Bass: Interview and demonstration with principal Alexander Hanna

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Bass: Interview and demonstration with principal Alexander Hanna

(classical music) [Alexander] The bass is a very interesting instrument because basses vary so very much, they vary a lot.

We're very different from say, the violin, viola and cello.

A lot of people think that we're just a bigger version of the cello, which is wrong, we're not.

Our instrument actually comes from a different family, we have evolved more from the gamba family.

Often, not with this instrument, but often with many basses, you'll see basses with very sloped shoulders.

This particular instrument is more of the violin family, it has more of the violin corners, and a rounder violin shape.

The instrument in my hands right now has so many different names.

Bass, string bass, double bass, contrabass, upright bass, bass fiddle, it's just - And the reason that is, is because the bass is used in so many different kinds of musical genres.

Bluegrass, rock, Baroque music, classical music, jazz obviously, you name it, and there's often a string bass involved.

I call my instrument a double bass, because in the earlier classical music and the Baroque music, we're often just doubling the bass line, and the bass line was just, the bass line, the composer was often played by the cellos, and often, the bass was added to get a much greater depth to the sound.

We're added to double the bass, hence the title of the instrument, double bass.

(classical music) It's tuned in fourths, the violin, viola and cello are all tuned in fifths.

The reason our instrument is tuned in fourths is because the intervals are so great.

For example, for me to go from one note to the next, (plays three notes) it requires a full hand position just to play three notes.

On the cello, you could play many more notes with each one of your different fingers.

So we tune in fourths to just make it easier on ourselves.

It's tuned G, D, A, E, and you might notice I just closed this little lever here.

This kind of brings me back to what I was talking about earlier, when I mentioned it's called the double bass.

This device up here is called an extension.

When I'm doubling the line of the cello, the cellist, since he's tuned in fifths, has a low C string.

So we've added this device to take us from what is normally our lowest string, which would be an E natural, (plays note) And take it down - (plays lower note) to a C natural, so we can play all the notes that the cello can play.

(classical music) This is a French bass, made by Francois Barzoni.

I've owned it for almost three years now, it was made around 1890, and it's a magnificent instrument.

Often, the basses that are the most coveted are the English-made basses, and the Italian basses.

French basses are also very good, but they tend to have a very bright and sometimes nasal sound to them, so this bass is one exception though.

It has a wonderful, big, broad, boomy sound, while maintaining that French projection and brightness.

It ends up being a very good instrument for the leader of a bass section, because you can have a very strong, direct sound when you play the instrument.

The bow is often just as important, or more important, than the actual instrument you have.

I would much rather have a fantastic bow and a sub-par bass than a fantastic bass and a sub-par bow, because this is where all the - (plays notes) - heart and soul of the sound comes from, is everything you do with your right hand.

So it's very important, and I'm really, really lucky to have this bow.

I'd been waiting for about four years for a wonderful bowmaker in Woodstock, New York named Sue Lipkins to make me this bow.

I don't think she ever got to hear this bass, but I spent hours on the phone, talking to her about my bass, the way I play, and so this bow is custom-made for me, and it's absolutely wonderful.

(classical music) On the bass, there's a few different ways to hold the bow.

This is the French style, that violinists, violists and cellists use, and most bass players use this style as well, and it's called French or Overhand style.

And - (plays note) - it's nice because when you hold the bow overhand like this, you have much more of a natural legato sound, or it's much easier to get a legato sound, because you're hovering over the string.

The other style of holding the bow for bassists is the German style.

German style bow, they're a little bit different, they have a broader frog, but it's held like this.

(plays notes) The nice thing about holding the bow that way is because you can get a much more natural weight into the string, for example, when you drop your arm, it falls like this, it doesn't fall like this.

So to play the French bow, you really have to be very mindful of your posture, because you have to make sure that you get all that natural weight into the string without compromising sound.

(classical music) I got involved with the bass when I was about 13 years old.

The bass is not the very first instrument I played.

I started piano lessons when I was four years old, growing up in Bowling Green, Ohio, and I came from a musical family, my sister played piano, and my brother also played piano, and some other instruments, and so I had many different musical instruments.

I played piano, but I also played the cello, guitar, I sang in a band, all sorts of stuff, but I was attracted to the bass because I fell in love with the sound of the symphony orchestra, and the bass in the symphony orchestra is awesome, it's a huge role, it sounds great, and I just really fell in love with it.

So I decided I wanted to start playing the bass when I was 13, and I started taking lessons with Scott Haigh, who's a member of the Cleveland Orchestra, and I decided I wanted to be in a symphony orchestra, which is a huge undertaking.

There are very few, really great symphony orchestras in the world, so obviously the spots are very limited, because there's only eight or maybe even nine bass players per orchestra.

