, I will, if necessary, slightly alter the basic curve to fit the
player's approach and needs and to the
various string types. The union between
the fingerboard and neck should be a
AS: I take into account several
before
and
a
board: How hard does the player pluck or
bow? Is the neck stiff and stout, or 111ushy
and bendable? What type of strings will be
used? Depending on answers to those
questions, I try to set up the fingerboard to
work well for that particular player. Here's
an eXaIllple: A client of l11ine works in an
orchestra that plays very aggressively. He
cOlllplained that when playing hard
sforzandos he would get a nasty fingerboard rattle. He thought he needed more
calnber (scoop) planed into the board, but
when I checked it, I found that the camber
was Inore than adequate. The probleln was
that the amount of bow pressure he used
was causing the string to slain down
against the bottoln end of the fingerboard.
Arnold Schnitzer
This was verified by
the string up
with a white China luarker and having hinl
play the offending notes. The nlarker left
white patches at the end of the fingerboard,
which had a fair upward curve. So I flattened out that area and the rattle became
luuch less troublesolTIe. In general, I try to
luatch the arch and camber to the type of
and the type of
used.
Usually, luore flexible strings require a bit
luore canlber, as their excursion is wider.
Everything about a bass' set-up is dependent upon the fingerboard, so I
start
there. One thing I find crucial is that the
fingerboard be laid out with a cOlupound
radius. The nut end should always have
less arch than the bridge end. The aluount
of arch depends on how wide (and high)
the
will be set, as well as whether
the
nlain approach is arco or pizzicato. So the luthier needs to be thinking
ahead before putting plane to ebony.
2) What are your ideas on string gapping at the bridge and at the nut in relation to string?
DG: The arching of the bridge top is a
very personal subject. An arc configuration of string placeluent on the bridge top
is necessary to access the inner strings
with the bow. The arc of the strings on the
top and the distance between strings
playoff each other: the closer the strings
are
the lllore arc is needed on the
top and vice versa. We have found
that a 1-1/16 inch (27 lunl.) string gapping
at the bridge top works for both bow and
pizzicato \vell. Of course we'll alter that to
players' needs. Unless this arc across the
board is very unusual we find generally
that string heights of 9 lUlU. at the E string;
8 IUlTI. at the A string; 7 nlm. at the D
string; and 6 mnl. at the G string work well
in lTIOSt situations. We take these lneasureInents at the bridge end of the fingerboard,
froln the top surface of the board to the
bottoln of the string.
Our standard nut gapping is 7/16 inch
(11 lnm.) and centered across the fingerboard. All of these lneasurelnents are frOlTI
the center of one string to the center of the
next string. In this way the edges of the E
and A strings are closer than the edges of
the D and G strings. It's iinportant that the
G string is not too close to the fingerboard
edge. The height of the strings off the fingerboard at the nut should be as low as
possible without buzzing, approximately
the thickness of one business card. I usually set the E string a little higher.
AS: This is a pet peeve of luine. It bothers Ine when I see a beautiful bass that has
been sloppily set-up with regards to distance between strings. I believe in setting
the distances from center-to-center of the
strings. I set bridges between 26-28mm,
and I usually set the nut at 10mm, unless
the player has a specific preference. As far
as height, I prefer to add 1mm of height
under each string, going froIn low to high.
For a silky, low feel, 5, 6, 7, 8mm or so.
For someone who digs in lnore, 6, 7, 8,
9mIn or so. For gut strings, the G will need
to be set at a minimum of 8-9mm, and the
others proportionally. It should be mentioned that the higher the strings are set off
the fingerboard, the Inore arch will be
required at the bridge in order to allow
adequate bow clearance.
Volume 33, Number 3
33
JH: I space the strings IOmm apart at
the nut and from 22mm to 28mm apart at
the bridge. 22mm spacing would be for
solo classical playing (to facilitate double
stops and chords in the upper register as in
Bach) and the bridge curve and fingerboard camber lnust be lnuch greater than
normal to make this work. The widest
spacing would be for gut strings played
pizz or a bass with a low fingerboard camber. I have found a combination of spacing
(25mm) and bridge curvature that works
well for most players, but again this narrower than usual spacing only works with
a greater than normal fingerboard camber.
I have templates that I use for this and will
share at Oberlin. For an average set-up I
use these clearances for the strings from
the fingerboard end: G-6mm, D-7mm, A8mm, E-9mm. A related topic is fingerboard slant; when installing a new fingerboard, I make it 2mm lower under the E
string at the upper end than under the G
string. This allows for the strings to be
nearly equidistant from the top at the
bridge and makes bowing the G string easier, especially for the French bow.
3) What are the various adhesives
that you use and why?
AS: I use hot hide glue almost exclusively. I use a high-strength two-part
epoxy for the installation of carbon fiber
neck reinforcements, and occasionally to
repair a broken neck on a cheaper instrument. I use a tiny bit of cyanoacrylate
(super glue) to hold the nut in place. When
I glue a top table on to a bass carcass, I use
hide glue that is quite thin, to allow for
seams opening to release tension, and also
to ease re-opening of the instrument.
JH: I use hot hide glue exclusively for any
original part of the instrument or any part that
lnay ever need to be disassembled. In general
I try to follow the Hippocratic Oath of instrument repair: At least do no harm! Often it is
necessary to do less than ideal repairs because
of time or budget constraints but these should
always be done with an eye toward reversibility to enable a better repair in the future.
DG: I use lnostly granulated hide glue. I
never use Franklin liquid hide glue as it has
something in it to keep it froln hardening. Hide
glue gives a wood-to-wood bond that is
reversible and allows for maximum resonance.
Hide glue is high tack so work tends not to slip
as much in clamping. The white glues are
designed to be sandwiched in a thin layer
between the two pieces of wood being glued.
Here are some instances when I use other
glues: Super glue to fill fmgerboard gouges
and to glue on a non-load bearing pieces of
ebony or mother-of-pearl. National Casein
#2235 white glue when gluing a fingerboard to
neck. I never want it to come off until I plane
off the old board 30 years later. I've seen too
many fingerboards pop off with hide glue.
Absolutely never use white glue in seams,
cracks nor on any interior work in the top at all.
I use special epoxy to join a neck that has been
broken off from the neck butt. Sure, a new
neck would be best but maybe the player can't
afford it. I've had good success with this epoxy
without using dowels and splines.
iiJn Han1 and David Gage vvill give the
first ever VSA Oberlin make/repair/restore
workshop devoted to the double bass at
Oberlin College, June 6-12, 2010. To sign
up or for Inore infonnation, contact Jinz
Hanl [email protected].
HANDMADE BASSES
BY
ARNOLD
E.
SCHNITZER
BUILT WITH TRADITIONAL CRAFTSMANSHIP
AND PRACTICAL INNOVATION
HI love the sound and response of the new bassit's wonderfu/!"
Marji Danilow, NYC Ballet; Faculty, Mannes College of Music
"Sounds as well as antique instruments twice
and even three times the price."
Joel Reist, Principal Bass, Nashville Symphony
HOne of the great luthiers."
Eddie Gomez, jazz legend
Ergonomic Model
Orchestral Model
www.aesbass.comllll (845) 279-4884
34
International Society of Bassists
III
Brewster, NY (USA)
One of the pleasures of jazz is to hear the
empathy that develops among musicians when
the chemistry between them is just right. The
joy of achieving this level of comfort, and the
artistic freedom and accomplishment that it
prodllces, is immediately evident to allY
d.iscerlling listener. Listenillg to the
trio
exactly that kind of experience.
Each player C011tributes excellence, but Reid's
l1ame rightfully
the record, al1d 11is playing marvelous.
YOll Could See
Now,"
a tune where the bass alone carries the melod)0
is a microcosm of his work across the entire
Playi11g solo for the first 90 seconds, then weavliIles throu.gh the rest of the
tones can be deep
resonant or
ethereal; his dexterity incredible,
brilliant. - ,",-~Ill.J"lI-llIIIl-Jr,rj!,.&""&,VIl-
757
@
......
LIMITED
Jersey 07666
_'li-'ti...JL8l.._'llo".A"'"
For more about Rufus Reid, visit:
www@fufusreideCom
Volume 33, Number 3
35
uWalkin"
pages
Watkin Video/DVD includes
articulation, titne and
and electric bass
Clnr"roa!('hf~S_
1.1Hll,U'I..,VU;;'lI.lL
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or
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36
International Society of Bassists
Harold Robinson
Mr. Robinson uses the Original Flexocor strings for
.;0.,_..
playing and prefers the Permanent Solo strings for works
performed at scordatura tuning.
"-'<&-
@
fo
0-
If
•
Chrom.esteel - Chrolllcor _
oubI
BaL)i':)
;J~ll,"l~,.,_~~","!11>""&""
Jazzer - Original Flexocor - Original
•
•
• Oliv. Chorda - Obligato
u t
Pir
i&
p.
D-630 15 Offenbach Am Main, Germany
e-mail:
ofbasses.con1
Info@pirastro~com
DIFFERENT STROKES
This article features Alex Hanna, who is
in his second year as Principal Bass with
the Detroit Synlphony. Alex graduated from
The Curtis Institute ofMusic where he studied with Hal Robinson.
Jack Budro'w
Different Strokes has been one of my
favorite articles to read in Bass World.
Having the opportunity to see wondelful
bass players share their secrets and solutions to some of our most difficult pieces is
a priceless resource. It is my honor to be
included in the article.
In the final round of the Detroit
Syillphony Orchestra's principal bass audition, I was asked to play the following, in
this order:
I.
Solo Repeltoire
Concerto: First lllovement of any
standard concerto (two Illinutes)
Bach: One Illoveillent frolll any of the
Bach Cello Suites
II.
Solo Passages frolll Orchestra Repertoire
Ginastera: Variaciones Concertantes,
Variation XI
Jack Budrow, Editor
Mahler: Symphony No. 1
Haydn: Symphony No. 31 (Horn
Signal), Variation No.7
Prokofiev: Lieutenant Kije
Verdi: Othello, solo from Act IV
III. Orchestra Repertoire
Mozart: Symphonies No. 35 and 40
Beethoven: Symphonies No.5 and 9
Brahms: Symphony No.2
Mahler: Symphony No.3
Prokofiev: Ron1eo and Juliet, soli from
mvmt.5
Strauss, R.: Ein Heldenleben
In this issue, I will be sharing with you
my bowing and fingering solutions to the
orchestra solos. Orchestral solos for a principal audition are probably the IllOst crucial
part of the audition. When the spotlight is
suddenly on the principal bass player,
you've got to be ready to go! Everyone has
different string lengths, basses, hands, etc.,
so please keep in mind that although this is
what works best for me, something different
lllay work best for you. Please enjoy and
always reillember: music FIRST and then
bowing and fingerings!
Notes on Ginastera
1. Please note that in the arpeggio in m. 4, I
shift from fourth to first finger on the
final two notes (E and A). This gives my
first finger a chance to prepare the shift
up to the A while IllY fourth finger is still
pressed on the E on the G string. This
makes the transition to thumb position
more smooth.
2. In m. 6, I like to make a finger replacement fron1 the second finger to the first
finger on the third B in the measure. I do
this with a tasteful portamento as well.
3. Leading into m. 10, I shift to the D string
on the G-natural, rather than the F-sharp.
On lllOSt basses, this makes the color
change less abrupt.
