Double Bass Vomit exercise variation?

[Andy Mopley]

Is a variation one where, as the finger slides up (or down), to the right pitch, the note is sung, THEN checked (bowed or plucked)? Don't necessarily want to revisit the relationship between the vomit exercise and bowing, more about ways to help with intonation, muscle memory and position shifts whilst anticipating the correct pitch in your head.

To be crystal clear: start with finger on A (on g string) then SING to say C (if that is the minor interval being sought) on G string THEN check the note for accuracy.

I don't know (excuse my ignorance) if with the vomit exercise you are meant to sing the notes as you play them? Or if I am merely stating interval singing (as I suspect), with the difference being to check (use your ear) before playing.

Regards to all

 

[David Potts]

I would not trust my ability to sing the note ahead of shifting to it but I can certainly prehear the next note above or below the last so that I can move directly to it or quickly correct it if I'm out. I try to use very little audible glissando, instead using the "nip" between my fingers and thumb to stop on the notes and good shifting technique in between. You could choose to do the Vomit exercise carefully a number of times, consciously concentrating on a different aspect each time, eg (1) prehear notes, (2) Position to Position as arm settings (3) measure the distance your hand moves by the thumb shifting in 1/2 tone, whole tone or greater distances, (4) coordinate the two hands for good bow changes and articulation, (5) set aside all the above and listen to how musically you can combine everything............

I have said elsewhere more than a few times that I place trust in clearly hearing the tetrachords (groups of 4 notes) and intervals that are the building blocks of much of our orchestral music. The well played Vomit exercise supports this approach IMO.

Best wishes for 2022

 

[Andy Mopley]

And to you too, and all, David!

 

[neilG]

I agree with David: if you can hear the goal note in your head, there's no need to sing it, unless you enjoy that sort of thing. The thing to remember about any shifting exercise is that the proof of the pudding is if you can shift to a note without a slur. If not, you still don't know where that note is, and you need to revisit the intermediate steps.

 

[CaseyVancouver]

Here’s a variation for you on the vomits: use it for a bowing exercise.
Bow weight. placement and speed.

Everybody feels vomits are ALL about intonation. They were first developed by violinist George Bornoff as a bowing exercise, adopted by Gary Karr from Bornoff and Gary brought into his bass teaching classes.

Yes vomits are about the left hand because that’s how most use it, and it seems to come natural to us to use it this way.

Gary, the originator of vomits for bass, considers the vomit exercise purpose is bow weight, placement and speed.

The term ‘vomit’ came from Gary’s class where everyone was doing the exercise, and a person at the door looked in the room and made a vomit gesture that Gary saw.

 

[Dogfightgiggle]

I do that sort of exercise but with scale variations rather than vomits. Basically just singing the upcoming pitch against the preceding bowed pitch, then joining the bowed pitch to the sung pitch.

 

[Co.]

You could also use the vomit exercise for bowing and intonation simultaniously. It is easier, to feel the intonation, if you are bowing the string correctly.
Just play the vomit exercise as intended, but play it to varying drones, for example the tonic, or the fifth of the key you are in, or any random drone and play the vomit exercise chromatically.
If you struggle, to focus on bowing and intonation at once, just slow it down.

 

[jheise]

And to add to CaseyVancouver: Gary's Golden Rule - Each note has a "correct" bow speed, during the shift (up/down), the bow has to move at the speed of the lower note.

 

[Lee Moses]

In fairness, the O.P. specifically stated that he didn't want to revisit the relationship between the vomit exercise and bowing. That implies that he is fully aware of said relationship, but is looking to use vomits for a specific purpose unrelated to bowing.

 

[jheise]

Sorry, I have to argue that once you remove the key element - that vomit is exclusively a bowing exercise - from it, it stops being the vomit exercise and becomes sth. completely different. It might still be a valuable exercise - but it's no longer vomit and neither a variation.

For me, a variation would be, that you play the whole exercise with vibrato, although it makes it harder to hear the correct pitch.

Edit: I have to add a little context to the above and will not delete my last paragraph before the edit.

The vomit exercise needs no variations. It's all about (as has already been written) bow placement and bow speed and total focus on the right arm (the left is not important) and not an intonation exercise (you want to hit the notes, but that is goal No 2). I learned it 15 years ago from Gary and had it explained another 9 times by him (the years I went to Karr Kamp). And even after all these years and playing part of it (not the full ca. 45mins) almost every day, I can still challenge myself with it - in regard to bowing. My intonation still sucks, but that's a different problem ;-)

 

[Dogfightgiggle]

Thinking about this more I’d suggest maybe breaking this up into three different things.

1. Singing scale w/long tones: C major example - play C and sing D (hold and experience the interval’s consonance/dissonance) > Join the played note to the sung note > play D and sing E > etc.

Ascending and descending and go through all the intervallic combos (2nds, 3rds, 4ths, etc).

2. A deep study of the harmonic nodes/partials for muscle memory. Build your concept of positions around these points in the manner of Rabbath and D.A. Moore (Fractal Fingering dude), but go further by grasping the full harmonic series. Play scales/exercises where harmonics are interjected after stopped notes in order to continuously check intonation.

3. Slow mo/preparatory shift exercise: C major example - C on g string fingered with 1 > D w/4 > **slow mo shift/vomit to E and back to D** > Reg. Speed shift to E w/1

*For the slow mo/vomit shift the target finger is 1 but you shift up with 4 and perform a finger replacement to 1 when E is reached.

Random thoughts: A huge part of intonation for me has been focusing on maintaining a very solid connection to the string during shifts and pivots. Coming off of the string is dangerous. I like to focus on feeling the fingerboard.