Thankfully, I had very supportive parents who allowed me to do this, even though it's a kind of risky career path, but I think they could see that I really loved it, and I was willing to practice and work really, really hard and take those risks to pursue this art.

My parents bought a car that was big enough to transport this instrument and myself and drove me to all kinds of lessons and by the time I graduated high school, it was time to audition for music schools, which are very competitive to get into, the very best music schools.

I was fortunately accepted into the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia.

I got to study at Curtis for four years, and during that time, my passion for the symphony orchestra just grew and grew.

Around my third or fourth year at Curtis, I started taking auditions, and I learned very quickly that auditions are very, very difficult.

Hundreds of great musicians show up for one spot, it's extremely competitive, you have about ten minutes to prove yourself and play all sorts of different pieces from the orchestral repertoire.

I was fortunate enough, my senior year, I won an audition for the principal position of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, so two months after I graduated, I was already playing probably one of the greatest jobs in the world, and I feel very fortunate to have gotten that job.

I stayed in Detroit and played there for four years, and about two or three months ago, I joined the Chicago Symphony Orchestra as its principal bass.

(classical music) To those who are interested in pursuing the double bass as an instrument, I would say just start listening to music that features the bass, it would be hard to find any music that doesn't feature the bass somehow.

I would listen to Beethoven's symphonies and Brahms' symphonies, but also jazz, and bluegrass, any kind of music that involves the instrument.

A fun way to kind of kick the tires on the bass is to play bass guitar.

Get to know it a little bit, bass guitars are much more affordable than the upright bass, and hopefully talk to your band director or orchestra director and start playing in school if your school has a music program, and I would encourage all young students who have a little bit of interest in music to pursue it, because it's a wonderful, wonderful universal language that I think everyone should know.

I think being able to read music is such a wonderful gift, to be able to sit down at the piano and pick out a tune, or sing a song, I think it's an essential part of life, so I would say just go for it, and don't be afraid of singing out of tune, just sing. (lively classical music)

번역 0%

Bass: Interview and demonstration with principal Alexander Hanna발음듣기

(classical music) [Alexander] The bass is a very interesting instrument because basses vary so very much, they vary a lot.발음듣기

We're very different from say, the violin, viola and cello.발음듣기

A lot of people think that we're just a bigger version of the cello, which is wrong, we're not.발음듣기

Our instrument actually comes from a different family, we have evolved more from the gamba family.발음듣기

Often, not with this instrument, but often with many basses, you'll see basses with very sloped shoulders.발음듣기

This particular instrument is more of the violin family, it has more of the violin corners, and a rounder violin shape.발음듣기

The instrument in my hands right now has so many different names.발음듣기

Bass, string bass, double bass, contrabass, upright bass, bass fiddle, it's just - And the reason that is, is because the bass is used in so many different kinds of musical genres.발음듣기

Bluegrass, rock, Baroque music, classical music, jazz obviously, you name it, and there's often a string bass involved.발음듣기

I call my instrument a double bass, because in the earlier classical music and the Baroque music, we're often just doubling the bass line, and the bass line was just, the bass line, the composer was often played by the cellos, and often, the bass was added to get a much greater depth to the sound.발음듣기

We're added to double the bass, hence the title of the instrument, double bass.발음듣기

(classical music) It's tuned in fourths, the violin, viola and cello are all tuned in fifths.발음듣기

The reason our instrument is tuned in fourths is because the intervals are so great.발음듣기

For example, for me to go from one note to the next, (plays three notes) it requires a full hand position just to play three notes.발음듣기

On the cello, you could play many more notes with each one of your different fingers.발음듣기

So we tune in fourths to just make it easier on ourselves.발음듣기

It's tuned G, D, A, E, and you might notice I just closed this little lever here.발음듣기

This kind of brings me back to what I was talking about earlier, when I mentioned it's called the double bass.발음듣기

This device up here is called an extension.발음듣기

When I'm doubling the line of the cello, the cellist, since he's tuned in fifths, has a low C string.발음듣기

So we've added this device to take us from what is normally our lowest string, which would be an E natural, (plays note) And take it down - (plays lower note) to a C natural, so we can play all the notes that the cello can play.발음듣기

(classical music) This is a French bass, made by Francois Barzoni.발음듣기

I've owned it for almost three years now, it was made around 1890, and it's a magnificent instrument.발음듣기

Often, the basses that are the most coveted are the English-made basses, and the Italian basses.발음듣기

French basses are also very good, but they tend to have a very bright and sometimes nasal sound to them, so this bass is one exception though.발음듣기

It has a wonderful, big, broad, boomy sound, while maintaining that French projection and brightness.발음듣기

