Double Bass Tchaikovsky 4, Mvt 4

[sco84]

My college orchestra is playing Tchaik 4, and I'm having trouble getting the 4th movement up to speed. In particular, once I get up to about quarter=140 my left and right and don't line up. Does anyone have any practice tips?

 

[davidzgeorge]

for speed and coordination: rhythms and accents are always good. instead of straight 16ths do some combination of 8ths and 16ths. for accents, play slowly with straight 16ths and go through accenting either the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, or 4th 16th note at a time.

also make sure you have a good fingering.

 

[CT DB]

You might try waiting a day or two and coming back to it. Sometimes when working a lot on a really hard passage your hand muscles get a workout, like in the gym, and the muscles need a day or two to repair themselves with more strength and speed than before. When you come back to it, you might be amazed that it is easier to play than before!

 

[MonetBass]

also make sure you have a good fingering.

+1 on the fingering. That can make a piece relatively easy or horrendously difficult to play. Get with your bass instructor and work out the best fingering.

 

[Bill Bentgen]

for speed and coordination: rhythms and accents are always good. instead of straight 16ths do some combination of 8ths and 16ths. for accents, play slowly with straight 16ths and go through accenting either the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, or 4th 16th note at a time.

also make sure you have a good fingering.

This is similar to something I picked up a few years ago and seems to work for me. Play the passage of 16th notes as dotted 16ths and 32nd notes over and over, and then play it as 32nd notes followed by dotted 16th notes over and over. Go back to playing it straight and it'll go faster.

 

[jakeyramone]

Have you worked this passage up from a much slower tempo? Question the quality of your fingering. Taking a day off can help as well. But working up from a much slower tempo must be done.

 

[Don Higdon]

In the words of Ed Fuqua, "If you can't play it slow, you sure as hell can't play it fast."
In the words of Sandy Dackow, "Practice does not make perfect; practice makes permanent."
If you continually practice at a tempo that causes you to make a mistake, you are teaching yourself to always make that mistake.

 

[Anthony Marks]

Several years ago I was struggling with several sections in the last movement of the Beethoven 9th Symphony. Some of the parts just seemed unplayable on Double Bass - even the VCellos were having difficulty with the same parts. I posted a paragraph on another Double Bass forum (2xBassist I think) and asked if anyone could assist me. I received several responses, but the best one was from the Principal Double Bass of a major US symphony orchestra (I prefer not to mention which one) in which he stated quite succinctly "Most bassist play most of the notes in the 9th." This may seem like a curt answer, but upon reflection I realized he was giving me good advice. The advice, in essence, and this is not giving anyone permission not to try their level best to get everything, is to play that which you can and get out of the way for the rest.

 

[Pete G]

Several years ago I was struggling with several sections in the last movement of the Beethoven 9th Symphony. Some of the parts just seemed unplayable on Double Bass - even the VCellos were having difficulty with the same parts. I posted a paragraph on another Double Bass forum (2xBassist I think) and asked if anyone could assist me. I received several responses, but the best one was from the Principal Double Bass of a major US symphony orchestra (I prefer not to mention which one) in which he stated quite succinctly "Most bassist play most of the notes in the 9th." This may seem like a curt answer, but upon reflection I realized he was giving me good advice. The advice, in essence, and this is not giving anyone permission not to try their level best to get everything, is to play that which you can and get out of the way for the rest.

I remember the first time a teacher of mine -- a principal of a professional orchestra -- looked at me quizically and asked, "Do you think anyone plays ALL the written notes?"

 

[Heifetzbass]

"Perfect practice makes perfect."- my favorite quote, unknown

I would suggest two things:

1) There is probably one measure, maybe two, that is getting you out of sync. Isolate those and play them 25 times a day until you have them memorized.

2) Can you play it with your left hand only and articulate 75% of the notes? On a passage like that it is very important to be able to hear your left hand produce many of the notes while staying as close to the fingerboard as possible.

Remember, we are choreagraphers of a dance with our fingers- No dancer learns a dance at full speed.

Hope that helps,
BG

 

[neilG]

"

2) Can you play it with your left hand only and articulate 75% of the notes? On a passage like that it is very important to be able to hear your left hand produce many of the notes while staying as close to the fingerboard as possible.

BG

In the same vein, practice the passage legato, in one bow. That will show you where the fingering problems are right away.

 

[ClassicalBass]

If your hands aren't lining up, it sounds like you need to relax. I think the tendency is to rush the right hand, so practice slow to make sure it doesn't happen.

Make sure you have a good fingering, and try to keep bow crossings to a minimum. For instance, towards the end of that one very fast lick, where you play D, C#, D, and then C natural instead of crossing strings 3 times, play the first C# with 2nd finger (shift during the open D) and then 4th on D. This eliminates the string cross, which I find makes it easier to play fast without losing coordination between bow and left hand. Little details like that are what make fast passages playable.