Double Bass On dynamics

[Andy Mopley]

Hi all

have a question around crescendo and decrescendo, specifically what is the way to get this under control / sound "good", when these are together over as little as one or two bars? I find that I can bow this when I play a scale, because I suppose in crescendo I have a trampoline so to speak and it then easier to come back from where I land - however, over a shorter phrase, I can't quite get the same effect. Does it come down to having control over the amount of pressure but if so how do you practice that with short phrases? is it better to practice on a single note, rather than any more? Open string?
Closer to the bridge?

Regards to all

 

[David Potts]

This is extracted from something called Techniques for fast loud Articulation that I have just sent you in a PM =

A useful experiment? Choose a contact point and find the tempo/bow speed/weight combination that lets you play whole bows "on the string" with constant weight, no lift at each end, clean note starts and good tone and projection. Gradually play shorter faster notes of the same quality and clarity by shrinking the length as the bow moves faster. You can decide where on the stick you wish to contract towards - the balance point is a great place. Then expand the bow movements again to whole bows as you slow down again. Keep watching and listening. This experiment also works well for controlling crescendo/diminuendo if you add/subtract weight at the same time.

I believe that bending the hair over the string by relaxed weight (not pressing) when bowing "on the string" can produce a rich earthy sound that caps off some of the brightest overtones, controls the strings but still allows them to move freely. For crescendos I gradually add a little more weight as the bow accelerates to ensure that the bow doesn't skid and remains hooked onto the sound as the string amplitude grows, ie the string goes with the bow. With care the sound grows and projects out of the bass from a whisper to a roar without being crushed back into it by too much pressure. The reverse process of lightening weight as you decelerate returns the sound to a whisper, still in control of tone and volume. There are six little (solfege) exercises to practice using alternate down/up bows -
(1) Down bow loud-to-soft, up bow loud-to-soft
(2) Down soft-to-loud, Up soft-to-loud
(3) Down loud-to-soft, Up soft-to-loud
(4) Down soft-to-loud, Up loud-to-soft
(5) In each bow, Down soft-loud-soft, Up soft-loud-soft
(6) In each bow, Down loud-soft-loud, Up loud-soft-loud
These help make you very aware of how the player/bow/string relationship works as you examine the three basic variables, Bow Speed/Length, Weight and Contact Point


Some other experiments to consider? The amplitude of movement widens as the contact point moves away from the bridge and requires a faster and faster bow speed to support power and projection? Also bow speed must increase as you shorten each string and vibrations become faster? And in the same position bow lengths/speeds contract across strings, from longer/faster on G string to less than half and slower on E string in order to produce the same tone, clarity of articulation and projection?

Cheers, DP