If it sounds wierd and atonal, play it three times the same way with gusto and call it jazz - that usually works!

Yep, I can see the AB modifying their grade 1 scale requirements... C major, 2 octaves, separate bows and jazzy style, tuning optional

A combination of not getting away from school promptly and awful traffic ensured I had no 'cello lesson yesterday...

Grumble grumble

It's annoying when that happens.

I haven't played my 'cello since Thursday

Iona, you can't see the above sentence

'bad boy'

Well, you see, I've been in the north all weekend, and I had to carry three cases, and a fourth would've been too much and, and, and, and.....

Excuses, excuses......Used 'em all. That's O.K. There are 44 hours of solid practice time still available.

*I think iona saw the sentence about lack of practice*

oops...

OK, today I'll have a second go at getting to a 'cello lesson...

...and today it appears I have acquired a 'cello piece to learn that is grade 1...

So we can expect to see barry performing at all the top venues sooner rather than later......

Congratulations Barry! It's going to be a fun journey from here on!

Enjoy playing the cello - it's such a wonderful instrument (I wish I had more time to play mine, but the fiddle has to take up most of my available practise time) .

Thanks rosfrog : I'm happy with how's it's going so far. OK, tuning and bowing needs work, but we'll get there...

It's all exciting Barry, keep us posted as you are doing, I like reading on your progress

Rosfrog, same here, the violin (sorry cannot call it fiddle LOL am a 'classical player you know' ) HAS to take 95% of my spare time (which is not much anyway). Bass is taking the other 5%.

I'd like to learn cello as well but there is NO WAY I'd have time for that at all so it would not be fair to adopt a cello to then leaving it on its own (might get reported for 'cello neglect' and go on the cello protection register am in danger on going on such register with the clarinet as I've not looked at it in 3 weeks)

No worries re. clarinet, I know you've got it very much as a third/fourth instrument.

Cello will be my one and only stringed instrument. I want to make as good a job of it as possible, and with my other instruments, and the clarinet to keep at a vaguely professional level, I can't justify more strings...

I've had a look at Time Pieces and More Time Pieces for 'cello today.

Some of these pieces look impossible...

Good news!

My scales are less out of tune! Note that I say 'less out of tune'. Not 'in tune'.

But hey, I can do vaguely passable impressions of C, G and D majors...

I am sure you are not as bad as you say

You say such kind words jojo, thanks!

I've made a start on the Time Pieces book too...

It's interesting reading your progress :-)

I love the cello, but it's too big for me. When I use to go to orchestra, I tried playing on my friend's cello - I was playing it like a double bass cos it it was too big! I don't know how people can carry a cello around!

far more 'easily' than a double bass

Oh yeah, you play the double bass...lol, how do you carry that around?! Have you ever got on the tube with it? A cello on the tube at rush hour is bad enough, I can't imagine a double bass!

Glad you're enjoying the thread, moon!

Cellos are quite large, and if I'm carrying a cello, I'd carry very little else (I'm not the biggest person in the world...). They do fit on mainline trains, and on the tube, with care, even in a soft case...

I have taken Gandalf (my bass) on:
-the double decker pillar red london bus (lower deck only)
-the 'tube'
-the overground train
-the car

he's 'yet' to go on:
-a boat
-a motorbike (might never manage that one!)
-a truck
-an aeroplane
-a hot air balloon
-a skateboard
-a bycicle
-on ice skates
-a sledge

You missed out a hovercraft, Jo. And what about one of them things that carries people up mountains.

Bungee Jumping? parachute?

So, what horrid scrapey 'cello noises will I make in my lesson today?...

The 'scrapey' noises were OK. Need to work on the stopped notes, which today had all the clarity of one of those old fashioned pea-soupers that London used to have...

And you couldn't blame the reed......

I tried to blame my clarinet practice. Guess how far that got

Barry, I am getting a 'tad' jealous now as you have all this thread all by yourself and here I am, learning the double bass and no one to share the journey with

can I 'butt in' and join you on this thread? pretty please????

I have my double bass lesson today...
the latest scale I've been working on is F major 2 octaves
the pieces I have worked on are 'sheep may graze' (or safely graze can't remember!)
and 'intermezzo' by what's his name? can't remember either and am at work so can't check the book.

piece I am starting on is the 'toreador' song

I'll reply with a full list of scales I've done so far but I think I have covered all of those on grade 5 list (more or less)

When I get tired during my practice I often hit the A string whilst trying to play my D string, very annoying, and I still cannot manage a full 1st finger to 4th finger stretch in first position so I 'cheat' ie play first finger then 'hop' down a little with my hand and play fourth

I am playing up to 5th position at present, and have started on harmonics (only a couple)

I LOVE my double bass teacher, she's great!

Sounds like you're having fun jojo - and yeah, of course you can share this thread!

thank youuuuuuuuuuu

I am just back from my bass lesson, I have them fortnightly and guess what?

I have played a double bass which is worth OVER £100,000

It was made in 1770 on request by 'King George' (yes, 'the' king George!!), he asked for a number of instruments to be made for 'his orchestra' and it was built by William Forster (apparently famous for cellos).

It has some lovely painting behind its scroll too with the Royal emblem.

