Learning Classical Thump

rarisgod · #1 07-17-2008, 03:29 PM

Not sure if this is the right place to put this...
Anyway, I've decided that I want to learn Classical Thump this summer. Now I don't have just the summer as a limit, but I'd like to get the majority of it practiced during the summer.
Has anyone learned this, and if so would you have any advice?

bwv1013 · #2 07-17-2008, 03:37 PM

i played it for my grad recital. the biggest thing i can tell you is TAKE YOUR TIME.

i found that once i got the techniques under my fingers it was easy to speed them up, as long as i did it gradually. it's worth every second of time you spend working out fingerings (both fretting and attack) so that you can develop some mechanical repetition. every section has a different trick to it, so it helped me a lot to practice it in pieces. it's a fun piece to play (even for us mortals...), feel free to PM if you ever have a specific question. happy thumping

rarisgod · #3 07-17-2008, 07:13 PM

Thanks a lot! Don't know why this posted twice, I do apologize to all those whom it inconvenienced.

I actually noticed that once I got the double thumping a bit better, I tried to speed it up. Fortunately I had the sense to stop myself and remember that going too fast too early can only make it sloppy. Thanks for the advice!

bwv1013 · #4 07-17-2008, 08:39 PM

awesome! keep us posted!

rarisgod · #5 07-18-2008, 04:39 PM

It's very difficult...but I've got to keep at it!
How long did it take you to learn it?

bwv1013 · #6 07-19-2008, 11:31 PM

i was compelled to learn it by a certain deadline (my recital), so i had to put it together in about 3 months. i practiced a lot but it would have been more polished/comfy if i had known it for longer. like i said, just take your time and make sure you really absorb what you're doing, especially if it's a new technique for you. i found that once i got going i gained some momentum and i learned new sections quicker. if you at least touch it a bit everyday i think you'll surprise yourself. just go for it and don't worry about how long, it'll be worth it no matter what.

rarisgod · #7 07-20-2008, 08:43 AM

Alright thanks. I have quite a bit more than 3 months, so I should be able to get it together anyway. Was it well-received, even by those non-instrumentalists in the crowd?

bwv1013 · #8 07-20-2008, 08:03 PM

yes it was. it was really cool to have people i know who came to watch me play that learned about the bass. they knew i played bass but they never imagined it as a solo instrument. it was tons of fun for all!

BrennP90 · #9 07-20-2008, 08:19 PM

Is it best to learn things like this completely by ear?
Or is there a good copy of sheet music out there for it?
When i listen to recordings of it I can figure out certain parts, but in all I'm just lost at times listening to it.

bwv1013 · #10 07-20-2008, 09:39 PM

learning tunes by ear is good, but classical thump might be a bit much. i learned it from vic's bass tab book he put out with a selection of his pieces. the sheet music/tab was an awesome resource (he did leave out one section...). if you want to dig into his style it's the best 20 bucks you'll spend. here's a link to the book i used:

http://www.amazon.com/Best-Victor-Wo...6611497&sr=1-2

rarisgod · #11 07-23-2008, 10:26 AM

one more question for now, did you learn the ad lib section or did you make it up yourself? on the tabs I've seen, it seems that the part is left out.

bwv1013 · #12 07-23-2008, 01:01 PM

i skipped part of it. i skipped the crazy fast tapping/arpeggio part but i figured out the slow melodic part (close enough anyway). it would have been awesome to figure out everything but i just ran out of time to get it together for my recital. i had 12 or so other pieces to get together as well, one of which i literally finished the day of. learning thump was awesome but the biggest thing i learned was the importance of time management...

all that to say i found the piece did just fine even without that section. it sounds really cool but it doesn't last very long so the overall piece still works without it. i would recommend getting through all the written out sections first, then you can essentially play the piece and if you decide to learn the ad lib you are already comfy with the techniques so you can focus on just figuring out the notes. i would definitely recommend learning the slow ad lib part though. it's not that hard, sounds really cool, and really sets up the next part of the song. let me know how it turns out!

rarisgod · #13 07-23-2008, 03:28 PM

LOL very sound advice about time management!

I was thinking the same thing, like possibly omitting the ad-lib...though if possible I might throw in my own little ad-lib thing. We'll see.

Also, how did you work out the muting of the other strings? I'm only working on the beginning at the moment, and I'm having trouble once in awhile with other strings ringing out. Any advice on that?

