Double Bass Crab technique?

[PB+J]

Thanks Roy--I changed my order

 

[shwashwa]

im not sure why either, but im glad it doesnt. i play alot of electric bass and use my 3rd finger all the time, but i have a terrible time trying to use it below the octave on the upright bass

The Rabbath technique does not use the 3rd finger below the octave G. Why not? Hmm. Not sure. I'll try to remember to ask him if there's a specific reason for that. I suspect it is the weakness of that finger, and that pivots make dealing with that weakness unnecessary. I'm not sure though.

 

[Violen]

Here you go guys.





Mebby i can get arround to a few more later. this should be enough to decipher the book though.

 

[quenoil]

Excellent. Thanks for making those and posting them!

 

[Violen]

It took some work. the part where i speak french and you hear english was the hardest.

(in case no one realized it, those are videos of rabbath himself.)

 

[Les Fret]

Thanks, great stuff! I like those short examples.
Nice to finally see a demonstration of the Crab technique.
If you have some more videos that would be super.
How much of the Rabbath 'Art of..' videos is actually demonstration and lessons? I always thought the videos where mostly concerts and that the demonstration part was short.
But maybe I am wrong.

If I understand it correctly the Crab technique is all about leaving one finger on the string when lifting up the next finger to reach for the next note?
What I notice doing it myself and also from the 2nd video is that it is very hard to get a good intonation on the D (with 3rds finger) when leaving the 2nd finger on the B.

 

[shwashwa]

actually the videos are more demonstration than performance. id even say that they are at least 95% demonstration and 5% performance. the art of the left hand has some more performance than the art of the bow does, but not much. i always wished that there were more performance actually. its great to have rabbath show you the technique in a practice room setting, but then you want to see it in action in an actual real world application. this is exactly what he does, but i wouldnt mind even more of it.

Thanks, great stuff! I like those short examples.
Nice to finally see a demonstration of the Crab technique.
If you have some more videos that would be super.
How much of the Rabbath 'Art of..' videos is actually demonstration and lessons? I always thought the videos where mostly concerts and that the demonstration part was short.
But maybe I am wrong.

If I understand it correctly the Crab technique is all about leaving one finger on the string when lifting up the next finger to reach for the next note?
What I notice doing it myself and also from the 2nd video is that it is very hard to get a good intonation on the D (with 3rds finger) when leaving the 2nd finger on the B.

 

[Les Fret]

thanks for pointing that out. I just wish they would have made it cheaper.
Although probably worth it 105$ plus shipping is a lot of money.
Why is it it that expensive compared to other instruction videos?

 

[shwashwa]

i would imagine that a one hour lesson with Francios probably costs more. this you can watch over and over. also, its not just a video, there are all kinds of animations and computer stuff on here, as opposed to a guy talking in front of a camera like most other videos, so im sure that increases the production cost.

thanks for pointing that out. I just wish they would have made it cheaper.
Although probably worth it 105$ plus shipping is a lot of money.
Why is it it that expensive compared to other instruction videos?

 

[Violen]

I will get arround to a few more videos this weekend, mostly stuff linked to the blue book.

About the price of AOTLH and AOTB,

We are very lucky that our greatest master is still alive. In today's age with our technology we have the chance to capture him speaking and playing, forever. This will ensure that his message of music and bass is held and spread throughout the ages.

$105 dollars isnt even enough to replace a set of strings. Its not a cost, but an investment, and as someone above me said, a video you can watch over and over forever. When i get the money later this month im buying both. This is information that must be shared and is priceless.

Plus, most bass instruction videos ive seen have about 10 minutes of worthwhile material with a bunch of crap as filler.

Id put money that these dont.

 

[Violen]

If I understand it correctly the Crab technique is all about leaving one finger on the string when lifting up the next finger to reach for the next note?
What I notice doing it myself and also from the 2nd video is that it is very hard to get a good intonation on the D (with 3rds finger) when leaving the 2nd finger on the B.

