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Double Bass Played terrible...

S

Sdtrf

Apr 17, 2012
54
0
#1
Today our school orchestra had state festival we did fine warming up but when we got up on stage and everyone was off beat we (basses) were to quiet even with me trying to play louder then the violinist who had the solo messed up BIG time and half the cellos were flat and the other half weren't loud enough then on the last song after the coda three of my notes were flat but i don't think you could hear it b/c the 1st chair bass said he didn't but even then most of us played terribly then we went to sight reading and it was super easy. Im really sad though:( i saw that as their sig. On here they had this as their quote "if you want to be a virtuoso you must work like a virtuoso from the beginning. Be better than yourself everyday and be proud to make a mistake"-rabbath. Kinda made me feel a little better...kinda.... Well yeah just had to tell someone Id like to hear any comments you guys had.
 
#2
Since everybody was messing up, it sounds like it was the conductor's fault. Could that be the case? It's his responsibility to make the orchestra at ease on stage and inspire it with the confidence to play. That obviously wasn't the experience you guys had.. so my bets are on him.

Don't sweat it anyhow ;)
 
#5
Thanks jaff. And it turns out we got a better score than i thought i thought we would get a low 2 or a high-ish 3 but we got a 2 and it was only a few points off from a 1!!! And mr e (my orchestra teacher/ conductor) said that it didnt help that it was raining (getting the instruments and especially the basses out of tune) and that it was after school and we were probably all tired. Plus i didnt eat anything that day except a granola bar:/ he said that a 2 at state was like a 1 anywhere else but before the performance i really thought we had a good chance at winning:( at least we won music in the parks... We got 1st place and overall there... So yeah thank you guys for reading and commenting:)
 
#6
I just had a concert last night where one of our cymbal handles broke in the middle of a pause during "Danse Macabre". The cymbals crashed to the ground on one of the quietest parts of the piece.

I believe we recorded that concert as well.

Don't sweat it, there'll always be more chances to improve.
 
#9
I'm guessing you're somewhere in the high school age range?

Listen. Most of the kids in your orchestra are doing this because their parents are making them, they have nothing better to do, or it'll look good on their transcripts for college. It's great that you take it seriously, and because of that you'll probably go far. But it's unrealistic to expect that everyone will take this as seriously as you do. After you graduate you'll go on to college, the herd will be thinned, and the musicians you're stuck with at that point will be more on the same page as you. That's when you'll hit your stride with the other players. Until then just keep working hard, excel, and try to push YOURSELF to be the best you can be. Don't worry too much about the others, because you can't control them, and it's not in your power to get rid of them. It will get better, I promise.
 
#10
In the late 70's I studied with Steve Brewster, then Principal bassist of the National Symphony. He used to say, "You're never as good as you think you are, but you're never as bad as you think you are." He had a few great stories of National Symphony train wrecks. It happens to everyone.
 
#11
Thanks for the advice lowfreq33 and yeah there are some slackers but a lot of them (usually us, the 8th graders although there are some 7th and 6th graders but only a few) are really dedicated to it but yeah that makes perfect sense thanks again

@lfmn16 thats a great quote and helps some pretty cool you knew him. Do you mind if i use it for my sig.?
 
#12
Sdtrf said:
Thanks for the advice lowfreq33 and yeah there are some slackers but a lot of them (usually us, the 8th graders although there are some 7th and 6th graders but only a few) are really dedicated to it but yeah that makes perfect sense thanks again

@lfmn16 thats a great quote and helps some pretty cool you knew him. Do you mind if i use it for my sig.?
Click to expand...
Feel free. It might not be an exact quote (I studied with him in the early 80's, right up until his death). . He had two articles framed on his desk, one was a review that talked about how great he played; the other one said something like "the principal bassist played like a demented dwarf." He said he looked at one when he was feeling low and the other when he was feeling cocky. A great player and a great man killed in a car accident when some scumbag high on cocaine crossed into his lane and hit him head on. The scumbag walked away proving that there is no justice in this world.
 
#13
lfmn16 said:
Feel free. It might not be an exact quote (I studied with him in the early 80's, right up until his death). . He had two articles framed on his desk, one was a review that talked about how great he played; the other one said something like "the principal bassist played like a demented dwarf." He said he looked at one when he was feeling low and the other when he was feeling cocky. A great player and a great man killed in a car accident when some scumbag high on cocaine crossed into his lane and hit him head on. The scumbag walked away proving that there is no justice in this world.
Click to expand...

Hahaha thats funny a demented dwarf. But man thats really sad:( i dont know why people would want to do that stuff.
 

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