Progressive Repertoire Book 1: An In-Depth Analysis

This is a guest post from double bassist and educator Yoshi Horiguchi covering research that he did about Progressive Repertoire Book 1 by George Vance.  Yoshi interviewed Nicholas Walker, Tracy Rowell, Martha Vance, and Johnny Hamil as part of his research.  Check out complete videos from Progressive Repertoire Volumes 1 and 2 here.

Click here to download a PDF of Yoshiaki’s analysis with footnotes and visual examples!

Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Bassist: A Technical Analysis of George Vance’s Progressive Repertoire for the Double Bass Book 1

by Yoshiaki Horiguchi

Chapter 1.1:  Introduction

In 1984, a major figurehead in double bass pedagogy that went by the name George Vance, began developing his method books alongside his colleague Annette Costanzi.

These books would become the Progressive Repertoire for the Double Bass. In the sixteen years it took to get developed and published, it blossomed into a six-book series that has played an integral part in revolutionizing the world of double bass pedagogy. It would not take long for respectable double bassists around the world to publicly praise this method and view these books as a cornerstone in a developing bassist’s education.

Vance (1948-2009) lived an active musical life as a teacher, performer, music transcriber and editor, writer, clinician, conductor, and administrator. He received his B.A. in Music from Arizona State University and M.F.A. in performance from Carnegie-Mellon University where he studied with Anthony Bianco. Bianco was one of Vance’s greatest musical influences. His orchestral experience included playing for the Virginia Beach Pops orchestra, Annapolis Symphony, U.S. Army Field Band, and the Birmingham Symphony. While his musical upbringing in the Eastern Orthodox Church has led him to composing and transcribing liturgical music, his primary focus was to the double bass and its pedagogy.

Chapter 1.2: Influences

Two of Vance’s biggest pedagogical influences were double bass soloist, Francois Rabbath and string pedagogue, Dr. Shinichi Suzuki. After having studied with the two pedagogues, Vance incorporates their teaching influences into his method books to create blend of pedagogical philosophy and technical system of navigating the bass.

The philosophical and technical approach of the six books has strong roots in the Suzuki violin method. During the time that he began to develop his Progressive Repertoire, Vance made a trip to Japan to visit and study under the esteemed violin pedagogue, Shinichi Suzuki. In 1989, he received his certificate of observation and study from the Talent Education School of Music.

Through his interactions with Suzuki, Vance solidified his technical progression and teaching philosophy that resonates from Suzuki’s violin method books and teaching practices. During Vance’s time studying with Suzuki, he gained many ideas which he would later incorporate into his own teaching. Vance recounts how much focus there was on just tone and tone research. He recalls Dr. Suzuki telling him “The teacher should only teach tone.”

Years later, Vance published newsletters, that he referred to as “Readers,” that represent his pedagogical thoughts. When addressing readers about his thoughts on practicing, he goes into detail about the Suzuki’s concept of “tone research” and the benefits it brings to the developing bassist. Vance also writes that Dr. Suzuki ran daily group classes during his education at Talent Education Institute (TEI). He mirrored this
idea and began holding weekly group classes in his own practices.

French double bass virtuoso Francois Rabbath was another significant influence on the development of Vance’s series. In 1996, Vance traveled to Paris, France to receive his teaching diploma from the Institut International Francois Rabbath. Vance considered Rabbath to be his teacher and mentor.

Vance includes Rabbath’s concept of “Le son premier” or “the basic sound” in the first issue of his published newsletters. “Le son premier” refers to the ideal sound that results from the player placing their bow in an ideal place in between the bridge and the fingerboard. Vance then expounds upon it by including a teaching tool in the next issue of his newsletters that is a visual template of Rabbath’s concept.15 This research will explore how Vance’s method books strongly resonate Rabbath’s influence.

Lastly, it is important to note that Vance played German bow under the influence of Anthony Bianco. He then switched to French bow around the time he studied under Rabbath.

Chapter 1.3: Purpose of the Study

Vance’s Progressive Repertoire for the Double Bass is an instrumental method book, and like any method book, it is a tool for a student or teacher to use. Like any tool, a thoughtless practitioner may unknowingly use Vance’s method improperly. The proper use of this series encourages the student to practice and focus on learning the works with a specific technical progression and teaching philosophy in mind, thus allowing for an experience that is more accurate to what Vance had intended for the developing bassist.

This study will primarily investigate the technical progression of the first of six books in Vance’s Progressive Repertoire. This study will also observe how these technical progressions relate with Vance’s teaching philosophies.

Chapter 1.4: Methodology

This study’s technical analysis will focus on the Progressive Repertoire for the Double Bass, book 1. The author will infer the technical aspects that Vance had intended to teach to the student through each selection. The presentation of these techniques will typically be presented from three perspectives: a left-hand analysis, a right-hand analysis, and any other analyses that exist outside of the developing bassists’ hands. This study will also trace Vance’s pedagogical method back to Suzuki and Rabbath’s influences.

