Double bass Masterclass

Before I talk about the double bass masterclass that I had attended this afternoon, I shall talk about my practice this morning. This morning I spent 35 minutes playing Bb major and g minor scales and intervals. Hopefully with playing more scales diligently, my intonation would improve. In addition, I spent another 35 minutes playing the Marcello's Sonata in g minor. I spent more time on the first and second movements, then spent some time playing through the third and the fourth.

Yesterday, I heard from Dinah, who is also a double bassist, about a masterclass that will be held this afternoon. Mr Rinat Ibragimov, Principal Double Bassist of the London Symphony Orchestra will be giving this masterclass. Thanks to Dinah for the information, I was able to know about the masterclass and to attend it today.

When I heard from Dinah yesterday, it was a "sit and listen" masterclass. I was secretly hoping to be able to have a chance to play. For my main question with regards to double bass playing was how to achieve a good tone, and I know I still have a lot of work to do on my posture for playing. My regular double bass tutor always try to correct my posture whenever I have individual lessons with him, but I still seem to need more time to get a good posture. Anyway, the good thing about a "sit and listen" masterclass is that I don't have to subject myself to the stresses of having to play in front of everyone else.

Then last evening, I heard from Emily, yet another double bassist, over MSN that it would be possible to play during the masterclass, for a higher fee. Yet, it was uncertain if one could register to play at the last minute. Truly speaking, I do not have much to play for the masterclass except for the Marcello's Sonata in g minor. At least I have spent quite a fair amount of time going through it. Most of my recent practice sessions were spent playing orchestra works, scales and studies which may not be situable for a masterclass. I must have lost all sense of self-consciousness last night to want to play in the masterclass. I know if I had been self-conscious enough, I may think thrice about playing in the masterclass.

Anyway, I decided to bring along my bow (in my new bow case) to the masterclass, just in case I could really register myself to play at the last minute.

I met up with Emily and Dinah nearby Newton MRT station and we proceeded to the venue of the masterclass by taxi. When I reached there, I saw a few fellow double bassists whom I know, and we caught up a bit. But in essence, I knew very few of them. Most, I think, were younger than me. I probably did not belong to their generation. Dinah and Emily were kind enough to introduce me to two other double bassists, in hope to enlarge the social circle of yours truly, a sure introvert.

When I got to know that registration is still open for anyone who wishes to play during the masterclass, I was seriously contemplating. I would appreciate having hands-on during the masterclass to play and get instant feedback on my playing. Yet, one part of me was worried about subjecting myself to total embarrassment in front of folks from a younger generation, many who might be playing about the same standard as myself. I feared downright failure at playing for I was not fully prepared mentally. Was that what people termed as extreme self-consciousness and performance anxieties? While I have practised the Marcello's sonata in g minor for a while, my playing has yet been up to my level of satisfaction. Hey, I am not a thick-skinned person, alright. I felt a little torn trying to make the decision whether to play during the masterclass.

I must have mustered a lot of courage to finally decide to play. Actually, I was still trying to decide when the person at the registration desk told Ms K., one of the organisers, that I would be playing. Then Ms K. tried to ask me who my tutor is. I didn't know how to answer in the most politically correct manner. Strictly speaking, I don't take regular lessons from my tutor. I fear that if I had told her my tutor's name, and I don't play well enough, she might mistaken that my tutor did not do a good job teaching. My tutor has been an inspiring and good tutor, so whatever inadequacies you might see in me would probably be due to lack of practice time. I didn't want to risk being unfair to my tutor.

Anyway, to go with the flow, I decided to play during the masterclass with the unpolished version of the Marcello's Sonata in g minor.

R., a nice young gentleman, was the first to play during the masterclass. He played the first movement from a concerto. Gosh, that was a pretty challenging concerto, and that triggered some sense of inadequacies in myself. The Marcello's Sonata in g minor was not as technically difficult as the concerto that he was playing. Good thing that I was quite self-aware of my inadequacies, so I acknowledged them, slowly tried to let most of them go, and reminded myself that I was here in the masterclass to learn more about improving my double bass playing. Thinking positively had helped ease the jitters a bit.

Then I was next, but I did not bring a double bass. R., as I have said, was a fine gentleman, and he kindly gave permission for me to play on his double bass. It has a nice tone. Must thank the nice gentleman for use of the double bass. Thanks R..

Reflecting, I think I was a little too anxious about playing, I could have given myself more time to settle down before I started playing, especially the second movement of the sonata. It was embarrassing to hear that my intonation needed more improvements especially at the middle section of the second movement. I missed a note, and the rest of the notes following it went out of pitch too. I reckon I could have played at a slower tempo too, given the fact that my fingers needed time to get used to the instrument. To comfort my slightly hurt ego, I told myself that my intonation could have been better if I had played on my own double bass. The best solution might be for me to play more exercises, studies and scales so that in time to come, I will be able to play just as good on any double bass that I would lay my hands on. Maybe the secret is no secret: Practice, practice and practice.

So Mr Ibragimov (or is it Mr Rinat?) got me to try to use the bow without "holding" it. He said I could just simply rely on arm weight. He reminded me that I need not use so much force when I press down the strings with the fingers of my left hand. He also got me to try getting a good vibrato, but it seemed like I needed more time to assimilate and to translate his ideas into actions. So when my turn was up, I really have yet to grasp a full idea of how to get a good vibrato. What I need is to experiment and to practise. Takes time, I guess to get a good tone?

The final and next person who played during the masterclass was a professional double bassist. He played a double bass concerto, I suppose? Of a standard way beyond my level. I tried to stay interested by observing and listening to Mr Ibragimov sharing about ways to improve the tone. Mr Ibragimov seems to share concepts that sounded quite similar to those from my tutor, though he presented the concepts in the different fashion. For that I appreciated. Many a times, I find that it helps to have the same concept presented in a different manner, it gives breadth to my understanding of the same concept.

It was towards the end of the class that I got aware how small the studio where the masterclass was held had been. It appeared that there were more participants than the organiser had expected. Maybe the organiser did not realise how connected the double bass players have been, and how fast double bass players could be mobilised?

Attending the masterclass did help motivate me to practise a little more. When I was home after the end of today, I went on to spend one hour practising. Of which about 25 minutes was spent figuring out how to use the bow without "holding" it, and then the rest was spent playing the Marcello's Sonata in g minor. I spent quite a fair bit of time figuring how to get a good vibrato. Maybe I am slow in response because of my age, I was not sure if that was a good vibrato which I had produced this evening, but it sounded better than what I had done this afternoon. Time to seriously consider having more regular lessons with my tutor.

Meantime, I am wondering how on earth I had mustered such courage to play in front of so many folks this afternoon. Come to think of it, it didn't kill to play in front of so many people. At least, I managed to survive afterall.