Chris West!!! I just discovered April 2021. You are an amazing bass instructor mate! Thanks for helping us, total strangers, to advance through your excellent insights and instruction. Blessings!
I've just discovered your videos and will try and follow them (as I don't have a teacher). I play in a small community orchestra as the only double bass player, so there is a lot of pressure on me, especially when we have an approaching concert and I have to spread my playing time between practicing our orchestral pieces, my playing technique and keeping on top of scales/arpeggios.
Hi Michael, thanks for watching my videos. I teach at music college, so most of my students are advanced, but I hope there will be things you find useful. Good luck with your bass playing!
Hi Chris. Great tutorial , very similar to the tutorial and fingering pattern Dennis ( Incredibly Useful Exercises ) has put out there , most helpful thank you.
I’m not a string player, I’m studying orchestration. I was wondering, is it safe to assume this alternate fingering technique is context dependent? The change in timbre between the two examples is slight, but not inaudible. As a professional performer, would that ever lead you to temporarily abandon your fingering modification in favor of aesthetics? I’m sure I sound like a novice asking such a question, but I’m genuinely curious. Thank you if you have a moment to reply!
Excellent question! Yes, when choosing fingerings you are always striking the balance between security of intonation and range of expression. If you’re playing solo you might want to choose a harder fingering that gives you the colour you want; if you’re playing in a section it might be more important to play safe and make absolutely sure you are playing in tune. The springback technique is just another option to add to your repertoire.
Russell Szabados Not at all! It was a good question. I sometimes tell a section which string to play a passage on if we need a certain colour. I think sometimes violins get told to play on the G string. I’ve never seen a specific instruction like that in a bass part, but you could do that if you had a clear idea of what you want!
Thanks for sharing the knowledge
Chris West!!! I just discovered April 2021. You are an amazing bass instructor mate! Thanks for helping us, total strangers, to advance through your excellent insights and instruction. Blessings!
Thank you so much, Leroy! I am glad you find it useful and I will try to keep putting stuff up. Keep enjoying your bass playing!
Springback is the perfect name for this
I've just discovered your videos and will try and follow them (as I don't have a teacher).
I play in a small community orchestra as the only double bass player, so there is a lot of pressure on me, especially when we have an approaching concert and I have to spread my playing time between practicing our orchestral pieces, my playing technique and keeping on top of scales/arpeggios.
Hi Michael, thanks for watching my videos. I teach at music college, so most of my students are advanced, but I hope there will be things you find useful. Good luck with your bass playing!
Hi Chris.
Great tutorial , very similar to the tutorial and fingering pattern Dennis ( Incredibly Useful Exercises ) has put out there , most helpful thank you.
Thanks. I’ve not seen Dennis’s book but have heard great things about it!
if i played the double bass i’m sure this would be very useful
I’m not a string player, I’m studying orchestration. I was wondering, is it safe to assume this alternate fingering technique is context dependent? The change in timbre between the two examples is slight, but not inaudible. As a professional performer, would that ever lead you to temporarily abandon your fingering modification in favor of aesthetics?
I’m sure I sound like a novice asking such a question, but I’m genuinely curious. Thank you if you have a moment to reply!
Excellent question! Yes, when choosing fingerings you are always striking the balance between security of intonation and range of expression. If you’re playing solo you might want to choose a harder fingering that gives you the colour you want; if you’re playing in a section it might be more important to play safe and make absolutely sure you are playing in tune. The springback technique is just another option to add to your repertoire.
Chris West thank you for the insight. That makes sense, perhaps I was “overthinking” the situation. All the best.
Russell Szabados Not at all! It was a good question. I sometimes tell a section which string to play a passage on if we need a certain colour. I think sometimes violins get told to play on the G string. I’ve never seen a specific instruction like that in a bass part, but you could do that if you had a clear idea of what you want!