Happy December 1st!
I'm catching up on my reading, online and in print, and following up some links I wrote down a while back that I wanted to preserve here for ya'll. So today, let's look at what the fabulous Kurt Muroki has been doing with some technique videos he made. Kurt is the new professor of double bass at Indiana University (a great bass school!) and Stony Brook University (another fantastic school of music) and he brings lots of experience as both a performer and teacher to bear in his work.
First this: a video on left and right hand coordination http://vimeo.com/80002688
But wait, there's more. A video on warm ups: http://vimeo.com/80001307
I've got a whole list of things I'm going to share with everyone this month - a month of presents from me to you! Meanwhile, please comment back with your favorite videos or exercises that help keep you in top playing shape.
Happy practicing!
Gaelen
Showing posts with label bow. Show all posts
Showing posts with label bow. Show all posts
Sunday, December 1, 2013
Friday, November 8, 2013
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:
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
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
Hello world :-)
Seems like I've talked about blogging long enough and want to dip my toe into the pool.
I've been playing with the Rochester Philharmonic for 17 years (though it's gone by in a hurry) and happily teaching private students for about as long. The more I teach, the more I know about playing. And the more I perform, the more ideas I have about how to improve my teaching. This is a great two-way street to be on!
Just to be clear, these are just my opinions and I welcome your comments and dialogue. I'm certainly not "right" about anything, and think sharing our tools as teachers and performers can only strengthen our commitment to our art and pedagogy.
Today, I'm thinking about one big item I've been working on in my Alexander Technique lessons with Katie Fittipaldi. She's a wonderful teacher here in Rochester, and also a cellist, which adds great value to our discussion of technique. We've been addressing my right shoulder and the way I tend to let it slip forward when I play. If I focus on keeping it back, that feels like I'm adding extra effort and tensing a new set of muscles. But one idea I've been playing with is that if you are pronating as you bow out to the tip, you can also be "unwinding" the upper arm in opposition to that. It sounds weird, yes? But try it without the bow in your hand:
1. move out to the right, like a downbow, and notice that near the end of the stroke you'll naturally start to turn your hand over the stick (probably more noticeable in french bow hold, but I play German and we do this to some extant as well).
2. do it again, overdo it this time and make sure you use and turn from all the way up in your should socket. Now your arm is like a washcloth that wrung in one spiraling direction. Can you feel it pull in the pectorals and across the top of the shoulder?
3. now do it again, but as you move out in the bow, think about your upper arm twisting towards your back even as your lower arm is twisting towards the bass. You don't need to "do" anything about this, don't try to make them do the opposite actions, just imagine this is the direction each part of the arm is going. Can you feel the relaxation in the pectorals now? I also find my shoulder blade eases back into my back while I practice this way, since I'm not trying to pull the upper arm into the bow action anymore.
The bigger challenge for me is to incorporate this motion not only during practicing, but during performance when all my instinctive habits kick in. Start small - start with whatever your easiest warm up is (open strings, simple scales) and keep attention on letting the opposition happen, rather than making it happen.
Happy practicing!
Gaelen
I've been playing with the Rochester Philharmonic for 17 years (though it's gone by in a hurry) and happily teaching private students for about as long. The more I teach, the more I know about playing. And the more I perform, the more ideas I have about how to improve my teaching. This is a great two-way street to be on!
Just to be clear, these are just my opinions and I welcome your comments and dialogue. I'm certainly not "right" about anything, and think sharing our tools as teachers and performers can only strengthen our commitment to our art and pedagogy.
Today, I'm thinking about one big item I've been working on in my Alexander Technique lessons with Katie Fittipaldi. She's a wonderful teacher here in Rochester, and also a cellist, which adds great value to our discussion of technique. We've been addressing my right shoulder and the way I tend to let it slip forward when I play. If I focus on keeping it back, that feels like I'm adding extra effort and tensing a new set of muscles. But one idea I've been playing with is that if you are pronating as you bow out to the tip, you can also be "unwinding" the upper arm in opposition to that. It sounds weird, yes? But try it without the bow in your hand:
1. move out to the right, like a downbow, and notice that near the end of the stroke you'll naturally start to turn your hand over the stick (probably more noticeable in french bow hold, but I play German and we do this to some extant as well).
2. do it again, overdo it this time and make sure you use and turn from all the way up in your should socket. Now your arm is like a washcloth that wrung in one spiraling direction. Can you feel it pull in the pectorals and across the top of the shoulder?
3. now do it again, but as you move out in the bow, think about your upper arm twisting towards your back even as your lower arm is twisting towards the bass. You don't need to "do" anything about this, don't try to make them do the opposite actions, just imagine this is the direction each part of the arm is going. Can you feel the relaxation in the pectorals now? I also find my shoulder blade eases back into my back while I practice this way, since I'm not trying to pull the upper arm into the bow action anymore.
The bigger challenge for me is to incorporate this motion not only during practicing, but during performance when all my instinctive habits kick in. Start small - start with whatever your easiest warm up is (open strings, simple scales) and keep attention on letting the opposition happen, rather than making it happen.
Happy practicing!
Gaelen
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