Tag Archives: fingerings

Nino Rota Divertimento Concertante (harmonics mixed with closed notes), Masterclass with Jeff Bradetich

Rx: Learn to play Nino Rota’s Divertimento Concertante, especially the harmonics

In the course of working on this piece during a masterclass in Bogota Columbia, Bradetich discusses the following topics:

  • harmonics
  • changing speed of bow between closed note melodic gestures and harmonic melodic gestures
  • an exercise for playing closed notes and harmonic notes
  • coordination and rhythms
  • a way to sense if a new fingering might be better than a previously learned fingering
  • angle of bow in harmonics

The Elephant tutorial with Barry Lieberman

Rx: Playing this standard piece of bass repertoire without making it into a grotesque joke.

This particular piece gets played like a clown all the time. It’s great to get some direct insight and example of how to play it with a little more of the majesty of real elephants.

Part of a series of orchestral excerpt tutorials from Barry Lieberman. This (and all the others) have some fancy camera work that let you see close ups of both the noting hand and the bowing hand as well as the whole bassist/bass assemblage.

This tutorial shows a variety of approaches to working out the fingering in particular.