Notes on Mahler
1. I play this entirely on the G stling.
2. In mm. 5-6, the shift from the first to the
second finger is more of a pivot than an
actual shift.
3. When re-setting the hand in thlullb position in m. 8, I feel lllore comfortable
starting with the first finger. This is why
n1. 7 is different from Ill. 8.
4. Measures 9 and 10 are all on the G string,
but with very little portamento.
Mahler Symphony NO.1
III. Satz.
Sempre SuI G
Feierlich und gemessen, ohne zu schleppen
pp
Volume 33, Number 3
39
Haydn Symphony No. 31-- Var. VII
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Announcing the Fifth Biennial
International Society of Bassists
Makers' Competition for Double Basses
In conjunction with the 2011 ISB Convention & Exhibitors' Fair
June 6, 2011, San Francisco State University, California
Just over 1,300 convention attendees from 32 countries in 2009.
Competition guidelines will be posted soon at
www.ISBworldoffice.com.
For guidelines from the 2009 competition, contact:
International Society of Bassists
14070 Proton Rd., Suite 100 LB 9
. Dallas, TX 75244
972/233-9107 ext. 204 • Fax 972/490-4219
info @ ISBworldoffice.com
Application deadline will be May, 2011
Intemational Society of Bassists
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Douglas Mapp Music
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Works by:
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internet • Transposed piano scores to works by 1. C. Bach • 1. S. Bach • Bottesini • Bruch e Dittersdorf· Dragonetti • Eccles • Faure
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[email protected]
Volume 33, Number 3
41
Ginastera Variaciones Concertantes
XI~
Adagio molto Expressivo j
Ripresa dal Tema per Contrabasso
= 56
Ii
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3
Solo SuI G
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Notes on
I choose to play an
and rllnnotes in one
I
Inlr"IH_I':P.,·,\l1l1
have heard many pelfonuers play this
very beautifully shifting up the G and D
but for consistent beautiful quality' using thulub position across the
is the best way.
Notes on Prokofiev
I like the printed bowing the best.
Especially in auditions, I
make
sure to make a great difference between
the printed dynaluics. Rather than thinkthe
ing in terms of dynmuics, I like to
first phrase reserved and the second
phrase a little stronger.
selection of basses and bO~1JS
Restoration and repairs
Good selection in all price ranges
ANDREW STETSON
c01d trades accepted
3016 Hamson Avenue
\.../V'/h},");;.I,"IIl,IC/H
Ba'lses hcu1dcrq{ted by Jak stadt,
Stetson, Roberts, Lakeberg
Cincinnati, Ohio 45211
513-661-6224
astetson@basscellm:coln
wwvv.basscellm:coln
42
Intemational Society of Bassists
linda Gilbert, C.M.A., R.Y.T.
f Di
Responses to the recent Body and Bass
survey showed that 19% of bassists who
participated are playing with diagnosed
77% of those playing with
described their conditions as
chronic, 23% as acute. A slnall percentage
of these players had injuries unrelated to
playing the bass.
Some participants
an interest
in learning Inore about conllnon conditions
of bassists. This article will address a
conditions that were
handful of
responses to the survey. Each condition will be
a
along with potential causes and solutions.
in Inind that aU of these conditions
can be caused
lTIany activities, bass
one of them.
Osteoarthritis is a
disease, with a
down of CaJlTllag~e.
It is a
condition and can affect
any joint. Symptoms include stiffness,
and lilnited Iuobility. For nlany,
yoga, tai chi, and acupuncture offer sonle
relief.
with SUT)plleITIents.
Tendinitis is an intlanlluation of a tendon. Tendons attach luuscles to bones,
whereas
attach bones to bones.
Most tendinitis is caused by
stress, or overuse of a tendon. Rest is one of
the best relievers of tendinitis. At tilues, it
lnay be recomlnended for bassists to take
of tilue away from the
extended
instnlluent in order for Blore severe cases to
ilTIprove. Additionally, the use of ice for
five to ten minutes at a tilue can
reduce
intlalTIIuation,
at the onset of
SYITIptonls.
is iInpol1ant
as
and treatluent of nl0st cases.
posture and
have been
shown to reduce the likelihood of terldinitis.
One
kind of tendinitis that SOlue
bassists have
is call lateral epicondylitis, or tennis elbow. It affects tendons in the forearm that attach to outside,
bony part of the elbow. As with other kinds
of tendinitis, lateral epicondylitis is often
caused by overuse and repetitive Iuotions.
In relation to bass playing, one might experience weakness in the foreal"m, and/or pain
in outer forealm and outer pal1 of the hand.
nosed
In addition to the solutions mentioned
above, strengthening and balancing the
muscles of the shoulders can help prevent
and reduce symptoms. Particularly for
bassists, wrist alignnlent and solid finger
technique are important to bring balanced
strength to the wrist joint, and help Ininimize tension that can lead to tendinitis.
Another form of tendinitis that some
bassists reported is in the rotator cuff, the
stabilizing set of muscles and tendons in the
shoulder. Individuals with weakness and/or
in the shoulders, especially when
overhead, or limited range of
ITIotion Iuay have rotator cuff tendiniti,)"
bursitis (inflammation of a bursa, or tluidfilled cushion, in a
or nluscle injury
to the area, including muscle tears. Injuries
to the rotator cuff are often due to repetitive
stress, overuse, and unbalanced posture.
Lifting with an arm extended away fronl
body or with an arnl reaching back or up
can also cause injury to the rotator cuff.
Strengthening and
the ITIuscles of
the shOUlders,
the rotator cuff
muscles can help prevent and reduce symptOlns. In extreme cases, surgery may be necessary to repair torn tendons or muscles.
Thoracic outlet syndron7e refers to a
condition in the shoulder when the space
between the collarbone and the first (top)
When this occurs, there
rib is
is
of muscles, nerves and
blood flow through the area. In addition to
in the shoulder and at the location of
cOinpression, symptonls often show up in
the hands with tingling or nUInb fingers,
and weakness. Thoracic outlet syndron1e
can ilnprove with healthy posture.
Strengthening the shoulders and stretching
regularly help relieve synlptoms.
Focal dystonia is a particular type of
dystonia. Dystonia is a neurological
luovement disorder in which lnuscles
spasm and contract involuntarily. Focal
dystonia is one of the task-specific dystonias. It can affect any part of the body, but
usually is focused in one area. In musicians, the focus is often in the embouchure
(luuscles of the jaw, tongue and lnouth),
fingers of one hand, and neck. Opposing
ndition
muscle groups often contract silnultaneously, causing pain, tension and limited or
unpredictable function. Focal dystonia
has been diagnosed so often for musicians
that there is now the term 'n7usicians'
Musicians have had varying
tonia.'
degrees of results through yoga and recalibrating body movements. Botox injections, which help the Inuscles relax, are
being shown to be effective in nlany cases.
Consulting a neurologist is an iInportant
part of managing focal dystonia.
Carpal tunnel syndrome is a condition of
the carpal tunnel, which is located on the
underside of the wrist. The luedian nerve
passes through the carpal tunnel, and is
compressed. Sylnptoms of other conditions
are often diagnosed as carpal tunnel syndrome, and vice versa. SyInptoms include
nUlnbness and/or tingling in the
weakness in the hands, and pain on the
underside of the forearm, especially after
extended repetitive nlotions. More specifically, the thumb, index, lniddle and half of
the ring fingers can be affected. While
surgery is often suggested to relieve carpal
tunnel syndrome, Inore conservative measures can have positive results for lnany.
Wearing a wrist brace to align the wrist,
especially at night can help reduce intlanlIuation. Massage has also had good results.
Past columns cover further information,
as well as specific stretches and exercises
that can help relieve symptoms of SOlne of
these conditions.
Volume 33. Number 3
43
INTERNATIONAL BASS CLUB DIRECTORV
Felix Petit
ACADEMIA NACIONAL DE
CONTRABAJISTAS
Conservatorio de Musica Simon Bolivar
EI Paraiso, Caracas 1010
Venezuela
Tel/fax +212-481-1441
[email protected]
Esra Gul Atalay
ANADOLU BASS CLUB
Anadolu University State Conservatory
Eskisehir, Turkey 26470
+222 335 05 80/6228
Fax +222 335 31 04
e-mail:[email protected]
www.bassclub.anadolu.edu.tr
ARIZONA BASS PLAYERS, INC.
5140 W. Trails End Rd.
Tucson, AZ 85745
[email protected]
www.arizonabassplayers.org
Thierry Barbe
ASSOCIATION DES BASSISTS ET
CONTREBASSISTE DE FRANCE
22 rue de Champagne
94700 Maisons- Alfort, France
www.contrebasse.com
ASSOCIATION OF RUSSIAN
DOUBLEBASS PLAYERS
http://contrabas. borda.ru/
Sonia Ray
ASSOCIACAO BRASILEIRA DE
CONTRABAIXISTAS
Escola de Musica e Artes Cenicas da UFG
Campus II - Samambaia - Sala 205
Gaiania, GO, Brazil 74.001-970
+55-62-9249.0911
soniaraybrasil @gmail.com
www.soniaray.com
Mark Bernat
BASS CLUB OF GEORGIA
P.O. Box 49045
Atlanta, GA 30359
[email protected]
Alana Dawes, President
Katie McLachlan, Contact/Secretary
BASSLINK AUSTRALIA
PO Box 130
Belair, South Australia 5052
+61 88278 2016
[email protected]
44
Sandra Grigorova-Bojkova
BULGARIAN DOUBLE BASS
ASSOCIATION
64 Rodopski Izvor Street, At. 22
Sofia, Bulgaria 1618
[email protected]
Wei Bao Zheng
CHINESE SOCIETY OF BASSISTS
Flat 504, No. 7 Fuxingmen South St.
Beijing 100045, China
Tel/Fax +86 09 79 92
weibaozh @a-l.net.cn
Miloslav Jelinek
CZECH SOCIETY OF BASSISTS
Komenskeho nam. 8
60200 Brno
Czech Republic
+420 5 43 24 28 05
[email protected]
www.volny.cz/spol-kontrabas
Ture Damhus
Andreas Bennetzen, Chair
DANISH DOUBLE BASS SOCIETY
Livjaegergade 43, st. tv.
Koebenhavn OE 2100
Denmark
+45 35 26 49 83
Fax +45 44424233
[email protected]
www.bass-society.dk
David Murray
INDIANA BASS CLUB
Butler University Music Dept.
