Rabbath

#2
Kylebass said:
Mr. Neher, I was wondering if you could talk a little bit about your time studying with Rabbath. Also, could you talk about how his technique can relate to orchestral playing? Thank you for your response.
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Thanks for the question... though I must tell you, it would take many volumes of pages to discuss studying with FR (as well with any other teacher!). Rabbath is certainly an anomaly. Like many self-taught musicians, Rabbath exhibits qualities and abilities that many bass players CAN possess but do not because of their individual awareness and training. The pedagogy of the Simandl and other schools simply do not have the same kind of awareness. I am not saying that any is better or worse, only that the approach to the instrument is different. The attitude is different. Knowing this when you begin studying with Rabbath or with one of his former pupils is important, because, like learning anything, we carry our experiences to the learning process. Philosophy of life and music were a BIG part of my studies with him (and they were also in my studies with David Walter). And the attitudes that "anything is possible, nothing is impossible (slightly different feelings), all can be done with the right amount of time and focus" are one of the first "truisms" to acquire. Nothing is hard, only challenging... in a positive way. One must be very analytical to find the problems, identify them, and solve them with efficiency in movement and thinking/practice.
Though I went to Paris to take a weeks worth of lessons here and there, over the course of about seven years, I then did spend a sabbatical in France for seven months (now ten years ago!). We focused a great deal on the bow motion first. He had me do long even tones (ONLY!) for about month. Being able to have the string vibrate at the same width (amplitude) for the entire bow stroke is no small challenge, but paid off in super smooth sound and connection from one direction to another. Portato is the enemy of connected, smooth, even sound, so it was outlawed. Bach was the favorite repertory (the cello suites) to begin working on left hand, after I accomplished a smooth stroke (this is after playing the bass for almost 30 years!). I also moved from sitting to standing, and standing with various bent pins until I finally had an angled hole drilled into the endpin block and stuck in a stick (now called the "Laborie End Pin" If you are interested, the ISB has published an article about all that. Look up Christian Laborie).
We worked through all his method books, three or four suites of Bach, some Vivaldi, Proto, Bottesini (because I auditioned for two French orchestras), and all his short pieces. I became "The Sceptic" (as he calls me still) because I questioned EVERYTHING (which David Walter instilled in me), but it made me a better teacher of his methods.
I also observed him teaching (a LOT) and have much on video so that I can still refer to it.
You might read my article, published by Double Bassist, on FR. It is an interview about his teaching and life a bit. There are many many other sources on him out there. More on my experiences here if you have a specific question. Sorry, there are volumes and I cannot get it all down, here, in one session.
To be Continued...
Patrick
 
#5
I just got Proto's "Four Scenes after Picasso" from emusic.com. Rabbath sounds beautiful and it is only four downloads!
I guess a good question here would be: do you think his method is a good foundation?
He worked it out after studying out of Nanny, you went to him after studying with David Walter Rufus studies with him now, etc.
It seems like a lot of people have studied the older methods before Rabbath, and they seem to get the most out of it.
I worked on it a bit years ago with one of your students, actually. I think it is extremely valuable, but I am wary of it as a foundational method for beginners.
 
#6
damonsmith said:
I just got Proto's "Four Scenes after Picasso" from emusic.com. Rabbath sounds beautiful and it is only four downloads!
I guess a good question here would be: do you think his method is a good foundation?
He worked it out after studying out of Nanny, you went to him after studying with David Walter Rufus studies with him now, etc.
It seems like a lot of people have studied the older methods before Rabbath, and they seem to get the most out of it.
I worked on it a bit years ago with one of your students, actually. I think it is extremely valuable, but I am wary of it as a foundational method for beginners.
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I agree, for many, the Rabbath method books are really NOT self-explanatory. I believe one should work from them WITH a teacher that has studied with Rabbath. The understanding of what Rabbath MEANT by certain exercises is often not interpreted in the way he intended. Some of that is due to the publisher, not to Rabbath. Anyway, it is always good to have a private teacher that is intimate with the material, whether he/she wrote it or is interpreting it with consultation with the composer. But that is not alway feasible so one must interpret method books just as one would a concert work. Rabbaths instructional CD-ROM and DVDs help.
Whether the Rabbath books are good as a foundation or not is again a matter of whether the teacher is familiar with the concepts and how to apply them for beginners. I believe in using as many sources as possible, yet having a clear, methodical approach to both technique and music interpretation. This requires many, many sources of material. More experienced players that study with Rabbath are clearly building on their foundation(s) with new-to-them ideas, so you may see "improvement" sooner than, say a beginner, but the process of adding new ideas after having already established a philosophy or method of approach, by added new awareness, philososphy and ideas, is what a beginner does too - without the established "baggage." I dare say that Rabbath as a foundation is as good as Simandl as a foundation. Really what matters is how you use these media to develop your (or your students') music! So... hm... hope this helps and makes any sense!
PN
 
#7
Hi Patrick and all

I studied with Rabbath when I was almost a complete begginner. I had only started upright for about a year in the Barcelona Conservatory. An "old school" approach and tendinitis led me to get out of there and finding him.

I took lessons intermitently for over 3 years in Paris (and actually met you a couple times there Pat), and that gave me what I believe is a really solid foundation technique wise. I am not a classical player (I play jazz), and what most shocked me at the time is that François didn't really cared about what I wanted to play, he was mostly interested in giving me the right tools to free me from technical difficulties. I remember a "breakthrough" conversation in which he told me to do whatever the hell I wanted to, "just be a great player". I am still very very grateful for that today.

What strikes me the most now (10 years later) is that I can go back to other methods (Simandl, Nanny) and understand what they meant to teach us at a much deeper level than when I was a beginner, and I believe that is because the Rabbath technique gave me the hindsight and freedom to analyze things from a critical piont of view.

Having said that, I do agree that the books are not so self-explanatory, but hopefully the CD rom and the DVD (which I haven't seen) can fill the teacher gap in case you can't find one near you.

Cheers all

Alexis Cuadrado
Brooklyn, NY
 
#8
Thank you for your reply Mr. Neher. 2 more questions. I love using the pivot to get around the bass but my intonation has seemed to suffer lately because of it. My pivots up in pitch are always flat and my pivots down are always sharp. Is there something I am missing? I know the shape of the hand is not supposed to change. Also, what made you want to study with FR in the first place? Thanks!
 
#9
Kylebass said:
Thank you for your reply Mr. Neher. 2 more questions. I love using the pivot to get around the bass but my intonation has seemed to suffer lately because of it. My pivots up in pitch are always flat and my pivots down are always sharp. Is there something I am missing? I know the shape of the hand is not supposed to change. Also, what made you want to study with FR in the first place? Thanks!
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The main thing here is to be flexible (in attitutde and in form). Though one should maintain the basic form, without too much "distortion," one might fare better to not have a rigid attitude about it. So, flexibility in the shape of the pivot may serve better than not allowing the form to change. THe idea is to shift the weight from finger to finger with the thumb as the pivot point (fulcrum). But also using this attitude/technique in thumb position(s) where any finger can be the fulcrum. A "rolling" across the pivot point with the weight. Learning the "shapes" that are efficient to reach proper intonation is different for everyone.
I went to study with FR because I wanted to learn how to be comfortable standing while playing (I was a sitting player for 25 years). And I admired the ease at which he played anything... I wanted that ease. I believe he gave me the insight and WHERE to look at my approach to accomplish those goals, both in my mind and in my technique. WHew!~
PN
 
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