Pedagogy Question - Bowing for Jazz

[stanhamrick]

Hi Lynn,

I am a working jazz bassist (reformed lawyer) in my 50's. I play out regularly and spent 4 or 5 years steady with the best teachers in the DC area. No virtuoso but no slouch. I am trying to improve me arco, with the desire to do more melodies and solos out on my gigs. I started with a new (well-respected) orchestral/jazz teacher whom I like, but insists we work our way through "classical" repertoire. I think given my age and goals, my time would be better spent working on the Jazz arco repertoire from the Coolman and Goldsby book, etc. Thoughts?

Thanks!

Stan
(stanhamrick@gmail.com)

[stefaniw80401]

I'm primarily an orchestra player, but do some jazz (with bowed solos). I also teach, and if you were my student I'd work from the jazz material you already have -- fake books. They have the melodies (mostly in treble clef), and that's a great place to start with the bow for a jazz bassist. If the music is too high, then you can hone you skills at reading up and playing down an octave. Then I'd give you some etudes designed to work on the various bow strokes a jazz player will need -- yes they'd probably come from the "classical" pile of music -- Findeisen, Bille, Simandl, etc -- but not the solo or orchestra repertoire.

Good luck. If you like your teacher, try to get them to (re)design your lesson material towards jazz as I've outlined above.

- Mark

[Ed Fuqua]

Not to unduly bogart, but check the Mike's Master Classes website, they have a bunch of the David Gage workshops up and may have the recent one that Lynn did on arco jazz playing.
My question would be, how much bow experience do you have currently? I know when I started with my teacher (being much in the same situation as you) all arco meant to me was last note of a ballad. He's a jazzer, but studied legit technique with Julius Levine and June Rothenburg, he's teaching me a pretty standard legit approach. My feeling is that, while there may certain nuances of phrasing and approach with the bow that help accentuate the feel, you pretty much need to have a firmly grounded technique in basic sound production to begin with.