This is a new feature for the doublebassblog.org Virtual Master Class project. Double bassist Ian Hallas has stepped up to the plate and offered up this (and several other) video performances for this project. Leave criticism, advice, practice tips, and the like by clicking on the ‘comments’ link below. We welcome your comments! Please take a moment and offer a bit of constructive advice for this musician.
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Very nice tone, well in time. Intonation is a little bit off at times. Other than that I would try to incorporate a little more dynamics to let the phrases breathe more.
Otherwise, Bravo! Good Job!
I hear accenting on the fronts of notes that sound like orchestral articulations. I think you can play with conviction without sounding aggressive when it comes to Bach. Sometimes an adjacent string is accidentally struck while doing a string crossing – pay close attention to these details. The dynamics were not as wide as you can make them. Because of how we’ve evolved in the last thirty years, it’s not enough to just play Bouree 1 loud and Bouree 2 soft. Try being more interesting dynamically within each Bouree, while maintaining the character in each one. You may want to consider loosening the bow hair for Bach as that will affect the tension/lightness of your sound.