Best Arco Method for Jazz?

[bdengler]

I'm going to focus on playing at church, which means primarily playing pizz style (folk & contemporary "Praise" music) although the music director from time to time desires that I bow parts. I'm going to start up "jazz" style lessons, after being diverted to classical bowing style, for the past 5 years (I even played in a community orchestra for a year, however, I found I couldn't come up with good bass lines off chord charts at church!) 90% of my playing will be pizz; however, I need to sustain the bowing technique. I cannot spend considerable time practicing bowing, doing solo work (e.g., Capuzzi, etc.). The church bowing parts are fairly easy. Any recommendation on a good method book just to keep up my arco chops? One teacher at Ohio State had recommended "Nanny" because he said the pivoting style taught in Nanny pushes pivoting (but Nanny etudes are tough and not very pleasant to the ear). I also have Simandl, Vance, etc. Thanks for your recommendations.

Brian

[Marcus Johnson]

I have a good book by John Goldsby entitled "Jazz Bowing Techniques For The Improvising Bassist", that helps you to achieve the phrasing that you might want in arco jazz playing. Not sure if that's what you're after.

[bdengler]

Originally Posted by Marcus Johnson

I have a good book by John Goldsby entitled "Jazz Bowing Techniques For The Improvising Bassist", that helps you to achieve the phrasing that you might want in arco jazz playing. Not sure if that's what you're after.

Marcus, thank you for responding. I'm seeking a method book that I can use to "keep up my chops" in terms of bowing. I need to place more emphasis on playing pop and jazz styles on the bass (something I haven't done in 11 years); however, I'd like to practice arco at least 3 to 4 times a week so I can still bow and play notes in tune! So, I'm looking for an arco method book that would help me keep up my chops. Something more than just scales.

Brian

[Mr. RC]

Brian I definitely understand what your going through right now. I am in the midst of preparing for a lot of jazz auditions so I don't have the time to practice arco as far as classical music goes but still need to keep my skills as well as practice intonation. I think the best way to do that is by practicing scales and etudes. Right now I just play major and minor scales to practice intonation and then have excercises that isolate the left and right hands. For some etudes you could look at some of the things in the Simandl book. Some of the earlier etudes are good for just reading through something and the later ones, especially the bowing etudes, are good to keep technique intact without sacrificing a lot of time. This works well for me to keep my chops together when I don't have a lot of time to give to practicing strictly arco.