Double Bass Simandl and You

[Rama Temmink]

I am curious on how everybody interprets the famous page ten of the classic red book.

I encourage you to record your take on it.

Tempo? Arco? Pizzicato? Legato? Forte?! All is well I say. Even better yet, different interpretations by the same musician piques my curiosity.



Please do not hesitate to show me and the others your physical copy of the book. Here is mine which is approximately ten years old.

Rama

 

[Silevesq]

Love the idea, but I sadly lost my book... Next time maybe!

 

[LouisF]

I've been going back to the Simandl book annually for over 50 years. I didn't know page 10 was particularly famous! I use various "variations" for bowing volume etc; haven't don it pizz though.

 

[Don Kasper]

This is the version found alongside the Dead Sea Scrolls.
What so special about pg.10??? It is just 3 ditties in Half Position in my version.
Thanks.

 

[Rama Temmink]

It is the first few musical pieces that you will be learning/studying.
It is fun, join in.

 

[M0ses]

I think they're fun to play and great for beginners building tuning skills. Much better than the chromatic half and first position exercises which are difficult to fix your ear on.

 

[Don Kasper]

It is the first few musical pieces that you will be learning/studying.
It is fun, join in.

Understood.
I believe I've squeezed about as much "fun" out of Herr Simandl's Book as is humanly possible - many decades ago.
Enjoy!
(jk)
Thanks.

 

[birgebass]

My son ripped a few pages out of mine recently, and colored a few. His love/hate relationship has already begun at the tender age of 3.

 

[Don Kasper]

His love/hate relationship has already begun at the tender age of 3.

The apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

 

[birgebass]

The apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

Yeah, no doubt!

 

[bassfiddlesteve]

The “famous“ page in the Simandl book is page 69 with the bowing variations. That’s a great page for getting your arco skills together.

I recently took my copy to Staples to have it re-bound with a spiral binding. I wish I had thought of that years ago.

- Steve

 

[bassfiddlesteve]

Love the idea, but I sadly lost my book... Next time maybe!

You can download a copy of it here.

- Steve

 

[neilG]

I think my version is about the same vintage as Don's albeit a bit worse for wear. Circa 1969. $3.50!

 

[Andy Mopley]

Out of interest, my version is the English and Japanese text...Why the Japanese, I wonder...anyone know if there was a specific market there at the time??

 

[Leo Smith]

The “famous“ page in the Simandl book is page 69 with the bowing variations. That’s a great page for getting your arco skills together.

I recently took my copy to Staples to have it re-bound with a spiral binding. I wish I had thought of that years ago.

View attachment 3858000
- Steve

they did a good job with that spiral binding. I might have to do that, since my book is held together with a piece of gaffer's tape.

I also like the page 69 etude. Played it so many times as an undergrad that I don't need to read the music. Aside from the bowing variations, I've also been transposing it by ear just as an exercise. So far I've taken it up to D flat and down to G.

 

[ILIA]

This is the version found alongside the Dead Sea Scrolls.

That is way too funny!!

 

[BrotherMister]

The “famous“ page in the Simandl book is page 69 with the bowing variations. That’s a great page for getting your arco skills together.

I recently took my copy to Staples to have it re-bound with a spiral binding. I wish I had thought of that years ago.

View attachment 3858000
- Steve

I'd have never thought of this but it's so simple, You've just changed my life. You sir, are all things to all men.

 

[neilG]

Out of interest, my version is the English and Japanese text...Why the Japanese, I wonder...anyone know if there was a specific market there at the time??

I'm sure that was a marketing decision. The German would be way more useful, since any classical player needs to know a little German eventually.

 

[CaseyVancouver]

Here’s my original copy, totally apart, on the right that I picked up something like 1972. The one on the left is newer, I gave it the spiral treatment.

I would consider trading the original one with @Contranash for that ‘Old Gross Cake of Pops’ he has running in the classifieds. I might sweeten the deal with a yuan bill from my 1995 tour in Beijing, I dunno.

 

[Andy Mopley]

Just as side note...The more I see YouTube videos of people demonstrating "new" techniques, the stronger my appreciation for the book. There is very little out there that I see where a technique is not a modification of an exercise that is already covered by Simandl or that is a significant departure. Maybe this is why this text has been so widely used as a teaching tool, since its first launch, a toss up between NeilG and Casey's books! ;-)