practice with no/very small amount, of rosin?

You should post a sound clip with and without so that your comments can be evaluated in the proper context.

 

Practice without it!

 

Figure out how to get the volume with very little rosin (it can be done... hint: play closer to the bridge and use a bit more weight). Then you won't need more than a tiny amount ever.

 

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.

 

On a related note, anyone change rosins over the summer? I find Pops get real gnarly when it warms up outside.

 

Try picking up some Clarity summer rosin.

 

Use lots of rosin if you're talkin orchestral play

 

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.

 

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...

 

David Finckel on Rosin
Do note that in my opinion the method of application for bass rosin is different; however, the concepts are the same.

 

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.

 

I rarely apply rosin at home, but rosin a bit before playing a gig. I may be doing it wrong..

 

Actually, you will answer your own question on the basis of your own experience. In addition, the answer two years from now will probably not be the same as today.

 

Love this guy!
How would you say rosin applications on a cello are different than a bass?
Notice that he is doing down and up strokes for rosining. Some here say you only need to do down strokes. Why is that?

 

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)