4600 Sunset
Indianapolis, IN 46220
[email protected]
Eila Saikkonen
FINNISH SOCIETY OF BASSISTS
Vanha Viertotie 21/219
Helsinki, Finland 00350
email: [email protected]
internet: www.kontrabassoklubi.fi
Stephen Yam, President
HONG KONG DOUBLE BASS SOCIETY
51F, Grand Court
43A Grampian Road
Kowloon City, Hong Kong
info. hkdbs@ gmail.com
Cheryl Ann Brent
HOUSTON BASS CLUB
c/o Rice University
Shepherd School of Music
6100 S. Main St. MS 5321
Houston TX 77005-1892
Chang-ho Kim, President
KOREAN KONTRABASS
ASSOCIATION
P.O. Box 434,
Seocho-Gu, 137-604
Seoul, Korea
+82-16-726-3721
[email protected]
sohn0808 @hotmail.com
www.kontrabass.com
Nobuaki Saikawa
KYUSHU BASS CLUB
2-23-24 Tsutsumi
Jonan, Fukuoka
814-015 1 Japan
Tel/fax +81-92-873-7355
[email protected]
Zoran Pavloski
MACEDONIAN DOUBLE BASS
ASSOCIATION
ul. Naroden front 5-1-13
Skopje, 1000
Macedonia
tel +38 970 388 284
zoki @dr.com
Peter Tambroni
THE MANNHEIM BASS CLUB
Westdale Elementary School
Mannheim School District #83
99 W. Diversey Ave
Northlake, IL 60164
tambroni @hotmai1.com
MID-ATLANTIC BASS ALLIANCE
c/o Dr. Donovan Stokes
Shenandoah University Conservatory
1460 University Drive
Winchester, VA 22601
540.869.3253
dstokes@ su.edu
www.donovanstokes.comlbassalliance
Jim Ferguson
NASHVILLE BASS CLUB
210 Mayfair Rd.
Nashville, TN 37205
615/297-7453
Fax 615/463-8747
jim @jimfergusonmusic.com
Barry Green
NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
BASS CLUB
430 Crestridge PI.
Santa Rosa CA 95409
[email protected]
www.innergameofmusic.com
David Heyes
BRITISH & INTERNATIONAL
DOUBLE BASS FORUM
P.O. Box 151
Aldershot, Hants GUl2 7YQ
United Kingdom
[email protected]
Karoly Saru, President
HUNGARIAN BASSISTS SOCIETY
Koppany Marton u.42
Solymar, Hungary H-2083
+3626362664
[email protected]
Irena Olkiewicz
POLISH DOUBLE BASS SOCIETY
Ul.Kard. St. Wyszynskiego nr 107 m. 4
50-307 Wroclaw, Poland
Tele/fax +48 71 322 03 33
[email protected]
www.doublebass.vel.pl
Petya Bagovska
BULGARIAN BASS CLUB
Hipodroma B1. 140, A, 12 Flat
Sofia BUG-16l2
Bulgaria
+359/88-753-358
[email protected]
www.bagovska.comlbass
Klaus Trumpf
INTERNATIONAL SPERGER
SOCIETY
Meistersingerstr.7
Germany 0-14471 Potsdam
Tel./Fax.: +49-331-9512556 or
+49-171-9154-924
[email protected]
www.spergerwettbewerb.de
www.spergergesellschaft.de
Florian Pertzborn
PORTUGUESE DOUBLEBASS
SOCIETY
Escola Superior de Musica e das Artes
Rua de Alegria 504
Oporto 4000
Portugal
+351 2 580774
Fax +351 1 528513
[email protected]
International Society of Bassists
RICHARD DAVIS FOUNDATION
FOR YOUNG BASSISTS, INC.
902 West Shore Dr.
Madison, WI 53715
608/255-6666
Fax 608/255-5524
rdavis [email protected]
www.globaldialog.com/-rdavis
Paul Erhard
ROCKY MOUNTAIN BASS CLUB
3655 Emerson Ave.
Boulder CO 80303
303/492-4918
Fax 303/492-5619
Ken Hustad
SAN LUIS OBISPO BASS CLUB
991 Ridgeway St.
Morro Bay, CA 93442
805/772-1477
www.bassist.com/bassi.htm
David Humphrey
SASKATCHEWAN BASS CLUB
418 Isabella Street East
Saskatoon, SK S7J OB7
Canada
Jennifer Sharp
SCOTTISH BASS TRUST
6 West Garleton
Haddington
EH41 3SL
Tele/fax +44 162082 25 32
[email protected]
Martin Simpson
SOUTH AFRICAN BASS CLUB
PO Box 785189
Sandton, South Africa 2146
msimpson @joy.co.za
www.Bassplayers.co.za
Josep Quer Agusti, President
Mrs. Matias Lopez, General Manager
SPANISH DOUBLE BASS SOCIETY
TC/Montgo n° 1- 2°_3 3
Figueres, Spain 17600
[email protected]
John & Marian Casey
TWIN CITIES BASS CLUB
9211 45th Avenue North
New Hope, MN 55428
www.TwinCitiesBassclub.org
Lynn Lovell, President
WESTERN NEW ENGLAND
DOUBLE BASS SOCIETY
c/o Downtown Sounds
21 Pleasant St.
Northampton, MA 01060
413/247-0024
[email protected]
www. wnedbs.org
If you have formed a new club or
want to be included in our directory,
send information to ISS. 14070
Proton Road. Suite 100, Dallas, TX
75244
fax
972-490-4219,
inf()@)ISBworJdoffice.com.
Excellent opportunitiesfor graduate and undergraduate students majoring in performance or education,
ASj;lstl2nt~)lutJS
@
Generous String Scholarships
www.. musi IIIpsullledu
Open
lOr .. ...-r"' ......'r'h"lV"
1
2010 Audition . "",. . ". .
January 23
February 6,
and
"'-llOl"'O ...... LM......,
2009
n
'Il>L"
...
fl
It was our pleasure to host the 2009 conference@
I
I~<Qtillt
I I
8D
The
and Architecture at Penn State is a complete arts community serving the University and beyond.
It is a professional college committed to artistic and scholarly creativity, research, and the preparation ofspecialized
Dra(,;tttl<oners in all of the arts and design disciplines. It proudly serves as one of the major cultural centers between
Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Volume 33. Number 3
45
Please submit music for
Robert Black, Editor
THE LATEST SCORE
possible review in a future
issue of Bass Worldto ISB,
14070 Proton Rd., Suite 100 LB 9,
Dallas, TX 75244, USA
BenedeftoMarcello
Six Ceno Sonatas attributed
to. Benedetto Marcello
edited by Andrew Kohn
Slava Publishing
www.slavapub.net
The Six Cello Sonatas by Benedetto
Marcello. are familiar repertoire to IUOst
bass players. Many of us made our early
forays into solo playing with one of these
sonatas. They (along with the six solo cello
sonatas by Antonio Vivaldi) are certainly
familiar requirements on many all-state
orchestra audition lists and are frequently
played at college entrance auditions.
Although they were originally written for
cello, they have been transcribed for Iuany
other instruments. Because they are such
workhorses in our repeltoire, we tend to
think of them as our own bass sonatas.
However, what many of us may not know is
that they may not have been written by
Marcello. Andrew Kahn has issued a new
edition of these sonatas for the Slava
Publishing Company. In his excellent introduction, he makes a cOlupelling case that a
hand other than Marcello's Iuay have
penned this music. Consider the evidence:
solo cello Iuusic was very popular in the
18th century, there were luany unscrupulous publishers involved in shady IJ~U"..."t.l'''''''''L-''
and at the tilue these sonatas were published, Marcello had renounced writing secular music. Are these, along with SOlue
sonatas by Vivaldi and Pergolesi, early
examples of musical 'knock-offs'?
Hmmlu .....
Whether or not Marcello wrote them,
they are delightful works in a typical
baroque style. Each one adheres to the
slow-fast-slow-fast four-luovement fonu
that was COlUIuon at the time. LYlical lines
and lively rhythms abound. And while they
are very playable, they do present some
challenges in terms of technique and
expression. They never (or rarely) venture
into thUIUb position.. For anyone fatuiliar
with other editions, there will be some
pleasant surprises in terms of slurring and
46
International Society of Bassists
articulations. The editor has added intelligent dynalnic suggestions and made a welcome choice to not· include fingerings or
bowings. The keyboard is well realized and
includes the figured bass. One wishes that
all editions of accompanied baroque music
came with a figured bass.
There are many editions of these six
sonatas, so why choose this one? Andrew
Kohn provides us with four very good reasons: 1) it is basedon three different editions from 1732, including Gerhard
Fredrik Witvogel, which is generally
thought to be the most accurate; 2) in some
instances the bass line in the keyboard has
been lowered an octave .to \avoid cross
voicings with the solo line; 3) the keyboard realization has beenkept to not mQre
than an octave above the solo line; and 4)
there are no fingerings. I might add that
the historical. research and integrity that
has been brought to bear on these sonatas
also makes this an edition of choice.
- Review by Robert Black
Giovanni Bottesini
Introduction and Variations
IICarnival of Venice"
Joseph-Antoine Lorenzetti
Gavotte
AITanged by Bruce George Hanson
Vision Unlimited Editions
PO Box 1591
Bridgeview IL 60455
[email protected]
The Carnival of Venice is an annual
Venetian festival that begins around two
weeks before Ash Wednesday and ends on
Shrove Tuesday (Fat Tuesday or Mardi
Gras), the day before Ash Wednesday. The
first recorded mention of the Carnival of
Venice appears as an edict issued by the
Senate of the Republic of Venice in 1296,
thus declaring the day before Lent as a public holiday. Masks, and the characters associated with them, have always been an
important part of the Festival. The oldest
doculnent pertaining to the use of masks in
Venice dates back to 2nd May 1268.
The Carnival of Venice is also a popular
folk song. Most children learn this song in
school and it begins with thevvords 'my hat
it has three corners.' This song has been the
of numerous theme and variation
arrangements, most notably those by JeanBaptiste Arban,<Del Staigers, Herbert L.
Clarke for the comet, trumpet, Euphonium,
Francisco Tarrega . .• • and Johann Kaspar
Mertz for classical guitar, .• and Ignace
Gibsone for piano. Bass players will be
familiar with Giovanni Bottesini's arrangement for double bass and piano.
As to be expected from Bottesini, his
theme and variation is a virtuosic tour de
force. Bruce George Hanson has made a
wonderful arrangement of it for solo double
bass, strings and percussion. Mr. Hanson
hasn't given .usa.literal.adaptation of the
rathersill1plepianopart;/instead he has
takensome creative and entertaining liberties. toJ1esh out/an engaging arrangement.
Each of the eight variations have been
named after a Carnival·.· of Venice
mask/character, such as Pulcinella, Demon,
Wild Man, Dancing Bear, and others. The
clever and attractive orchestration (vln I, vln
II, vIa, vc, db) never overpowers the solo
bass line. The percussion part consists of
wood blocks, triangle, and popguns and can
be played by a separate percussionist, or by
the string players themselves. Mr. Hanson's
vivid arrangement gives a humorous twist
to what is already an entertaining work.
As delightful and light as the piece may
seemwheu<listening to it,. playing it is
another matter. Bottesini has written a
highly difficult bass part that requires the
skill of a virtuosic. player. Melodies in the
upper tessitura, rapid arpeggios throughout
the range of the instrument, quick chroluatic passages, and double stops - all typical
Bottesini trademarks - abound. A fine performance is sure to dazzle and Mr.
Hanson's arrangement will. add a greater
layer of satisfaction and interest. Available
in solo tuning or orchestratuning, the editions come with a score, parts, and an illuminating preface.
In his excellent preface to his edition of
Joseph-Antoine Lorenzetti's Gavotte, Mr.
Hanson points that this work may not have
been written by Lorenzetti but rather by
someone intent on producing a pedagogical
work disguised as literature. If this is the
case, then it is likely that Edouard Nanny
composed the work to be used as a stepping-stone for the Dragonetti Concerto
(also attributed to Nanny).
