neilp Posted July 14, 2015 Share Posted July 14, 2015 Good for you! Keep at it. IMHO thirty minutes playing scales is more than enough at the moment! Further on up the road, when you've got two minor scales, arpeggios ad dominant sevenths to worry about, you might find yourself pushed! I'd spend more time on the actual music anyway, it's more rewarding and motivating! I think a bit of time in the classical world is a really good thing. The attention to detail is on a different level to what we are all used to Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveJ Posted August 16, 2015 Author Share Posted August 16, 2015 Does anybody have any experience open-access orchestras? There is an a 'Cobwebs Orchestra' in the North East that invites [b]novices[/b] to come and join in and play. I'd definitely include myself as a novice! Anyone done this sort of thing? What should I expect on turning up? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilp Posted August 16, 2015 Share Posted August 16, 2015 You should expect a whole bunch of people keen to play great music together! Give it a go, what have you got to lose? At best you'll meet some good people and play some music with them and have a great time (maybe learn some stuff too!). At worst you'll decide not to go again. How will you know if you don't try it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bilbo Posted August 17, 2015 Share Posted August 17, 2015 Having read the above my own thoughts are that three hours practising scales is something I could only have done when I was a kid and, even if I had the time now (which I don't), I would struggle with that. I suspect the idea of genuiniely committing to a classical 'career' at my age (52) is nothing more than an fantasy but I can see the benefits of developing some arco technique. It's difficult. I struggle every day between double bass (pizz vs arco), electric bass (pizz vs pick), improvisation, composing, guitar, soprano sax etc. One cannot do it all and, I suspect, would improve immeasurably at any one of the above if I let the others go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paultrader Posted August 20, 2015 Share Posted August 20, 2015 I'm lucky because I'm retired, and have been able to build my double bass practice into my routine, although routines were made to be disrupted! I probably manage about five hours a week of practice. If I don't feel like practising but decide to have a short session, I concentrate on scales. To me, scales are absolutely vital. I spend about half of each practice session playing scales and arpeggios. This is where you develop your finger memory and your ear for correct intonation. Go up and down the scale slowly and listen carefully; if the tuning is out start again so that you don't embed bad intonation habits. Arpeggios help with learning left hand jumps up and down the fingerboard, and for us DB players that is a big issue. I find that there are invisible 'markers' on the fingerboard, places where I need to jump to immediately and without thinking. One of these is the fifth (D on the top E string, for instance). I practice going straight to it from cold. Another one is the octave. Jump straight to the octave G on the top string, playing a harmonic, then check it by playing it fingered. If it's wrong, try again, and again and again. I apologise if I'm being a bit obvious, but actually it wasn't obvious to me when I started after years of playing electric bass with frets and a shorter scale. The Double Bass Solo books are a joy - I'm playing Greensleeves, the Gypsy Rondo and Sheep May Safely Graze from Book 1 at the moment. When I started and looked at the music , those tunes seemed an impossible dream - Often they're a bit scratchy, but I'm getting a real buzz from it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geoffbassist Posted September 1, 2015 Share Posted September 1, 2015 (edited) Hey Steve, congrats on all the great work you are doing. I was just reading your thread and wanted to recommend some great classical lessons on Youtube that you might find helpful if you are looking for some new material. Lauren Pierce is fantastic. [media]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yWg_C_WY9Ls[/media] Andrew Anderson's videos are also superb. [url="https://youtu.be/gZ4ctFAe7r0"][media]https://youtu.be/gZ4ctFAe7r0[/media][/url] I would also recommend trying out the orchestra as soon as possible and I've heard the cobweb orchestra is really friendly from a few friends who have been going to one near me. Best of luck with it, cheers Geoff Edited September 1, 2015 by geoffbassist Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Starr Posted September 3, 2015 Share Posted September 3, 2015 You guys are making me so jealous Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveJ Posted September 3, 2015 Author Share Posted September 3, 2015 Thanks Geoff, will have a look when I get the chance.... I've got 2 weeks off coming up so lots of bass practice planned. I'm also going