Here is the next track in the Virtual Master Class Project. This is a 2 octave G major scale. Leave criticism, advice, practice tips, and the like by clicking on the ‘comments’ link below the player.
Sometimes these players take 10-20 seconds to load, so give it a little time to play if it doesn’t start right away. Read more about this project here, or click here to listen to all the tracks. There aren’t many now, but you can help with that by submitting tracks or telling students & friends about this opportunity.
E-mail me submissions here (jsh177@yahoo.com)
2 Octave G Major Scale
Candidate 3
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This scale is OK, but your tone sounds a bit rough. Work on smoothing things out, and watch out for your pitch in the second octave!
Nicely executed, no mistakes or hesitation. I hear the tone deteriorating as it ascends and recovering in the lower register as it descends. I would imagine your bow is progressively slipping/skating a bit on the d and g strings as you cross. Try starting at the top of the second octave and descending: your attention might be a slight bit fresher and you will hear any inconsistencies right off the bat and be prone to repair.
Good solid sound down low. I thought the scale was pretty well intune on the way up, but that the E and the D in the upper octave were flat when you came back down. Test your high E with your open E and your high D with your open D for perfect octave tuning. If you hit those high Ds and Es exactly intune, your upper harmonics on the D, A and E strings will ring. Listen up high to get the tuning just right. Keep working hard!
You’re off to a great start! Now, it’s time to add some finesse.
It sounds like each note comes out with some difficulty. You might refer to Nicholas Hart’s article, “Sound and Motion in Double Bass Playing” for some insightful comments about bow technique. If you don’t feel like your bow is playing thousands of miniature pizzicatos in succession, that’s something to strive for. It comes from good equipment, good rosin, and just the right amount of speed and pressure–technique is far more important than good gear, however.
As for the intonation, it can be easily fixed. I recommend obtaining a CD (or mp3’s) of drones and playing along with them. Just turn on the drone in the tonic or dominant of the key you’re playing in, and viola!–instant reference point for intonation issues. Failing that, your bass is handily equipped with four drones of its own–the open strings. These can do wonders for you because you can turn them on and off at the drop of a hat (or bowstroke…). For instance, once you get up to the D on the G string, play your open D simultaneously to see if they match. After a while, you’ll be able to hear what every interval sounds like. Octaves, perfect fifths, and major thirds are the easiest to start out with. Most importantly, spend _time_ listening to how each note sounds against the drone and get it just right. Keep in mind, though, that notes will be in different places depending on the key and intonation system you decide to play in. Most chords are tuned in “just” intonation (your notes against your drone will fall into just intonation, too, hopefully), but players frequently use “equal temperament” and “pythagorean” for other purposes. If you don’t know what those are, you’ll find out. : ) The internet is always a handy tool.
Happy playing!
good pitch adjustment and very nice tone on the lower register. I agree with checking the e and d with the open strings, because they’re there for a reason and if those are in tune, there won’t be a problem. try to add more of an even bow stroke so that when you change notes, it doesn’t sound like a hiccup, or like there’s more sound on the immediate bow stroke change and then it tapers off. very nice!