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Double Bass Bach on Bass

#41
All of us who don't interact with tenor cleff much have a hard time reading it.

I remember looking at some Maynard Ferguson trumpet solo transcriptions a long time ago, and they didn't 8va any of that stuff. Of course, it was to honor in notation the incredibly high pitches he played LOL

I was certainly impressed!
 
#42
Mark Bernat's edition is very fustrating. His recording is, to me, equally fustrating. I have a hard time listening to him play the suites as the sound well, awkward. I think he could have done better with phrasing and maybe done some better edits to filter out the intonation. It's always nice hearing a bass player play Bach, but it could have a lot better. I find it hard to hear Bach played on the bass because of Edgar Meyer's recording which is technically perfect and is a great musical interpretation of the pieces that ranks up there wiht my favorite cello recordings. I'm constantly comparing everything to it.

One of the bass players at Interlochen last summer said she started studying the double bass with Mark Bernat and then found another teacher because they didn't click and he smelled like a chain smoker.
 
#43
G-force said:
Whoa! now you may hate the sin but not the sinner.....
Of course I have heard the same . I have no idea how he got the contract to do this when he is so low on the bas radar.-OK But name calling is just poor tast and really doesn't prove anything.
I would suggest Clef that you just let go and let Mark.....
Focus on something else. I'm sure he is a nice guy like you....just tryin to take over the world inhis own way....
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I'm kind of curious about that, too. I haven't seen any other of the pieces he's transcribed but that Paganini Caprice No.24 looks interesting. I wonder how true to the original it is.
 
#44
fcleff said:
O.K., O.K. Maybe I was a little on the 'hair trigger' side with regards to Bernat. But he did stand up 300+ bassists and musicians at the ASTA conference in Reno a year ago. He was supposed to give a talk on Bach's music for the bass and he was a no-show.
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Yes, I think my teacher mentioned this once to me. It's pretty dissapointing really. His edition is pretty unique; it would have been great to hear a little from him. I heard he was going to perform as well. Maybe I'm mistaken though.
 
#46
I, too, find Edgar's to be the best out there. By comparison, I also have Gary Karr's (only the first three suites), and Yo-Yo Ma's recording on my iPod. Of course I listen to them fairly often, but Edgar's are by far higher on my frequently played list. I just can't get past the subtle perfections in it...his soft, almost cellistic sound quality, the contrasting power and range of the bass, the beautiful phrasing, in which each note is softly rounded and perfected.....I could go on forever. Honestly.....I can't find a way to agree with the people who complain about Edgar's playing.....not only is it perfection at its finest and most absolute, but it is also beautiful.

I have yet to hear Rabbath's or Bernat's recordings by the way....anybody know any websites out there where I can sample a little of it?
 
#47
Bernat's CD set can be sampled on Amazon if you search for "Mark Bernat". Rabbath's recording of the 1st Suite can probably be found on the Liben website. Rabbath's recording is very good regarding phrasing and musicality of everything (holds, vibrato, tone, things like that) but sometimes his intonation gets out there. For example, the last chord consisting of a tritone of the first suite is really really out of tune. It kind of reminds me of the sound an ambulance makes. I think Rabbath's recording is still a really good one though if you look past that. His bass playing is so smooth and fluid in Bach and never sounds forced.
 
#48
I agree with Bassbaterie on the 'Inner Bach' sound. That is what I am striving for (soooo far to go, but patient am I). Everything is perfect. And he really gets the dance feel. Someone earlier said that so many versions lose that 'Baroque Dance' feel and that is so true. Does anyone know how to dance the Courante, Gigue, Minuette, Sarabande, Bouree? :hyper:
 
#50
Yeah there's no doubt that Edgar Meyer has raised the stakes for all bassists who perform the Bach cello suites.

But when I listen to his CD, usually I'm dozing before the end of the 5th Gigue. Same with Yo Yo's recordings. It's kinda funny to me when I consider discussions surrounding the suites as dances LOL
 
#51
fcleff said:
By the way, Bassbaterie. Give Dog Fish Head 90 minute a try next time you cut yourself off from Sam Adam's. :)
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I'm really a Sierra Nevada customer; Sammy is my lite/lawn-mowin' beer. I'll look for the Dog Fish Head...does it have a kick? So many microbrews look great, taste great and turn out to be Barley Pop (no buzz).

On the Baroque dances, I think your choreography :hyper: is just fine!

I heard there was a study done on the cello suites by some Baroque dance people and they said Bach was just makin' it up - you can't dance to them. Anyway, they couldn't.

Just my $.02 but as I don't know what the dances look like, I go with a synesthetic image. If I can hold the image in my head while playing the piece, it's like watching a movie. Not so terribly far-fetched, as technically the light spectrum is just a higher frequency of the audio spectrum, so for example, "green" may very well be an exponent of "D". So one can kinda see what one plays...I dunno..works for me. There's one part that "looks" like yellow flowers and another part that has purple shadows. Everyone "sees" notes differently though. I find one doesn't pick the image. The cello suites I "saw" to contain some surprisingly disturbing stuff as well as some highly spiritual; parts of "Messiah" contain images that are shockingly racy. It's like a hologram.

OK, tell me I better switch to decaf...
 