to let Martin Penning have a look at my bass and see if the action can be lowered a bit and generally check over the bass set-up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassadder Posted September 9, 2015 Share Posted September 9, 2015 (edited) Hi Steve Just to follow on from Geoff's advice he recommended Lauren to me and I have started taking lessons with her. In one lesson she has improved my sound dramatically already and I would highly recommend her, yes I can already play with the bow but if I'd taken lessons more regularly it would have definitely speeded up the process. Edited October 1, 2015 by bassadder Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveJ Posted September 10, 2015 Author Share Posted September 10, 2015 Thanks guys. The Lauren Pierce videos look great and the stuff about using the arm weight rather than pressure makes sense and I'll work on that to cut down fatigue in my right arm. I took the bass to Martin Penning in Frome [url="http://mpenning-luthier.co.uk/"]http://mpenning-luthier.co.uk/[/url] on Tuesday. What a nice chap! Great workshop, great coffee. He re-cut my bridge, lowering the string height, moved the sound post and re-profilled the edge of the finger board in the time it took my to have a haircut and treat Mrs J to a light lunch. The bass is easier to play and the sound is a little more focussed. Had I spent a couple of grand on a new bass I'd have been well chuffed, as it was it cost me £30! I cannot recommend this chap highly enough! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philparker Posted September 10, 2015 Share Posted September 10, 2015 [quote]The bass is easier to play and the sound is a little more focussed. Had I spent a couple of grand on a new bass I'd have been well chuffed, as it was it cost me £30![/quote] A wise choice! I use Martin Penning as he is the nearest high class Luthier to me at 40 miles away, but I've spent a lot more money than that (getting more work done of course!). His own DB's are sublime, I've heard two different 'Penning' models, one brand new and one 3 years old - This year he won a Luthier's prize for 'tone'. I've not see any of his DB's for sale second hand and there's probably a very good reason why! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveJ Posted September 10, 2015 Author Share Posted September 10, 2015 [quote name='philparker' timestamp='1441899897' post='2862807'] A wise choice! I use Martin Penning as he is the nearest high class Luthier to me at 40 miles away, but I've spent a lot more money than that (getting more work done of course!). [/quote] I'm hundreds of miles away in North Yorkshire but Frome is very close to my sister's home and so I combined it with a trip to see family. Probably the best £30 I've spent on instruments ever. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveJ Posted October 19, 2015 Author Share Posted October 19, 2015 Past the 100 hour milestone this week so that is 1% of the 10,000 hours to become an expert. Still time to reach that number by my mid nineties. Still working hard on technique and not venturing much beyond 2nd position but the bowing is improving and use of a metronome is improving the rhythm of the pieces. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philparker Posted October 19, 2015 Share Posted October 19, 2015 I've just started lessons again after a 15-month rest (from study, not playing) and will also finish off my exams - it marks the start of another chapter of serious study, but I can't help feeling the end of completed exams will be the start of being able to play properly...and the requirement for a more expensive bow! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twigman Posted October 19, 2015 Share Posted October 19, 2015 [quote name='SubsonicSimpleton' timestamp='1434463837' post='2799838'] I like to watch performances like these [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QgZ_-f7pVk4[/media] [/quote] Only 3 strings? That's not normal is it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philparker Posted October 20, 2015 Share Posted October 20, 2015 [quote name='Twigman' timestamp='1445295900' post='2890449'] Only 3 strings? That's not normal is it? [/quote] Well, it's quite a cheap bass and he probably can't afford to replace the string that snapped! It used to be the norm up until about the early/mid nineteenth century and a lot of older quality basses were modified to take 4 strings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveJ Posted January 3, 2016 Author Share Posted January 3, 2016 So, here's an update for the start of 2016: The lessons and practice are going well and the 150 hour mark was reached this week-end. Planning to do ABRSM Grade 2 in March, could have stretched possibly to Grade 3 but I know exam nerves will affect my performance so thought it best to play safe. Fortnightly, one hour lessons suit me well and with constant attention from teacher the bowing and intonation continue to improve. I bottled out on trying