Once I finish learning it, I'll probably post a youtube video. I'll definitely send/post a link for everyone to see if I get to that point. Advice much appreciated!

bwv1013 · #14 07-23-2008, 10:35 PM

i know what you mean about strings ringing out. there's good news and bad news...

the bad news is that to a certain extent i found it unavoidable. a player of vic's caliber can certainly pull off playing this piece without unwanted strings ringing out. or maybe he got lucky, or it was some studio magic. i would bet dimes to dollars that he's just that good.

so, for the rest of us, the good news is:

if you're not using a finger to fret a note, use it to mute the extra noise going on. in a perfect world we wouldn't have to worry about this, but the fact of the matter is if you do that much slapping on a bass, other strings are going to vibrate no matter what. i actually played this piece on a five string, which means i had to keep that low string quiet even though i never used it (low b's are notorious for ringing along for no good reason...). i just got used to using other fingers for quieting down any unwanted noise. part of it was being aware of muting a string after i was done with it, part of it was just listening for "noisy" sections of the piece and making an effort to fix the problem. all that said, sometimes it happened anyway and i just kept going. not studio clean but the crowd enjoyed it

hope that helps, can't wait to see the vid!

rarisgod · #15 07-24-2008, 07:54 AM

I figured it would be unavoidable to some extent. I guess it just takes a lot of practice and accuracy with the right hand. I have a five string, and I know about the unwanted ringing of the B string. Fortunately, I'll be using my 4 string for this piece, so it will be much more avoidable in that sense. Kudos for performing it with a 5 string though.
With your advice, I think after I actually get it down good (the beginning is going quite well, so far) I'll figure out different ways to mute the strings with my left hand. With some songs, I end up just muting the strings without even realizing it, so maybe that will happen too. I've also considered finding some sort of comfortable right hand position that will allow me to do what needs to be done, yet still mute the strings, at least in some parts. We'll have to see.
I might post a video marking my progress at some point. Depends if I get access to the camera soon. We'll see. Thansk again!

bwv1013 · #16 07-26-2008, 01:08 AM

sounds like you're on the right track!

ScottyAx800 · #17 02-21-2010, 06:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bwv1013

i know what you mean about strings ringing out. there's good news and bad news...

the bad news is that to a certain extent i found it unavoidable. a player of vic's caliber can certainly pull off playing this piece without unwanted strings ringing out. or maybe he got lucky, or it was some studio magic. i would bet dimes to dollars that he's just that good.

so, for the rest of us, the good news is:

if you're not using a finger to fret a note, use it to mute the extra noise going on. in a perfect world we wouldn't have to worry about this, but the fact of the matter is if you do that much slapping on a bass, other strings are going to vibrate no matter what. i actually played this piece on a five string, which means i had to keep that low string quiet even though i never used it (low b's are notorious for ringing along for no good reason...). i just got used to using other fingers for quieting down any unwanted noise. part of it was being aware of muting a string after i was done with it, part of it was just listening for "noisy" sections of the piece and making an effort to fix the problem. all that said, sometimes it happened anyway and i just kept going. not studio clean but the crowd enjoyed it

hope that helps, can't wait to see the vid!

I am rehashing this because I too, am working on Classical Thump.

For anyone who doesn't know, the first interlude is taken from the beginning of Paganini's Caprice #1 for Violin.

Second, an interesting point about string noise. And even more interesting, when slowed down (considerably) Vic's recording has quite a bit of string noise in it. When slowed down enough it is quite comical - it almost sounds as if he were drunk when he played it. When played at a normal tempo, the string noise becomes far less noticeable, merely adding a hint of flavor. It puts more of the 'Thump' in Classical Thump.

I have been working on this off and on for some time now. I am starting to feel like i've got the technique down for just about all of it, but when I played along with the recording, I made it about 30 seconds before I flew off the handlebars, so to speak. So, here's to all who are giving this piece a shot!

jamespopali · #18 02-22-2010, 10:15 PM

I have learned this song. The actually song is not difficult -- it is the more technical side people do not get. Think of your thumb as a pick - thumb down thumb up. Practice it, your thumb will get ripped up, but you will grow a callus. I know Victa uses a hair scruntchy to mute strings, but one can mute with the left hand (if you play right handed).