When Vance was writing these books, he started with a pedagogical plan in mind. He then wrote the method books as an expression of his original plan. Since the books were published without much of the pedagogical guideline in how Vance had intended a teacher or student use his books, the author has inferred Vance’s original plan by analyzing the method and interviewing practitioners of the Vance method who were directly influenced by George Vance. The analyses in chapter three will consist of the author’s own technical analyses that they derived from the method books. The author’s analyses were also independently derived from Vance’s unpublished teaching points. The double bass sounds an octave below written and falls under a special case of octave transposition allowing the pitch class to remain the same between “as written” and “as sounding.” When describing pitches for the entirety of this paper, this study will refer to the written pitch unless specifically stated otherwise.

Lastly, at the end of the author’s research, a new document came to light: an outline of teaching points for Vance’s publication which was prepared as part of a teacher’s manual that was never published. The outline summarizes the pedagogical approach of the first volume. The reader is strongly encouraged to compare the author’s analyses alongside Vance’s teaching points.

Chapter 2.1: Accompanying audio CD and Foreword

Each of the three volumes includes an accompanying audio CD of Rabbath playing each of the selections in the series. Immediately, we see a tie into Suzuki’s pedagogical influence and his idea that students must be immersed in the sounds of music to be able to have a complete education.

This also parallels the inclusion of an accompanying audio CD of a professional playing each of the selections in the corresponding series that the Suzuki method practices. Francois Rabbath is the author of the foreword of Vance’s method books. Here, Rabbath happily presents the reader with the Vance’s method. He states that these books are entirely comprised of “well-known tunes with clear fingering especially suited to beginners.” Another endorsement he makes for Vance’s method is that “each piece is presented in a logical and workable fashion, so as to not confuse the bass player.”

Rabbath’s foreword to Vance’s books supports that there are technical and philosophical concepts in Vance’s books which resonate within his own teachings.

Chapter 2.2: Table of Contents

For this study, the author will work with the table of contents pertaining to the selections of the first book. Underneath most of the listed selections in book one, there are specific technical aspects to develop and practice. In addition to the specific technical aspects with which Vance accompanied each piece, the author will analyze any other technical aspects that that piece develops. Lastly, the author will point out important connections that exist between the technique that is being developed in the discussed piece and any works prior to the piece in focus.

Chapter 2.3: Geography of the Fingerboard

Immediately after the table of contents, Vance includes an illustration of the geography of the fingerboard with explanations on how the fingerboard is divided up into six positions. The six positions are divided up by a few of the natural harmonics that exist on each string. The diagram shows the locations of the harmonics on the fingerboard in addition to their mathematical divisions. The right side of the diagram illustrates the placement of written pitches on the staff in relation to the physical division of the harmonics. These pitches assume the harmonic is being played on the G-string.

Vance also points out that this concept of dividing the fingerboard up into six positions is thoroughly explained in Rabbath’s book Nouvelle Technique de la Contrabasse.

In doing so, Vance demonstrates Rabbath’s influence in shaping the Progressive Repertoire series. Rabbath explains that the logical division of the fingerboard simplifies the process of finding notes through an introduction to his own book and an extensive visual diagram.

Chapter 2.4: Set-up and bow-hold

The next set of instructions that Vance includes in his book discusses how to hold the bass and bow. He begins with illustrations and explanations on sitting and standing posture. Vance presents that the hand should be at shoulder length when it is resting on the heel of the neck in both standing and seated postures.
He also mentions the use of a bent endpin and its ergonomic benefits of allowing the thumb to be relieved of much of the burden of holding the bass up.

In the next few figures, Vance shows how the left hand should look in first, third, and fourth positions. Vance points out that in fourth position (thumb position), the neck of the bass rests on the shoulder. Rabbath also includes the same instructions in his method book. Once again, these pedagogical ideas regarding set-up can be traced back to Rabbath’s technique and method from his Nouvelle Technique de la Contrabasse.

After discussing the set-up, Vance introduces how to hold the bow by illustrating how to
hold and play the bow in both the French and German styles. The French bow technique and
the addition of latex tubing on the stick to improve the hold can be traced back to Rabbath’s technique and book. It is important to note that Vance includes illustrations on how to use the German bow while Rabbath’s book does not.

Chapter 3.1: Exercises in 3rd position

The first study that Vance includes in his method book is an exercise that has the student play harmonics in 3rd position. The harmonic technique does not require the student to press the string down onto the fingerboard to change the pitch from an open string. Vance explains to the reader that “when the left hand is in 3rd position, the thumb rests in the heel of the neck.”

At this point, the student can refer to a previous page to figure out where the heel of the bass is. Vance started students in third position because he believed that there are many more benefits in starting there. A bassist is better able to see both of their hands if they are in third position than if they are in first position. In third position, the bassist doesn’t have to contort their body in seeing what their hands are doing. As a result, the student is able to have a more balanced posture from the start of their musical journey. In addition, the hand shape that naturally results in third position is easier to maintain and develop than the hand shape that first position calls for.