This fine arrangement of the Lorenzetti Gavotte shows many
of the same touches as can be found in Mr. Hanson's Bottesini
arrangement. He has, as he says: "spruced up the accompaniment
with small hints of counter melody to help make the musical
experience more enjoyable for the entire ensemble." It is scored
for solo double bass and strings and the string parts are fairly easy.
As popular as the piano version is, this arrangelnent should find
its wayan to many concert stages. The addition of strings
the work added interest and would come together rather quickly.
This arrangement is also available in solo tuning or orchestra tuning, and comes with a score, parts, and an illuminating preface.
Reviews by Robr:rt Black
INSTRUMENT CO.,LTD
BassScores Editions
www.BassScores.com
Orchestra Solos for the Double Bass
edited by Michael Calneron
BSC 3101
~ntroduction
and Gavotte
Giovanni Bottesini
edited by Michael Cameron
BSC 2114
Three
;;:)OlnfJlS
Auf
by feUx Mendelssohn
des
op . 34..
No"
alTanged by Michael Cameron
BSC 3014
Suite #5 in A
by J"S.. Bach
BWV 1011
alTanged and edited by Michael Cmneron
BSC 3412
Descent
g
debrief
Erik Lund
BSC 3014
BassScores Editions continues to
its
and has
released five new publications: a coIlection of orchestra solos, two unaccompanied works and two works with
It should be noted that all BassScores editions with
come with both an orchestra and solo
part.
CHENZUHUA
Orchestra Solos for the Double Bass
This collection contains 12 of the ll10st COlnmon bass solos
in the orchestra literature by Haydn, Verdi, Mahler, Prokofiev,
Stravinsky, Saint-Saens, and Britten. The preface contains useful information
the
to the grace notes that
are found in the Haydn solos. Also discussed are the differences in
and dynamic indications that can be found in
vaIious Inanuscripts of the Verdi solos, as weIl as the inclusion
of breath mm·ks in the Mahler solo. AIl valuable knowledge
for anyone studying these solos. The edition contains helpful
~'-',.l.l(J, but for the most part is devoid of fingerthe pages a crisp and clean appearance.
(JU.F,f;....,'J ..
Chairman of the board ,Beijing Dual Joy Musical Instl"'ument co.,ltd
Tel: 0086-10-69909605
Fax: 0086-10-69917422
Add: Nan Nian Tou Village,
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E-mail: bjdualjoy@gmaiLcom
: Ilwww.bj-eastman.com
Introduction and Gavotte by Giovanni Bottesini
Add this work to BassScores growing list of Bottesini editions. This ShOli and charming virtuosic showpiece is not as
widely known or performed as many of Bottesini's works.
New York City Phone: (718)706-0828
New York City Fax: (718)706-0128
Volume 33, Number 3
47
SlS!SSBg JO Ald!:J0S IBU0!lBmdlUI
Sf?
Looking through the 30 pages of Bottesini
performances on YouTube yielded only two
performances of the piece (by one by Volkan
Orhan and the other by Koo Bon Ryong).
Bottesini composed three versions of the
piece and as Patrick Neher says on Talkbass:
"If you are into what makes a composer/performer change his/her writing for specific occasions, the Introduction and Gavotte
is a great piece from which to begin study."
There are a few versions/publications of the
Introduction and Gavotte (ISG, Verlag
Doblinger, Berben) and this is one by
BassScores is a welcolne addition.
Three Songs by Felix Mendelssohn
Felix Mendelssohn was a great melodist,
as is evident in his instrumental and vocal
writing. His sytnphonies are full of enduring tunes that n1ake him one of the most
beloved composers of the Romantic period.
His talents also richly blessed the vocal literature. Mendelssohn's Lieder Ohne
Worte (Songs without Words) is one of classical music's most recognizable melodies.
The three songs that Michael Cameron has
collected here for the first time are a fitting
tribute to Mendelssohn's 200th birthday.
original double stops and chords to remain
intact with minimal adjustments. This suite
lies well in this key. As with his other editions of the suites, Mr. Cameron has used
the Anna Magdalena manuscript as a starting point. The slurring indications are taken
from the Magdalena manuscript but are
modified to fit Bach's sequential patterns.
Fingerings are minimal, but useful where
indicated. Overall, this is an edition of serious merit, which deserves the attention of
anyone wishing to play the Fifth Suite.
The songs are not flashy virtuosic pieces but
they still place substantial demands on the
performer. They lie in the mid to upper tessitura of the instrument and require a sensitive and lyrical approach. As a set, they
would make a beautiful addition to any
recital program.
Suite #5 in A minor, BWV 1011 by J.S.
Bach
Long staples of the cello literature, the
six solo suites by J.S. Bach have become
repertoire staples for the bass, too. Their
musical sophistication and technical hurdles offer great challenges to anyone who
attempts them - challenges well worth the
effort. When playing the cello suites on the
bass, the choice of key becomes paramount.
Playing them in the 'cello octave' presents
incredible technical demands on the performer. However, playing them in a 'bass
friendly' key and tessitura can yield a
sonority that is muddy and unsatisfying.
Enter Michael Cameron's arrangement of
the Fifth Suite. He has chosen the key of A
minor rather then the original key of C
minor or the sometirnes-used key of G
minor. The key of A minor allows for the
Descent, debris, debrief (1997)
Dedicated to Michael Cameron, this
1997 composition by Erik Larson is a short
work that uses a variety of contemporary
effects to produce a quick changing, kaleidoscopic, miniature, sonic universe.
Haunting harmonic tremolos and glissandi,
brutal on the string scratching, various
pizzicato effects, sul ponticello, and col
legno battuto can all be found in this work.
Descent, debris, debrief begins with an
unmetered tremolo on the bridge which
morphs into high harmonic tremolo glissandi. This is followed by a precise but slow
(mm=50) rhythmic section that employs
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Volume 33, Number 3
49
50
International Society of Bassists
various pizzicato and arco techniques. The tremolo material
returns and is again followed by a
rhythmic section. The work progresses in this alternating manner
until its final irregular tremolo,
which fades to niente. The
calls for the tuning of E-flat, A, d,
a-flat. Descent, debris,
a
great introduction for anyone wishto delve into the world of
extended bass technique and contemporary repertoire. However, its
of
and
of structure make it a fIrstrate
and should find its
way on to many recital programs.
- Revievvs
Robert Black
The MusicianNs Way
A Guide to es.m1l1lli~!IIifJ"'J>"lIi'IlIi2"&1ll"'l&.
mom
Performance and
Wanness
Gerald Klickstein
If you have a lllusical 1-1" '-'U'~"-''''''''
he
has a solution. Gerald
Klickstein 's new book is a cOlllprehensive
for the
young nlusician, from the onset of
serious
to
career
He has gone a step
further than SOIlle other wonderful
books on the
establish-
goal. He has divided the book into
three sections: 1) Artful Practice,
2) Fearless Performance and 3)
Lifelong Creativity. The first section on practicing is a great primmer for any freshman nlusic major
and beyond. The second section
on performance problellls is full of
practical advice. You may know
from
that peron stage can be among the
best or worst mOluents in life!
Klickstein's no-nonsense aprJro;ach
prepar'atl()n helps build a
The third
prevention,
lncluolng a nPJ~~ll~l~1\!f" article about
pf()te(~tHJlg your
The book
ends with
advice about how
to succeed as a student.
This is
a book that I
can recomluend to Iny COI!eagu(~s
and students, and there are Inany
sections
to be made
into studio class
Review by Diana Gannett
Rufus Reid
Caress the Thought
llIII!llllll'Wn!~iiCllli~~EI'iie for Diana
www.ISBstore.colll
bassist Rufus
Caress rfhe
for Diana
a
interactive aspects that encourage
both
involvement with the
site, and in the
diaabout the music pn)leSSlon.
Klickstein is a
music at the
Carolina School of the Arts and
continues to concertize as a classical
so a lot of
""'V'I"'"""t~l""'?"l""""" went into this book. It
is also well researched: a
the endnotes shows an nnnn~~~·I\1P
list of established works on the ali
of
and the music
sion in
(lncluolflg our own
of Music).
Klickstein's
style is
oq~anJze~d and succinct, lllaking it
very easy to get an overview of a
topic and grasp the fundamental
process for accomplishing a given
for double bass and
June, 2008, and it was
Diana Gannett herself who gave the
n~::>l;-r\riYl.<)nr"p. at the 2009
.......·o'l"Y>.a.·o
\i\/r\rv,,,hr\r\
Davis
Bassists
in Madison, Wisconsin.
it sounds as if the rnolto
section of the Hindemith
Sonata and the second half of the
Saint-Saens Havanaise, with the
driven bass
line, had a beautiful baby, COlllpJlete
with atmospheric tonal transitions
from ll1ujor to minor, auglnented to
diminished, and every other chord
cOlllbination you can inlagine. The
piece has a lllysterious yet cOlnforting feeling within this full spectnlm
of sound. It is free form, shifting
through an assoltment of time
natures Sllloothly and with ease, but
there are two distinct sections to the
piece.
Volume 33, Number
51
The first section is subtle in nature compared with its "Animated" counterpart. It
begins in a slow 4/4, quarter note equals 60, at
a subtle mezzo piano, but don't let the slow
tempo fool you. This section of the piece has
some intervallic spaces that will challenge
even the seasoned player. For the most part,
the soloist is high flying in the upper register.
The relationship between piano and bass is
somewhat distant. While the bass is lyrical,
the piano holds down the fort, playing supporting chord clusters and providing the sonic
framework in which the soloist can explore.
There are exceptions, as in measures 9-11
when the two instruments reach a climax with
deliberately marked accents over the notes
and accelerando markings beneath, crescendoing to a grand pause before a precisely
placed rubato solo for piano. The second
rubato solo, for double bass, also comes after
a big climaX in the music when the soloist hits
a high A and the accompanying piano arpeggiates up an E diminished scale and lands on
a D major chord, with an E and sustained Bflat ever-present within the chord cluster. The
D major comforts our ears while shrouded in
a mysterious minor second interval.
Another great example of this comes at
the end of the piece where the duo ends
together in E major, which is delayed for
dramatic effect by the piano's open octaves
and fifths two measures before finally playing the major third. All the while the soloist
is holding an E (in a very comfortable
fourth position) introduced by its semitone
neighbors six measures before the final
cadenza end. It is one beat before the final
measure where the piano, like an afterthought, introduces a mezzoforte toned Bflat major chord on top of the E major, creating a tritone chord cluster also known as a
"Petrushka Chord".
Lively, rhythmic, and "Animated!" (per
the composer) is the best way to describe
the second section of this piece. Where in
the first section the soloist is playing a lot
of luscious, legato and lengthy notes, in
the second section the bass begins to
move, playing running 16th note figures in
the beginning 12 bars of this section after
the piano intro and sporadically throughout until the end, while the piano steadily
holds a Latin swing-tinged bass line
rhythm. It is also in this second section
where Mr. Reid begins to employ syncopation within the instruments. He gives us
two against three and, at one point, three
against four, creating moments of rhythmic interplay and abolishing all notions of
periodicity within the solo line, keeping
things very interesting.
