Double Bass Practicing Orchestral Music

[Stingrayz]

Hello All

How does one practice orchestral music ? for example, Beethovens 5th or any other long composition. ( Not excerpts, playing the whole thing.)

Do you have a recorded version of the orchestra on while your playing along with it (Ipod etc.) ?

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[Hector Wolff]

At the first rehearsal of a major piece in orchestra we just plough through one movement at a time at a slightly reduced tempo. We stop at the end of each distinct section, for a critique. The conductor stops us in the middle, only when things are starting to fall apart.

When I get the music home to practice, the first thing I like to do is to sit and read (and count) through the music while listening to the CD. There is often much going on in the score that is not apparent in listening to the recording. By reading and listening you get a feeling for the tempo, how the phrasing goes, and you get good practice counting the tricky passages.

When I start to practice playing, I don't try to cover a lot of ground in each session. I make sure I warm up doing scales and arpeggios that are related to the keys of the piece. Then I play through, slowly, counting all the time. When I hit a intricate or very fast passage, that is giving me a hard time, I slow down even more and take it a measure or two at a time.

I often find that if I am having a lot of trouble, I start working from the last measure of a difficult passage and work my way back toward the beginning.

I also have found that it is very important to always include the lead in to a difficult or fast passage, because if that pickup or lead in isn't down solid, you don't have a prayer getting through the rest.

SInce I am not a good sight reader, I find it is important to identify those passages that you will not be able to read at performance tempo. They need to be memorized if they are to come out in tune, in tempo, and with all the right articulation.

I only play with the CD if I can really play the piece at the professional tempi on the recording (not very often). If I can play at the tempo of the recording, I do it toward the end, when I am pretty confident. It is a great check on intonation. But you must be aware that different conductors will drop repeats, add retards, or change other things that might throw you off, so don't do too much of it, if you detect this kind of variation.

 

[Hector Wolff]

I forgot to ad that for the first few sessions, I don't make hard and fast decisions on fingerings or bowings. Once I have gone through a section a few times, I start to think about what fingerings, will make a passage easier to execute at proper tempo and with good intonation. (Often there is a trade off - one fingering will ensure better intonation, but another will ensure a better tone qualtiy.)

Once decided, I mark those down on the music and from that point on I practice with those fngerings consitently. The only exception is when I have advanced to the stage where I am concerned more with polishing the performance, I may make some changes if they make the passage more expressive.

I used to concentrate only on rythm and intonation first, then ad the bowings later but I have found that playing the indicated articulations (and the implied articulations) from the begining will effect the decisions you make about fingerings.

 

[bikerbassplayer]

At the first rehearsal of a major piece in orchestra we just plough through one movement at a time at a slightly reduced tempo. We stop at the end of each distinct section, for a critique. The conductor stops us in the middle, only when things are starting to fall apart.

When I get the music home to practice, the first thing I like to do is to sit and read (and count) through the music while listening to the CD. There is often much going on in the score that is not apparent in listening to the recording. By reading and listening you get a feeling for the tempo, how the phrasing goes, and you get good practice counting the tricky passages.

When I start to practice playing, I don't try to cover a lot of ground in each session. I make sure I warm up doing scales and arpeggios that are related to the keys of the piece. Then I play through, slowly, counting all the time. When I hit a intricate or very fast passage, that is giving me a hard time, I slow down even more and take it a measure or two at a time.

I often find that if I am having a lot of trouble, I start working from the last measure of a difficult passage and work my way back toward the beginning.

I also have found that it is very important to always include the lead in to a difficult or fast passage, because if that pickup or lead in isn't down solid, you don't have a prayer getting through the rest.

SInce I am not a good sight reader, I find it is important to identify those passages that you will not be able to read at performance tempo. They need to be memorized if they are to come out in tune, in tempo, and with all the right articulation.

I only play with the CD if I can really play the piece at the professional tempi on the recording (not very often). If I can play at the tempo of the recording, I do it toward the end, when I am pretty confident. It is a great check on intonation. But you must be aware that different conductors will drop repeats, add retards, or change other things that might throw you off, so don't do too much of it, if you detect this kind of variation.

That is exactly how the conductors in the orchestra's I play
in do the rehearsals and just about the way I practice the
difficult passages. Great answer

 

[Stingrayz]

Very well said Hector, thanks explaining it to me, really appreciate it.