Double Bass Changing bow grip to match your teacher

[TYoungBass]

What are some general thoughts on switching bow grips for a new teacher? I'll be starting undergrad in NYC this fall, and my studio teacher is an adamant german player (orchestra focus). I've been playing french throughout my entire playing experience, and I've certainly put the majority of technical work and practice into it.

I usually assume it's not too big of a deal, seeing as either grip is traditionally accepted; and you can work well with your teacher in any case. However, i also understand that it may be best to use the same grip if you want to get the most out of your teacher, especially if it is for a specific focus i.e. orchestral v. solo playing. Let me know what you think.

 

[Blakewdm]

Howdy,
It really depends on where you are in your playing, some people reach college with a solid grasp of their bow and the strokes for orchestra and solo stuff, and for them it is not a big issue. But if you are in you first years of playing and still are not sure of how to achieve most strokes it might be wiser to switch to your new teachers bow. I know plenty of students who study french with german and german with french teachers. In the end its all about what you achieve mostly and how you achieve it is up to you.

 

[Eric Swanson]

I guess my first question would be, why are you approaching a German player, if you want to play French? Are no French teachers available?

 

[ThumpPlunkJunk]

What are some general thoughts on switching bow grips for a new teacher? I'll be starting undergrad in NYC this fall, and my studio teacher is an adamant german player (orchestra focus). I've been playing french throughout my entire playing experience, and I've certainly put the majority of technical work and practice into it.

I usually assume it's not too big of a deal, seeing as either grip is traditionally accepted; and you can work well with your teacher in any case. However, i also understand that it may be best to use the same grip if you want to get the most out of your teacher, especially if it is for a specific focus i.e. orchestral v. solo playing. Let me know what you think.

My teacher plays French, I play German.

We don't really have any problems. He's got a good enough knowledge of the German bow and how to bow with the German bow to teach me. I started out playing French as well, so I can understand some of the things he's telling me to do from his point of view and it just helps to interpret it better on the German bow. Comparative to most people here, though, I'm just a beginner so the knowledge of the German bow he would need to teach me probably isn't what it would be if you were at a conservatory or college level, but that's just my experience.

Maybe pick up the German bow for a bit till you've got a good foundation in it--maybe for a few months or so--just to better understand some of the finer details that he wouldn't be able to teach you otherwise?

 

[¡bassballbill!]

I played french bow my whole bass life, including two and a half years of college studying with a primarily german-playing teacher. This semester I studied/played mostly german bow due to a combination of interest and some nagging arm problems. There was much more to talk about, but that's to be expected when you're starting from square one as opposed to building on your background. If I had been equally skilled or unskilled at both bows, he may or may not have had more to say about one or the other. What I do know is that the experience provided me with a new perspective with which to approach french bow, and it was fun to learn new things.

 

[MysterMunky]

I'm a german player and my Professor is a french player. At almost every lesson during my undergrad, my teacher would want to switch me but I resisted. When I started playing bass in elementary school, they only had a french bow. I played french up until high school when my director suggested I try German.

At the end of the day, you should play what you want. In my experience, it doesn't really matter if you and your teacher play different bows. The differences between the two are minimal and you can adapt one technique to fit the other.

 

[mdwallace]

TYoung, for what it's worth, I was in similar situation as you, played only French bow until I moved to NY for school, when I then decided to study/play German bow, and continued to do so for my entire schooling (undergrad, masters, and some artist diploma). My teachers played German bow, and I found it was beneficial for my education to be holding the bow underhand as well. But since school I've resumed playing over-hand, and do about 50/50 in my practicing and work. It's not like once you cross over to the dark side you can't go back ;-)