While the first line of music in the opening exercise includes important information such as
time signature, clef, position, and harmonic notation, it assumes that the student has prior knowledge/experience of how the musical notation system works or has a mentor who is able to guide them through it. With respect to this piece, the student must know the following to be able to accurately play this first line as written:

• The bracketed “3rd Pos.” above the first note indicates the position of their left hand
• The number “1” above of the first note indicates which left-hand finger to place on the
  string
• The “circle” above of the first note indicates that the note will be played as a harmonic
• The symbol immediately above the first note indicates that the note will start with a
  “down bow”
• The diamond shaped note-head indicates where they will place their finger without
  completely pressing the string down onto the fingerboard
• The filled-in quarter note head indicates which string to place the finger and bow on
• The letter “D” underneath the first note indicates which string to place the finger and bow
  on

After attaining the aforementioned information from a mentor, in addition to a basic knowledge of musical notation, the student should be able to accurately play the first exercise. These notes should all sound an ‘A’ (A5 written, A4 sounding).

In the second exercise, Vance asks the student to perform two measures that are identical to the first two measures of the first line. The last two measures of the second line instruct the student to perform the same technique as the first two lines, but on the ‘A’ string. Doing this will sound an ‘E’ (E4 written, E3 sounding). Once again, this requires that the student recall the aforementioned information on how to read these exercises and basic musical notation interpretation.

So far, these exercises have only asked the student to locate the harmonic nodes without having to press the string down. The first two exercises allow the students to practice locating the harmonic nodes. The third and final exercise asks the student to begin to press the string down fully onto the fingerboard on these harmonic nodes. The exercise begins with four arco open ‘D’s, then immediately follows with a string crossing onto the ‘G’ string, then locating the harmonic node, and finally pressing down on it to sound four ‘D’s one octave above the open ‘D.’ The next four notes ask the student to release the finger from pressing down on the string on the harmonic node, but to keep the finger on the node to sound the harmonic ‘D’ before finishing the piece in a palindromic manner.

Between these three exercises, Vance separated the two tasks of locating the note (first two exercises) and pressing down (third exercise) to allow for smooth scaffolding of instruction.

Chapter 3.2: “Shortnin’ Bread”

This piece is one of many examples of Rabbath’s message in the forward about pieces being engaging through familiarity. On the technical level, this piece can be broken down into four measures: the first two and the last two. The rest of the measures are repeats of the first two measures, so the author will only analyze the first two measures and last two measures.

From the left hand perspective, “Shortnin’ Bread” begins with a preparation in the familiar third position that Vance introduced in the previous three exercises. This preparation changes pitch every four notes throughout the piece and only involves the student using their first and fourth fingers. Between the ergonomic setting of third position and only requiring use of first and fourth fingers, this piece sets up the student’s hand-shape well for future songs.

Throughout the preparation, the rhythm and articulation remains constant: four staccato eighth notes per pitch. The staccato bow-stroke invites the student to use a small amount of bow as opposed to a large amount of bow, which bears less burden for the student to manage.

The articulation and repetition of a simple rhythm allow for sensible groupings of notes resulting in a higher level of technical focus on the left hand. The new concept that this piece introduces is the use of the fourth finger. Using the first finger as a reference point, the fourth finger is deployed in third position to sound an ‘E’ after sounding open ‘G’s.

Another technical skill that needs to be developed for this piece is one that allows the student to move from a closed 4th finger on the ‘E’ immediately into another closed 4th finger on the ‘B.’ This happens during the transition from measure six to measure seven.

From the right hand perspective, Vance’s written instruction at the bottom of the page suggests that the student performs each note with a “martele” (staccato) bow-stroke. In the same written instruction, the student is asked to perform the variations that are to follow the preparation with a combination of “martele” and “detache” bow-stroke.

For these two terms (martele and detache), we are assuming that the student has prior knowledge or a mentor to guide them to accurately play each bow-stroke. Vance starting “Shortnin’ Bread” in third position has vast benefits for the left hand of the developing bassist. Several important ones are: third position ergonomically fits the hand better for a beginning bassist, the intonation of larger intervals is easier to hear, and the string crossings are more manageable.36 The piece is also repetitive, giving
the student more chances to practice the intended technical skill for each repetition of the
song.

The piece then goes into bowing variations of the same tune. For each of the variations, we will consistently refer back to Vance’s written instructions. This will allow us to assume that the notes marked with a staccato marking are to be played with the same martele bow-stroke as the preparation, that the notes that are marked with tenuto markings are to be played accordingly, and that the non-marked notes will be played in the detache style bowstroke.

The following variations also introduce the concept of repeats, piano accompaniment introductions, and dynamics as well. The first variation of “Shortnin’ Bread” involves a new rhythm of four sixteenth notes
and two eighth notes. This new rhythm is set in place of the original rhythm (four eighth notes)
of the preparation. The staccato eighth notes maintain the quality of the martele bow-stroke from
the preparation, and the sixteenth notes are to be played with the detache bow-stroke that Vance
mentioned in his written instructions.

The second variation asks the student to play three martele eighth notes with an eighth rest separating the last two eighth notes. This allows the student to be exposed to their first set of consecutive notes beginning with an up bow. This variation introduces the idea that groups of notes do not always have to begin on strong beats, serving as the prelude to the pick-up concept.

The third variation asks the student to play two groupings of a martele eighth note followed by two detache sixteenth notes. Similar to the last variation, the third variation allows the student to further practice groups of notes beginning with an up-bow.

