Double bass bow: French or German?
HTML-код
- Опубликовано: 12 сен 2024
- Double Bassist Margaret Urquhart shows how the German bow makes Handel's fast and frantic string-crossings possible. Filmed during a rehearsal of Handel's Semele.
Subscribe: / @oae
Website: oae.co.uk
Facebook: / orchestraoftheageofenl...
Twitter: / theoae
Instagram: / oae_photos
Great video! Video and interviews of period double bass players are rare compared to those of the other instruments, I think the bass community is happy to watch these videos and would love to see more!
On the French Hold it’s easier to get smooth Leganto so if you want more power out of your playing do German. If you want more subtlety use French. I would use French over German but that’s just me. Kinda reminds you of the languages when you think about it
Well, they are considered Russian and Italian in other parts of Europe. The language analogy might work there too. However I don't think any passage or sentiment is more or less possible with either, once you really know how to use your choice of bow.
As bassist who plays German bow I would argue that that is in fact a Dragonetti bow. Modern German bows curve inwards like French bows, but all the fundamental points about how German bows behave differently are the same.
I was just wondering why the bow was so weird, glad someone else noticed that too
yes!!!!
I am a Double Bassist from South Africa ( that's in Africa ) and I am proud to announce that I have the only 1/4 German Bow in the country .
I know this because I have phoned every music store/retailer/outlet/shop/factory/dealer/warehouse and not one was available had to order it off Amazon ??????
I do not know how ANYBODY can use/play/operate the french bow I find it to be an instrument of torture but..... the moment you pick up a German bow you never look back , I haven't its all about personal preference I suppose or thats what they say in Hollywood.
Very nice video! Would love to see more of the double bass!
I'm going to check but - I have never had to bend my hand inward. Use the the slight torque of the elbow which becomes amplifies down the fore-arm as per Rabbath, and let the forearm lead....OH NO I'm 'that guy'.
I think people who make their living playing Baroque music are the luckiest people in the world. I never had the talent to come anywhere near that.
you dont need that much of a talent. You need to practice. ANd a lot of money so you could buy instrument, bow etc...
That's just wonderful!
I like her voice.
The German can get a big attack. The French bow is good for retreating ie backstrokes.
This reminded me the Franco-Prussian war lol
What would be the equivalent of fleeing to your little island though ? 🤔
Thank you for the great video! Could you please tell us a bit more about the bow you use, as it has a somewhat different shape than the usual, modern German bow. As far as I know it’s not a baroque bow either, is it? What are the differences, advantages, disadvantages compared to « usual » (so to speak) German bows?
Michael Persico LOL I (and Daniel certainly too) was not meaning this specific bow, but bows of this shape in general. As a matter of fact I saw (for the first time besides this video) a guy playing the same kind of bow at a concert yesterday, enough to pique my curiosity!
daniel ryan After a bit more research it seems that this is the shape of a “Dragonetti” bow. It is not a Baroque bow. Dragonetti spent 50 years of his life in London, therefore it is no surprise (I guess) to see those bows used in England. But I am no expert, not really sure about all this...
daniel ryan Thanks for your kind words and this information! Do you read German? the german wikipedia page about Dragonetti has an interesting picture about the evolution of bass bows. According to that page, the french bowmaker Tourte invented the “inverted camber” (I use this term for lack of a better word), then the Dresden bowmakers merged the Dragonetti bow with the Tourte camber to create the German bow as we know today.
I hate when a ONLY-French or ONLY- German player criticizes/rant the other bow hold and clearly can’t play in the other way.
Like in her case.
One can talk and compare about bow holds only if he or she knows and studied both ways.
I have a question if you could answer it soo the question is where did you get that Black Brown double bass if you would answer i would be very thankfull
Dragonetti bow
The only advantage of German bow over French is the amount of pressure one can easily applied at the tip. Unfortunately, that tends to mean German bow players seem to push too hard and choke the string, much like she did on the first note she played in the demonstration. The upshot of that is almost every German bow player I've ever seen tends to sound like they're scrubbing and scraping the notes of the bass at maximum volume. Loud, but not very pleasing the ear.
As a German playing the German bow I'd suggest it's simply a question of the taste nowadays. We shouldn't argue about the that ;). The German bow from a historic point of view is the original one as the bass has developed from the viol (and not the violin) which was played with an underhand bow. The original way of holding that viol bow, however, gave you so much texture and possibilities of changing the pressure on the string. Even if that has changed due to a slightly different technique of holding the bow nowadays, it's still the more historic sound which was absolutely contemporary then ;)
You're right. It is about taste and my taste is not for a scrubbing sound. I know I'm not alone there. When I was studying a now respected german bow player auditioned for a local orchestra and was told to go away and fix that very issue.
As regards bow hold, the German bow is as different to Viol bowing as the French. Check this vid out at 1.00
ruclips.net/video/W-NlRF6cRME/видео.html
That said I'm not anti-german bow. I may change over from French to German in the next few years. I suspect it would be kinder to my right thumb.
I played in Mahler 6 as the only guy with French bow, and I about killed myself with all that tremolo. German bow is good stuff for that kind of repertoire.
As a French bassist I played French for many many years, then at some point switched to German. From a physiological point of view, the hand is in a much more natural position. I like the sound better too. No scrubbing and scraping (if you hear that, there’s something wrong somewhere). I lost a bit in agility compared to the French bow, but there’s nothing in the orchestra repertoire I usually play that I could do with a French bow and not with a German bow. To me, there’s no turning back but obviously, to each his/her own :) Happy playing!
i use a french bow
2:30 What is the name of this music?
Sounds like the end of Handel's chorus "Bless the Glad Earth." Here ruclips.net/video/kpmVi8sLe_w/видео.html
thats a dragonetti bow, modern german bows look different
I think it would be nice for them to do a program of Palladio by Karl Jenkins. I've heard the first movement played on baroque instruments and I thought it sounded quite nice.
If it's a feat of engineering it usually is german.
Fuck off.
Know why the French plant trees along their boulevards? So the Germans can march in the shade!!!
@@georgatwater9062 Tell that to Napoleon XD
What a wonderfully well-balanced comparison.
But now show us the German bow.
German bow > French bow
No
I think that's the general direction they're going in, extremely subtle as it might be to detect
German
she's not very good
You should have been at the concert, she was great!
@@hedyaronm out of tune. Lots of better historical bass players, like David Sinclair
Why does someone choose this instrument? I imagine that terrible to practice at home with this ugly sounding thing!
voenigs well it’s not a ugly sounding thing ever listen to bass Sonora in D minor Henry Eccles or if Jazz is your thing then Haitian Fight Song. The sound of the bass is deep and complex sound that offers a large range of emotion. It’s truly a wonderful instrument if your willing to study it
voenigs because it makes pieces sound amazing and there’s many perks to playing the double bass. Practicing at home isn’t hard, you just need space and the weight isn’t pushing against you
@@blushingbadge1544 I meant the Double Bass as a solo instrument, not as part of a (chamber) orchestra, etc.!
voenigs still
@@voenigs612 Do a little research and come back commenting with full comprehension please!