saxobass Posted February 20, 2009 Share Posted February 20, 2009 (edited) This is probably a stupid question. I am returning to bass playing after many years as a sax player, want to do it properly this time, and read somewhere on this forum that the Vance books were the way to go. I realise that the method is based on a different set of positions from the Simandl, but book one doesn`t really explain this except to say that it is based on the work of Francois Rabbath, whose book doesn`t seem to be available! Where can I get the five basic Rabbath positions explained to me? Confused?......so I should probably explain that, as was often pointed out to me, I always used my third finger and shouldn`t. I`ve probably got a lot of other bad habits too and want to really sort it this time. Edited February 20, 2009 by saxobass Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrkelly Posted February 21, 2009 Share Posted February 21, 2009 Not really my thing but very interesting all the same. Check out these videos on Contrabass Conversations for a bit about the Rabbath pivot technique [url="http://contrabassconversations.com/guests/episodes/hans-sturm/"]http://contrabassconversations.com/guests/...des/hans-sturm/[/url] The Rabbath method books are available however they are ridicuously expensive and even more so now due to the exchange rate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dougal Posted February 23, 2009 Share Posted February 23, 2009 Might be worth reading this too (although it's less of a technical comparison which is what I think you're after): [url="http://doublebassblog.org/2006/11/rabbath-versus-simandl-comparative.html"]http://doublebassblog.org/2006/11/rabbath-...omparative.html[/url] I get confused by the talk of positions too: why we can't use (note from the E-string): F = 1st posn F# = 2nd posn G = 3rd posn is beyond me. Simandl has these half positions, what are they about? Eh?!?!? The six Rabbath positions center around harmonics. For example: 1st (B harmonic on G string under 4th finger) 3rd (D harmonic on G string under 1st finger) 4th (octave harmonic under thumb) 6th (double octave harmonic under thumb) To be honest, I think the only way to sort out bad habits is to take some lessons. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wulf Posted February 23, 2009 Share Posted February 23, 2009 I spent a long time puzzling over the Simandl positions. Eventually it struck me that they reflect the natural notes along the A string: 1st pos: B 2nd pos: C 3rd pos: D ... etc Between those are intermediary positions, so Simandl starts his exercises in "half position" (eg. from Bb on the A string). That made it easier to remember where the positions were meant to be. It still doesn't make a whole lot of sense although I did note that A is the top string on a cello so there may be some cross-over with classical teaching for other bowed, stringed instruments. Wulf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hubrad Posted February 23, 2009 Share Posted February 23, 2009 I've not watched it enough yet, but I recently got this Francois Rabbath masterclass as a download: [url="http://www.mikesmasterclasses.com/index.php?page=shop.product_details&flypage=shop.flypage&product_id=116&category_id=1&manufacturer_id=0&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=39"]http://www.mikesmasterclasses.com/index.ph...t&Itemid=39[/url] and even at first glance it seems like an inspiring class. Affordable, too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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