Your first Bass Books...

[Nick Hart]

When I first started learning in school, my teacher created her own method for teaching the orchestra. It was very effective for a beginner.

Then I got my first teacher and started with Simandl as well as Sturm etudes. I must have worked on Simandl pg. 69 for about a year.

Once I went to Levinson, I worked out of his book and worked a lot on trying to get away from playing in positions. A lot scales.

Now that I'm with Mr. Laszlo I use his method called the Double Bass Workbook. It's not published but it's an excellent resource. He always says that the workbook is our toolbox, and he will show us how to use all the tools, and it is up to us to use them.

[JoeyNaeger]

I first started on the George Vance books, and am now working through the Rabbath books. I know not everyone likes the Rabbath method, but I've been supplimenting it with Thomas Gale and Mark Morton stuff along with the Petracchi book.

[stan haskins]

I did Simandl book one a couple of times with different teachers. Dave Cobb moved me through the whole book, beginning to end, about 9-10 years ago, and through the 30 etudes and book 2 (I think I need to revisit that one soon, or try some other higher position method)

Currently, I just started working with the Sevcik Bogenstudien, the Zimmerman bowing book, and the Storch-Hrabe etudes. Then, in addition to solo rep, I'm using the revised Suzuki bass repertoire to try to fill in some holes in tone production and musicianship. Has anyone else checked this out? Gary Karr plays the CD examples, it's pretty interesting . . .

[Ken Smith]

Originally Posted by stan haskins

I did Simandl book one a couple of times with different teachers. Dave Cobb moved me through the whole book, beginning to end, about 9-10 years ago, and through the 30 etudes and book 2 (I think I need to revisit that one soon, or try some other higher position method)

Currently, I just started working with the Sevcik Bogenstudien, the Zimmerman bowing book, and the Storch-Hrabe etudes. Then, in addition to solo rep, I'm using the revised Suzuki bass repertoire to try to fill in some holes in tone production and musicianship. Has anyone else checked this out? Gary Karr plays the CD examples, it's pretty interesting . . .

I would like to make a suggestion here about the higher positions. First off, there is way less books/methods written for the second octave of the Fb than the first octave, by far. What I found useful was taking something like Simandl I and playing it an octave higher on the same strings. For Jazz players, they improv all the time and do not play just on the G string up there. Playing Book I will help drill those string crossings and intervals you would not otherwise find in the average book written for TP.

Also, I have the Zimmerman Duet books for 2 Basses and have taken these up an octave where and when I was willing just to challenge myself. The other day while breaking in a relatively new Bass, I took as much as possible an octave down to work the lower strings.

Music is music but practice is practice. Sometimes we only get higher notes once in awhile above the G in Orchestral writing. The conductor in the main Orchestra I play in always tries to tell me how hard something is in our Principal meetings but when I get the music, I show him that if one plays the second half of the Bass, it's really not all the hard at all.

Play the book music in different octaves and see what I am talking about. Do it seriously and you will see you have much more TP music in your collection that you thought you had.

[stan haskins]

Originally Posted by Ken Smith

there is way less books/methods written for the second octave of the Fb than the first octave, by far. What I found useful was taking something like Simandl I and playing it an octave higher on the same strings.

Good idea, Ken - Do you have an opinion about the Petracci "Higher Technique" method?

Also, your point about the infrequency of those high notes is dead on. HOwever, it seems like when you get that one shot to enter on a higher pitch, you've go to be able to nail it every time. Right now, I'm working on Prokofiev's first symphony - when the basses get the melody in the middle of the first movement, the line starts (ff) with a high b then down an octave before you get to use a harmonic for the high a - I'd love to be able to nail notes like that every time, on the first try.

[Ken Smith]

Originally Posted by stan haskins

Good idea, Ken - Do you have an opinion about the Petracci "Higher Technique" method?

Also, your point about the infrequency of those high notes is dead on. HOwever, it seems like when you get that one shot to enter on a higher pitch, you've go to be able to nail it every time. Right now, I'm working on Prokofiev's first symphony - when the basses get the melody in the middle of the first movement, the line starts (ff) with a high b then down an octave before you get to use a harmonic for the high a - I'd love to be able to nail notes like that every time, on the first try.

Never seen it, sorry.