Double Bass University Bass Curriculum

[chaurett]

Wow, I sense a little hostility . I certainly never meant to imply that we should not aware of the history and development of our instrument. My point is that as a teaching philosophy, encouraging your students to branch out to upright is a good thing if you have the equipment to make it possible. Writing it into an official curriculum as a requirement for graduation, I don’t think is a good idea. The point has been made that many (most?) electric bass players would welcome the chance to play upright. That’s great but, making it a requirement, might not be a great idea. I’ve been doing this for a while and, depending on who is approving/checking up on your curriculum you may run into some unforeseen problems. Most programs have too many requirements as it is.

Maybe the Mozart example wasn’t the best but let’s assume that everyone agrees that an awareness of a variety of styles contributes to your development as a bassist, electric or acoustic. When you’re writing a curriculum, learning objectives need to be broad to allow for the individuality of the learner. I’ve heard Todd’s gamba story. It worked for him but I don’t think studies in gamba should be a graduation “requirement” for all classical double bass majors. That’s a great example of an instance of individualized learning. Maybe if he had another requirement he would not have had time to take that step.

I think it’s narrow-minded to think that all bassists need to study acoustic bass. Teach them music. Encourage them to explore different styles. Play your acoustic around your students and let them experiment with it. If they really have an interest they will make it known.

 

[sleeper]

Might I suggest that somewhere in your curriculum you add bass history( I.E. those who wrote for the bass, those who were the Grey Karr of the 1600’s-20th century) and more bass repertoire . There is so much more music for the bass other than the 5 “major” concerto and the orchestra excerpts used to get jobs.

 

[Beto]

If you don¡t mind, I'll give my point of view.
For the situation that exists in my country (Costa Rica), with only one consolidated symphonic orchestra and few other classic groups, actually it is good to have the oprtunidad of learning both instruments, with a certain emphasis. For the world in wich we are living, it is necesary to be able to survive and be capable of coexisting with any gig or job offer that can do for you.

And about the University Curriculum, Undergraduate must be able to preform any Häendel or Eccles Sonata; short and "easy" pieces like the Elegy from Bottesini, "Kol nidrei" from Bruch, "Meditation" from Massenet, and some classical concerto's like Capuzzi, Cimador, Pichel, or Simandl (UUFFFHH)
The first and second year's you have to play Dragonetti, Dittersdorf, Vanhal; Some parts from Bach music for solo strings, like the cello suites or the violin partitas and sonatas.
By the third year (Bachelor grade) you play Koussevitzky Concerto, some sonatas like the Arpeggione Sonata or Hindemith Sonata, pieces like the Gliere Intermezzo and Tarantella, and a complete Bach string work. On fourth year (Licentiate grade) you play Bottesini No.1 or No.2, Proto, among other things. We have to study Simandl New Methos Book II, the Nanny Caprice-studies among others.



(Sorry for my English)

 

[Chris Fitzgerald]

These have all been a great help! I want to add to my initial question:

The department has grown a lot and comes from very humble beginnings. At present, a student can graduate from the University with a performance degree (bass concentration) without ever touching the DB.

The long and short of it is: Do I require DB studies for bass majors?

That's a tough question, and no one can answer it but you. When I started teaching at UofL, I had to answer the same question for the jazz majors - we have a great classical teacher in Sid King, but the question had not been as readily defined for the jazz degrees. In the end, we decided that double bass should be the focus of the lessons for our jazz bass majors. There were many reasons for this, but the biggest one was that, in the jazz world at least, the acoustic bass is the common instrument of choice, and sending people out with a degree but without the ability to perform on DB didn't seem like a very responsible choice for the students.

As a player who started playing jazz gigs on fretless slab, I know first hand about how hard it is to get jazz gigs on electric alone, and about the bias against having electric bass in many jazz settings no matter what the level of player. I made the transition myself, and it has been one of the most profound learning experiences of my life. Often, I'll recommend my more advanced students for gigs that I can't take myself. I don't think I could do that if they were showing up with electric basses. That said, if your school has a large popular music program (like Belmont), I think the choice should probably be up to the student based on what type of music they want to end up playing. For classical straight ahead jazz, that would be DB. For contemporary popular music, it's obviously electric.

 

[bobbykokinos]

Hans Sturm has the syllabus for his students at Ball State University posted here. They are worth taking a look at.

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Kinda late to the thread and this post really has nothing to do with the topic but:

Hey, thats me in the picture on the right of where it says "Recitals"

 

[Tritonis]

I certainly wouldn't make it a requirement to study the double bass, but I think you should recommend it to your students. I realize now more than ever that playing the upright bass has helped my technique and abilities on electric in a huge way. I also think one can understand the role of the bass best when they play both instruments well. This is why I have so much respect for guys like John Patitucci and Stanley Clarke, who are virtuosos on both instruments.

 

[mythikal]

geez, I m glad I m here.., so much information.....