Double Bass Brahms 4 markings

[Mark_T]

What do the squiggly vertical lines here indicate? Should these be rolled upwards?

 

[Andy Mopley]

Usually it indicates to strum the strings, like in a guitar...but it could also be an arpeggiated chord. You play the notes in rapid succession, from the lowest to the highest.
Best,

 

[AGCurry]

Written for piano, harp, or guitar, it would mean to arpeggiate; but having an arpeggio span two notes doesn't make sense, and the sforzando markings furthermore wouldn't go with arpeggio. I'm going with @Andy Mopley 's suggestion: Strum the two notes simultaneously with your thumb or finger.

 

[TK1820]

That's in an arco passage, so you just roll those three notes in an upward arpeggio on one bow stroke. Very cool spot in an unbelievably cool piece!

 

[Mark_T]

That's in an arco passage, so you just roll those three notes in an upward arpeggio on one bow stroke. Very cool spot in an unbelievably cool piece!

Thanks. Yes, I should have been more clear that this was an arco passage. I am excited to play Brahms 4 - I've never done it before but I've loved this piece for a long time. It was the first work of Brahms that I really got and will always occupy a special place for me.

 

[TK1820]

Thanks. Yes, I should have been more clear that this was an arco passage. I am excited to play Brahms 4 - I've never done it before but I've loved this piece for a long time. It was the first work of Brahms that I really got and will always occupy a special place for me.

It will knock your socks off. I have played it 7-8 times and love it every time.

 

[David Potts]

The question then becomes whether the top note is stressed (like a flourish) with the note before it played like a grace note or whether the two short notes are more even in dynamics and length like 16th notes. This is worth asking your principal or the conductor if nothing has been said already.

 

[BarfanyShart]

Read with the sforzando and staccato, I would pop these notes hard with the bow so that the lower string sounded just a hair before the top note, with both notes stopping at the same time. Playing this piece was a top-five orchestra experience for me, I wish I would have also had the opportunity to play the 2nd and 3rd symphonies.

 

[Mark_T]

The question then becomes whether the top note is stressed (like a flourish) with the note before it played like a grace note or whether the two short notes are more even in dynamics and length like 16th notes. This is worth asking your principal or the conductor if nothing has been said already.

I am the principal. I can ask the conductor, of course, but I was hoping to go into rehearsals knowing something about it.

 

[Mark_T]

Read with the sforzando and staccato, I would pop these notes hard with the bow so that the lower string sounded just a hair before the top note, with both notes stopping at the same time. Playing this piece was a top-five orchestra experience for me, I wish I would have also had the opportunity to play the 2nd and 3rd symphonies.

Yeah, I think that makes sense, and it seems to fit in with the sound around me at that moment. As I mentioned earlier, this is my first time performing Brahms 4. I've played the first and second symphonies at least once or twice - they're both fabulous to play, although as a listener I sort of prefer the first.

The third symphony is also really tremendous (maybe my favorite of the four?) but I've never gotten to play it. I think it gets programmed less frequently than its sisters.

 

[basscleff94010]

Yeah, I think that makes sense, and it seems to fit in with the sound around me at that moment. As I mentioned earlier, this is my first time performing Brahms 4. I've played the first and second symphonies at least once or twice - they're both fabulous to play, although as a listener I sort of prefer the first.

The third symphony is also really tremendous (maybe my favorite of the four?) but I've never gotten to play it. I think it gets programmed less frequently than its sisters.

Mark, may I asked how you and our section played this notation? I am facing the same problem and I am not getting a consistent answer on how to play it.

 

[Mark_T]

Mark, may I asked how you and our section played this notation? I am facing the same problem and I am not getting a consistent answer on how to play it.

I don't remember anymore, but we probably rolled them up as @TK1820 suggested.

 

[the_Ryan]

If I remember correctly, the time I played this we played those chords pretty much as a double stop, maybe playing the bottom note a hair before beat 2. The first two instances of the chords are with the celli and their part doesn't have the roll on those chords, so my thought is that the marking might have just been a way to convey that the chord is meant to be played non-divisi, which was definitely unusual to find in bass parts specifically at the time.