Recent content by csrund

One stylistic technique with the modern bow that was ingrained in me long ago by my teachers was to emulate the articulation of the period bow by not bouncing the strokes (i.e. spiccato), especially with faster notes like running 16th-note patterns. Stay on the string and do more of a light...

I rec'd word that my former teacher at Indiana Univ., Murray Grodner, has passed away at the age of 100. Prof. Grodner served as professor of double bass at the Jacobs School of Music for over 30 years from the 1950's to the mid-1980's. At age 20, Grodner held the Assistant Principal Bass...

@Scott Lynch: Check out this and other videos in the series by Andy Anderson. Good stuff—hope it's helpful!

@David Potts: Murray Grodner played German bow. I came to him as a French bow player, and whenever he grabbed my bass and bow in the studio to demonstrate technique, he would invariably switch to a German hold after a few bars. :laugh: All of his students were made to learn their “non-native”...

My first collegiate teacher was Murray Grodner, who dates back to the days of Toscanini and the NBC Symphony. He had the most remarkable spiccato stroke—even Gary Karr mentioned it in his memoir. I'll share an excerpt from his book, A Double Bassist's Guide to Refining Performance Practices...

Funny how certain repertoire "trends." Our community orchestra has this programmed in late October. And yes, I agree; the printed bowing feels "back-asswards" to me. Agree also with how tricky the counting is. We're gonna need to be on our game.

I think the smiles mostly come after it's over and the hall is thundering with applause. After the intense demands of the performance are satisfied. The Vienna Phil always struck me as being quite relaxed and happy in the afterglow of a concert performance. (Based on video footage; I've never...

I switched to a five-string, but when I had the extension, I used to tune the open C. Play the harmonic on the 4th finger in half position on the low string, which should match the open G string. When you're in tune, the open G will vibrate sympathetically. Close the E stop and cross check for...

Correct appraisal letter now uploaded. Thanks again, @rickwolff for catching that mistake. The bass is currently out on trial.

Augh. Thanks for noticing that, @rickwolff. I did indeed get a corrected appraisal letter from them at the time; I must've screen shot the wrong one. :bored: Thanks for the heads-up.

Price reduced from $5,750 ... now $4,750 Love this bass, but I love my 5-string Shen even more, so I'm offering this one for sale. Great gig bass, currently setup for orchestra work, strung with Helicore low-tension orchestrals. Has a great jazz sound, too, even with the orchestral strings...

Presenting the Shen sisters: 7/8 Gemunder pattern, 41-42 in string length. The fiver has willow ribs and back; the four-string has maple. Each one is a whale of a bass and very fun to play. (Unfortunately I only have two hands, so I'm trying to sell the four-string w/ext.)

Not sure about that, @Rjb1101 ...seems likely, but I can't say for certain.