Teaching Rabbath

[Kyle Augustine]

Hi Mr. Neher. I have a student who will be going to the Vance camp this summer so I thought it might be a good idea to have him work on some things out of the first Rabbath book. I have looked at this book myself for a while but understand that it is not presented in a way that Rabbath intended. How should I approach teaching from this book? Thanks!

[PNeher]

A good start might be the CD-ROM on the subject "Francois Rabbath, the double bass, the new technique." Published by Label Image (France) and now out of print but likely available still from Liben Music (liben.com). Also, a few consultations with someone who has studied with FR would help. And lastly, George Vance directly. He has the "Progressive Studies" based on Rabbath methods. I'd also be happy to help... if you have specific questions about specific pages, I could ellaborate a bit on each study.
Best!
PN

Originally Posted by Kyle Augustine

Hi Mr. Neher. I have a student who will be going to the Vance camp this summer so I thought it might be a good idea to have him work on some things out of the first Rabbath book. I have looked at this book myself for a while but understand that it is not presented in a way that Rabbath intended. How should I approach teaching from this book? Thanks!

[Kyle Augustine]

My student is fairly advanced but rather young (7th grade). I have taken him through the 1st Vance Book and have started the second. I have him working on pages three and four as well as the divertimento on page five but it all seems a little dry for him. He is used to playing tunes out of the Vance books rather than exercises. I went to Vance's work shop several years ago and they had us play etude No. 1 on page 13 where it was written as well as an octave up. Any advice on these specific passages would be helpful. Thanks!

[PNeher]

You want dry, come to Arizona!!!
Etudes and exercises can seem dry if not tunes that the student knows already. But eventually etudes are the bread and butter of double bass study, so ... maybe it is time to encourage that etudes are tunes too! Anyway, I believe all music (from scale studies to Rap) has validity and worthy of study. For technical issues, there are specific etudes to "exercise" the technique. Focus on the goal of the exercise and perhaps you can make it "fun" by adding variation of fingering (a puzzle) or dynamics (for drama and expression), octave displacement (more challenge), etc.! Suppliment Rabbath books with Simadl, Bille, Barry Green, Storch and Hrabe, Lee, Montanari, etc. Beware limiting resources simply for participation in a workshop. A well-rounded musician is the goal of Rabbath and Vance, so supplimentation is likely encouraged.
Cheers!
PN

Originally Posted by Kyle Augustine

My student is fairly advanced but rather young (7th grade). I have taken him through the 1st Vance Book and have started the second. I have him working on pages three and four as well as the divertimento on page five but it all seems a little dry for him. He is used to playing tunes out of the Vance books rather than exercises. I went to Vance's work shop several years ago and they had us play etude No. 1 on page 13 where it was written as well as an octave up. Any advice on these specific passages would be helpful. Thanks!