I just posted a bunch of videos of myself playing some excerpts I've been working on.
http://bit.ly/d893Lr
Feedback appreciated.
http://bit.ly/d893Lr
Feedback appreciated.
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Double Bass Excerpt videos
- Thread starter Stan Haskins
- Start date
bump.
I'm aware of things I want to improve on these recordings, hoping some criticism from you all will help me notice something I've missed.
http://vimeo.com/9116146
I'm aware of things I want to improve on these recordings, hoping some criticism from you all will help me notice something I've missed.
http://vimeo.com/9116146
it takes courage to post videos and ask for comments, and it is easier to comment than to perform.
mozart 40, quarter note section you could watch intonation, eighth note section after theme your stroke could be a bit more lifted
beethoven 9 recit, rhythm, count all beats in long notes
beethoven 5 trio, rushing 8th notes
beethoven 5 scherzo, loud section lacks cojones, and intonation suffers as it gets louder
mozart 40, quarter note section you could watch intonation, eighth note section after theme your stroke could be a bit more lifted
beethoven 9 recit, rhythm, count all beats in long notes
beethoven 5 trio, rushing 8th notes
beethoven 5 scherzo, loud section lacks cojones, and intonation suffers as it gets louder
Big +1 on that.
Since I'm a jazzer, I don't have much feed-back for you in terms of any solid suggestions, but just came in to say that I think it's a huge thing to put a clip of your playing up in here and to me it says a lot about your passion to continue your musical adventures.
Way to go, thanks.
You're way too kind. I only post videos because I'm working in semi-isolation over here, and need some feedback to get on track. And because I'm a narcissist.
Paul, I'm sort of an out-of-practice jazzer, too. A buddy of mine is maintaining Link Removed, which features some of my jazz playing. If you hear a bass on the track, it's me. Lots of them are extremely sloppy, but he's going for that "work in progress" kind of vibe - sort of blogging the process as we work our way through the real book.
Sorry for OT in the orch. forum.
As you know, I'm known as "King of OT" around here.
Drop me a PM and I'll be glad give you some feed-back.
I don't wanna get yelled at again.
Drop me a PM and I'll be glad give you some feed-back.
I don't wanna get yelled at again.
Stan,
I'm just an amateur, but I've performed Beethoven 9 three times, and we always took the recit a fair amount slower than your recording here. I think that by dialing off the tempo a bit, you can focus on making your sound bigger and more deliberate. Your intonation sounded pretty good, so I'd just work on making the notes and articulations very clear, and push your dynamics.
I'm just an amateur, but I've performed Beethoven 9 three times, and we always took the recit a fair amount slower than your recording here. I think that by dialing off the tempo a bit, you can focus on making your sound bigger and more deliberate. Your intonation sounded pretty good, so I'd just work on making the notes and articulations very clear, and push your dynamics.
Beethoven 9 Recitative-
Practice this with a metronome. Beethoven wrote 'In the style of a recitative, but in tempo,' so while it is fine to do a good amount of rubato, you should be able to play it in tempo first. Even when you're doing rubato, you have to have a tempo. It means 'to rob from the beat' essentially, but you must also GIVE BACK, so that means speeding up and slowing down with purpose. Listen recordings of great bass sections doing this like the Philadelphia Orchestra or Berlin Phil. And play all note FULL VALUE unless they have a dot over them! Make sure you know where you are doing and where you are on the bow.
Mozart 40 mvt 1- Again, have a real sense of line and pulse throughout. Eight notes have to LEAD somewhere so know where you are going with them. Have a reason for how you play every note.
Beethoven 5 trio- Don't RUSH the 8th notes! The beginning is in one tempo and when you hit the 8ths it sounds like you're trying to get out of them as fast as you can! Practice it slow with a metronome, maybe in rhythms (like turning two 8ths into a dotted 8th and 16th and visa-versa). This will sure up the rhythm.
Thanks for sharing!
Practice this with a metronome. Beethoven wrote 'In the style of a recitative, but in tempo,' so while it is fine to do a good amount of rubato, you should be able to play it in tempo first. Even when you're doing rubato, you have to have a tempo. It means 'to rob from the beat' essentially, but you must also GIVE BACK, so that means speeding up and slowing down with purpose. Listen recordings of great bass sections doing this like the Philadelphia Orchestra or Berlin Phil. And play all note FULL VALUE unless they have a dot over them! Make sure you know where you are doing and where you are on the bow.
Mozart 40 mvt 1- Again, have a real sense of line and pulse throughout. Eight notes have to LEAD somewhere so know where you are going with them. Have a reason for how you play every note.
Beethoven 5 trio- Don't RUSH the 8th notes! The beginning is in one tempo and when you hit the 8ths it sounds like you're trying to get out of them as fast as you can! Practice it slow with a metronome, maybe in rhythms (like turning two 8ths into a dotted 8th and 16th and visa-versa). This will sure up the rhythm.
Thanks for sharing!
Stan, are you actively listening to these pieces?
Playing along with standard recordings can be very helpful.
Playing along with standard recordings can be very helpful.
in addition to what has already been said, i think you could benefit from working out your vibrato on all of these excerpts. also, work out the phrases. know where you are going and have arrival points that you lead into musically. in beethoven 9, things just seem to need a bit more connection. sometimes you let go of notes before they should be done. at the same time, take everything with a grain of salt as the recording quality does not adequately reflect your actual performance. your intonation is pretty solid and there are some really good things happening technically, you should just really spend time focusing on big picture musical things now. it's good and clean, but a little mechanical at this point. major kudos for posting this! these are all works in progress for anyone who plays this rep. i know they are for me. keep it up and good luck!
In terms of the recit, it's hard to say exactly what you need to do with it. The excerpt varies greatly among different orchestras; there's even one conductor (I can't remember who) who strongly feels that the recits should be played in the same tempo as the section played by the winds beforehand. So, I would compare learning the style of the recits to learning a bach suite movement. Different players play them in different ways, and its up to you to have your own interpretation. As with the bach suites, there are some "standards" in terms of style of time period, although even that can vary. Learning it exactly how it is written is definitely a good idea, because you can jump from there. Then listen to different orchestras and see what you like; take some aspects of some orchestras and other aspects of a different orchestra. When it comes to auditions, which is what you'll need this excerpt for mostly, its generally a good idea to stick to the music and vary only slightly. Also, if by chance you have heard that orchestra play the ninth, you could play it in that style.
That is a quotation from the score... Beethoven's own hand, you can check the original manuscript yourself. Of course the hard part is interpreting it...
I think you're playing the beethoven 5 trio, WAY too fast. Its a tough stroke though,
if you don't know how to do it. I just started playing German, and I've found its a lot easier to get the bow off the string at faster tempi, but we don't want to rush do we?
therin lies the delimma.
Anybody have advice on how to play those 8ths?
if you don't know how to do it. I just started playing German, and I've found its a lot easier to get the bow off the string at faster tempi, but we don't want to rush do we?
therin lies the delimma.
Anybody have advice on how to play those 8ths?
+1.
My youth orch just played a side-by-side concert with the Houston Symphony playing Beethoven 5, so I learned a lot about this excerpt and stroke from the HSO bass section. I notice in the video, you play the 8ths fairly close to the frog and on the string. I might move a little further to the balance point of the bow, you can get some more bounce, but still keep a strong articulation. This stroke is definately off the string. Seeing the HSO bassists play this one, their bows are really flying off the string. I also had a couple coversations with David Malone, HSO acting principle bassist, about the articulations of the notes in this excerpt, and he said that the quarter notes of this excerpt should be played off the string as well. Hope this helps.
