Double Bass Ein Heldenleben 9

[Minibass]

I need help.

I am having a lot of trouble with this excerpt and I need it for my Indiana University audition February 1st. I'll take any advice you have to offer.

My biggest problems are the two arpeggios that start on C (C-Eb-Ab-C-Eb-C-B and C-Eb-Ab-C-Eb-C-F). The fingerings I have been using for them are 4 (Estring)-1 (Astring)-2 (Astring)-1 (D) - thumb (D) - 3 (G) - 1. Any alternate fingerings would help.

 

[bassman1489]

I really hate to be a Negative Nancy here (I love that term), but you've come to a common problem spot among bass players. Bottom line, this excerpt is hard!!

Since I am also a student, I haven't yet learned any secrets to nailing that lick, but I can offer some tips that have helped me get closer to nailing it. Your fingering looks good. The only thing I do differently is play 4-2 for the Ab-C, but I think yours could work also.

Practice it very very very slowly, making sure that each note is in tune, with good tone, and clear from the very beginning. Do this over and over and over until you feel absolutely secure in the left hand. Start out doing seperate bows (legato), as smoothly as possible, trying to connect every note. Every time you change strings, feel the weight of your arm transfer smoothly to the next string. After some time with seperate strokes, play the arpeggio slurred, still slowly, with the same concepts in mind.

Also, keep in mind that the panel for a college audition is not looking for absolute perfection. You're not auditioning for a professional orchestra. That is not to say that you should just slack off and leave it the way it is. Make it sound as good as you can make it sound by February 1st. I hope that this helps, and good luck!

 

[PaulCannon]

Are you required to play this excerpt for the IU audition? When I applied, we were able to choose what we played. If that's still the case, why would you choose an excerpt you can't play?

 

[sibass89]

They key to this arpeggio, which is really just an Ab 1st inversion is the shifting. The key to shifting is that everything is one motion. You are not shifting to each individual note, you are shifting from the C to the C with stops along the way. In other words, it has to be all one motion or you're never going to make it. Also, the common problem with this excerpt is that many players shift too fast. Shift in tempo, and get your fingers on the note a split second before the bow gets there.

There are so many practice techniques out there for this excerpt. Ask your teacher, I promise you they have had the same problems you have with it.

 

[davidzgeorge]

i always practiced this excerpt with 3 notes per bow, going up the arpeggio and coming back down. I use your same fingerings, except I would suggest going across the string for the last note in each arpeggio (for the B natural - 2nd finger on D or 1st finger on A, for the F natural - 1st finger on D is directly across from the C).

a problem shift in those 2 arpeggios is always going from C (1st finger on D) to E-flat (thumb on D). Practice this shift separately, and when you are working on the entire arpeggio, aim for the 1st finger C. if you "land" on that note, then the awkward shift to Thumb won't be accented.

dimoff said something to me that immediately made this excerpt 100 times easier to play, and it all has to do with bow management, not left hand as you might expect. Use almost the entire bow on the long note before the arpeggio, then save bow as you begin climbing up the arp. increase bow speed so you use the most bow on the top note, that way it won't stick out and you can better connect to the lower note following it.

 

[Cory Palmer]

I agree with sibass about not shifting too fast. A typical problem with this excerpt is playing the triplets too fast causing rhythm and clarity issues. I also agree with David about saving bow on the lower strings and using more bow speed as you get higher. 2 for the a flat and 1 on the c isn't as secure as 4 to 2 for me. If you use 2 to 1 it might be good to bring your thumb up as soon as you go to the 2. If you use 4 to 2 you don't need to bring your thumb up till after 2.

 

[bejoyous]

Try this:
C-Eb-Ab-C-Eb-C-B and C-Eb-Ab-C-Eb-C-F
---1 --1--4-1--3-2 and ---1--1--4-1--3-1(or 4)
---A--D--D-D--G-D and ---A--D--D-D-G-D(or G)

The trickist shifts I found were the Eb-C-B and Eb-C-F. By playing the Eb on the D-string, there is not too much of a reach to the high-C. Have your armpit on the crook (so your body is in thumb position) of the neck by the time you play the second C so your hand just has to pop up into the "half-position" of thumb position.

Going back to the B on the D-string is a bit of a leap, but your hand was just there a second ago and the crook of the neck provides a reference point. You could try the B in the thumb position of the A-string, but I've found that note doesn't sound very good, especially for a long note.

Going from the high-C to the F (G-string to D-string) is a comfortable fifth apart in the "first-position" of the thumb position so it is quite likely to be accurate tuning wise, the note itself sounds a bit muffled though. You've just come from there from the Eb and it is the same bow crossing as with the previous B on the D-string. Another advantage of playing the F here is your arm and shoulder stay in thumb position with your armpit resting on the crook.

As for going back to the F on the G-string, the note itself sounds better, it's the same hand position as the B on the D-string, you've played this F a thousand times more often than the F up on the D-string and you're a little closer to the following Bb-Eb-G-Bb arpeggio but the F is 8 inches or so from the high-C. So, you should experiment with that note.

 

[neilG]

Try this:
C-Eb-Ab-C-Eb-C-B and C-Eb-Ab-C-Eb-C-F
---1 --1--4-1--3-2 and ---1--1--4-1--3-1(or 4)
---A--D--D-D--G-D and ---A--D--D-D-G-D(or G)

Or this:

C-Eb-Ab-C-Eb-C-B and C-Eb-Ab-C-Eb-C-F
---1 --1--4-T--3-1 and ---1--1--4-T--3-1
---A--D--D-D--G-A and ---A--D--D-D-G-D

 

[bassbass]

Imagine being a horn player- Never rush the triplets argeggios. That always helps me! The thing is to remember that you are a human and when you actually play this, you have a section to cover up anything that you might slip on, Dont over stress about it.

 

[JayR]

This excerpt is currently the bane of my existence as well (intending to use it for my grad school audition). I think it took me a good month or so before those C arpeggios even started to sound like music. I don't know how useful this advice is, but I've found that doing imagination/visualization practice with this excerpt helps a lot, because that passage is just so unnatural feeling anyway you cut it. Becoming consciously aware of what all the motions feel like when it comes out right, and repeating that in my head when I'm away from the bass (say, oh, stuck in traffic) has done a lot for me recently to help get rid of the "oh crap I hope I nail that C!" feeling.

Freakin Strauss.