The fourth variation is the first instance of a triplet rhythm. It asks the student to play two groups of triplet eighth notes on each pitch. Since these notes have no articulation markings on them, they are to be played with a detache bow-stroke. Similarly to variations two and three, the subdivision into an odd number of notes per beat further reinforces the practice of groups of notes beginning with an up-bow.

The fifth variation allows the student to play two beats worth of sixteenth notes per pitch in a detache manner. This variation is similar to the preparation in that it allows the student to focus on one type of bow stroke with a more familiar and comfortable subdivision. Variation five also introduces the student to two types of notation practice for repeated sixteenth notes.

The “Shortnin’ Bread” Theme introduces cut time to the student. The bow-strokes involved in this are a combination of martele quarter notes (counted like eighth notes in the cut time) and tenuto half notes. The theme also is the first time a student will encounter a repeat with different endings in this method42. Even though the two endings are the same in the student’s part, the piano accompaniment has two different endings that provide the necessity of the different endings.

The bowing and rhythmic variations that Vance uses to expand upon “Shortnin’ Bread” are the same variations that Suzuki uses in his method books. Vance begins with the variations and ending with theme to the song because it is easier for a student to control smaller amounts of bow than larger amounts of bow.

A student also builds a solid understanding of subdivisions with the variations before playing the theme with its longer note values with the intention of subdividing through the long notes to maintain a steady tempo. As the student progresses through the variations in the order that Vance laid out in his book, the amounts of bow that the student is asked to use increases. It is also important to note the inclusion of the piano accompaniment in the first selection of the method.

This early inclusion suggests a high-level of importance Vance placed on being group oriented, even with non-homogenous instrument groupings. These variations are an example of Suzuki’s pedagogical influence on Vance’s method books.

Chapter 3.3: “Scotland’s Burning”

“Scotland’s Burning” piece is in a new form that involves three different sections as opposed to the two different sections from Shortnin’ Bread. Each section in Scotland’s Burning is separated by the note groupings in each two-measure section. This piece is also the first piece that involves the student playing quarter notes while the quarter note receives the beat.

While this piece does not introduce any new notes for the left hand on the bass, it does introduce the student to a new fingering pattern: open string to a closed first finger. This asks the student to form the hand shape with the first finger right away without assistance from the fourth finger. It also introduces the student into playing ascending notes from the first to fourth fingers on the D-string.

It is important to note the progression of rhythms that Vance introduces to the student. Before introducing quarter notes or half notes like the ones in Scotland’s Burning, Vance introduces notes that are smaller than a single beat through the Shortnin’ Bread variations. This suggests that Vance placed a high importance in teaching subdivisions before larger beats and it is easier for students initially to use small portions of their bow before using larger amounts of bow.

Chapter 3.4: “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star”

“Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” is the young bassists’ first exposure to ternary form. This
piece begins with two preparations that allow the student to locate first position from third
position that they are already familiar with. Both preparations focus solely on new left-hand
concepts.

The first preparation begins with the same harmonics as the exercises located in the beginning of the book. This time, Vance asks the student to close the harmonics on the ‘D’ and ‘A’ strings to locate the pitches ‘A’ and ‘E’ in measure two of the preparatory. In measure three, Vance asks the student to repeat the closed ‘A’ and then move to first position with the first finger to play the ‘E’ on the same string, using the pitches from the first two measures as reference points to know where to shift the first finger to.

In the fourth measure, the student is to use the newly-found ‘E’ in first position as the new anchor point to find the ‘A’ in first position on the G-string. Measure four also recalls upon the pitches of the first two measures as reference points to accurately locate/maintain first position. Lastly, the fifth measure asks the student to play the dominant and tonic pitches. This last measure may have been included as a resolution to serve as a tonicization to D-major.

The second preparation begins on the newly introduced first position and asks the student to play the fourth finger ‘F#’ using the first finger ‘E’ as a reference point. Vance then asks the student to play the harmonic that exists on the F# that sounds two octaves higher to check the intonation of the closed ‘F#.’ It is also important for the student to take into consideration when playing in first position that the distances between notes are larger than they were in third position.

Vance’s progression starts the students by closing third position notes before starting closing first position notes. This progression suggests that he wanted the student to build strength with smaller intervals under a student’s hand first, then flexibility. The progression may also suggest that he initially wanted to teach larger intervals between the open strings and closed positions because he believed that they would be easier to tune and hear. Lastly, the bow response is progressively taught, going from harmonics (easy response) to open/closed notes (harder response). This bow progression points to the fact that Vance also had good tone in mind when first asking a developing bassist to produce sound with their bow. Suzuki’s quote “tone has a living soul without form” is consistent with his influence that Vance incorporated in his
teachings.

Vance then asks the student to use the newly found notes in first position to play the same bowing variations as “Shortnin’ Bread” before playing the theme. After presenting all of the bowing variations, Vance adds a preparation for the theme that scaffolds bow-division by asking the student to sing before bowing.

In a pre-theme preparation, Vance divides the bow into half and asks the student to sing the pitches of “Twinkle Twinkle, Little Star” while dictating “short” or “long” to prepare for their bow usage in the theme to come. In the second preparation for the theme, he asks the student to play an ‘A’ harmonic on the ‘D’ string with the bow divisions specified in the first preparation, which is also the same bow divisions that is
specified for each phrase of the theme. The student is to then play “Twinkle Twinkle, Little Star” alternating between the two halves of the bow for quarter notes and using the entire length of the bow for the half notes.