The dedication "Expressly for Diana
Gannett" has a lot to do with how the bass
is presented to the listener. Diana Gannett is
a student of Gary Karr, a bassist known for
his lyrical bel canto style of playing. This is
apparent in how Mr. Reid marks the phrasing within the piece, and here's what he has
to say about Caress The Thought: "I do
know this, I wish I could play it like Diana
played it. She is a special individual and an
incredible musician. I wrote the music with
her sound in mind. I am totally thrilled and
honored that she liked it well enough to perform it. This is a composer's dream - to
have their music rendered well beyond their
expectations. Diana surely has done that for
me. She has enlpovvered me to continue to
write more for the bass in this way, which is
truly a new area for me."
The piano part is bound by a plastic spi-
com a ist
Th Virtual
Ready, willing, and able to rehearse when YOU want to!
Titles Include:
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4)
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52
Int. Solos, Vol. 2: Apres un R~ve, L'Elephant, etc.
Advanced Solos, Vol. 1: Bottesini ... Elegy; Haydn ...
Serenade; Koussevitzky ... Chanson Trista
Bottesini Concerto No.1. Reverie (t)
Bottesini Concerto NO.2 in B minor (t)
Bottesini Concerto in F# minor (t)
Brahms Sonata in Em
Capuzzi Concerto in F
Cimador Concerto in G
Dittersdorf Concerto in E (t)
Dragonetti Concerto in A (t)
Eccles Sonata in Gm
Gliere Four Pieces (t)
Franck ... Sonata in A
Galliard ... Sonata in G
Handel ... Sonata in em
Hinde,mith ... Sonata(t)
Koussevitzky - Concerto, Op. 3 (t)
Marcello - Sonata in Em
•
Marcello -Sonata in G
•
..
..
Schubert - Arpeggione Sonata (t)
T ele:mann - Sonata in Am
Vanhal - Concerto in E (t)(Also available in C)
•
Vivaldi - Sonata No. 3 in Am
•
Vivaldi ... Sonata NO.4 in B flat
International Society of Bassists
Features:
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CDS & MIDK NOW A V AKLABLE
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Accompaniments marked with (t) are available for bass in solo or
orchestral tuning (please specify your choice)
Makes practicing more enjoyable and productive
Develop intonation, phrasing and ensemble skills
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USED BY BASSISTS WORLDWIDE
All works performed from standard editions
Priced at $15.95 per CD. $19.95 per MIDI disk and $12.95 per tape
plus $3.00 shipping tor the first item, $0.50 each additional item
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Huntington Station, NY 11 746 USA
PhonelFax 631.271.5742
ral with special consideration towards page
turns. The piece comes with both solo and
orchestral tuning parts included, and is
printed in a large format on high quality
paper. This wonderful addition to the solo
bass repe110ire that would make a great
piece for any recital!
- Review by Lewis Martinez
Foundation Exercises
for Bass
By Chuck Sher
Sher Music Co.
www.shermusic.com
In this publication Chuck Sher provides a
concrete package of foundation exercises
that are a must for beginning bassists as
well as experienced players who need a
refresher. Aimed ~ostly toward the electric
bass player, with some demonstrations for
acoustic, the book is divided into 32 lessons
covering basics like how to tune your
instrument, how to hold your instrument,
how to practice, how to work in emotional
content, major, minor andmixolydian
scales and arpeggios, rhythmic patterns, and
basic music theory such as interval identification and common song forms (chord paradigms). It incorporates styles of music
such as Latin, funk, rock, blues, pop, reggae, country and jazz into each lesson. The
learning process never gets dull. One of the
best things about this book is the Appendix
I section, which teaches you how to read
music. Although it is somewhat lacking in
the arco acoustic area, all the information in
these lessons can easily be applied to double bass. The book has ninety-one pages
and is conveniently spiral bound. The musical examples and instructions are well laid
out and easy to read. Chuck's overall message throughout the book is to make music
and have fun!
Review by Lewis Martinez
//Pecanics
products
are works
o f art.
II
mikepec:onic.net
[email protected]
1016 W. Pine Sf., Suite A, Upland CA 91786
VI.International Sperger-Competition for Double Bass
12.-19. Sep. 2010 Germany chloss Burg-Namedy/Andernach a.Rhein
RHODIUS-Fordermusikwettbewerb
PATRON: Nikolaus Harnoncourt
Organisation:
International Johann-Matthias-Sperger-Society
Program, Jury, Application-form
Address for Application:
Schloss Burg Namedy, D-56626 Andernach
Tel.:0049-(0)2632-48625 Fax: 0049-(0)2632-492682
Artistic director: Klaus Trumpf - Meistersingerstr.7 0-14471 Potsdaln/Germany
phon/fax:++49-(0)331-9512556
Deadline for applications: August 15., 2010
LiInited 50 participants
Until age: 35
Prizes:
I.Price: 5.000,00 EURO (Pirastro-Prize)
2.Price: 3.500,00 EURO (Thomastik-Infeld-Prize)
3.Price: Silverbowof Firm Roland Penzel
Specialprize: Concerts with various orchestras, recitals, Strings of
Firms:Pirastro, Tholnastik-Infeld, Corelli, Music of Hofmeister-Edition,
Money-Prices, Gary-Karr-Prize
Volume 33, Number 3
53
SOUNDING BOARD
Please submit recordings 'for
possible review in a future issue
of Bass Worldto ISB, 14070
Proton Rd., Suite 100 LB 9,
Dallas, TX 75244, USA
Butterfly lovers Concerto
and Brahms E Minor Sonata
Yung-chiao Wei, double bass
Chao-I Chou, piano
Centaur Records CRC-2921
www.centaurrecords.com
The Brahms sonatas have certainly provided rich material for bassists in recital
and recordings for some time, especially
the past few years, but anyone thinking
this perfor~ance of the E minor Sonata is
'just another one' will be in for a surprise.
Yung-chiao Wei's reading has extraordinary grace and poise, the first n10vement
an expansive and elegant perfonnance and
at sixteen and a half minutes, considerably
more spacious than most. Brahms' Inuch"I
quoted dislike for the metronolne
Inyself have never believed that Iny blood
and a mechanical instrument go well
together" - is rarely today taken to infer
such flexibility in teinpo, especially in the
first Inovement, but Wei here uses the
changes in very eloquent ways. Pianist
Chao-I Chou is a sensitive and astute
musical partner.
Wei's vibrato is expressive without
being continuously intense. There are
many passages where the use of vibrato is
very sparse, and without getting into the
'vibrato in Brahms' debate it is safe to say
that a very Inodern tradition with respect to
vibrato (like teinpo) has dominated perfor-
54
International Society of Bassists
Chris Kosky and Rob Nairn, Editors
mances of these sonatas for a long time.
There are many quotes in his letters that
shed light on Brahins' attitude to vibrato,
and the writings (and recordings) of
Joachim, Auer and the cellist Hausmann,
who popularized this sonata and for whom
Brahms wrote the F minor sonata and cello
part of the double concerto. Wei's perforInance makes a convincing case for a
reassessment of this modern tradition, just
as Sir Roger Non'ington's recent orchestral
recordings with The Stuttgart Radio
Symphony.
After Schulnann' s death in 1856,
Brahms elnerged as perhaps the Inost significant voice in chamber Inusic. The first
two movements of the Sonata in E minor
were written in the Slunmer of 1862 after a
lengthy holiday with Schlllnann's widow
and the composer Albert Dietrich; the
finale was composed three years later. The
years sun'ounding its composition also
brought forth the Piano Trio in E-flat
Major, Ope 40; the Sextets in B-flat Major,
Ope 18, and G Major, Ope 36; and the Piano
Quartets in g minor, Ope 25, and A Major,
op.26.
The other work on this CD is a recording
of the Butterfly Lovers violin concelto on
the double bass, transcribed by Wei. WIitten
in 1959 by He Zhanhao and Chen Gang, it is
for Inany people one of the best-known
Chinese cOinpositions in a Western medium
and this transcription is very convincing.
The perforn1ance is passionate and full of
the contrasts of the inevitably tragic story of
Zhu Yingtai and Liang Shanbo, with all the
Inicrotonal inflections so characteIistic of
Chinese instrumental and vocal music.
The recording, done at Louisiana State
University where Wei is Professor, is
detailed and clear, if occasionally a little
'boomy.' Liner notes by Samuel Ng are
thorough and fascinating. Yung-Chiao Wei
is a gifted and sensitive artist and I look
forward very ITIuch to her next release.
- Review by Rob Nairn
Dragonetti's New Academy
Chamber Music of Domenico Dragonetti
John Feeney, double bass
The Lorna Mar quartet
DNA 2009
www.myspace.con1ldragonettisnewacademy
This first release by New York Bassist
John Feeney is part of an alnbitious project to record all of Dragonetti'schamber
ITIusic (quintets and quartets). Funded by
The Classical Recording Foundation, the
project aiins to also have all of these
chalnber works published through
Grancino Editions.
Although Dragonetti's music has been
the focus of LP and CD recording projects
from Bert Turetsky in 1975 to most recently Ubaldo Fioravanti and Michele
Veronese, Fioravanti's 1996 release was
the last CD to feature any of the quintets
and quartets.
John Feeney is a tnuch-respected perfonner on both Inodern and historical
instruments, and this release and the subsequent discs will go a long way to bringing this relatively unknown chamber
tnusic to a greater audience. In fact with
the exception of Nana Koch's publication
of six of the quintets in 2002 and the occasional Doblinger edition or Yorke arrangement, these works have sat little disturbed
and much as Vincent Novello left thein in
the Rare Book and Manuscript collection
of the British Musellln in 1849. The numbering of the quintets gives rise to some
confusion, as Dragonetti wrote most of
them as pairs of contrasting movements
and appears later to have grouped some of
theIn together into larger fonns (such as in
the Koch editions); Feeney seems to be
presenting them in their original two
Inovement groupings, at least on this
recording.
This disc features a wide cross section
of music, two quintets with solo bass, one
with solo violin and a string quartet, show-
11
t
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tr~aniCISCO
t t
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Volume 33, Number 3
55
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ing some of the breadth of
Dragonetti's compositional skill
and a variety and spontaneity
that is not always obvious in the
better known 'famous solos'.
Throughout the CD, the works
are exceptionally well and passionately performed. In the
Loma Mar quartet Feeney has
found a great partner for this
recording enterprise; Myron
Lutzke is one of America's
greatest cellists, and Krista
Bennion Feeney's violin playing
in especially the D major quintet
is poised, elegant and beautifully phrased.
John Feeney's playing is
flawless, richly colored and full
of the virtuosity of articulations
that so characterize Dragonetti's
style; he draws a magnificent
tone from gut strings in this
recording in all registers. This is
simply a great CD! Highly recommended.
Review by Rob Nairn
Silva Caledonia
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56
International Society of Bassists
Daniel Nix, double bass
Estonian National Male Choir
Parnu Town Orchestra
Kaspars Putnins, conductor
GB Records
http://www.gb-records.coml
www.gavinbryars.com
This most recent release of
English
Composer
Gavin
Bryar's works brings together a
number of pieces he had written
for the Estonian National Male
Choir and therein also his
Double Bass Concerto Farewell
to St. Petersburg. Composed in
2002, the Concerto was written
for and premiered by Duncan
McTier and the BBC Scottish
Symphony Orchestra, although
the performance here is by
young American bassist Daniel
Nix. The choral sections,
marked optional by the composer are one of the striking features of the work, the lower
voices reaching down most dramatically to the deepest vocal
registers, recalling for me the
bold, stark, timelessness of
Philip Glass' Koyaanisquatsi.
