Double Bass One or two on a stand?

[Bruce Calin]

Did a first rehearsal in a crowded pit last night with two on a stand. I have to say it worked out great. Of course, I was not the page turner, so I really liked it. I'm tempted to recommend it when we go back to regular orch next season.

 

[Mark_T]

I am curious a bit - I rarely write in fingering and I assume it's rarer still for pros to do so. I wonder if, for an amateur group, it's unreasonable to expect a volunteer section to have the level of preparation as to not require fingerings. I would not want to play off a part that had somebody else's fingerings written in.

 

[neilG]

I am curious a bit - I rarely write in fingering and I assume it's rarer still for pros to do so. I wonder if, for an amateur group, it's unreasonable to expect a volunteer section to have the level of preparation as to not require fingerings. I would not want to play off a part that had somebody else's fingerings written in.

Rarely, I'll write in a tricky fingering but I'll ask my stand partner if he minds or has a better one.

 

[djmay]

I am curious a bit - I rarely write in fingering and I assume it's rarer still for pros to do so. I wonder if, for an amateur group, it's unreasonable to expect a volunteer section to have the level of preparation as to not require fingerings. I would not want to play off a part that had somebody else's fingerings written in.

Usually, for intermediate and advanced orchestras, the section leader provides fingering instructions. Everyone uses the same fingering.

 

[fdeck]

Madison Symphony is 1/stand for the bassists. Don't know the rationale. Most but not all of them are seated, and there are more and more things like foot blocks. I wonder if all of the ergonomic accommodations for bassists make it harder to cram them close together.

I'd pity anybody who had to read my rehearsal markings.

 

[Mark_T]

Usually, for intermediate and advanced orchestras, the section leader provides fingering instructions. Everyone uses the same fingering.

I have been playing for a long time (~35 years) and I'm pretty surprised to hear that higher level groups do the same fingerings. Same bowings, yes, but fingerings in my experience have been left to the discretion of the player. I certainly didn't get any fingering instructions from the principal when I subbed with the Vancouver Symphony (and he's my teacher so he had plenty of opportunity to tell me what to do). Also, I don't recall seeing fingerings written in to parts on the NY Phil archives, so unless everyone transmits fingerings sideband and memorizes them, it seems unlikely.

As the principal in my local group, I sometimes give suggestions when I arrive at a clever or helpful fingering (did that for some tricky passages in Beethoven 9 this year but that was because I was the only one in the section who'd ever played it and it's a lot to learn). I can't imagine requiring or even asking everyone to do the same thing, with the possible exception of situations where something exposed needs to be brighter (i.e., on a higher string) or darker (i.e., on a lower string) or where the articulation suggests avoiding or preferring string crossings. Even then, I wouldn't tell someone "what finger to use" but say, "don't play that note on the top string" or something like that.

 

[neilG]

Usually, for intermediate and advanced orchestras, the section leader provides fingering instructions. Everyone uses the same fingering.

Maybe for school orchestras. In the professional field, no.
In violin sections you might see a principal ask for a passage to be played on a particular string to achieve some desired timbre, but that's it.

 

[fdeck]

What I learned from my kids, both of whom are orchestral string players, is that the sections typically coordinate bowings but not fingerings.

I've told the trombonists in my band that it would look better if they all moved their slides in the same direction.

 

[neilG]

I've told the trombonists in my band that it would look better if they all moved their slides in the same direction.

That reminds me of a story from a friend who used to be in the Air Force Strolling Strings. They had some medal-laden military guy come up and ask why all the violins weren't the same size. <Insert viola joke here>

 

[fdeck]

Okay, viola joke: Why are violins smaller than violas?

They aren't. It just looks that way because the violinists' heads are bigger.

 

[Neil Pye]

I think if you have any ambition at all to play in the pro world, you should be sharing stands. If you can't do that in a comfortable, practised way, you will severely restrict the opportunities you get. It helps with ensemble, with blending and with fostering a section culture - all of which are vital to orchestral playing, in my opinion. Plus - its fun!

 

[Neil Pye]

How do you stop people stealing your violin? Put it in a viola case

 

[Neil Pye]

I am curious a bit - I rarely write in fingering and I assume it's rarer still for pros to do so. I wonder if, for an amateur group, it's unreasonable to expect a volunteer section to have the level of preparation as to not require fingerings. I would not want to play off a part that had somebody else's fingerings written in.

In a high class amateur orchestra, I don't get involved in fingerings unless I hear something odd going on - open strings in inappropriate places maybe, or strange glitches in slurred passages - or someone asks. But if you don't write in fingerings, why does it matter if someone else does? just ignore them!