I like to aim the bow by default smack in the middle of the C bout - that's what yours looks like when you do the 6:1 thing, and it's easy to see if you video yourself. Helpful video, thanks for posting.
great tips. I like to use a comb before I start playing to separate the bow hair too. Also for players with short arms, on a properly setup bass, the distance from the bridge to the tailpiece where the strings hook in should be 1/6 the string length so you can use that to judge
My director told me the best way to measure is to match your bridge height with your natural standing knuckle on your finger, the one closest to your fingertip :) I'll definitely be trying combing too that sounds interesting!!
Fantastic video, as always! One to add might've been a kind of 'squeaking' sound you get when playing high on the fingerboard, which I've put down to not playing close enough to the bridge
Many thanks Jason! great checklist! About good sound on a slow bow, I remember a little exercice given by Tom Martin, during the Rencontres de Contrebasses en Roussillon(RCR):bow an open A string, hold the note for 30 seconds, metronome at 60... part of the final exam at the Royal Academy of Music , it seems! Tom's advice: start the note at around 1/6 of the string length and slowly get closer to the bridge without stopping...quite difficult, my personal record:24 seconds😂
The bit about maintaining a similar timbre by moving where energy is put into a string relative to changes where it's stopped I think applies to all stringed instruments. I expect it's also taken into account by piano makers. I'm curious to check for that next time I peer into one. Some really great content here!
Interesting show I do not play a voil instrument.. My .instrument... piano and formerly flute. Love music. At my music camp years ago...55 years...Gary Karr played a concert. He had just won something in the beginning of his career. Our cabin counselor played string base. She was very nice.
It’s a bass from 1995 made by a bass maker named Albert Jakstadt. I’m actually doing a video all about my bass next month, so stay tuned for a more comprehensive look at it!
Oh gee whiz. I do all of these nasty sounds. I'm an adult and have been playing for 10 months. I have to remind myself that this takes time. Every now and then it sounds wonderful, but usually not. Someday it will be more often. I must be patient. Thank you for a wonderful video.
Hi Jason, regarding the "6 to 1" ratio for bow placement, I get it, and it does seem to work for open strings, but as soon as you finger a note the vibrating string length is shortened and that optimal point is going shift towards the bridge... potentially a lot. So how can we find this point when fingering a note if we don't have 3 arms to be able to stop the note, find the minor-7th harmonic, and bow at the same time? Practice more and learn to recognize the feel of that "sweet spot", I guess. 😀
That’s a great point! We actually have a video coming out tomorrow that digs into that reality. It’s featuring Andy Moritz, who just came out with a book that focuses on this 6:1 concept and how it works as you start to shift around the bass.
Like at 3:38 in the video? I get that some times... it's just a lack of fundamental. In my case it's caused by my inattention to bow placement/angle, bow speed, or a lack of rosin.