The shape and sense of this
work, while certainly not minimalist, is that of a slowly evolving dark landscape. At over 28
minutes it is large in scope and
impression and perfectly conjures the mood of Nestor
Kukol'nik's
poems
(from
Glinka's song cycle of the same
title).
The work rarely makes great
demands of the soloist, instead
featuring the bass almost as a
commentator or narrator; very
long melodic lines sing through
the relatively sparse texture of
the concerto. Daniel Nix's
playing throughout is rich and
lyrical.
Farewell to St. Petersburg is
in a very different vein from By
the Vaar, Bryars' first work for
bass and orchestra, written in
1987 for Charlie Haden. A
recording of that work featuring
Haden and the English ChalTIber
Orchestra was released on
Philips classics in 1996. Also on
the CD is the work Ian in the
Broch for choir, solo baritone,
solo double bass and low
strings, a setting of a poem by
George Bruce. Although the
solo bass often plays an obbligato function to the solo voice it
also frequently shines, and in
this performance Daniel Nix
again demonstrates a great lyriCiSlTI and technical prowess. It is
a strikingly beautiful work that
deserves to be lTIuch better
known. The other mostly choral
works on the disc are also very
well worth listening to, especially the original version of Silva
Caledonia. A later arrangement,
published by Schott in an attractive edition (as are all of the
works on the CD), was made by
the composer for Gary Karr.
Gavin Bryers, himself a
bassist, has perhaps not surprisingly contributed a significant
number of works for the instrument in various chamber lTIusic
settings and in arrangements for
bass ensembles (Epilogue fronz
Wonderlawn, Sub Rosa, Porazzi
Fragment, and the Lauda songs
among others). The works on this
CD are as dramatic and somber as
the Scottish landscapes they portray, and the Concerto especially a
significant new highlight in our
literature.
Review by Rob Nairn
One On One
Ron Merhavi, double bass
merhavi @ gmail.com 2009
Based out of the Jerusalem
Music Centre in Israel, Dr. Ron
Merhavi has recorded a CD of
solo double bass works composed
from 1986 through 2008. Several
of the works were commissioned
by Merhavi and represent an
assortment of contelnporary
styles. Merhavi is a versatile double bassist, and he is well-suited to
the task of tackling the variety of
challenges that confront performers of new works for solo double
bass. The CD opens with David
Anderson's Capriccio No. 2
(1997), a work whose pedal tones,
use of idiomatic hannonics and
double stops, and Progressive
Arena Rock rhythms represent the
composer's
compositional
predilections. Merhavi clearly
understands the intent of the composer and cOlnmunicates it with
efficacy. Minles and PantomiJnes
by Andre Hajdu is a group of six
short miniatures commissioned by
Merhavi. Each miniature elaborates a singular gesture. Merhavi
intelligently interprets and performs the six disparate lnovements and delivers a cogent unification of the works.
Another work comlnissioned
by Merhavi is Yehezkel Braun's
PriJneval bnages (2007). Like the
work by Hajdu, the work is a
group of five short miniatures that
elaborates on a singular gesture.
Unlike the Hajdu commission,
however, which relies on singular
abstract
gestures,
Braun's
Prinleval bnages is driven by programmatic motivations and musically depicts images and narratives from the Hebrew Scriptures.
And unlike his approach in the
Hajdu, Merhavi exercises his versatility and explores the wide
range of musical imagery by
delineating a distinction among
the different works. His ability to
contrast the very divergent movements is especially evident in the
wild abandon that he conveys in
the movement titled Cain versus
the solemn repose of Methuselah.
I Anl Writing My Nocturne by
Oded Assaf, another Merhavi
commission, is a lyrical, atmospheric work that relies heavily on
abrupt changes in dynamics.
Fortunately for the composer,
Merhavi once again delivers with
complete mastery of tone production in all registers and at all
dynamics in order to elevate the
work to a higher level that may not
have been envisioned by the composer.
Composed in 1986, Reinhard
Wolschina's Waldszenen 1986,
can be regarded as a vehicle for
Merhavi to summarize his technical and musical compass. The
only work on the CD by an established composer is Psy (1989) by
Luciano Berio. Clocking in at less
than two minutes, it is a short,
curious work for solo double bass
whose materials were derived
from an earlier work. John
Ehnquist's Pockets is both wellwritten for the bass and well-suited or Ron Merhavi's command of
the instrument. The work distinguishes itself on this CD because
not only was it composed by an
accomplished double bassist, the
pieces do not need to invoke vernacular
or rely on a series of
bass tricks to keep the listener's
interest. Robert Rohe's Serenade
is a tender and rustic work whose
effect on the CD not only provides
welcome contrast to the avantgarde works that dominate the
CD, but also with carefully treated
dissonances interspersed in the
static arpeggios, provides a very
satisfying linear experience for
both Merhavi and the listener.
One of the charges of a bassist
who promotes new music is to
seek out, recognize, and perform
the works of emerging compositional talent. He has done just that
by enlisting composer/improviser/violinist Carmel Raz, a rising
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Volume 33, Number 3
57
WARNING: Not responsible for missing
pi y rs.
As the largest discussion forum for bass players on the internet, TalkBass.com provides an
extraordinary opportunity to interact with bassists from around the world.
Whether you play
classical, jazz, or anything in between, come join thousands of other bassists talking about
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58
International Society of Bassists
.com
star in the New Music arena. Raz's
Merhavim (Landscapes) (2008)
demonstrates a maturity not often
found among youthful composers.
Between Raz's writing and Ron
Merhavi's capabilities, Merhavim
(Landscapes) develops logically
and always has a sense of direction
and form. As a result, Merhavim
(Landscapes) accomplishes what
is so hard to attain in solo double
bass writing and other predominantly monophonic instrumental
media, an apparent form and direction. One On One is a CD project
inspired by a bass player's simple,
universal need to affirm oneself as
an artist. As Merhavi states himself, "My daily work keeps me
immersed in the waters of classical
music... Yet, at the 'same time, I am
left with little time for direct performance. This endeavor has been
my lifeline to that world." In doing
so, the Merhavi commissions have
added substantial repertoire to the
solo double bass medium. In the
glut of recordings that saturate the
CD market and try to reveal lifeaffirming artistic truths, Merhavi's
honest artistry on One On One
might well be one of the most
affirming of all.
- Review by Jeremy C. Baguyos
Poetic Schumann at 39
Gary Karr, double bass
Harmon Lewis, piano
Han Han Cho, double bass
Amati Productions, GK 113
Gary KalT, a living legend on the
double bass, shows no sign of
slowing down in his semi-retirement from public performance. His
contributions to the double bass
community are unparalleled. His
virtuosity, stage presence, affability, and zeal helped propel both
himself and the double bass to the
rank of solo artist and solo instruluent. Karr, however, does not
seem content to rest on his
unequivocal legacy. In 2007, he
recorded a self-released two-disc
set, Poetic Schumann at 39, featuring Harmon Lewis on piano and
double bassist Han Han Cho who
also produced the recording.
Karr selected the lyrical works
of Robert Schumann (1810-1856),
most of which were composed in
the year 1849 when Schumann was
39 years old. The exceptions to the
composition year of 1849 are
Nachtstiicke (1839), Triiumerei
(1838), and Spring Song (1848).
Like many of the recordings in his
discography, Karr has embraced
transcriptions and selected works
that adapt comfortably to the double bass and showcases both the
lyrical qualities of the instrument
and his playing style. Although it
is difficult to determine what transcriptions Karr used, commercial
transcriptions of Fantasy Pieces
Op. 73 and Five Pieces in Folk
Style Op. 102 are published by
International Music Publishers and
are available through Lemur.
Anyone familiar with Karr's
recordings or live performances
will immediately recognize his
powerful, striking tone with its
intensely expressive vibrato. Karr
has never been afraid to slow down
his bow speed and play with a bow
placement closer to the bridge than
most players would prefer. This
technique has afforded him a beautifully clear and projecting tone
that has helped allow him,
throughout his career, to fill concert halls with rich sound and soar
above an orchestra without aid of a
microphone in a live performance.
Yet, his sound is never strident.
Han Han Cho's recording technique is masterful in that she has
captured the essence of Kan"s tone
on this recording.
Originally composed for oboe
and piano, Three Romances, Op.
94, is a perfect vehicle for Karr's
aforementioned lyricism, intense
expressive vibrato, and powerful
tone, and it establishes the sound
concept
that
predominates
throughout the recording. In addition to Karr's default signature
sound, Three Romances spans a
wide breadth of expression in
Karr's command of bow control as
demonstrated with his ability to
begin and finish phrases with both
emotional panache and subtle tenderness. The highlight of the per-
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Volume 33, Number 3
59
formance is the soaring lyricism of the
inner Inovement Einfach, /nnig.
In Fantasy Pieces, Op. 73, KalT sustains his powerful, expressive tone over
the large shifts demanded by the transcription. Written originally for the
more facile clarinet, Karr's convincing
makes it seelll as if
Schulnann had intended to write the
work for double bass. Karr's
evident in the
of the lllovement Zart
Und Mit Ausdruck. Karr's
of tone
evident in the
and power is
Illovement Rasch Und Mit Feuer, espeover the faster passages.
Mit H~anor and Langscun from Five
Pieces in Folk
Op. 102 is the
hl~:hhght of the five tracks transcribed
from violoncello. His sharp
contrasts con1bined with the call-andresponse between the upper and lower
allows Karl' to realize his wit
and hlunor. One can
Kan"s
often-huillorous ~hln:urn5\rl~hln
cature tnusical work such as Mit HU1110r.
follows with
in the illovelnent
Langsclln.
The luost
60
International Society of Bassists
sustained works
on this recording are Abendlied which
begins the second CD of this two CD set
and the Adagio from Adagio and Allegro,
Op. 70 which was originally written for
French horn and piano. It is in these works,
that perhaps, close miking was not as flattering and that a larger live recording room
would have helped enhance Karr's arnazing
bow control and support his sound on the
long, tapering held note, at the end of
Abendlied.
Karr's adroit technical facility is showcased in the Allegro movement, especially
on the fast triplets and large leaps. KalT
draws on the haunting timbres of the viola
repertoire in his transcription of
Miirchenbilder, Op. 113. His cantabile
sonoIity is rich in overtones, especially in
the lower registers, and his transcription is
perfectly adapted to the double bass.
Han Han Cho more than holds her own
when she joins Kan° on Spring Song in an
arrangement for two double basses and
piano. Both Karr and Han Han Cho engage
in a partnership to collectively delineate the
inherent lyricism of the work. At the same
time, both Karl' and Han Han Cho interpret
the lyricisrll to levels probably not conceivable by Schumann in its original setting for
piano. Han Han Cho's effortless execution
Call or email today for more information:
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Announcing the Fifth Biennial
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~1It'1Ii'llrT.n.lIt"I~1It'lIIItn~"lIY8l
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Just over 1,300 convention attendees from 32 countries in 2009.
Competition guidelines will be posted soon at
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guidelines from the 2009 competition, contact:
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972/233-9107 ext. 204 .. Fax 972/490-4219
info @ ISBworldoffice.com
Application deadline will be May, 2011
Volume 33, Number 3
61
Scott
LaFaro
Here's the first book of Scott Lafaro
solo transcriptions taken from the Bill
Evans trio recordings Sunday at
the Village Vanguard and Waltz
for Debby. This book contains
highly detailed transcriptions of all 15
of Scott's bass solos, including the
alternate takes. $19.95
Transcribed by Phil Palombi
To purchase, please go to
www.philpalombi.com
or write to Phil at
324 W263rd st
Bronx, NY 10471
Ludwin Music
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email [email protected]
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62
International Society of Bassists
along with an innately mature
musical sensibility allows her to
keep pace with a legend, and
maybe even start one of her own.