If you cannot reach the D, Try Db. Think of this more for the pattern than the scales, if you need to start with a more collapsed shape, and play this chromatically, it would still teach the same idea.


Just make sure to pivot as you are supposed to. I am having trouble with the D myself, but i think this is a "Stretching" thing like when people first learn guitar and electric bass, you know, how akward they look holding it?

Same idea.

Collapse the notes if you need to, make sure you understand the purpose.

 

[Les Fret]

Plus, most bass instruction videos ive seen have about 10 minutes of worthwhile material with a bunch of crap as filler.

Id put money that these dont.

you are probably right. I think they should have put more and better samples on their website. From those samples I didn't get a very good impression about the contents of the DVD. So I wasn't sure if I want to spend that much money on them or rather buy the Rabbath method the book(s).
I am also not sure if I want to follow the Rabbath route right now or later in my development. Also because I don't have a Rabbath teacher.

Thanks to your clips I have a much better impression.

 

[shwashwa]

i would use the books together with the video. i got the video first, and he explains and shows the physical concepts behind his techniques, which is absolutely essential, but i wanted musical exercises and etudes to develop them, so i got the books. had i just gotten the books alone, i would probably be injuring myslef now trying to play the etudes without the benefit of the thorough visual demonstration and description of the techniques.

you are probably right. I think they should have put more and better samples on their website. From those samples I didn't get a very good impression about the contents of the DVD. So I wasn't sure if I want to spend that much money on them or rather buy the Rabbath method the book(s).
I am also not sure if I want to follow the Rabbath route right now or later in my development. Also because I don't have a Rabbath teacher.

Thanks to your clips I have a much better impression.

 

[quenoil]

A couple things:

1) A lesson with François is actually a lot less than the DVD - BUT you have to get yourself to Paris

2) From what I've gatheres, the cost of the DVDs was determined by Ball State University which produced them. It seems that there are folks associated with the project who would like them to be cheaper but... you can't fight city hall (or at least that's what I learned on The Brady Bunch when I was a kid).

 

[PaulCannon]

Not anymore, Quenoil. I'm in Paris this year working with François and his current rate for a lesson is 100€ ($130). The DVD's are less than the cost of two hours of his time, though certainly not a replacement for the real thing. They are, however, definitely a great investment and an excellent introduction/reference to his method and concepts.

Anyone truly interested in a crash course through Rabbath technique should look into attending the month-long program at Domaine Forget in Quebec. Masterclasses with Rabbath and Paul Ellison, in addition to lessons and group classes with some of their finest protégés (David Moore, Ali Yazdanfar, et al).

 

[¡bassballbill!]

It's an ironic yet irrelevant coincidence, but I always thought it was spelled protoge.

 

[Les Fret]

Sorry to dig up this topic.
But are there some other applications of the crab technique besides the descending and ascending thirds of the above videos? Can someone give some more examples?

 

[Thomas Allin]

A few ideas here, maybe:

 

[PaulCannon]

Sorry to dig up this topic.
But are there some other applications of the crab technique besides the descending and ascending thirds of the above videos? Can someone give some more examples?

Yes, Rabbath book 3 has 30 pages of exercises for crab technique which begin to show its utility. There’s also a concert etude in book 4 using only crab technique which is incredibly difficult.

It has the potential to help facilitate very rapid sequences of notes in thumb position, although in practice it’s rarely necessary.

In the wild, I might come across something best performed with crab about once a year. I’m glad I studied it, but I can’t say it’s essential learning.

Here’s one passage I found that works well with crab. Fingering is (II) + 2 1 + 2 1 + 2 (I) + 1 2 3. No shifting, just let the thumb move with the wrist as you turn towards the middle finger. At tempo, I don’t know a better way to do it.

 

[Les Fret]

Ok thank you both. I now see that the moving thumb is also considered crab technique. The above Rabbath videos only show the thirds with 1 and 3 (or 2) without using the thumb and that makes it very limited in use. Adding the thumb gives much more possibilities. I use that more and more lately.