Chapter 3.5: “Scotland’s Burning” (Thumb position)

“Scotland’s Burning” in fourth position is the introduction to thumb-position. Before the musical selection, the book provides two pictures that show how the hand positioning should look while playing in thumb position that are accompanied by technical descriptions. Between the two pictures, the book introduces two “positions” of thumb position. The first figure is the closed position that closes notes A, B-flat, and B
between the first three fingers. The second figure is the extended position that extends the left hand to access the 1/3 string harmonic. Both of these positions begin with the thumb resting and anchoring on the ½ string harmonic.

Vance introduces the introduction to thumb position through a familiar tune: “Scotland’s Burning.” Aural familiarity provides the student with a solid grounding of what to hear while learning a new technique. This piece is also the student’s first time reading treble clef in this method.

“Scotland’s Burning” begins with the closed thumb-position for the first four measures. The ‘B’ is the first time that the student will have employed their third finger. The written instructions before the piece indicate that “the D octave in measure 5 of “Scotland’s Burning” is played like a double-stop. This refers to the extended position that asks the student to keep their thumb on the D-string while their hand opens to reach the upper ‘D.’ At measure 7, “the hand closes to regain its normal posture.”

The practice of keeping the thumb on the ½ string harmonic even during the extension suggests the importance that Vance placed on keeping the thumb anchored. The importance is further reinforced by the fact that the student needs to confirm if their thumb is securely anchored during the 1/3 string extension by being able to play the note under the thumb harmonic simultaneously.

In “Scotland’s Burning,” Vance utilizes the thumb on harmonics, the closed first and third fingers, and the extension to the 1/3 harmonic as introductions to thumb position. He does so by breaking up the left hand involvement into three isolated sections: string cross ½ string harmonics, closed notes, and harmonic extensions. The first two measures introduce the string cross ½ string harmonics between the ‘G’ and ‘D’ strings. Measures three and four introduce the first closed thumb position notes alternating between the first and third fingers in isolation from any other thumb position involvement. Lastly, measures five and six go into the harmonic extensions between the ½ string harmonic ‘D’ on the D-string and the 1/3 harmonic ‘D’ on the G-string as described in the previous paragraph before the last two measures recall the technique from the first two measures.

Vance moves away from the practice of subdivisions to stress the focus on the left hand development in this piece by allowing the student to study this piece without any bowing variations. He also asks the student to study this piece in slower-paced quarter notes (compared to any bowing variations in previous pieces) to allow the student to have more time to think about their left hand technique in during their long bows.

Chapter 3.6: “Lightly Row”

This piece is preceded by a pair of preparations similar to the ones that preceded the theme to “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.”

The first preparation asks the student to sing the pitches of “Lightly Row” while dictating “short” or “long” to prepare for their bow usage in the melody to come. The second preparation is almost identical to the second preparation of “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star” in that it is a bowing exercise that allows the student to experience the new bow usage of the piece of the first two measures of the piece (and others similar to them). The second preparation also primes the student with bow-divisions that are applicable to “Lightly Row.” Developing a right hand familiarity before attempting the piece scaffolds the student into being more prepared to play this piece in its entirety.

Before playing this piece, it is important to note that the bow divisions for the rest of “Lightly Row” have already been practiced in the preparations (and theme) of “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star,” in addition to the first “Lightly Row” preparation. Every bow division grouping can be accounted for in either the preparations of “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star” (short-short-short-short-short-short-long) or the second exercise of Lightly Row (short-short-long). Exposing the student to this level of right hand technique beforehand suggests that Vance’s intention was to develop the left hand with “Lightly Row.”

A new left hand technique is introduced in going from one closed note to another closed note while string crossing. The opening interval between the first two notes asks the student to go from a closed ‘A’ (first finger on the G-string) to a closed “F-sharp” (fourth finger on the D-string). The next measure asks the student to go from an open ‘G’ to a closed first finger ‘E’ on the D-string. “Lightly Row” also involves ascending arpeggio lines in measures nine and 17 that are involved with developing the left hand. For the young bassist, the general idea is for the left hand to look like a tunnel. This allows the bassist to develop good left hand shape while executing these intervals.

Chapter 3.7: “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” (Thumb position)

This song continues Vance’s concept of developing new techniques and positions with familiar tunes. The thumb position of “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” introduces three techniques to the young bassist. The first technique is closing notes on the ‘D’-string in thumb position. The second one is going from first finger to first finger on two separate strings while playing from measure six to measure seven. The last technique that Vance introduces in this piece is going from an open string harmonic to a closed note on an adjacent string.

The fact that Vance does not include the rhythmic variations with this piece suggests that he meant it to be left-hand oriented in the student’s development. This song is also the first printed song that has a duet part written out for the student to play along with. Introducing a duet line this early in a method demonstrates
how much value Vance placed on the teacher playing with the student. The technical style of this duet line further supports that the left hand intonation is the main concern in this selection for two reasons: its inability to provide any subdivisions underneath the melody lines and the easily identifiable large intervals that result from the consonances between the melody and harmony lines.

