Introduction: Patrick Neher and This Forum

[paul]

It is with great pleasure that I introduce our latest "Pro" here on TalkBass.com, and our first in the Double Bass forum category, Patrick Neher! Neher's biography sets him apart as one of the cornerstones of the double bass world community. He's played in several major symphony orchestras, served as a director for the International Society of Bassists, is recognized as one of the world's leading double bass soloists, and gives clinics on double bass performance and composition world-wide. He is also a prominent composer/arranger with many works for double bass in publication. See below for a full bio.

If you are not familiar with our "Ask a Pro" forums, this forum is just like any other, except that questions posed should be applicable to, and addressed to, Patrick Neher.

---------------------------
Patrick Neher, Professor of Music, is recognized as one of the world's leading double bass soloists and composers of music for double bass. He received his Master of Music Degree with Honors from the Juilliard School of Music in 1981, under the esteemed tutelage of the late David Walter. In 1996 he received the coveted Diplôme from the Intl. Rabbath Institute, Paris, France.

He has been with the faculty of the University of Arizona since 1984. He founded the Arizona Double Bass Symposium in 1988 and the Arizona Bass Players Festival and Workshop in 2005. He is a former member of the San Diego Symphony, the New Mexico Symphony, the American Philharmonic, the New Orleans Symphony, the New 20th Century Players, and for ten years he was Principal Bassist with the Tucson Symphony Orchestra. For almost two decades, Mr. Neher was Principal Bassist with the Santa Fe Orchestra and the Santa Fe Pro Musica Chamber Orchestra.

Prof. Neher's solo concert career has taken him to England, Scotland, Australia, France, Canada, East and West Germany, Italy, Mexico, Argentina, Peru, and throughout the USA. As an active chamber musician, he has performed with numerous festivals, including: the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, the Sedona Chamber Music Festival, the Grand Canyon Chamber Music Festival, the Spoleto Festival, the Lincoln Center Chamber Music Society, the Grand Teton Music Festival, the California New Music Festival, the CalArts Contemporary Music Festival, the Green Umbrella Series, the Santa Fe Opera, and the New Orleans and Phoenix symphonies' summer festivals. Mr Neher is a founding member of both Crossing Barriers Group and Trio Giovanni

Prof. Neher gives clinics on double bass performance and composition around the world, has been one of the Directors of the International Society of Bassists, and has been listed in International Who's Who in Music since 1989. He has served twice as Head of the Solo Competition Jury for the International Society of Bassists, and for three years he was the Double Bass Forum Editor for American String Teacher magazine. As an active member of ASCAP he is an avid composer, arranger, and editor with music and recordings published by Liben Music and ISG Publications. Prof. Neher's articles on double bass and its players, and reviews of his compositions, have been published by Double Bassist Magazine, American String Teacher, Strings Magazine, and the ISB Journal.

With a solo repertory of over 300 works that span four centuries, and performances lauded as "creative, inspiring, and theatrical," Prof. Neher performs exlusively on a Charles Quenoil model double bass made by Christian Laborie (France), with strings made by Pirastro (Orginal Flat Chrome or Permanent) and Savarez (Corelli medium). For mixed-media performances, he uses electronics by Roland, Boss, Behringer, Sennheiser, Nakamichi, Digitech, and Apple-Macintosh.

[Heli Bass]

Welcome Mr Neher. Thanks for being available to our community.

[simandlhandle]

Hi, and Welcome.
You play a wide range of music in your repetoire, and I was wondering how you warm up before performance for different pieces. Do you have a set regime? Do you physically or mentally play through the piece you are going to perform? How long is the right amount of time to warm up, or is it needed at all? Do you actually get the time to warm up as you want, or do you just grab what time you can?

[PNeher]

Originally Posted by simandlhandle

Hi, and Welcome.
You play a wide range of music in your repetoire, and I was wondering how you warm up before performance for different pieces. Do you have a set regime? Do you physically or mentally play through the piece you are going to perform? How long is the right amount of time to warm up, or is it needed at all? Do you actually get the time to warm up as you want, or do you just grab what time you can?

Yes, yes, yes... Warm up
Thanks for the welcome and the question. I have warmed up with some other answers on the forum, and will continue....
Warm-up to me is a time to get your muscles WARM, to get them moving, to increase blood-flow, to increase flexibility. It is NOT a time to practice. In other words, warm-up is a time for the body and mind to get going, but not yet concentrating on evaluating. There should be no "right" or "wrong", no bad or good, no in-tune or out-of tune to warming-up. So, yes I have routines to warm-up which include stretching, swinging, noodling, improvising, sawing, yawning, and generally making all the noises I can think of. THEN, I have a "transition" set of diddies that I use to bring me into PRACTICE (or rehearsal) where my muscles are now ready for slow scales or fast arpeggios or minute movements for intonation critique. I start to evaluate all details and correct, change, alter. This is practicing.
For me warm-up is not always necessary, though when I was younger it was definitely necessary. I suffered in Graduate School from tendoneitis and burseitis, and I had these for about eight years into my professional life. So I re-learned how to play the bass, focusing on form and efficiency of movement. I also changed many ways of routine and especially the warm-up. I used to require a half-hour warm-up. Now, because I know what the muscles should feel like before I begin to perform or practice, I need as few as five minutes to warm-up! Every individual must evaluate his/her physique for efficiency of movement. When one knows how to be efficient, one need not warm-up that much. A child, for example just runs, but an adult must warm-up before the marathon. Expectations play a big part in tension and therefore how easily on can execute complicated motions on a given degree of flexibility (from warming-up or not).
Bass Wishes, and thanks for asking!
PN

[simandlhandle]

Thanks for an interesting answer.

[zaghy]

Well that was a dellightfull poetic detailled approach ...

thank you for sharing, and a good read