Am I Doing Something Wrong?

[Georgia Watt]

Ok, I have a 3/4 student bass that came with a white haired French bow. I have put Spirocores strings on and using Nymans professional rosin

...however...

The majority of the time I use the bow i get what could best be described as 'whistling' and harmonics. If i apply more pressure, the odds of getting the 'real' note are greater, however its then obviously scratchy because of the pressure.

I know Ive got the grip correct, and from what Im aware of, my technique isnt too shocking, from successful previous violin and cello playing.

Any ideas?

[Tim Ludlam]

I think that Spirocores tend to be a little scratchy to begin with.

Secondly, what kind of bow are you using? Is it low-level student, pernambuco....?

[Don Higdon]

Hoagy's Girl:
Two things:
White hair tends to be smoother than black, which is a way of saying black hair will get the string vibrating quicker and easier than white. White hair users tend to like the smoothness of its sound.
Spirocores are one of the most difficult strings to play arco. The consensus is that they're screechy. Yes, some great players may use them for arco, but VERY few do.
Don't beat yourself up over this. It's the strings and the bow hair.

[Georgia Watt]

Looking at it, Im guessing its a brazilwood round french bow. Something cheap, but *should* make a sound with the right rosin.

Q: If you run a bow over an open string without any pressure, shouldn't it make a core sound - as opposed to the harmonics Im constantly getting?

[Georgia Watt]

Wow - two responses in less than 5 minutes of posting. YOU GUYS ARE GREAT!!!

Many thanks - wont beat myself up. I was warned about the spiros but didnt think I'd have this much problem with them.

Might try some black hair on them. Ooo another question: using a german bow, would one be automatically using slightly more pressure from the grip/techique as opposed to French?

[Wil Davis]

Originally posted by Georgia Watt
...snip
Any ideas?

Well, does your teacher have any ideas? You do have a teacher... don't you?

Learning bowing over the InterNet is like... is like learning how to fly-fish by taking a correspondence course...

Seriously - get a GOOD teacher! Without a GOOD teacher, you'll waste much time with those pitfalls a GOOD teacher will help you avoid...

- Wil

[David Kaczorowski]

A lot of people have a hard time getting a decent arco sound with Spirocores, especially when they are new (first few weeks after putting them on.)

[Georgia Watt]

Would love to have a teacher, but cant afford it. In the mean time, trying to work things out alone (and not doing too badly if I may say myself!) - just cant get the damn bow to work

Will let y'all know how the black haired german bow goes.

Thanks again

[Phil Smith]

I would second that strings do make a difference. I struggled trying to get good sound out of a set of Helicore Hybrids and then played an electric upright with a set of Thomastic Spiracores and couldn't believe how much easier it was to get the string to vibrate. I put them, the Spiracores, on my Kay and have been a happy camper ever since.

[Christopher]

Nyman's isn't very sticky and so it may take a little time both to accumulate a sufficient amount of rosin on the hair. It also takes time to warm up during each session, so you'll have to play for a few minutes to get optimal tone.

Also, don't overtighten the bow hair, or you'll just skate. The hair needs a bit of give to grip the string properly. Bow speed needs to be considerably slower than violin or cello, too, particularly on the A and E strings.

[Don Higdon]

Georgia 1 joule per second:
In your situation, the strings are the greater culprit. Black bow hair alone won't cure it.
Bottom line is, you can overcome the problem if your technique is good enough. (Teacher, experience, ...etc.)

[Georgia Watt]

thanks so much for all your help.

of course, i understand theres a long road ahead - and a lonely one for the meantime!

don't know how i'd survive without this website!

keep swingin'

[Joe Taylor]

Do you clean the rosin off the strings? If you don't you should. I use a copper chore boy pad wont hurt steel strings one bit.

Joe