Classical pieces for electric bass

[SteveCS]

Posting this for fun (don’t flame me too hard!)

The Bach 6th Cello Suite. Considered the toughest Suite.
Casals used to practice consecutively one each day ending on the 6th, then took Sunday off them.


Joel Quarrington playing his 400 year old bass in a church.
His strings are custom gut ($1200 a set) and he tunes his bass in 5ths
(low to high C,G,D,A) Note he has the piece memorized.

This kind of thing sounds great on a fretless or fretted electric tuned in 4ths.

By the way, interpretation is everything when it comes to classical.
The conductor in tuxedo with white stick waving madly is the show part.
The important stuff all happened in the rehearsals. He tells everybody his interpretation.

Finally got the chance to listen to that all in one go - speechless! The Allemande and Gavottes were especially fine. Thanks for posting.

 

[slagheap]

What do you think was in the video? Are you saying sitting down doesn't count? I could have done it standing up with the lights off but it wouldn't have made much of a video...
But it took all of 5 minutes to set up, just over 3 to record (first and only take, no guide track or click, no score and with a couple of 'first take no warm-up' clangers left in, ''cause I'm just a regular dink) and about 10 minutes to trim the ends, add fades and render the video. And was a direct response to your challenge..

exactly what i mean - sitting down doesn't count, and play the piece he played. if he's got it wrong, feel free to play corrected passage(s.)
look, i know the guy slightly. he's good good, he works, he sight reads pop and jazz dots better than most, plays his butt off with fingers and plectrum, has zero ego ( & unlike myself, he's utterly non-judgmental, ) and in no way pretends to be a dedicated classical music fan. he also has an enthusiastic bunch of students. i am not one. i believe his lessons stress the importance of understanding basic harmony and applying good technique. he put himself out there in a simple plain way, standing there just as he has at countless stinking resort and cruise ship gigs, knowing it's not his strong suit, and nailed it. then some people on a web site look up from their dessert wine and burgundy collections and say " it ain't musical enuff. "

 

[SteveCS]

...
feel free to play corrected passage(s.)
...

Why are you quoting me? I did what you asked. The only reason I sat down was because my headphone lead was too short for me to stand and I had to do it DI because of the time of day.

 

[swink]

exactly what i mean - sitting down doesn't count, and play the piece he played. if he's got it wrong, feel free to play corrected passage(s.)
look, i know the guy slightly. he's good good, he works, he sight reads pop and jazz dots better than most, plays his butt off with fingers and plectrum, has zero ego ( & unlike myself, he's utterly non-judgmental, ) and in no way pretends to be a dedicated classical music fan. he also has an enthusiastic bunch of students. i am not one. i believe his lessons stress the importance of understanding basic harmony and applying good technique. he put himself out there in a simple plain way, standing there just as he has at countless stinking resort and cruise ship gigs, knowing it's not his strong suit, and nailed it. then some people on a web site look up from their dessert wine and burgundy collections and say " it ain't musical enuff. "

You're starting to annoy me... Guess what. You can start your own tread where you can challenge everyone who's interested.You can make your own rules and even cut out cardboard medals for the best performers.

And you can do all that in a standing position.

 

[swink]

Gents,
I hope to pic up the discussion on a later moment... it really interests me, and I'm glad to know that the classical music is still a current topic.
The fact that this discussion is crashed, by a blunt individual who thinks he can oblige me into liking things that I don't and pushes me into his opinions, repels me for further participation into this tread.
Greetings to you all (except one )

 

[Cliff Colton]

I like Mark. He taught me how to play Solfeggietto. I cant do that finger stretch from the 11th fret/E string to the 15th fret/G string so I eliminated that part but the remaining piece is fun to play. Thanks Mark.

Mark is a good teacher. When a student is learning Solfeggietto, there is no proper time to interject one’s funny joke and giggles into the video presentation. Five seconds of someone chuckling at their own wit is an eternity when you’re watching a video. Mark never does that. He is clear, concise and articulate.

Mark doesn’t pile up all his gear in the background of his videos to trick everyone into thinking he knows his stuff. Instead, he demonstrates his experience in video presentations that are carefully planned and well developed.

Not many people know this, but Bach didn’t play electric bass. Mark does.

Twenty years from now, the second most common polling question asked on TB will be “Did you learn bass from Scott or Mark?”. Of course P vs. J will still be #1.

Hope this helps.

 

[Cliff Colton]

One other important point if I may. Mark arranged Solfeggietto for the bass, then learned and practiced playing it while simultaneously doing a podcast in order to demonstrate how he learns a new piece. He did all that in approximately 20 hours. AFAIK, the only other musicians who could learn a piece that fast were in Joseph Hayden’s Sunday Morning Worship Band.

Also, you can’t blame the musician for the shortcomings of the instrument. You can play Black Dog on the piano, but it’s never going to sound like Led Zeppelin.