Double Bass Newbie - Appropriate bowing coordination to sight reading

[LyonsBass]

Hi guys,

I am new to double bass but I have been playing electric bass for 5 years along with guitar, piano, banjo etc... I am 17.

The problem I seem to be having is a hard to describe...

If you have a bar of 4:4, with 4 crotchets.
Should you do a full bow for each crotchet?
or
Bow the 2 crotchets in the same stroke
or
Bow all the crotchets in one long stroke?

These are just exercises, not a song. With no accents or articulation either.

Thanks.

 

[Andrew McGregor]

Totally depends on context, you can do it any way depending on what you want to achieve. One bow per note is kind of a default unless there's some reason to do something else, but you might not be using full bows in a fast tempo.

 

[LyonsBass]

Ahh, so it is depending on the context. Guess I should try all ways for the sake of the excercise and practice.
Thanks dude.

 

[Square Bear]

use the amount of bow required for the dynamic and tempo. less bow for a faster tempo or softer dynamic and more bow for a louder dynamic or slower tempo. go for an even and consistent bow stroke at any tempo and dynamic.

 

[rslaing]

There is an excellent double bass tutor, with a very comprehensive section about bowing and it is a FREE download from Link Removed

It's called creative bass technique by Henry Portnoi. I think I first found out about it in a Talkbass forum.

Get it, it will answer all of your queries.