It ends up being a very good instrument for the leader of a bass section, because you can have a very strong, direct sound when you play the instrument.발음듣기

The bow is often just as important, or more important, than the actual instrument you have.발음듣기

I would much rather have a fantastic bow and a sub-par bass than a fantastic bass and a sub-par bow, because this is where all the - (plays notes) - heart and soul of the sound comes from, is everything you do with your right hand.발음듣기

So it's very important, and I'm really, really lucky to have this bow.발음듣기

I'd been waiting for about four years for a wonderful bowmaker in Woodstock, New York named Sue Lipkins to make me this bow.발음듣기

I don't think she ever got to hear this bass, but I spent hours on the phone, talking to her about my bass, the way I play, and so this bow is custom-made for me, and it's absolutely wonderful.발음듣기

(classical music) On the bass, there's a few different ways to hold the bow.발음듣기

This is the French style, that violinists, violists and cellists use, and most bass players use this style as well, and it's called French or Overhand style.발음듣기

And - (plays note) - it's nice because when you hold the bow overhand like this, you have much more of a natural legato sound, or it's much easier to get a legato sound, because you're hovering over the string.발음듣기

The other style of holding the bow for bassists is the German style.발음듣기

German style bow, they're a little bit different, they have a broader frog, but it's held like this.발음듣기

(plays notes) The nice thing about holding the bow that way is because you can get a much more natural weight into the string, for example, when you drop your arm, it falls like this, it doesn't fall like this.발음듣기

So to play the French bow, you really have to be very mindful of your posture, because you have to make sure that you get all that natural weight into the string without compromising sound.발음듣기

(classical music) I got involved with the bass when I was about 13 years old.발음듣기

The bass is not the very first instrument I played.발음듣기

I started piano lessons when I was four years old, growing up in Bowling Green, Ohio, and I came from a musical family, my sister played piano, and my brother also played piano, and some other instruments, and so I had many different musical instruments.발음듣기

I played piano, but I also played the cello, guitar, I sang in a band, all sorts of stuff, but I was attracted to the bass because I fell in love with the sound of the symphony orchestra, and the bass in the symphony orchestra is awesome, it's a huge role, it sounds great, and I just really fell in love with it.발음듣기

So I decided I wanted to start playing the bass when I was 13, and I started taking lessons with Scott Haigh, who's a member of the Cleveland Orchestra, and I decided I wanted to be in a symphony orchestra, which is a huge undertaking.발음듣기

There are very few, really great symphony orchestras in the world, so obviously the spots are very limited, because there's only eight or maybe even nine bass players per orchestra.발음듣기

Thankfully, I had very supportive parents who allowed me to do this, even though it's a kind of risky career path, but I think they could see that I really loved it, and I was willing to practice and work really, really hard and take those risks to pursue this art.발음듣기

My parents bought a car that was big enough to transport this instrument and myself and drove me to all kinds of lessons and by the time I graduated high school, it was time to audition for music schools, which are very competitive to get into, the very best music schools.발음듣기

I was fortunately accepted into the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia.발음듣기

I got to study at Curtis for four years, and during that time, my passion for the symphony orchestra just grew and grew.발음듣기

Around my third or fourth year at Curtis, I started taking auditions, and I learned very quickly that auditions are very, very difficult.발음듣기

Hundreds of great musicians show up for one spot, it's extremely competitive, you have about ten minutes to prove yourself and play all sorts of different pieces from the orchestral repertoire.발음듣기

I was fortunate enough, my senior year, I won an audition for the principal position of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, so two months after I graduated, I was already playing probably one of the greatest jobs in the world, and I feel very fortunate to have gotten that job.발음듣기

I stayed in Detroit and played there for four years, and about two or three months ago, I joined the Chicago Symphony Orchestra as its principal bass.발음듣기

(classical music) To those who are interested in pursuing the double bass as an instrument, I would say just start listening to music that features the bass, it would be hard to find any music that doesn't feature the bass somehow.발음듣기

I would listen to Beethoven's symphonies and Brahms' symphonies, but also jazz, and bluegrass, any kind of music that involves the instrument.발음듣기

A fun way to kind of kick the tires on the bass is to play bass guitar.발음듣기

Get to know it a little bit, bass guitars are much more affordable than the upright bass, and hopefully talk to your band director or orchestra director and start playing in school if your school has a music program, and I would encourage all young students who have a little bit of interest in music to pursue it, because it's a wonderful, wonderful universal language that I think everyone should know.발음듣기

I think being able to read music is such a wonderful gift, to be able to sit down at the piano and pick out a tune, or sing a song, I think it's an essential part of life, so I would say just go for it, and don't be afraid of singing out of tune, just sing. (lively classical music)발음듣기

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