Cleveland Orchestra Warmups

[Farin]

Hey Guys,
Here is my contribution to the Talk Bass community (kinda):

A couple weeks ago, I went to The Midwest Doublebass Symposium at Youngstown State University, where Max Dimoff (Principal Bassist for the Cleveland Orchestra) gave a wonderful master class. In the master class he was talking about his warm-up routine, and passed out some written warm-ups that he does daily.
I've been working with these warm-ups and I'm finding that they are very effective. Max told me that some of the warm-ups are his own creation, while others are warm-ups he got from Gary Karr.

I have scanned the sheets to PDF format and have put them on my website. I haven't had a chance to contact Max, but I'm assuming it's ok to post these sheets, as he handed them out at the masterclass.
You can download the PDF files here:
http://farinhoover.com/Max%20Dimoff%20-%20Warmups.pdf

Also, if someone would be as so kind as to mirror the file on their website as well, (or maybe even an admin from TB can upload it to the TB site, its just a little to big for an attachment). I would greatly appricate it as my webserver is limited in bandwidth.

Thanks to Max Dimoff, and Gary Karr for the great warmups!

[Dr Rod]

thanks !

[Bellbass]

+1

Thanks

[Machina]

Very nice addition

[kontrabass]

A very thorough warm-up.

"Max's Magic" is a killer workout.

[JazzDude]

I'm not an orchestral player, so I may be missing something. Is the label on the first warmup something other than VOMIT? Does this have a meaning other than the obvious, or is it an editorial comment?

[glivanos]

I believe the phrase "vomit" as it pertains to Gark Karr exercises means that you practice the exercise until you are so sick of it that you "vomit".

[jallenbass]

My memory may be inaccurate but I seem to recall Gary Karr saying something about "throwing your hand up the fingerboard".

[.matthew e wengerd.]

I've heard it as an adjective to desribe the sound when a room full of bassists are doing the excercise. It sounds like "vomit."

ps - Mr. Dimoff is a member of Talkbass.

[kpo]

Originally Posted by jallenbass

My memory may be inaccurate but I seem to recall Gary Karr saying something about "throwing your hand up the fingerboard".

Maybe, but that exercise is about the RIGHT hand bow speed, not so much the left hand.

[G-force]

Originally Posted by kpo

Maybe, but that exercise is about the RIGHT hand bow speed, not so much the left hand.

Hey KPO, could you explain this in some more detail??

Thnx

[kpo]

Originally Posted by G-force

"This exercise is all about the BOW"

Hey KPO, could you explain this in some more detail??

Sure.
Think about the BOW controlling each shift; "bowshifting", if you will.

Each note has its own bow speed, so during shifts
THE BOW ALWAYS MOVES AT THE SPEED OF THE SLOWEST (LOWEST) NOTE.
The idea is to have the bow disguise the shift between notes by operating at the slowest relevant speed.

Look at measure 4 of Mr Dimoff's warmups. During the shift from A to E the bow should continue at the slower speed of the A.
When the left hand arrives at the E, the bow should pop up to the speed of the E.

During the shift from E down to A, as soon as the left hand leaves the E, the bow pops down to the slower speed of the A.

This becomes extremely obvious when you're shifting over a whole octave.
You can completely disguise the shift if the bow remains SLOW during the shift to the high note. You only move the bow fast when you actually want to hear the top note - at all other times (ie during shifts and when actually playing the low A) the bow should be as SLOW as the low A.

This takes a while to get used to, but is incredibly useful in lyrical passages.

[G-force]

Thanks a lot for such a thorough explanation.
It was very helpful...!!

[myrick]

several posts here over the years have examined the very useful but oddly named "vomit" exercises pretty thoroughly.

suggest you search around if interested

[kpo]

Originally Posted by myrick

...the very useful but oddly named "vomit" exercises ....

Gary said he still called it that because it sounds like "vomit" when his summer bass class does the exercise together for the morning warm-up.

[PIZZAcato]

Please explain the "Finger Combination" section on the first page. I don't understand why it is numbered 1,2,3,4. At first I though Dimoff might use four fingers. Help?

[.matthew e wengerd.]

in the warmup, he does.

[kpo]

Yes, GK, and presumably MD, use all four fingers to complete the exercise. I stick to 1-2-4 and find it just as useful.

[Jake]

Farin, thanks for posting this.

[Farin]

Originally Posted by Jake

Farin, thanks for posting this.

Welcome. I've got some more warm ups which my teachers, Henry Peyrebrune made. I'll try and get them up sometime soon.