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Double Bass German Bowing on the Decline?

Steve Freides

Steve Freides

Former Mannes College Theory Faculty
Supporting Member
Dec 11, 2007
2,576
1,508
Ridgewood, NJ
#1
My son is playing the trumpet this summer at the Tanglewood Institute, a Boston University-sponsored high school summer music camp that's just down the road from the main Tanglewood festival grounds. He happens to be rooming with three bass players.

We went to the first orchestra concert. All of them bowed French. So I'm wondering - is this a trend or just a coincidence?

-S-
 
#2
I'd say it has been going on for quite some time now. That said, there are regional variants on this. German bowing was always a bit more popular in the US than here in Canada, but even here it has become rarer over the last decade.

GT
 
#4
This orchestra had nine bass players, and from a fair splattering of the world - a couple from Boston, one from Texas, some from parts unknown to me in Asia. Everyone one of the nine of them bowed French - seems like more than just regional variance, no?
 
#5
Many, maybe most, bass players start playing in a school program, usually taught by a non-bass player. Consequently, the teachers often have the kids play French bow. I know many, many German bow players that started this way and switched later when they started taking private lessons, or even later in college or during the course of their professional careers.
 
#6
SteveFreides said:
This orchestra had nine bass players, and from a fair splattering of the world - a couple from Boston, one from Texas, some from parts unknown to me in Asia. Everyone one of the nine of them bowed French - seems like more than just regional variance, no?
Click to expand...

Some orchestras, for whatever reason, prefer one over the other, ie. Cleveland, Berlin, etc. And one orchestra is one data point in many thousands, so, no, I don't see how you can establish a trend from just that.
 
#10
The decline started in the 1950s and has continued unabated. It's because of the dominance (in numbers) of French bows in the instrument inventories of of the public education system. The preference has to do with convenience for the strings teacher who would rather not take the extra time to learn the German grip.
 
#11
I find this all very interesting, especially since I teach although I don't do it in a school system. I've had a couple of kids come to me who first learned in school, albeit just for a week or two, from someone whose main instrument is violin, and they all showed up bowing French and having a difficult time of it, too. I switched both to German and that's what they're doing now.

-S-
 
#12
In my high school's orchestra everyone bows french, and when I go to the Richard Davis Bass Camp I'll usually see many young kids bowing french. However I also see that some of the older kids and clinicians prefer german bowing, so it's not just a regional thing, the younger generation clearly likes french bowing a little more. It's probably because these kids don't have access to german bows; I mean there is one german bow in possession of my school, compared to like 10 french bows. It was like this in middle school too, so I'm thinking it could just be a result of limited accessibility.
 
#15
I have heard it argued that the German bow was more common when "bass stars" like Streicher and Karr were on top. With Meyer, Rabbath, etc..., it only makes sense that the French grip would grow in popularity.

The other operative here is the preference of the instructor. Learning the basics of each is advantageous, and many players will switch for a variety of reasons throughout their careers, or simply learn both to understand each better or for the sake of teaching.

Neither bow is superior, and honestly, failing to give the growing student the chance to try both is a disservice. Most stores will let the student borrow a decent version of each, with a major credit card. A week should be more than enough with proper instruction to establish which bow is a better fit.
 
#16
In Nashville it's all over the map but I feel it's 50/50 for the most part. FWIW, the principal bassist in The Nashville Symphony (Joel Reist) plays German.
I primarily play French, although my strategy with a new DB student is to show them both bows and holds and encourage them to switch back and forth for a month or two (using school bows) before they buy their own bows. It's about 50/50 as far as what they choose.
I play French because my first teacher (Ed Garcia in Dallas/Fort Worth-boy did I luck out!:D) told me that French would allow me to play cello as well if I chose. I liked cello, so that was as far as I thought. 36 years on I probably won't change, but I have learned enough German not to harm my students and play both when I teach depending on what the student is playing.
 
#17
French bow seems on the rise. Rabbath, Edgar Meyer, and even fusion style players like Renaud Garcia Fons are making a big impression on play the French Bow as well as playing the instrument well. (Petracci too!)
However, there's still tons of great players around playing German enough to give the bow the credit it deserves; Joel Quarrington, Bozo Paradzik, Edicson Ruiz, etc.
both are great, provided that they are learnt properly and thoroughly. Pros and cons for both, but they are both totally usable. No betters or worse.
also, I think there's the larger scale 'regional trends';
Europe=German bows, 5 strings
North America=French bows, 4 strings w/ extensions.
exceptions (and probably many at that) in both cases!
 
#18
jpfbass said:
In my high school's orchestra everyone bows french, and when I go to the Richard Davis Bass Camp I'll usually see many young kids bowing french. However I also see that some of the older kids and clinicians prefer german bowing, so it's not just a regional thing, the younger generation clearly likes french bowing a little more. It's probably because these kids don't have access to german bows; I mean there is one german bow in possession of my school, compared to like 10 french bows. It was like this in middle school too, so I'm thinking it could just be a result of limited accessibility.
Click to expand...

Ive actually gotten to do a cool comparison with this. I have been to three Richard Davis Bass Conferences and now two Golden Gate Bass Camps. It is interesting that because of the teachers(and the students they bring) the kids at RDBC are split about 65 35 for German and the opposite at GGBC. I see a lot more Rabbath influence in California and more Karr influence in the Midwest. In general, I think german players get a later start on the bow, because it necessitates you having a real bass teacher who at least knows the bow decently.
 
#19
also keep in mind that young students are way more likely to eventually switch from french to german than the other way around. i've seen a lot of players who started on french eventually decide to go with german after several years of playing. i've even seen players switch halfway through an undergraduate music program. just because you see a lot of young players using french bows, that doesn't mean that they will always continue to play french.
 
#20
SteveFreides said:
My son is playing the trumpet this summer at the Tanglewood Institute, a Boston University-sponsored high school summer music camp that's just down the road from the main Tanglewood festival grounds. He happens to be rooming with three bass players.

We went to the first orchestra concert. All of them bowed French. So I'm wondering - is this a trend or just a coincidence?

-S-
Click to expand...

Perhaps you should step in and offer to show them how to bow German style and let them decide which they prefer?
 

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