#52
bassbaterie said:
Not so terribly far-fetched, as technically the light spectrum is just a higher frequency of the audio spectrum, so for example, "green" may very well be an exponent of "D". So one can kinda see what one plays...I dunno..works for me.
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There are studies out there people who seem to inadvertently associate colors with pitches. Apparently, the parts of our brains that distinguish pitch and color are located very close to one another, helping to suggest that there's some crosswiring going on between those areas, where information on pitch and color are being recognized through one another.

Personally, I don't "see" anything when I hear music. To me, music is a completely distinct phenomenon that requires a conscious imposition of other perceptions and actions if any associations are to exist. But I enjoy music such that I'm compelled to participate in some manner, and so that's why I practice and play.

Still, it's pretty darn cool to read about the visions you guys get when you hear something inspiring. I may not "get it", but I do make deliberate attempts to empathize!
 
#53
The 90 minute IPA is 9%!! It comes in 4 packs and the tariff is about $9. It really rocks, though.

I also am a Sierra fan. Especially the Celebration Ale. When I don't brew my own I am drinking Sierra.

:hyper: Considering how much I knock back, this is how I dance to pretty much anything. That's cool about the dance study. I just go with whatever flow I can get moving when I play them. They are very visual, though.
 
#54
fcleff said:
The 90 minute IPA is 9%!! It comes in 4 packs and the tariff is about $9. It really rocks, though.

I also am a Sierra fan. Especially the Celebration Ale. When I don't brew my own I am drinking Sierra.

:hyper: Considering how much I knock back, this is how I dance to pretty much anything. That's cool about the dance study. I just go with whatever flow I can get moving when I play them. They are very visual, though.
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RIGHT man, that Celebration Ale is nearly heroin. Can't wait to try the 90 minute IPA!

Hey Johnny, that's interesting that hearing music is totally distinct for you. Probably makes it much more effective to PLAY without a bunch of trippy visuals pelting around in one's head every time the bow touches the string.
 
#55
I actually like the trippy visuals in my head. It really does help me to focus on the music and not the audience (no matter the size).

DFH90IPA is more like 'shroomz.

Sam Smith is also a reliable buzz. Then again so is scotch. Have you ever played Bach with scotch at hand. It's a hoot!
:hyper:
 
#56
fcleff said:
I actually like the trippy visuals in my head. It really does help me to focus on the music and not the audience (no matter the size).

DFH90IPA is more like 'shroomz.

Sam Smith is also a reliable buzz. Then again so is scotch. Have you ever played Bach with scotch at hand. It's a hoot!
:hyper:
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Oh RIGHT! Samuel Smith's Oatmeal Stout, rock on! I can tuck away my share of Maker's Mark but never tried mixing it with Bach. I defer to more experienced Bach-sters on that one.:rolleyes:
 
#57
I had an Oatmeal Stout last night whilst making dinner. That's really good beer. I also make a really good chocolate torte that has Maker's Mark in it. I serve it with a white chocolate sauce made with white chocolate, cream, and Maker's Mark...mmmm. My Bach sounds like **** when on the drink but fun, fun, fun. :cool:
 
#58
fcleff said:
I had an Oatmeal Stout last night whilst making dinner. That's really good beer. I also make a really good chocolate torte that has Maker's Mark in it. I serve it with a white chocolate sauce made with white chocolate, cream, and Maker's Mark...mmmm. My Bach sounds like **** when on the drink but fun, fun, fun. :cool:
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Gary Karr always said, all bass players like chocolate. He used to line us all up and go down the line and say "Do you like chocolate? Good - you can play the bass."

My Bach sounds like **** drunk or no...except sometimes...I don't get it, I can play it cleanly and miss no notes in a room full of strangers or at a master class full of bassists. Just HERE'S your Bach, baby, right to the back wall. Then in my lessons the wheels come off and I crash and burn. Maybe that's the point...still trying to figure that one out.
 
#59
That's the funny thing about Bach. I can do stops in other composer's music and have no intonation problems. Then I play Bach and, POOF, there goes my intonation. As a composer, I can look at his music and see how beautifully simple it is. Then, I attempt to play it and I just can't see why it is so hard. I'm still trying to figure THAT one out. I just take the suites one measure at a time.

I think that, when we crash in our lessons, we are really learning. It makes us work that much harder. When we play for our peers we really don't want to crash...so we don't. Funny how life works that way. :cool:
 
#60
fcleff said:
That's the funny thing about Bach. I can do stops in other composer's music and have no intonation problems. Then I play Bach and, POOF, there goes my intonation. As a composer, I can look at his music and see how beautifully simple it is. Then, I attempt to play it and I just can't see why it is so hard. I'm still trying to figure THAT one out. I just take the suites one measure at a time.

I think that, when we crash in our lessons, we are really learning. It makes us work that much harder. When we play for our peers we really don't want to crash...so we don't. Funny how life works that way. :cool:
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You're right; it must be something like disgorging the grodiest of one's bass-playin' furballs when you trust you are in good hands to get the best diagnosis. But also 'trying' too hard due to wanting that little red 'R' for respect next to one's name in the student roster. I don't care half as much what strangers think of my playing, and I go out there and play just fine. Back home I want to excavate down to bedrock so every screw up (however shameful) is a learning experience.

Something like that.

I hate it though; I just want to be able to lay one out for anyone like a nice freshly paved road.
 

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