Double Bass Easy classical or romantic solo pieces?

[Ben Crowell]

I'm looking for something easy to work on as a beginner's solo piece, roughly one page in length.

To give an idea of my level, I've attached an arrangement I did of the bourree from one of the Bach cello suites. I transposed it into a key where it fit in mostly first/half position, and also did a few octave transpositions and changes to chord voicings to make them work on bass or be practical for a beginner. This is a little on the hard side for me. I've been working on the middle minor section with a metronome and have got it fairly solid up to about 90 bpm (which I think is still pretty slow compared to a real tempo). I worked on the major section a little, but it's harder, and I think I want to come back to it in a month or two when my chops are a little stronger.

I love Bach, but would like to get some variety by doing something classical or romantic next. Any suggestions? I have a little anthology called Double Bass Solo One by Keith Hartley. It has some nice material in it, but the tunes are all pretty short, and he seems focused on systematically marching the student up through all the positions, which isn't my main agenda right now. Some of the material in Hartley comes off to me as a little on the grotesque side when you play it on bass.

I looked at some Mozart lieder, and they seem nice, but kind of short, e.g., there's one that people call "May Song," "Song of May," etc., in English, but there's not enough to really dig into. Mozart arias have a lot of ornate stuff that I wouldn't be able to play.

My main agenda right now is to just get my intonation and bowing more solid in first and half position. I enjoy doing arrangements, so if someone knows something that they think would be suitable for arranging, that would be cool. I went as far afield as to look at some Joplin rags. It was fun to sketch out some arrangements of sections of those, including some double stops to hint at the harmony. But I have a real mental problem with earworms, and the Joplin tunes are doing that to me. (That's why I basically don't listen to pop music anymore.)

 

[LouisF]

Have you looked at the Simandl 30 Etudes? Or George Vances series? They might be the best choice to address the issues you describe. E

 

[Reiska]

But I have a real mental problem with earworms, and the Joplin tunes are doing that to me. (That's why I basically don't listen to pop music anymore.)

Same here and christmas is the worst season for one like us, at least here in Finland.

Good luck for your search!

 

[MikeDavis]

Not sure this quite meets what you are asking for, but I’ve been enjoying the etudes in the first Rabbath book. They’re short (one page), musical, in low positions, and require a lot of attention on the bow if you want to bring out all the written dynamics.

 

[garrett2]

Faure's Apres un reve isn't super easy but it's not super hard and quite beautiful. And because it moves from first position to thumb position it's a really good exercise for getting comfortable on the bass.

 

[Ben Crowell]

Have you looked at the Simandl 30 Etudes? Or George Vances series? They might be the best choice to address the issues you describe. E

Thanks for the suggestion. I have the Simandl etudes. They're fine in terms of difficulty level, but in style I would say they're about as far as you can get from Mozart and his delicate touch I feel like I need to buy epaulettes and grow a handlebar moustache before I play them. Maybe I could get a job standing in front of a carousel and practice playing in time to the horses as they go up and down.
Doesn't Vance's method start in high positions?
Maybe I should just comb through instrumental themes from Mozart, like the violin parts of quartets, and see if I can find something slow. Or maybe there are some romantic-era lieder that are a little longer than the Mozart ones.
I enjoyed playing the Saint Saens Swan on viola. I should look at whether it's doable with my current level of playing on bass.

 

[AGCurry]

Doesn't Vance's method start in high positions?

Vance doesn't start in high positions, but his pedagogy treats thumb position early, whereas Simandl and others seem to look at thumb position as an advanced topic. There are many pieces in Vance books which don't go that high.

A challenge you may find in looking for solo material in low positions is that most people want to hear solos in a "human-voice" register. Low positions typically function as accompaniment.

 

[Ben Crowell]

A challenge you may find in looking for solo material in low positions is that most people want to hear solos in a "human-voice" register. Low positions typically function as accompaniment.

Yeah, I'm perfectly happy to take something appropriate from a higher register and drop it an octave or two, possibly transpose it to a more appropriate key. That's what I did with the Bach that I posted in the OP. I use lilypond, and for most well-known classical music you can get lilypond files at The Mutopia Project , so then I don't even need to type in the notes.

I'm really just looking for something that's melodic and enjoyable to play, and that works well enough as a single-line melody. Obviously some things will just sound wrong and grotesque in the lower register -- that's what I felt happened with about 1/3 of the pieces in the Hartley solo bass anthology.

But after all, there is a huge solo cello repertoire.

 

[LouisF]

You might take a look at these:
Bel Canto Basso (String Bass Method ) b | J.W. Pepper Sheet Music

Also, with all due respect, you might rethink your position on the Simandl 30 -- to make the first one (in C) MUSICAL - smooth bow changes, phrasing, intonation, accurate timing, no scratching bow etc -- is more of challenge than you might think.

