minibasses

Howdy!

I'm posting this mainly so I can remember it when we're ready to launch a minibass program at the Eastman Community Music School....

http://mini.bassico.eu/274?l=en

Caroline Emery, the wonderful educator from the UK, spoke highly of this company at her lecture this past summer at the ISB Convention in Rochester.  I still don't have much experience with children under the age of 8, so I'm not certain yet if we'll delve into this area.  There is a tremendous surge of interest in very young beginners at the ECMS recently and the strings faculty has done an excellent job developing the curriculum for the Eastman Beginning Strings classes.

Friends, if you work in Suzuki bass or the Minibass program, I would love to hear from you!  What age do you find is appropriate for starting them on the minibasses?  In the past, anyone under the age of 8 (ish) I would start on a 1/2 cello, re-strung to be in fourth, but up an octave from normal bass tuning.  This always worked out ok and I would transition them to a 1/4 or 1/8 bass once they grew large enough.  However, now that my daughter (5 years old) is starting on Suzuki violin lessons, I'm way more open minded about how early it is possible to start learning the bass.

Happy practicing on your mini or maxi bass!
Gaelen

Getting a grip - on bow technique

Hi everyone,

It has come to my attention that ordering my book, "Mastering the Bow" has gotten a little tricky lately.  No idea why Amazon has it listed at crazy prices, nearly double the sticker price.... So I wanted to pass along the easiest and most reasonable way to get your hands on a copy:
http://www.jwpepper.com/sheet-music/search.jsp?keywords=mastering+the+bow

My publisher, Carl Fischer, is not a direct sale agent, they just put it print and promote it.  So no use going to them.

Ok, now that the ad is over with.. let's talk about "grip"!  I despise that word - it sounds so tense and laden with stress.  I guess "bow hold" would be better, but most people use the word "grip".  Whether you play French or German, there are some things that hold true in how you approach the grip.  And stress is the #1 thing I want you to think about today.  Ask yourself:

Can I use even less tension in my right hand to produce a beautiful sound?

Back up a post or two here and dive into the "letter e" exercise, barely holding onto your bow.  Accept that your goal today is to be relaxed and not (necessarily) to produce a big, fat sound.  Check in with your shoulders, yes both of them, and see if they are released and hanging down.  Is your back long?  Why does any of that matter?  Well, the motion of your arm doesn't just start happening from the shoulder joint.  Your back is involved in that swing, your clavicle, then all the joints from the shoulder to the fingertips are involved and need to stay in a "neutral" state.  They can respond to the motion if we don't force them into a rigid position.  This means that YES they will move as the bow moves, but you don't need to actively think about that or force it to happen.  

Force.  Stress.  Tension.  The anti-bow-grip foes.

As you play through the simple exercise, notice if you are hearing the string ringing, choking, scraping.  Just notice it.  Then check in again with your arm, hand, shoulder, back, hips.  I think the hardest part of this exercise is simply listening without jumping to judgement (it should be louder/more focused/etc).  Developing a clear communication of how you feel and how you sound will help you to quickly drop tension from your playing and draw a more natural tone from the string.

Then.... dive into the simple exercise in my book to help develop the strokes we use all the time in solo and orchestral playing.

Happy practicing!

Gaelen