Bach on bass video I made

[Anti-Product]

Hey everybody,
I know there's a thread for videos like this, but last time I put one in there, nobody looked, so I'm making this thread. If this is out of line, mods, you can delete it, and I'll understand why and won't do it again. Anyway, this is a video I made of Bach's Sonata #1 in G Minor from the Bach for Bass book by Josquin des Pres. It's taken a lot of practice, and I'm pretty satisfied with it. So without further ado, here it is:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_V6MKSVwtE

[Matt Till]

Good job, but I gotta say most of what I hear is fret buzz. It could be played a lot cleaner, but I've got that book and that's some tricky bassifying, the fact that you stuck with it means you have me beat. Maybe some tonal adjustments would make that sound cleaner, my only true critique.

[metalstorm]

Sounds like your off to a good start, however like was said above, your technique needs a little work. Keep at it!

[SundanceChile]

+1 to all above. Raising the string height might help a little bit. Otherwise, an excellent execution.

[artfahie]

Very nice. Play the bass when you practice & not the "amp" and the frett buzz will disappear. Your left hand pinky technique is great, but you sometimes move on the neck when you don't have to. Great job... you should be very proud.

[lambro]

to a metronome

break it down in sections until you own them, then when you speed it up you will be more relaxed

the fret buzz is very odd sounding almost like you are going thru a piezo or something, check your neck to make sure is only has the slightest concave to it from a flat reference, then get the action and intonnation set.

Check out the Bach violin partitias, lots more cool suff there.

[Anti-Product]

Thanks for all the replies and critiques, everybody. I will take them to heart. As I am listening to it again, I did notice that the fret buzz sounds odd, and is not what comes out of the amp. Perhaps the fact that I am running through the direct out of my amp into the Firepod makes it come out oddly? I will definitely check, it has not been set up in a while.

[Papersen]

I own that book and never went beyond the 2nd page of that tune, it`s quite tricky to play.

You`ve done a great job, but I agree that you should play it slower and with a metronome. That way is much easier to make it sound more natural and musical.

[genocide roach]

DEATH!!! \m/
~gR~

[Christopher]

I'd echo the comments about the fret buzz. Also, I'd recommend getting a professional recording of the piece to help you with phrasing. This piece sounds great if you don't play everything staccato at the same tempo. :-)

[Anti-Product]

Haha yes, the phrasing definitely needs practice. I actually did practice it extensively with a metronome..I guess I need to do it even more. I really like the comment that says my fretbuzz makes it sound like Bach composed it for farts or something like that, hahaha!
I love Death. That sounds pretty weird.

[Johnny Steele]

Hi, nice playing man. Im actually about to start my end of year college piece. And would LOVE to play some Bach. I was just wondering:
1)what book is this from?

2)IS there a cd available pefromed in double bass/cello to help get the feel?

3)is there any dvds helping with some back pieces on bass

4) whats the absolute most amazing piece of bach music people could recommend i could get stuck into, which is available in sheet and recorded form. Ok, silly question im19, and id say fair at bass, the level im playing at is that of first year university.

Any help and opinions would be awesome!

Thanks

[The_Orlonater]

2 things:

1) Pretty good.

2) DEATH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Pacman]

two things:

Get some recordings of this piece and listen to great players play this - there's far more to Bach than the notes. You've got to dig past the notes to get to the music.

Bach is like Yoga - you can work on it for years and years and years and years to get past the notes to the music.

Good luck!

[Anti-Product]

Originally Posted by Johnny Steele

Hi, nice playing man. Im actually about to start my end of year college piece. And would LOVE to play some Bach. I was just wondering:
1)what book is this from?

Bach for Bass by Josquin des Pres

Originally Posted by Johnny Steele

2)IS there a cd available pefromed in double bass/cello to help get the feel?

Probably. I listen to a CD by Sigiswald Kuijken, who is a violinist. I'm sure there are many other CDs and recording, and I need to check them out, like Pacman said.

Originally Posted by Johnny Steele

3)is there any dvds helping with some back pieces on bass

Not that I know of.

Originally Posted by Johnny Steele

4) whats the absolute most amazing piece of bach music people could recommend i could get stuck into, which is available in sheet and recorded form. Ok, silly question im19, and id say fair at bass, the level im playing at is that of first year university.

Any help and opinions would be awesome!

Thanks

That's a ridiculously open-ended question, since he had so much output. I am not that familiar with all of it, so I can't really give a good answer, but there are people here who know much more than I do.

[Grueber]

Originally Posted by Johnny Steele

4) whats the absolute most amazing piece of bach music people could recommend i could get stuck into, which is available in sheet and recorded form. Ok, silly question im19, and id say fair at bass, the level im playing at is that of first year university.

Any help and opinions would be awesome!

Thanks

You could try Govotte en Rondeau from Partita III. It is a great solo piece to play on bass.

http://www.music-scores.com/cgi-bin/..._3rd_mvt_cello

I'm sure you can find several recordings on itunes, or a partial version I did for bass on my myspace page.