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Double Bass Bow Technique in Mendelssohn's Ruy Blas overture

#21
hsu912174 said:
It appears you are the lucky one who has access to world-class instructors and the intuition to overcome every technical challenge, and would never have to resort to such humiliating measures as asking.

And the rest of us just aren't that lucky.
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You're missing the point entirely. It is not my business what you find humiliating, I am simply saying that these questions should not be asked in the first place- to an online forum or to a world-class instructor. Go lock yourself (and your brain) in a room with your bass for a couple of years. If you don't comprehend my point when you come out I will send you my home address and you may come a deliver a crushing blow to an area of my anatomy of your choice.
 
#22
Fez,

What's with the macho DIY attitude? It's not just about practicing - if I hadn't had the teachers, colleagues, and casual friends providing feedback and advice, I wouldn't have the career I do today. Believe it or not, I've even asked advice (and listened to) *gasp* violinists and clarinetists. Why?

Because you can't discover everything you need to know in the limited time that you have for practicing without the input of other musicians. And you shouldn't try. That's how bad habits get formed.

If you think asking help on talkbass is such a bad idea, why are you here? The OP didn't have the fortune to study with Hal Robinson or Ed barker or Paul Ellison. Some people here did, or do, and they're often generous enough to write in with some advice. I might have been so inclined myself, but I'm spending these minutes rebuking you for criticizing a fellow bass player for WANTING TO PLAY THE BASS BETTER! Examine your priorities.
 
#26
Les Fret said:
maybe to tell us simple folks not to ask questions?
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I'm not sure why you are insulting yourself and the guests of this website by referring to them as "simple folk," or why individuals here are assuming that I am attempting to keep aspiring musicians from learning. In fact, my intentions are the opposite.
 
#27
Fez1 said:
I'm not sure why...individuals here are assuming that I am attempting to keep aspiring musicians from learning. In fact, my intentions are the opposite.
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Your original "advice" was to suggest that asking questions makes you weak. You're insisting everybody reinvent the wheel for themselves despite that information being widely available. You have yet to make a compelling argument why we should waste our time like that.

In my own experience, most of my best lessons came from asking the right questions. In fact, the best teachers are not the ones with the best answers, but the ones who get their students to ask the best questions. You still have to use your brain: to ask a question, you must first understand the problem. To make the answer work, you still have to practice.

The problem with your advice is that it's needlessly anti-intellectual and incredibly frustrating. If somebody has a good idea, I want to know about it!
 
#29
PaulCannon said:
Your original "advice" was to suggest that asking questions makes you weak. You're insisting everybody reinvent the wheel for themselves despite that information being widely available. You have yet to make a compelling argument why we should waste our time like that.

In my own experience, most of my best lessons came from asking the right questions. In fact, the best teachers are not the ones with the best answers, but the ones who get their students to ask the best questions. You still have to use your brain: to ask a question, you must first understand the problem. To make the answer work, you still have to practice.

The problem with your advice is that it's needlessly anti-intellectual and incredibly frustrating. If somebody has a good idea, I want to know about it!
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I come bearing not advice, but fact.
 
#31
David Potts said:
Les Fret, I said "at or near the balance point". This is where the weight of the bow is halved (about 1/3 of its length away from the frog end of the stick) if you hold the stick between your thumb and forefinger. It is the magic place to do fast string crossings because the bow is "in neutral". Closer to the frog the bow weight between hair contact point and the tip works against you. Closer to the point and the increasing distance your arm must travel to change strings works against you. In the above passage you still also have to experiment with all the other variables (bow speed and length, bow weight, angle of hair and contact point, etc) as you listen for the result you want
Cheers,DP
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I applied that principle on my bowing, moving my bow "about the center of mass." (That is, imagining I am maneuvering a baton which is as long as the distance between my grip and the balance point of my bow, and have all the mess centered on that point in the tip) Not only did it solved the problem in that passage, it also made my suddenly a lot more maneuverable.
Thanks for the great advice!
 

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