Review by Jeremy C. Baguyos
Terje Gewelt: Oslo
Terje Gewelt, bass
Enrico Pieranunzi, piano
Anders Kjellberg, drums
Resonant Music RM21-2
P.O. Box 225~ Manglerud, 0612
Oslo, Norway
Fax: 47 22571001
www.resonant-music.com
I keep telling you, you gotta
check out this cat! Several albums
by bassist Terje Gewelt have
come across my desk in recent
years and possess a uniformly
high quality, both in the "nuts and
bolts" (recording quality) and the
musicianship. As to the former,
Resonant Music is Gewelt's own
label, his own studio - that's what
I call quality control. As to the
musicianship, Gewelt is schooled
and seasoned, an in-demand
bassist for good reason, and as a
bandleader he knows how to pick
his sidemen!
Pianist Enrico Pieranunzi
brings a truckload of talent to this
session. As a composer, he contributed three tunes: the cool Blue
Waltz with its "in and out" harmonies~
the straight-eighth,
of
Bossa-inspired
World
Wonders~ and
the romantic
Suspension Point, performed
entirely with a "verse time" or
colla voce feel, which gives the
tune a flushed and breathless
quality that is beautiful! While
Pieranunzi's writing is a highlight
of the album, his playing is just as
impressive. Lovely, very melodic, and with a nice use of
sequences, his solos suggest compositions, so cogent are his ideas~
and his comping is equally musical and supportive.
There is a free suite (Trio Suite
Parts 1, 2, and 3), each "movement" of which has meaningful
moments. The other six tunes are
Gewelt's and include a graceful
walking ballad~ reminiscent of
Bill Evans' Blue In Green,
Gewelt's North Prospect has a
floaty, free vibe, though the time
is always right there. His Small
Country is playful and spry, and
will undoubtedly bring to mind
Vince Guaraldi-Snoopy dancing, nose in the air and ears flopping - it's a nice, happy groove.
Gewelt is a terrific player and
Oslo is a bass-lover's dream - a
killer solo on every tune, plus the
occasional intro, outro or head on
bass. That is to say, bass happy,
but not bass heavy, a laudable trio
performance captured on Oslo.
- Revievv by Chris Kosky
Joane Leandre & Jean
luc
ppozzo: live
AUK Instants Chavires
Joelle Leandre, bass
Jean Luc Cappozzo, tnllnpet
Kadima Collective Recordings
KCR22
28
Zichron
Tuvia
94314
Jerusaleln, Israel
Telephone: 972 2 6236892
www.kadimacollective.coln
Bass World issue Volume 33,
no. 1 included reviews of three
CDs from the Kadima Collective
label: two by Joelle Leandre and
one by bassist and Kadilna
Collective founder, Jean Claude
Jones. This label has given us
another recording from master
improviser Joelle Leandre, this
time in nlusical discourse with
trumpeter Jean Luc Cappozzo.
Recorded at Instants Chavires,
a French performance space dedicated to those who want to
explore and create outside of (and
free from) commercial or industry constraints, the disc sounds
very good (engineer: Jean Marc
Foussat), exhibiting good balance
and tone, and a clean recording of
the many and varied sounds generated by these artists.
Speaking of the sounds, a
wealth indeed, from the trumpeter: muted, unmuted, air or
humming through the horn-at
one point sounding like a harmonica. And from the bassist:
pizzicato (plucking, strumming,
chords/double stops), arco (ponti-
cello, fast, slow & warm, gritty, growly,
col legno), percussive taps, and vocal
sounds - speech and non-speech, including
what we call "raspberries" in the U.S. The
pitch or non-pitch to suit the instant communication and composition, the listener
may hear pathos, beauty, anger, humor,
and conversation.
Live Aux Instants Chavires has eight
improvisations, eight musical snapshots,
each with its own interest. On track #2
Leandre is like a matador waving the red
cloth, encouraging and goading Cappozzo.
In addition to vocal sounds and allusions to
speech, track #4 has the aforementioned
raspberries, which makes it sound as if the
two were having quite some fun. These are
flights of imagination for the performer
and for the listener. Astounding technique,
one of the hallmarks of Leandre's playing,
and a wealth of ideas, that is the epitome of
great improvisation.
Review by Chris Kosky
ALS
About half of the songs are sung by
Jennifer Griffith, and the rest of the
melodies are rendered by the composer/bandleader on a bevy of saxophones and
clarinets. The rhythm section is comprised
of bassist Yasushi Nakamura, guitarist
Pete Smith, and Scott Latzky on drums.
Nakamura and Latzky provide beautiful
feels and solid time, as well as "little
extras" such as Latzky's auxiliary percussion on Sevilla. The rhythm section lends
a great, relaxed swing feel to I Haven't Got
TiJne to Drealn while playing assuredly on
a variety of straight-eighth grooves,
including bossa nova and tango.
Nakamura is superb in his brief solo spots
as well as his basslines-bluesy and
appropriately greasy on the intro to
Heaven in Your Eyes, lyrical on his solo on
Cartoon Love, and good-n-funky on Try
and Catch Me. Impressive compositions
(to include lyrics) and musicianship all
around, a dandy of a disc!
Review by Chris Kosky
OF NOTE.. ""
Answering the sideman call and doing
it really well, fellow bassists Yasushi
Nakamura, Tom Kennedy, and Robert
Landfermann...
Mott & Broome, woodwind artist Steve
Elson's 2008 recording, shows off thirteen
Elson originals, anyone of which could be
a jazz standard. Mostly Latin feels, a few
swingers and a funky ending cut, this is a
very listenable and enjoyable album.
Steve Elson: Mott & Broome-Lips
and
Fingers
Music
#2023;
www.steveelson.com.
For some exhilarating bass work look no
further than Tom Kennedy's nimble fingers on pianist Bob Albanese's latest
recording. A trio date (with jazz master Ira
Sullivan joining in on a few of the cuts),
this band is tight! Delivering first-rate
excursions on seven Albanese originals
and three standards, this is a jazz lover's
delight. The trio engages in free-wheeling
interplay, whether broken time or hardswinging, they are locked into one another-particularly Kennedy and drummer
Willard Dyson. Kennedy's pulse, his spry
triplets and his drops will make you say
yeah, and he has no shortage of chops!
Wonderful music abounds, in the 3/4-time
Major Minority, the swinging Yesterday's
Gardenias, and the wonderful samba feel
on Morning Nocturne, just to name a few.
Looking for an outstanding CD that's flying under most radars? Take the One
Way/Detour and dig four veteran players
laying it all out there.
Review by Chris Kosky
Bob Albanese Trio with Ira Sullivan:
One
Way/Detour-Zoho
Music,
ZM200905; 431 Saw Mill River Road,
Millwood, NY 10546, USA; phone: 914762-2329; www.zohomusic.com
Forest of Oblivion is the impressive
debut CD of 23-year old German piano
prodigy, Pablo Held. His trio mates are
bassist Robert Landfermann and drummer
Jonas Burgwinkel - talented and wellattuned to one another, in particular, displaying a mature sensibility during the
broken time and free sections. There are
ten tunes, seven of which were penned by
Held tunes in the modern jazz vein swing, straight-eighth and ballad feels,
with highly-arranged sections alternating
with freer,
looser ones. Bassist
Landfermann has a very personal solo con-
sur;c;;;;;CJj;;;
Worksh ']J2010
July 6-10
All Ages Welcome!
Lutheran Church of St. Andrew Silver Spring, MD
Fran~ois
Rabbath in recital Friday, July 9
Day workshop for bassists desiring an intense study of the bass with master teachers.
Workshop under direction of Martha and Sam Vance in cooperation with Institut
International Fran~ois Rabbath.
Faculty includes: Fran~ois Rabbath, Robert Peterson, Frank Proto, Barry Green,
David Young, Anthony Bianco, Ted Botsford, Tracy Rowell, Etienne LaFrance,
Hans Sturm, John Hamil, Lloyd Goldstein, Nicholas Walker, Ira Gold,
Christian Laborie, Liz Azcona-Hartmark, & Sylvain Rabbath.
Volume 33, Number 3
63
which I dug; for eX,UHIJle,
on the ballad Pajaro Triste
is patient and shows he's not
afraid of
notes or silence as it
serves his Inelodic ideas. The bass was not
very well recorded untortuTlatlely
distinction and too far back in the mix at
times), but it is present
to hear his
fine
this trio, and contributto the collective cause.
Chris
Review
Pablo Held: Forest of Oblivion Pirouet Records, PIT3032; P.O. Box
151725; 80050 Munich,
Brandi Disterheft: Debut
Brandi Disterheft, double bass
Chris Gale, tenor sax
Alexander Brown, trLnnpet
Nathan Hiltz,
Adrean
David VireUes,
Juhas, druills
Perhnan, vocals
www.brandidisterheft.colll
www.anlazon.cOlTI
There is a new bassist on the scene, and
she is
a lot of attention!
Canadian bassist Brandi Disterheft has
arrived in New York and folks are
notice of her
and
r}~'r'r}n ~~"
skills. This
,....
rr
has released her first
and
are
64
International Society of Bassists
the arrangements. And the selection of her
band-mates is top drawer.
The opening track, Pennywort, features
the trio in a most unusual
- it
bounces and dances and is a nice vehicle
for pianist
Disterheft and drummer Juhas are so in tune with each other;
clever
and
with SaIne
between the
and
Inoves into a nice groove te,ltunng
Virelles - this
Disterheft's Duke's Dead
an arco take
the bassist and
moves into a "conversation" between the
bassist and drlUTIIner.
reminiscent of
Charles
and his dnuTImer Mike
Richtllond. Auto-Beauties features vocalist
Perlman in a waltz-like
with
the bassist;
The 27th Hour has a 'free
feel and features tenor
Gale
and the bassist in sonle
interwith Saine wild
features vocalist
Juhas. If
Perlnlan in a s0111ber ballad that tells of
Inissed
"If
you would
find nle, Just one ITIOre slnile between
us ...."
Sixty Dollar Train is an out and out
~W'ln4JlnIO- vehicle for
cool groove laid down
the
section, and trLUTIpeter Brown gets to stretch
out a bit. Nice arrangement too. Dah
Knee LOH), written in honor of
Danilo Perez, features
Gale
and
in this
rOlup.
her chops and
does not disappoint she gets a nice fat
sound and delivers a
solo. Oh yeah.
The final track, Little Space I Need To fill
(AKA Detroit,) again highlights the trio.
Pianist Adrean Farrugia
it down and
neatly fills the space a
tion.
This first
Ms. Disterheft is
first rate. As the late Oscar Peterson stator rhlvth,mlT
ed, "She has the SaIne
as
Brown. She is what we call
serious." What Illore can be said?
Co,ngratul,ltIC)nS to this
star on a fine
first
Her
Second Side, IS also available. Five stars
for this debut.
