My suggestion is not to think of that section as 6/8 because it's not. Still 3/4, and you need to be able to count it that way. Don't be confused by the note grouping.
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Double Bass Sibelius violin concerto
- Thread starter Snufkin
- Start date
Our performance went perfectly.
Some observations perhaps worth passing along:
The bass is beautifully exposed in a number of places, so know your stuff.
Be confident of your entrances, which may involve looking at the score and noting cues.
The beginning of the second movement, in 8/8, the bass comes in solo before cellos. To help with counting, to get my entrance, I kept a full score page on the stand. You absolutely have to nail it, cause everyone hears you.
The third movement is counted 3 for sure. Get to know the rhythm pattern and be relaxed with it. But don’t get so relaxed or sloppy that it turns into any kind of partial triplet. The violin soloist plays a few bars now and then that work against your rhythm, so don’t let him throw you off. A couple of places there is a 1/8ths rest where absolutely no one is playing, so if anyone misses it the mistake stands out.
In the theatre I enjoyed how easy it is to hear the bass in this piece.
Sibelius is awesome. He displays in his compositions an awareness of the bass capabilities, and not just a double of cello. We also played his King Christian suite. The bass part of the Menuetto is a delight.
Some observations perhaps worth passing along:
The bass is beautifully exposed in a number of places, so know your stuff.
Be confident of your entrances, which may involve looking at the score and noting cues.
The beginning of the second movement, in 8/8, the bass comes in solo before cellos. To help with counting, to get my entrance, I kept a full score page on the stand. You absolutely have to nail it, cause everyone hears you.
The third movement is counted 3 for sure. Get to know the rhythm pattern and be relaxed with it. But don’t get so relaxed or sloppy that it turns into any kind of partial triplet. The violin soloist plays a few bars now and then that work against your rhythm, so don’t let him throw you off. A couple of places there is a 1/8ths rest where absolutely no one is playing, so if anyone misses it the mistake stands out.
In the theatre I enjoyed how easy it is to hear the bass in this piece.
Sibelius is awesome. He displays in his compositions an awareness of the bass capabilities, and not just a double of cello. We also played his King Christian suite. The bass part of the Menuetto is a delight.
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