 

[Ben Crowell]

You might take a look at these:
Bel Canto Basso (String Bass Method ) b | J.W. Pepper Sheet Music

Thanks for the recommendation. JW Pepper actually says "This item must be purchased directly from the supplier, so it will be cancelled from your order." I can't seem to find it on the Zimmerman site, but there is this:

Ten Solos for Double Bass — Zimmerman Publications

J.S. Bach: Recitative from 3rd Organ Concerto
G.F. Handel: Sonata in G minor
D. Dragonetti: Four Waltzes
S. Gargoni: Small Suite in Classical Style
S. Rachmaninov: Andante from Sonata for Cello & Piano
P. Tchaikovsky: Valse Sentimentale
Burnet Tuthill: Zimstuck
John Boda: Concertino
Max Stern: Sonnet and Dance
Armand Russel: Aria da Capo

Zimmerman's web site seems a little disorganized. The URL looks like it's meant to point to a whole different book, the bass parts of the Beethoven symphonies...!?

I attached a little arrangement of a Mahler melody I came up with this morning. It's a nice excuse to practice vibrato.

 

[Opus_Pocus]

Since you seem to have no issue with transcribing, opera arias are a good option! For example, I've fiddled around with these to strengthen my thumb position playing, but they would work in lower registers:






(23:27)

 

[CFIrwin]

Although not classical or romantic ...
I really enjoyed learning Chanson Triste by Koussevitzky. It's a great one to whip out when people ask me to play something for them. My old teacher arranged it down an octave...here it is.

 

[marcox]

Although not classical or romantic ...
I really enjoyed learning Chanson Triste by Koussevitzky. It's a great one to whip out when people ask me to play something for them. My old teacher arranged it down an octave...here it is.

Pardon my ignorance, but to my unwashed ears, Chanson Trieste sure sounds "classical" (and lovely). How would it be properly categorized?

 

[CFIrwin]

Pardon my ignorance, but to my unwashed ears, Chanson Trieste sure sounds "classical" (and lovely). How would it be properly categorized?

Not exactly sure, but I think Chanson Triste was written in the 1930 or so. Maybe "modern" or "20th Century"? I guess I was referencing the era it was written in rather than the musical association...the classical era being late 18th century and the romantic ear landing in the early/mid 19th century...

 

[Mark_T]

Someone here suggested the book Bach for the Young Bassist. I have it on my stand but haven't spent a lot of time with it yet, so I can't vouch for it exactly, but if memory serves, it seems like it might have what you're looking for.

I agree with the OP regarding the Simandl etudes. Great exercises but not exactly the sort of thing you'd play for anyone but your teacher. Agreed with the advice about Apres un Reve - I played that for solo and ensemble many, many years ago, as well as Sicilienne by the same composer.

There's also a book of Vivaldi sonatas that are pretty approachable, and there are sonatas by Marcello that would also probably work out pretty well.

I also love the Rabbath etudes - I'm very slowly working them over because I think they're really worth the time. They can be a challenge but they're often short enough to be manageable despite the difficulty.

 

[garrett2]

The etudes in the first Rabbath book are almost all entirely in first position. They are good music, not just etudes, and challenging although accessible to a beginner. Even the first one is hard to play really well! And they seem created for playing Bach.

 

[Mark_T]

The etudes in the first Rabbath book are almost all entirely in first position. They are good music, not just etudes, and challenging although accessible to a beginner. Even the first one is hard to play really well! And they seem created for playing Bach.

I'm traveling and don't have them in front of me, but I recall that they're not really beginner etudes, having some tricky rhythms and demand a lot of precision in bowing. But for an advanced beginner and onwards, they would be quite rewarding.

 

[Anne Millington]

Marcello's six sonatas for cello or bass have a lot to offer. You can play them alone, or with pianist or fellow bassist. My cello teacher gave them to me when I started out, and I still play them for fun.

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[Brilee]

Doesn't Vance's method start in high positions?

Higher is not necessarily harder, especially on the bass. Some of the Books 1 and 2 of Vance would probably be good for your purposes. Simandl 4th position (Vance/Rabbath 3rd position) is easier for beginners than first or half.

 

[Ben Crowell]

Thanks, all, for the suggestions! I will definitely want to track down some of these possibilities.
Attached is an arrangement I did of an Italian baroque aria, from Pergolesi's Stabat Mater (one of favorite pieces of music). Very different feel from the Bach. The fact that this aria is major and allegro always seemed a little mysterious to me, given the subject matter of the text -- but my Latin is nonexistent, so I don't know, maybe it fits perfectly if you understand it in detail. Possibly transposing it to bass makes the juxtaposition that much weirder and tips it into being aesthetically bogus, but I enjoy just playing it as abstract music. The editable Lilypond file is here: [Invalid or Expired Link Removed]