John Goldsby's Bowing Techniques Book

[Johnny L]

Anyone use this book, or know anything about it, and would like to comment on it?

I don't know anything about it myself other than it exists, and John Goldsby plays with intonation I like from listening to the Amazon album excerpts.

I'd like to hear him do fewer opposite bows on his Cupbearers solo, and instead do more slurs to mix it up a little, but my criticism isn't meant to mean that he doesn't sound fabulous, or that a jazz bowing stye of some kind he may be presenting there isn't "legit" and needs to be disrespected. If I was improvising something, you bet I'd be doing opposite bows through my entire panic solo. I'm used to a lot of pre-planning with bowings to address issues, and am wondering if this book offers valuable insights on bowing improvised lines.

[Marcus Johnson]

Good book. It starts out with long bowing and basic techniques, and then it spends a little of time on different bowing patterns, designed to impart a jazz feel to a player who may have good technique, but no idea how to make it swing. There are some arco jazz transcriptions of name players at the end.

[McBass]

Originally Posted by Johnny L

I'm used to a lot of pre-planning with bowings to address issues, and am wondering if this book offers valuable insights on bowing improvised lines.

I attended a masterclass with John Clayton, and he recommended not using pre-planned bowings. He recommended using what felt natural in the moment to get a good sound and have a good feel. In improvisation, it's advantageous to be able to go in any direction at any time because you never know what's about to happen. That's the fun.

[Johnny L]

Cool. When I make it into Austin or Houston again I'll see if I can browse through it before I throw down the cash.

I've read a little about John Clayton having a classical bowing background of some sort. I'll see if I can find a jazz arco solo from him to hear a little of on Amazon too, to hear if he's mixing up his bowing a little while improvising.

When I heard Paul Chambers do his arco solos on the Blue Trane album, it sounded like mostly opposite bows too. Cool, but it seemed all the notes were articulated, with no off-the-string sounds or slurs...as if the bow stayed on the string the whole time.

[McBass]

Originally Posted by Johnny L

When I heard Paul Chambers do his arco solos on the Blue Trane album, it sounded like mostly opposite bows too. Cool, but it seemed all the notes were articulated, with no off-the-string sounds or slurs...as if the bow stayed on the string the whole time.

I think you'll find that most old school bebop players do use consistent opposite bows, but I find that pretty limiting as far as phrasing. I'm not sure if I've ever heard a jazz player use spiccato bowing. It may be a little too stylized to use the entire arsenal of bowings, but a healthy amount of legato bowing makes sense with jazz phrasing. For some variety, check out Eddie Gomez's bowing on "Very Early" on the Bill Evans record "Blue in Green". Definitely not the typical bebop solo.

[Johnny L]

Thanks. I'll look for Eddie Gomez too. Isn't part of his background in the Julliard/Zimmerman world too?

I caught something from Clayton on Amazon. It sounded almost like he was bowing harmonics, and then the clip ended its 1 minute tease.

I watch and hear a violinist like Mark O'Connor, and when he's doing a quick scale or line his bow is jumping all the way through to keep the notes crisp and clear. I just assumed letting the bow jump was the norm when playing those types of lines, even for bassists.