Chapter 3.8: “Reuben and Rachel”

“Reuben and Rachel” is the first selection that has the student shift between two positions in one piece. It starts in third position and stays there until the last beat of measure six. Vance asks the student to shift to an open ‘G’ in first position during the rest. On the last beat of measures ten and fourteen, Vance asks the student to shift back up to third and down to third, respectively. The first two shift/bow-retakes are explicitly written out, but the last one is not. Since the last shift/bow-retake is in a place that the student is already familiar with, this absent shift/bow-retake note is meant to initiate the decision to shift/bow-retake without any external reminder. This song is the first time the student is asked to perform a retake to start the following phrase in the same bow direction.

Once again, Vance progressively introduces concepts in a progressive manner by maintaining the quarter note pulse throughout the piece. This places maximum focus on the development shifts and the retakes. Lastly, this song is the first song that Vance offers the student to play in a round in this book.

Chapter 3.9: “Fox and Goose”

“Fox and Goose” is the second selection that has the student play more than one position in one piece. It starts in first position and has the student shift to third position while playing an open string.62 By placing this piece immediately after “Reuben and Rachel,” Vance progressively adds one more level of difficulty with the shift during an open string.

The piano dynamic in measures nine and ten is the first time the student is introduced to a dynamic level other than mezzo-forte. At the end of measures 8 and 10, the student is to employ their shift/retake during a rest. Measure 11 has them shift back into first position where they finish off the rest of the song. In measure 14, the student is to retake at the end of the note. By introducing the retakes in such a manner, Vance scaffolds the retake development within a piece by warming the student up with two retakes during a rest before asking them to perform one without a rest.

“Fox and Goose” calls for the martele bow strokes that Vance introduced in the “Shortnin’ Bread.” This also happens to be the first song since the aforementioned variations that has specific articulation markings. Vance also invites the student to play pizzicato for the first time. Lastly, this song is the first theme selection that involves the repeat at the end of the tune.

Chapter 3.10: “Go Tell Aunt Rhody”

This selection begins with an annotation to the preparation that asks the student to “play Go Tell Aunt Rhody with stopped bows, marcato, then smoothly, legato.” The preparation allows the student to practice the rhythmic patterns of this piece on a single note before moving on to the piece. This practice suggestion implies that Vance intended the student to practice having time to think and/or prepare the left and right hand techniques involved between notes and gradually decrease the space between notes to turn the piece into a legato piece.

“Go Tell Aunt Rhody” is the first piece that does not have any new technical skills for the left hand to develop which suggests that this piece was meant to primarily develop the bow hand. The rhythmic preparation is another piece of evidence supporting the idea that “Go Tell Aunt Rhody” was meant to develop the right hand of the young bassist. Lastly, the pizzicato alberti-bass style duet option supports the development of the right hand in two ways.

The duet is a bass-line that provides subdivisions underneath the melodic line which help reinforce the accuracy of the student’s rhythm and note lengths. The timbre change of the pizzicato allows the student to hear the percussive aspect of the bass-line more than if the duet line were written arco. This allows the duet line to serve more as a percussion-section to the melodic line, reinforcing accurate rhythms. Vance was an
accomplished orchestrator which points to the idea that it was no accident that he included different style duet parts for different pieces based on what he had intended to develop pedagogically with the student.

This piece is the first piece that switches between three dynamic levels, which further emphasizes the right-hand orientation for this piece. The duet part supports and reminds the student of the dynamic changes by including a crescendo at the end of measure eight to provide gradual direction into the forte in measure nine. This is also the first piece that ends with a poco-ritardando. Lastly, this piece is the first piece that has notes of three different rhythmic values.

The importance of the introduction of the three different rhythmic values is supported by the alberti-bass style duet option that consistently maintains the eighth note subdivision and feel.

Chapter 3.11: “Lightly Row” (Thumb position)

The written instruction that precedes the music indicates “Developing 4th position.” Since this piece does not introduce any new bow techniques, its primary focus is on the left hand development. Specifically to this piece, it asks that the left hand generate the similar “tunnel” shapes similar to the first position version of “Lightly Row.” In this piece, the student is asked to create the same shapes, but in thumb position. Specific examples of this left hand “tunnel” technique are the interval between a first finger ‘A’ on the G-string to a third finger “F-sharp” on the D-string and the interval between a thumb harmonic ‘G’ on the G-string to a first finger on the D-string.

The duet option is mostly in rhythmic synchronization with the melody. The resulting large intervals between the two parts allow the author to infer that the left hand development and intonation was the main focus of this selection.

Chapter 3.12: “Go Tell Aunt Rhody” (Thumb position)

Once again, this piece is preceded by a written instruction that says “developing 4th position.” The same concepts that were introduced in the first position version of “Go Tell Aunt Rhody” (three different rhythms, three dynamic levels, and a poco ritardando) are still observed in this fourth position version. Familiarity of this piece allows the student to develop all of the aforementioned concepts in thumb position. It is important to note that the harmony of duet version is different from the first position Aunt Rhody.