It has been used for all these years as an 'orchestral bass' so he does not play 'that well' in the high positions but he's gorgeous in the lower positions.
Still....after five minutes of playing him I wanted my Gandalf back

My teacher showed me the gut strings that used to be on it, WOW, they are THICK!!! and they stink of tobacco

Then I started talking about 'humidity' with my teacher and how I got a dehumdifier to keep Gandalf at the right humidity. She said 'come and look what happens if the bass is kept in a place too humid' and you'll realise you've done the right thing she said.

So off she took me round the other side of her house, we enter this room with (I am not joking) approximately 15 double basses in it , to then go into the next room where there was about 20 violins, to then the NEXT room where there were about 15 cellos (most of them in hard cases)

She showed me this bass which has been TOTALLY DESTROYED by damp, it's all in pieces! and she said it will take her husband 300 hours of work to fix it! It's an old valued bass apparently so they are looking into finding a 'grant' to help pay for it to be fixed as it is a piece of antique apparently.

Enough said, I was 'stunned' for the rest of my lesson!

She wants me to do my grade 5 next March, she gave me MORE scales to learn! Fsharp minor 2 octaves, Eflat minor melodic/harmonic blah blah, can't remember what else, it's marked in the book!

Just to say my lesson was supposed to start at 18:30, we talked from 18:30 to 19:45, started lesson then and finished lesson at 21:00!!!!

She usually keeps me as her last student, me thinks because she likes chatting to me and of course, I also enjoy it so whenever it's bass lesson I make sure I have the rest of the day free!!

oh and I also go without having had dinner as she gives me loads of tea and biscuits!

end of report!

I'd be absolutely terrified playing any instrument worth £100,000!!!!

Grade 5 sounds really brilliant! You haven't been playing very long, either jojo. Well done you!

sorry, just found this on the internet and this is how the back of the scroll of the double bass I played by William Forster looks like.
On this internet site it says William Forster only ever made 4 basses and three of them were on oder by King George III, this picture is from one of those 4 basses, but the one I played has the exact same scroll.









Actually, I wasn't 'terrified' AT ALL surprisingly!
If someone told me 'how would you feel if you had a £100,000 double bass in front of you, ready to touch' I'd probably say I'd faint! But in real life it was just like any of the other basses she has in the house!

My teacher says if I practiced bass as much as I practice violin I'd be getting ready to get grade 8 by now I think she is joking a bit there!

wow!

You played a veritable rarity then! Wonderful!

Don't think I'd risk playing an expensive 'cello yet...

I can now play G major. And D major!

Not in tune, but hey, that'll come...

Sounds like you're both doing really well !

Youtube clips - come on now !

I've thought about doing various youtube clips for some while...just the small matter of getting a camera...

I'd love that Barry-Clari!!! Hurry up to get that camera

ps In my annexe I don't get internet connection so I can't record on youtube, I have to find the way to record offline then upload on youtube later, I'm sure it's easy enough, just have to find five minutes to look at it!


I'm sure they are perfectly ok, upload them on youtube once you get that camera and we'll tell you

I am going to buy Gandalf a new set of strings, and in this instance I am VERY HAPPY my teacher has a string instrument shop and is a luthier as at my next lesson on thursday she will have 3 different sets of strings to try on Gandalf and we'll pick the ones that 'suit him best'
As potentially this could cost me a total of £200, I am indeed very happy as I'd hate to spend that amount and then not totally being pleased with the result

The strings I have on him at present are new and don't need changing BUT they are Jazz strings and they are not helping me much, they are 'ok', but a set of proper orchestral/classical strings will make my playing sound a lot nicer

I have to say that buying the strings from the internet could cost me UP to ?50 less, but I am more than happy to spend more as I get an extra 'luxury' service this way and I also believe in supporting the 'smaller businesses' whenever I can, plus my teacher always gives me way too much attention (free buckets of tea/biscuits in lessons quick free repairs to my Gandal and adjustments to its set up, lessons that overrun etc etc)

Absolutely, JoJo - I truly believe in supporting local commerce too. Especially specialist services like luthiers - we could so easily lose them.

And, if I may poke fun a little, I'm sure you didn't mean that 'proper' orchestral strings would make your playing sound nicer, but more classical - eh ? Nothing wrong with a Jazz sound...

Just poking fun!

yes, I wish the right strings would make me play better!!
you know what I meant...

my sound is still 'scratchy' in many places, far from being very good.

I am about to upload a youtube clip for you to view (hopefully) a little progress since my last clip.


here it is, a clip of me learning a grade 5 piece called Dogs Life

(I am learning it so it is not up to standard yet!)
Click here

Well done for posting the clip, that looked good! I really enjoyed it, especially towards the end where it speeds up a bit!


I'm sure if I improved my violin strings my playing would improve no end!
As a serious comment, I had a go at playing my first cheapo £50 purple violin and it isn't quite so bad as I thought (after I sorted out the matter of the gaps between the strings sitting on the bridge being totally out ) There is no doubt the sounds is VERY LOUD (as with all good student violins!) still!

Thank you, very kind of you
Instruments and strings 'can' make a difference to the sound you make.
When I play on one of my teacher's double basses, one that's about 10 times more expensive than mine, I do sound a lot better, and a lot less 'scratchy', she said so too.
But the positive in not having such a 'privileged' instrument is that if we learn to sound really good on our 'cheap' ones then we are REALLY good

Well done jojo!

Wow JoJo - you've really come far in just a short time !

I'm a bit jealous and want a double bass just for the long low glissando that you did....

That is my favourite bit too Rosfrog! (the low glissando) it's meant to be the dog yawning