Review
Paul Pearce
John Proulx: BakerNs Dozen
Kelmelmb(~nrlg Chet Baker
John Proulx,
& vocals
Chuck
double bass
Joe Labarbera, drullls
Dominick Farinacci, trumpet &
If
,llU,;;;,vlll\CJl.U
heard John Proulx's debut
(Moon and Sand) his recent
release will double your
John wanted to pay tribute to one of his
Inajor influences, trumpeter and vocalist
Chet Baker. With this albuIll of songs that
Mr. Baker Illade
young NIl'.
Proulx hits a hOlne run. His vocals are
relniniscent of Chet' s and the arrangements are
Included are twelve
standards and one
The trio is comprised of master bassist
Chuck Berghofer and legendary drummer
Joe Labarbara.
Let's Get Lost, by Loesser and McHugh,
has an easy flow, with some nice harmonies by trumpeter Farinacci and Proulx.
Farinacci's solo is oh so "cool" (Baker
would have loved this guy) and the pianist
lays down a nice groove. Ira Gershwin's
and Jerome Kern's Long Ago and Far
Away swings along, and following a short
'scat' by Proulx, he displays his considerable piano chops. Bassist Berghofer's solo
is spot on! (Big sound, perfect intonation.)
The classic Time after Tinle is taken at a
medium clip and the smooth vocal by John
is followed by his tasteful piano play. One
of Chet Baker's signature songs, But Not
for Me, begins just as Baker recorded it,
but following the opening chorus Proulx
takes it up-tempo and gives some space to
both the flugelhornist and drummer. Nice!
Hoagy Carmichael's beautiful ballad, I Get
Along Without You Very Well, is lovingly
interpreted by John as it moves into a slow
waltz very effective. Reunion/There Will
Never Be Another You opens with a duet
between trumpet and voice and slides into
an up-tempo swinger! Proulx shows he
can 'scat' sing with the best. Nice harmonies with the horn, too!
The well known I Renlenlber You opens
with the rarely-heard full introduction to
this classic by Johnny Mercer. Swinging
along with a gentle lope, Mr. Proulx finds
just the right groove and nails it; and a
tasty bass solo is offered by Berghofer.
The only original by Proulx is Before You
Know It. This comes very close to capturing the spirit of Chet Baker. This piece
pays homage to the legendary quartet of
Chet Baker and Gerry Mulligan and the
melodic interplay between the two jazz
giants. A pensive ballad, Sammy Cahn's I
Fall In Love Too Easily, again features the
soulful sound of Mr. Farinacci's flugelhorn
- just gorgeous. Gen'y Mulligan's Line for
Lyons stands out for the perfect duet
between Proulx and Farinacci. Following
the opening chorus, bassist Berghofer is
featured - and what a nice chorus he plays.
Farinacci and Proulx take it out. Look for
the Silver Lining is given a new twist a
samba beat that grooves! What a cool
arrangement of this Jerome Kern standard.
Drummer Labarbara makes this piece
dance! (Just try and not pat your foot!)
As was stated in John's first review in
this magazine, "It's always a joy to 'discover' a new and fresh talent. This young
artist's star is on the rise." The great
bassist, John Clayton, states: "...young and
talented John Proulx does a good job of
showing us what he is about: strong musicianship' great intonation, mellow swing
and a soothing, almost vibrato-less tone
quality." And there is no way to argue
with that! Proulx is a first rate pianist as
well as a consummate vocalist (he could
make an outstanding career either way).
At present, in addition to appearing at
many venues, John is holding forth at New
York City's famous Feinstein's. On this,
his second recording, Mr. Proulx gets the
highest praise. We will be looking forward
to lllore from this gifted young talent.
- Review by Paul Pearce
Jazz Icons
The 4th Series of Jazz Icons DVDs
A new series of Jazz Icons DVDs features
vintage unseen concerts featuring
Coleman Hawkins, Jimmy Smith
Woody Herman, Art Farmer, Erroll
Bass Coalition Summer Workshop and Solo Competition
June 24-26, 2010
Winchester, VA
Age 12 to adult and above
Classical, Jazz, and Alternative Styles
Rufus Reid, David Murray, Inez Wyrick, Donovan Stokes,
others tha
For more information:
The family of Scott laFaro has
created a beautiful, full-color
commemorative poster taken
from an original painting by Scott's
brother-in-law, the painter Manny
Fernandez, size: 38" x
24'~
All
proceeds from sales benefit
the Scott laFaro Prize, given
biennially as part of the ISB
Double Bass Competition.
Perfect for home or studio.
Treat yourself or your favorite
jazz fan. Send $40 U.S. plus
$10 shipping and handling
(international orders add an
additional $10 for airmail
shipping.) Checks or money
orders in U.S. funds, or
MasterCard, Visa and
American Express accepted.
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_
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~kphoneillem~l~
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_Check _Credit Card (MCNisa/AmEx
_
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Exp
_
Volume 33, Number 3
65
Garner, Anita O'Day and Art Blakey
www.jazzicons.com
www.amazon.com
Another collection of gems has been
released of historic proportion. This is
the fourth set of Jazz Icons and it is a
stunning set of jazz history. For some of
us that are old enough to remember hearing these artists "live" the memories
come flowing back with these concerts
from the mid-60's. As jazz historian Nat
Hentoff said of the last series, "This is
like the discovery of a bonanza of previ0usly undiscovered manuscripts of
Shakespeare plays." For bass players, the
bassists in these groups will be a study in
the development of our instrument in this
unique art form of modern jazz. These
films could be of great value to the many
Jazz Studies Departments in our universities and to their students; a treasure
trove of music.
Here is a brief look at each of these
new releases, filmed in Europe between
1962 and 1970. Cole1nan Hawkins, Live
in '62 and '64 presents this groundbreaking tenor saxophonist with top flight
musicians. Both concerts include bassist
Jimmy Woode and Papa Jo Jones is the
drummer in the' 64 concert. Hawkins is
considered the "Father of the Jazz
Saxophone." Two outstanding tracks are
Lover Conle Back to Me and All The
Things You Are. Art Blakey, Live in '65
is a fantastic hour long concert from
Paris and features a young Reggie
Workman on bass, Freddie Hubbard
(trumpet,) Jaki Byard (piano,) and
Nathan Davis (tenor sax.) This powerhouse quintet was billed as "The
Jazzmen," the forerunner to the legendary "Jazz Messengers." Highlights
include Blue Moon and llubbard's
Crisis.
Woody Herman, Live in '64, offers a
dynamite performance filmed for the
BBC and is, arguably, one on Herman's
hottest bands. Top performers include
trumpeter Bill Chase, trombonist Henry
Southall, saxophonists Sal Nestico and
Joe Romano, bassist Chuck Andrus,
drummer Jake Hanna and pianist Nat
Pierce.
Herman's signature song,
Caldonia and Four Brothers are just two
of the swinging pieces presented. Erroll
Garner, Live in '63 and '64 features
Garner's classic trio of bassist Eddie
66
International Society of Bassists
Calhoun and drummer Kelly Martin.
These concerts include his well known
Misty, I Get A Kick Out Of You, and
Erroll's Theme.
Jimmy Smith, Live in '69 is a most interesting and powerful concert filmed in
Paris. Jimmy is joined by guitarist Eddie
McFadden and drummer Charlie Crosby
as he grooves classics like Satin Doll, Got
My Mojo Working, and a 23 minute version of Smith's The Sermon. This concert
shows why Jimmy Smith is know as "the
King of the Hammond Organ."
Anita 0' Day, Live in '63 and '70 presents the innovative vocalist in her prime
and it is easy to see why she was ranked in
the top echelon of jazz divas. Miss O'Day
is heard to great effect in her well loved
arrangements of Tea For Two, Sweet
Georgia Brown and Honeysuckle Rose.
Art Farmer, Live in '64 features the
stellar flugelhornist with his quartet that
included a very young Steve Swallow on
bass, legendary guitarist Jim Hall and
drummer Pete LaRoca. Art glides through
the lovely ballad, Darn That Dream and
the quartet grooves on the Milt Jackson
blues Bag's Groove.
Each of these concerts was filmed live
in TV studios and concert halls in Europe.
And none, until now, have been officially
released. This fourth series of Jazz Icons
is priceless and of the highest quality due
to the innovative re-mastering of the original tapes; the sound and video is just stunning. Congratulations to Reelin' In the
Years Productions and to Naxos of
America, Inc., for this latest edition of
Jazz Icons. There are three earlier editions; fans and students of jazz will want
to check these out too.
- Review by Paul Pearce
YOUNG BASSIST PAGE
Stephen Reinfranck, Editor
Greetings and Salutations, Young
Bass Players!
In this column, I want to talk about
"Setting Limits." As YBs, most of you
probably have parents or teachers (Musical
and Non-Musical, as well) who set limits
for you, for example: "...not until you've
finished your homework!" It can be real
torture!
Once I asked my erstwhile teacher,
Maestro Brian Ferguson (of Chicago's
Lyric Opera) why I had to do exercise out of
the Etude Book (Bille 263) - "Why can't I
just learn the Symphonic Repertoire? Why
can't I just go 'straight to the source'?"
Brian explained that the authors of the
Etude books were famous, highly accomplished bass players and educators, who
had put a lot of thought into the writing of
the books; that they deliberately made the
exercises somewhat redundant, so the
"skill set" that a serious student would
need to learn, perform, and audition successfully, would be right at one's fingertips, probably much faster than if one just
learned the excerpts directly.
Most of the colleagues I know who are in
major symphonies, or who play with top
jazz ensembles, knew what they wanted to
do when they were relatively young; they
have often shared with me their early decisions to avoid playing certain kinds of
music, in order to focus on the idiom that
they had chosen for their performance
career. Have you ever made such a decision?
What I say about my playing is that I am
a "Jack of All Trades" - I worry that, consequently, I am a "Master of None." Enough
years have gone by that I finally feel totally
secure with the notion that I am a Bass
Player, and I Can Play! I hope this realization comes more quickly for you, dear YB;
just remember that Humility is a Virtue!
Then, there's teaching... Not every great
performer is a great teacher, and vice versa.
I know that it's true for me, and for many of
my colleagues, who have shared their
impressions with me, that it is their students
who end up being some of their best teachers! Often, we advance as players by going
through the ordeal of finding the right way
to explain how to play something to a student who learns differently than you do. I'd
recommend trying at least TEN different
ways of demonstrating something to your
student before you even think about getting
frustrated!
My "problem" is that I like all kinds of
music! However, I have set certain limits in
my career... For example, I swore that I
would never repair basses; I thought too
highly of the gifted luthiers I knew; I loved
the way my bass sounded when I took it
home from their shop it sounded louder
and more focused; cleaner and deeper!
Lots of things change in life; now I'm
doing lots of repair and set-up work! I
recently got a "bridge stamp" that punches
my name into the bridge... that means that
I'd better do a great job on the set-up,
because everyone will know who did it!
I encourage those of you who have your
sights set on a highly specialized niche
within our bass-playing spectrum to carry
on, and good luck to you, achieving all of
your dreams! Maybe I'm a bit envious that
you have the discipline and focus that, it
could be argued, I lacked... I guess I would
just urge you to "roll with the punches," and
be open to the various turns, detours, and
forks in the road of your bass playing career
- they're sure to come; be ready!
Keep Sawing and Plucking Away,
Steve Reinfranck
Volume 33, Number 3
67
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