The duet part once again introduces large intervals while maintaining rhythmic synchronization with the melody that reinforces left hand development. The crescendo in measures eight once again encourages musical direction from the young bassist.

Chapter 3.13: “Lavender’s Blue”

“Lavender’s Blue” is the first triple meter piece in Vance’s method. The format of this piece consolidates the practice of playing a selection in first position, then practicing similar concepts in thumb position all in one work. Musically, the first half of this piece is the first position equivalent of the last half of this piece. This allows for a smoother transition from first to thumb position.

From a technical standpoint, “Lavender’s Blue” is preceded by a written instruction that says “Three Bow Strokes in One Piece.” The three bow strokes that are practiced in this piece are martele style quarter notes, detache style eighth notes, and the tenuto style dotted half notes. The new bow stroke that is introduced in this piece is the tenuto style dotted half notes. This indicates that Vance wanted the developing bassist to begin learning bow-conservation techniques in this piece. These bow strokes are to be practiced in both first position and fourth position.

Vance introduces the student to the idea of playing in first position and thumb position in the same song. Technically, playing in these two positions is not much of a challenge because Vance separated the two positions with a four measure piano interlude where the bass is tacet.

While this song may not possess any new technical challenges, the author can infer that Vance wanted to psychologically prime the student into being able to play in thumb position and first position in the same song to better prepare them for songs ahead.

Chapter 3.14: “Go ‘way, Old Man”

“Go ‘way, Old Man” introduces the pickup concept to the developing bassist. The introduction to pickups with two eighth notes leading into the down beat of the next measure has several pedagogical benefits. By introducing an even number of notes in the pickup, Vance allows the student to maintain the consistent practice of starting a piece with a down-bow.

This not only allows the down-bow to occur on the pickup, but it also allows the down beat to land on a down-bow. Going further, the two eighth notes make up an entire beat which is easier to conceptualize than playing a single subdivision of a beat.75 Lastly, this two-note pickup into a down beat is similar to the tune “Happy birthday” which most students can relate to. “Happy birthday” is also in triple meter which coincides with this piece and the recent introduction to triple meter.

In measure 13, Vance has the student play their first phrase starting with an up-bow. This up-bow occurs on the down beat of measure 13. Measures 13-16 also offer an entire tenuto section that contrasts with the martele and detache sections throughout the rest of the piece. This piece is the first time a student is able to practice conceptualizing the sections of a work based on how they are articulated with the bow. This piece is in AABA form with each phrase being separated by a rest or a breath mark indicating a circle bow. The first two ‘A’ sections are characterized by the detache style eighth notes and the martele style quarter notes. The ‘B’ section lasts from measure 13 to 16 which is characterized by the tenuto style quarter notes which are amplified in effect by the first crescendo and decrescendo introduced in this method. Lastly, the pickup to measure 17 to the end forms the last ‘A’ section.

“Go ‘way, Old Man” is also the first piece that introduces an ascending scalar pattern that is played from an open string to a closed note in third position within the same phrase. This can be counter-intuitive to a student because the note after the open string is on the string lower than the open string. While this concept was also introduced in “Scotland’s Burning,” the ascending scalar pattern was broken into two sections in “Scotland’s Burning.” “Go ‘way, Old Man” is the first song that introduces this pattern
within a single phrase. The preparation allows the student to isolate that skill before employing it in the piece.

Chapter 3.15: “Bobby Shaftoe”

“Bobby Shaftoe” is the first song that has the student to play on the A-string. Vance begins by introducing a preparation that asks the student play the theme from “Twinkle Twinkle, Little Star” in A-major starting from the open A-string. By doing so, he introduces all of the new pitches that the student will have to play for “Bobby Shaftoe” while practicing a familiar selection.

This piece will be the first time in this method that the student will learn the bow response on the A-string. The consistent rhythmic value of all notes on the A-string allows for an easier immersion onto the new string than if different rhythms were to be played on the new string. The lack of dynamic and rhythmic variation allows the researcher to infer that this piece was meant to focus on the pitches and being immersed in the A-major tonality from the preparation. Combined with the exposure to D-major that the majority of the previous pieces gave to the student, one can infer that this piece is also an opportunity to present the idea of harmonic rhythm. Lastly, “Bobby Shaftoe” recalls the left hand “tunnel” shape to be employed onto the A-string.

Chapter 3.16: “O Come, Little Children”

At this point in Vance’s method, the student is primed for “O Come, Little Children” from the arpeggio-like melody from the previous song, “Bobby Shaftoe.” The melodic skips in “O Come, Little Children” ask the student’s left hand to form “tunnels” in both songs. This piece is the first selection that begins in 4th position without any preparation in any of the lower positions. One reason for that could be because the
first/third position versions of this song would result in a new technique that is introduced later in the method.

This song is the first of its kind in starting each phrase with a single-note pickup on an up-bow (as opposed to the two-note pickup from “Go ‘way Old Man” on a downbow). This single-note pickup concept echoes all of the way back to Shortnin’ Bread, variation 2. In measures 14 and 15, the student is asked to play a third finger note on the D-string and immediately play another third finger note on the G-string.82 The motion
from one finger to the same finger on a different string is new the student. Another new technique that this selection calls for is going to the 1/3 string harmonic ‘D’ from a closed note and immediately going back to a closed note after executing the harmonic ‘D.’

