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Double Bass Bowing exercises

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Jul 31, 2006
17
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#1
This has probably been asked a annoying amount of times, but can someone give me some tips on bowing exercises.
I feel that I really need to improve my right hand technique to get any further at this point, and playing arco is what I find hardest at the moment.

Would be great if someone could recommend me some stuff to practise :)
 
#2
Long tones are essential to building a good bow sound. Just practice slowly bowing, trying to get an even tone and volume. Another exercise my old bass teacher used to have me do went something like this

Frog------------------------Tip

1. Down----------------------- Up Down Up
2. Down----------------------- Up Down Up Down Up
etc.
The sucession of ups and downs come rapidly at the tip. Hoep these get you thinking.
 
#3
I always thought Mark Morton's "Torturous Exercises for Double Bass"
(which really are not torturous!) are excellent for the right hand as well as the left. It is available at ASODB.com.
Tom Gale
 
#11
I learned spicato by religiously practicing the Zimmerman book, but I don't know of many methods that actually teach lyrical bowing. Slow scales are great. I studied with Jeff Bradetich and he had me start at 60=1/4 doing whole notes and then work down to the slowest metronome tempo. The bottom line is that nobody can figure bowing out on there own. (TalkBass geniuses excluded) You need a good teacher who can demonstrate how to use the bow. Eugene Levinson (Principal of the NY Phil) said something like this:

'The left hand fingers are the workers, but the right hand is the artist.'
 
#12
jallenbass said:
Who's your teacher? What do they have to say about bowing?
Click to expand...

I haven't asked my teacher about bowing, or anything about double bass. I just started taking lessons on electric bass from him about 3 weeks ago. But I think he's pretty good with upright too.
 
#13
Bethelbass1 said:
Long tones are essential to building a good bow sound. Just practice slowly bowing, trying to get an even tone and volume. Another exercise my old bass teacher used to have me do went something like this

Frog------------------------Tip

1. Down----------------------- Up Down Up
2. Down----------------------- Up Down Up Down Up
etc.
The sucession of ups and downs come rapidly at the tip. Hoep these get you thinking.
Click to expand...

Ok, thanks! Going to try this :)
 
#15
b1644 said:
I had a hard time understanding what this book was about. Anyone care to explain it?

- Martin
Click to expand...

You're really just playing A and E in every combination with every bowing imaginable until your 1st and 4th fingers bleed from holding them down. Then you repeat the same process the next day...but really, I mean that in the nicest way possible.
 
#16
BGreaney said:
You're really just playing A and E in every combination with every bowing imaginable until your 1st and 4th fingers bleed from holding them down. Then you repeat the same process the next day...but really, I mean that in the nicest way possible.
Click to expand...

Like I said, the book is pedantic. Near the end I like how there are real musical examples that correspond with some of the bowing exercises. At the end of the day, that's what this book is about: mastering every conceivable bowing and applying it to music.

:bassist:
 
#17
b1644 said:
I had a hard time understanding what this book was about. Anyone care to explain it?
- Martin
Click to expand...

Well, BGreaney's sarcasm aside :), the idea is to learn to practice the bow all by itself, without the distraction of fingering. You don't need to play just the E and A which are used to illustrate the exercised. You SHOULD practice all the patterns on all 4 or 5 strings, and you can use any notes you want, even playing moving patterns of double stops. Zimmerman also give repertoire examples to practice showing you how to practice just the bowing without the left hand.

If you look at bowing methods for other instruments, such as Sevcik for violin, it's basically a bunch of etudes with a bazillion bowings. The principle is the same: you learn a fairly easy etude so you can practice bowings and tone control without too much distraction from your left hand technique. It'a a time-tested method which produces results when done correctly and diligently.
 

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