Double Bass german bow techique..

[kpo]

can someone check out this dude's german bow technique and comment on it?

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its not how i hold it, but i've been messing around with it and kind of like it. is what he's doing conventional or urconventional?

2/3 of the way down this page:
http://www.uvm.edu/~mhopkins/string/?Page=righthand/bowhold.html&SM=righthandmenu.html

is a "conventional" German hold.

for Gary's stuff,
Gary's video BASSically Karr explains his ideas well.

 

[Scott Moncrieff]

Related question. German bow players I have seen have a little "snap" in the wrist at bow change. I have tried to imitate this with little success so far, even though I've watched some video of Gary Karr, John Clayton, etc., and tried to see what they're doing. Any pointers on acquiring this?

Wrist 'o Concrete, aka Scott

 

[EFischer1]

I find that many players try to do so many fancy things with the wrist when changing the bow.

To be simple about it, the ultimate goal of the bow change is to stop the bow from going one direction and to start it going another direction. We should always search for the least complex way to create this. I find that the best way to do this is to simply leave the wrist alone and reverse the direction of the bow. While this may not look as cool as the wrist movement, it will no doubt create a more even, legato bow change.

Remember, the bow change is a relatively small motion and the more we complicate this small motion, the farther we will get from the ultimate goal.

 

[jallenbass]

The purpose of wrist and finger motion on bow changes, as I was taught, is to ensure relaxation especially during complicated passages. I agree that it is not required to make a bow change smooth.

 

[Cory Palmer]

The wrist motion absorbs the impact of the bow change to make for a more seamless bow change. French bow players do a similar thing but it is more in the fingers.

Think about if you throw an egg up and try to catch it. You have to let your hand fall with the egg and slow down its fall gradually. If you left your hand in the same place the egg would crack.

This motion comes from letting your wrist be completely relaxed and changing the direction of the bow with the arm. Let the hand absorb the impact.

I do this with a combination of wrist and fingers.

 

[EFischer1]

The wrist motion absorbs the impact of the bow change to make for a more seamless bow change. French bow players do a similar thing but it is more in the fingers.

Think about if you throw an egg up and try to catch it. You have to let your hand fall with the egg and slow down its fall gradually. If you left your hand in the same place the egg would crack.

This motion comes from letting your wrist be completely relaxed and changing the direction of the bow with the arm. Let the hand absorb the impact.

I understand this concept. However, when I sit down at the bass, it still seems like this wrist motion just turns what should be a small and simple motion into a large, complicated one.

To me, the bow speed slows, stops, and then changes direction slowly. If there is no "impact" then there is no need to counteract it.

 

[Cory Palmer]

I understand this concept. However, when I sit down at the bass, it still seems like this wrist motion just turns what should be a small and simple motion into a large, complicated one.

To me, the bow speed slows, stops, and then changes direction slowly. If there is no "impact" then there is no need to counteract it.

The wrist motion just helps to make the transition smoother. It's definitely a concept that is going to seem complicated until you understand exactly how it feels. It's also a technique that doesn't work when you are trying to get certain types of strokes. Having the wrists and fingers relaxed is great for music like Mozart but when you are playing Beethoven or Strauss you usually need to keep the hands and wrist stiffer.

Also, the wrist motion isn't necessarily something that is big and obvious. Most of the time my wrist barely moves. I think it is a bigger motion when I'm playing very loud. the amount of wrist and finger movement depends on how you hold your bow. It seems like the way most people in America hold a german bow would make the movement come from the fingers more than the wrist.

 

[Jake]

I also used to play with a Streicher kind of grip, then Lenny Finkelshteyn, an awesome Russian German bow player advised me to put the tip of my thumb on top of the stick with the thumb at a comfortable angle. This has given me a lot more control and sensitivity.

 

[stefaniw80401]

I don't know about you guys, but my repertoire is no where near as big as pinehero's. Just think how hard he must practice to keep all those tunes sounding good. What do you suppose was the time span of his recordings? Days? Weeks? Months? Years?