Chapter 3.17: “Country Dance”

This selection is the final tune of the first book in the Progressive Repertoire series. “Country Dance” is a culmination of numerous technical skills that have been introduced to the young bassist in previous songs. It also involves the student to develop new techniques within the song as well.

From a technical analysis of what the bow hand is being called to perform, this piece calls for all of the strokes that have been asked for in piece past: martele, detache, and tenuto. These bow-strokes were first introduced in the Shortnin’ Bread variations. This piece also asks the student to perform bow-retakes without any indication in measures 10, 12 and 16 which reaches as far back as Reuben and Rachel. The researcher can infer that Vance’s intention was for the student to begin internalizing the decision-making process in deciding when to retake bows by learning this piece. Lastly, the student is asked to play three dynamic levels within this single selection.

From a technical analysis of what the left hand is being called to perform, this piece includes first position, third position, fourth position, and the newly introduced fifth position. Throughout the entire piece, there are opportunities to practice shifting to and from these positions without much time in between to do so. Between the shifts, the student typically plays scalar-lines that stay within a small range of notes. Lastly, the student is presented with several opportunities to practice their “tunnel” fingerings in measures 8, 9, and 13.

In addition to reviewing techniques introduced in previous pieces, Country Dance introduces the student to a whole new set of technical skills to develop. It is the first piece that has the student explore four positions: 1st, 3rd, 4th, and 5th. In measure 6, the student is asked to play the 1/3 string harmonic ‘D’ in thumb position and immediately shift to a closed note in third position. This song introduces the concept of first and second endings that differ in the melody line in measures 9-12. Measures 25-26 expose the student to shifting from 4th position to 1st position and back to 4th position again in one phrase. The student is exposed to accents for the first time in measures 24 and 25. Lastly, the student is asked to let the last note ring after the piece as ended on the page.

Chapter 4.1: Afterthoughts and Effects of the Method

Vance’s influence over the field of double bass pedagogy revolutionized classrooms, private studios, and higher education classes. Widely-used classroom pedagogical literature asks the student play in first position for dozens of musical selections before moving onto another position. The progressive manner in which Vance introduces double bass technique to a developing bassist has added a new perspective onto the existing teaching practices.

After Vance published his books in 2000 and introduced his concept of starting in the neck-block position, its approach was quickly imitated in other, subsequently published double bass tutors. The authors of New Directions for Strings released two versions of the introductory double bass method books. In 2006, the FJH Music Company released an introductory double bass book in A-position and one in D-position.
These two versions go through the same exact repertoire, but they have the student play through in different positions. The A-position book asks the student to start in first position and play through 45 selections before moving onto the next position. The D-position books ask the student to start in the neck-block position and go through the same 45 selections. We again see Vance’s influence on New Directions for Strings when the A-position book introduces the neck block position as the next position after first position.

It is important to note that Scotland’s Burning is one of the first neck-block songs that are introduced in the A-position book much like Vance’s book. Lastly, both versions of the New Directions for Strings books introduce the pivot technique in third position. This technical progression resonates from Vance’s series where he also introduces the pivot technique in third position.

In 1999, double bassists Barry Green and Jeff Neighbor published with a method book entitled The Popular Bass Method. This method promotes its flexibility by preparing the student to be able to play Rabbath’s compositions, advanced, jazz, and classical bass. In Green’s method, the order in which the first three positions are introduced to the young bassist is identical to Vance’s: third, first, then fourth. The Popular Bass Method also introduces the student to the same fingerboard division system that Vance includes in his book. This book is yet another method that was strongly influenced by Vance’s pedagogical ideas.

Vance’s career also led the way to raising the standards of double bass artistry by starting children on the instrument at a younger age. By starting a student at a younger age, the student is able to have more time to develop technical skills and artistic perspectives. While Vance was in the middle of his career, he began to sense a significant discrepancy between middle-school aged violinists and double bassists. In most cases, by the time a violinist got to middle school, many have had years of experience on the instrument while the middle-school aged bassist was just picking up the instrument. Vance decided to tackle this on several fronts.

A major issue was that quarter-sized basses were too large for Vance’s target starting age: five year olds. In the mid-1980’s, Vance then began to commission a luthier to construct even smaller fractional sized basses and bows for younger kids to start on. Through his commissions, Vance was able to have William Gailes make several 1/8-1/16 size basses for his vision. By commissioning small enough instruments for younger beginners, this new group of double bassists would have the same amount of experience as their violin peers going into middle school.

Chapter 4.2: Conclusion

George Vance’s published method books Progressive Repertoire for the Double Bass contributed to the world of double bass pedagogy. His approach to progressively introduce technique to the developing bassist was a valuable addition to the already existing pedagogical practice. His works also served as a medium for the teaching philosophies of Francois Rabbath and Shinichi Suzuki to reach the minds, bodies, and souls of any bassist who works out of the Vance’s books. Vance’s career as a teacher, performer, music transcriber and editor, writer, clinician, conductor, and administrator has paved the way for young bassists to twinkle like little stars in the night sky.