Double Bass French Vs. German

[DoubleIanBass11]

I've toyed a lot with both bows and had teachers that play both. I noticed that i was having a lot of pain in my wrist with french bow and switched to german but my problem is that i sound a lot better with french (my articulations and overall sound production) but the pain in my wrist isn't really going away even after trying different techniques and ways of holding it. Sorta stuck in between a rock and a hard place here. Any advice?

 

[Bijoux]

I was dealing with some pain about 15 years ago using the french bow.
I just got to a point where I made my peace with the fact that I was gonna switch to German bow full time.
Luckily for me every bass teacher I ever had plays German bow.

 

[Big B.]

I play french bow and struggled with the same problem for several years. I solved my pain issues by changing how I orient the bass to my body. I have always played with the bass perpendicular to my body with the upper rib facing my stomach. During louder/longer pieces I found that my right hand would begin to cramp up with the bow.

I began to examine my posture more closely and found that with the bass in this position my bow was perpendicular to the strings as well. In this position my bow arm was completely responsible for providing the weight and power of the bow. After reading some of Rabbath's insights I moved the bass more in front of me, kind of a modified cello position. By making this switch the bow rests on the strings through gravity. In my original position the right hand had to actually hold the bow up to the string thus adding a whole new stress to the right hand before I even began to play. By putting the strings between the bow and my body I can use the weight of the entire bow arm to produce the same volume with far less effort.

Since making the change I have had no issues with endurance or pain. I also find that my left shoulder is more comfortable in thumb position and I can access all registers of the bass much more easily. Another bonus is that I take up a smaller footprint in the section and I don't have to rock the bass back and forth to reach different strings like I used to (bigger issue on a five string). Granted a change of playing position is not small beans but perhaps it's worth a shot before you make the leap to switching grips. If you already use this position then my usefullness is over... Good luck.

 

[DoubleIanBass11]

I was actually experimenting with the eggpin for a while using a sort of a modified cello position as well, but just couldn't seem to get the hang of it, the extra weight it added to my bass was sort of a factor in that as well. I have two teachers, one that plays french and one that plays german. The teacher that plays german i work on mostly technique with while the other teacher i do excerpts and solos etc. I'm sure the first teacher will be thrilled when i tell her i'm going to be using german for a while hahah.

 

[damonsmith]

I've toyed a lot with both bows and had teachers that play both. I noticed that i was having a lot of pain in my wrist with french bow and switched to german but my problem is that i sound a lot better with french (my articulations and overall sound production) but the pain in my wrist isn't really going away even after trying different techniques and ways of holding it. Sorta stuck in between a rock and a hard place here. Any advice?

I think what is true is that each bow leads you to different things, I couldn't do as much as I can with either bow without having spent a lot of time with both.
With a bit of practice I find once I can do something with one bow, I can make it happen with both. You just have to focus on each little thing you want to happen.

 

[Big B.]

I was actually experimenting with the eggpin for a while using a sort of a modified cello position as well, but just couldn't seem to get the hang of it, the extra weight it added to my bass was sort of a factor in that as well. I have two teachers, one that plays french and one that plays german. The teacher that plays german i work on mostly technique with while the other teacher i do excerpts and solos etc. I'm sure the first teacher will be thrilled when i tell her i'm going to be using german for a while hahah.

I probably should clarify that I always sit when playing arco so I dont have the endpin issue. I tried this approach while standing and the straight endpin does make it hard to keep the bass where I want it.

 

[DoubleIanBass11]

the balance is really off when you do it standing. I've been playing strictly german for the last two days and i guess i'm getting used to it. With all things i guess i just need to practice and the tone will come with german in time. I work out of the zimmerman bowing book everyday as well and i believe that will help.