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Double Bass practice with no/very small amount, of rosin?

E

Edvin

Feb 25, 2010
254
0
Sweden
#1
Hi!
I love how my bass sound with a really small amount of rosin (still good grip, though). I don't get the full volume as i have with a good swipe with some pop's, but when practicing i love having a very small amount of rosin.

With the rosin i always think it sound's scratchy, nasally and thin. Doesn't matter if it's old or brand new pop's, Brand new or old Kolstein soft or Nymans.
Maybe i should try a hard rosin?

I do put on a good amount when i'm practicing bowing technique, because spiccato and some slur-exercises get's easier. But when i'm done with those exercises i often take the rag and swipe everything off.

So my question is:
Should i get used to the rosin and try to make a better sound with it or should i practice my strokes without adding rosin?

In my hand it's good

'Cause i can't keep taking it on and off everyday!
 
#3
Phil Smith said:
You should post a sound clip with and without so that your comments can be evaluated in the proper context.
Click to expand...

That can be arranged!

My question though was regarding whether it's healthy or unhealthy practicing.
I've read somewhere here it's good for your technique to
practice without (if it doesn't make you tense and overdoing movements).
I'm pretty stable in my opinion of which gives me a better sound (less rosin).
In orchestra situations i use more rosin though, for better or worse in sound.
 
#4
Edvin said:
Hi!
I love how my bass sound with a really small amount of rosin (still good grip, though). I don't get the full volume as i have with a good swipe with some pop's, but when practicing i love having a very small amount of rosin.

With the rosin i always think it sound's scratchy, nasally and thin. Doesn't matter if it's old or brand new pop's, Brand new or old Kolstein soft or Nymans.
Maybe i should try a hard rosin?

I do put on a good amount when i'm practicing bowing technique, because spiccato and some slur-exercises get's easier. But when i'm done with those exercises i often take the rag and swipe everything off.

So my question is:
Should i get used to the rosin and try to make a better sound with it or should i practice my strokes without adding rosin?

In my hand it's good

'Cause i can't keep taking it on and off everyday!
Click to expand...

Practice without it!
 
#6
I only rosin about once a week, depending on how much im playing. Chances are there's always still a little bit of rosin left over anyways, so you just need to warm it up a little. It's better for your bow hair and technique. I die a little bit on the inside every time someone calls it "technique in a can". It's true to an extent, but you shouldn't rely on it.
 
#11
Gary Karr advocates very little rosin. I find that I use a fair amount of rosin when playing in the orchestra probably because I want as much volume as possible a lot of the time. I try to be more sparing when practicing and focus more on intonation.
 
#12
jaff said:
Gary Karr advocates very little rosin. I find that I use a fair amount of rosin when playing in the orchestra probably because I want as much volume as possible a lot of the time. I try to be more sparing when practicing and focus more on intonation.
Click to expand...

Yeah, i took his advice and now i've taken two loose swipes every three days (~ 4 hours technique and 1-2 hours repertoire practice á day)
I think i'm gonna take his advice and try some violin/viola/cello rosin as well. Can't hurt to try!
 
#13
Realistically, you need to practice with varying amounts of rosin for different things. When you are practicing with little, you are learning how to play with little rosin - this is great for solo playing/Bach/tone work, etc.

You can't then expect that you'll be able to play orchestra repertoire with a lot of rosin and have exactly the sound you want. You'll have to practice using a different amount of rosin to get a different sound.

By the time we're all developed into the musicians we wish to be, we will most likely have experimented with every different aspect of our playing. There's no right and wrong for any parameter of playing the bass, and rosin is probably going to be a moving target for you.

Let us know how the upper string rosin mixture works too. I've been curious about setting up a second bow for that...
 
#15
Depends how much you're playing and practicing, and what you're going for stylistically.

There are different schools of thought, but you'll typically find that orchestral players nearly universally apply rosin before, and often once more at intermission during a bass-heavy concert.

I'm sure there are people out there who can get a heavy orchestral stroke without applying rosin before a concert, but in my world, we are trying to move a lot of air, and are trying to make things as efficient as possible to avoid injury.

FWIW, I have seen world-class players transition between Beethoven excerpts and solo rep and back on the same bow, all with a thick layer of rosin. In the end, it's all about the player.
 
#19
Did you try harder rosin? There are quite a lot of people in the UK who use cello or other brands. Advocated strongly by various people for all different types of playing. You might want to try it out on a spare bow though. Somewhat different technique required too. I started on the hard stuff after being coached in the NYO by some players who used it, but then fell off the wagon and started using the sticky stuff again when I was freelancing after I graduated. Went back to hard rosin more recently and now wondering why I ever strayed. I find it possible to create a warm '3D' sound in a piano dynamic in ways that the softer rosins don't allow. Pirastro goldflex is a good one, Andrea cello rosin is very very grippy but perhaps a bit more difficult to use at first (in my experience)
 

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