out with the Cobwebs Orchestra. Thought I'd get a few more months of practice under my belt before committing myself. Simon Penning made a a great improvement to the playability of the bass back in the Autumn. The carbon fibre bow from the Contrabasse Shoppe doesn't really suit me and I'll be looking to try out some pernambuco bows this year. If anyone has such a bow they want to trade or sell, please get in touch. Happy New Year, Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SubsonicSimpleton Posted January 4, 2016 Share Posted January 4, 2016 A couple of months ago I made an interesting discovery, although I've been working on excercises from the Simandl method book 1, I hadn't looked at the Simandl 30 etudes, then one day I stumbled upon this on youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X2OnFTI3tCg At first, I just tried to play along with the accompaniment for etudes 1&2, and had fun failing to do so, followed (after some work) by the elation of managing to get from start to finish regardless of mistakes - playing through them both for my teacher and getting some (well quite a lot ) guidance on executing them properly was really interesting. Having had some time to work on them since I'm really starting to appreciate how well written they are as technical studies, and how enjoyable they can be to play. Much more recently, while looking at videos of good players playing the Simandl etudes, I found this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hYgsV4izDIU It looks like the lady that runs the channel is going to post videos for all 30 etudes, so combined with the playalongs, I thought it would be a good idea to share both resources for anyone who isn't aware of them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveJ Posted January 11, 2016 Author Share Posted January 11, 2016 Wow, great resource, thanks for posting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveJ Posted February 6, 2016 Author Share Posted February 6, 2016 Just gotten back from my first session with a local string ensemble and it was BRILLIANT! Ok, they play together regularly and are entering the local music festival in 3 weeks time and have gotten their chops down well. And I was pretty rubbish as the only bass trying to sight read the stuff I'd been given 20 seconds before but it was BRILLIANT! Looking forward to joining them as a regular in March, it will be a steep learning curve but worth it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveJ Posted March 17, 2016 Author Share Posted March 17, 2016 Today marked two milestones in the great clssical bass experiment: 200 hours of practice and the ABRSM Grade 2 examination. Seemed to go ok, will post the results when I have them.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilp Posted March 18, 2016 Share Posted March 18, 2016 Well done Steve! Are you still playing with the ensemble? That will improve your playing - particularly intonation - faster than anything else, and as you've found out it's great fun... Keep us posted, this is great Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philparker Posted March 18, 2016 Share Posted March 18, 2016 Hey, well done, that's the first exam out of the way, which will hopefully calm nerves for future exams now that you know the format. It's probably worth skipping a couple of exams to spare some expense as I'm sure you'll progress at a much faster rate. As NeilP says, playing with the local ensemble will do wonders for your playing. I've recently joined my local amateur orchestra and I've been at my absolute limit in sight reading to tempo on some pieces and able to get a break on the easier ones, but I will also have to practise the more detailed pieces as well as studying exam material and it's helping my all round musicality as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilp Posted March 18, 2016 Share Posted March 18, 2016 The only thing I would say, and I hope this doesn't sound condescending, is that the fastest way to progress with ensemble playing is to never lose sight of the fact that it's music and needs expression. Always try to play with expression. Imagine all the audience can hear is you, even when you're sightreading and struggling! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveJ Posted April 5, 2016 Author Share Posted April 5, 2016 [quote name='philparker' timestamp='1458294549' post='3006293'] As NeilP says, playing with the local ensemble will do wonders for your playing. I've recently joined my local amateur orchestra and I've been at my absolute limit in sight reading to tempo on some pieces and able to get a break on the easier ones, but I will also have to practise the more detailed pieces as well as studying exam material and it's helping my all round musicality as well. [/quote] Yep, starting with local string ensemble after the Easter break. Got my results today - distinction- well chuffed! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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