Francois Rabbath: Thanatos, an etude demonstrating arpeggiated Saltando and Bariolage

Francois Rabbath: Thanatos, an etude demonstrating arpeggiated Saltando and Bariolage
Francois Rabbath (b. 1931)
This titled etude, dedicated to the memory of Maurice Richard, demonstrates two advanced bowing techniques, arpeggiated saltando and bariolage. The former is the "jumping" bowing used to play chords across three strings, the latter is used in the middle section with harmonics - in this case with the addition of slurs.
Jeremy McCoy, double bass
#Rabbath #bowing #solodoublebass #doublebass

[@DiscoverDoubleBass]

Beautiful piece and performance! 👏👏👏

[@JeremyMcCoydoublebassist]

Many thanks, DDB!

[@grrrr4b]

@1:05 was when it began, I felt this in my soul. That feeling remained to the end. It was awesome! I needed this today. Thank you!

[@JeremyMcCoydoublebassist]

Affecting piece, right? Glad it spoke to you. Thank you!

[@grrrr4b]

@@JeremyMcCoydoublebassist yes sir, very affective. You are an amazing musician, thank you for sharing!

[@canadianbassin2655]

Thank you for sharing this with us. Bravo! This made my night! All the best Jeremy!

[@JeremyMcCoydoublebassist]

Glad you enjoyed it! Thanks, Blake!

[@doublebasshq]

This is awesome, Jeremy!

[@JeremyMcCoydoublebassist]

Thank you very much, Jason - Cheers!

[@KevinJohnson-tw9ip]

you have done it again Mr. Jeremy!! You are the REAL McCoy!!!

[@KevinJohnson-tw9ip]

it's just masterful programming as well. Congrats to Rabbath as well!!

[@JeremyMcCoydoublebassist]

Thank you, Kevin! The Rabbath method wasn't part of my training as a student but his well-organized ideas have been hugely influential. Learning FR's etudes and solo pieces is a great way to explore and incorporate these ideas into any approach to playing. I especially like this etude for its bowing challenges.

[@KevinJohnson-tw9ip]

@@JeremyMcCoydoublebassist thank you for that invaluable insight!!

[@GreggAugust]

Really quite impressive Jake. Bravo!

[@JeremyMcCoydoublebassist]

Thanks, Gregg!

[@akeller4265]

Masterful performance! Although it is worth noting that an authentic performance of this piece is only possible for players with large hands

[@JeremyMcCoydoublebassist]

Thank you, Andrew!

[@drachenfeuer7410]

Very nice Capotasto work. Especially 'cause this piece demands independent thumb movement, Capo in the lowest positions of the instrument and lets not forget the Pinky finger helping in the extended position. That's the purpose, use our hands as much as possible and explore the double bass like a great violin. No string must be left behind. Bravo!! Do you have Instagram?

[@JeremyMcCoydoublebassist]

Thank you very much! If you go to the About tab, there's an IG link on my website.

[@ricardonewton402]

Bravíssimo!!!

[@JeremyMcCoydoublebassist]

Thank you, Ricardo and Happy Holidays to you!

[@calogeromessina3719]

Hi Jeremy Many thanks for your video Wich is the best way to learn this kind of bow technique ? Best regards Calogero

[@JeremyMcCoydoublebassist]

Thank you for watching, Colagero. For the jumping, arpeggiated bowing I suggest beginning with slurred figures across three strings (eg. up bow from A to G string, changing to down on the G string and returning back to the A string). Do this smoothly on the string to begin with. Watch that the bow does not twist so that the face of the hair remains the same up an down. Now speed up, using less and less bow while moving into the most springy part of the bow. You may already begin to feel the bow getting "restless" as you cross in this quick arc. To activate more spring from the bow, add a flick of the hand as you change to down bow on the G string. As I write this, I find it is difficult to explain in words! ... I've just searched for a violin video and found this one that seems helpful: kzbin.info/www/bejne/aqTSd32Vnt96f6c One caution re. doing this bowing on bass vs. violin: We take our down bow in the opposite direction across the instrument (ie. going towards lower string). Of course, this is due to how violinists hold their instrument. Jumping arpgeggios are played in the opposite direction on violin but the effect is the same. It is important to perform this bowing as a gesture using the down-bow flick of the hand/fingers, and not try to perform it in the same direction violinists use. The same would go for cello, I'm sure. One last thing, if you search out other videos: I've seen some players refer to this stroke as bariolage. There is confusion out there with the terms. Bariolage is definitely the bowing of notes (often using the same pitch) across two adjacent strings. It is mostly about the color change between the two strings. It can be separate bows, slurred or even a bouncing stroke and this is where I think the confusion stems from. I hope this helps, J

[@calogeromessina3719]

@@JeremyMcCoydoublebassist Thanks a lot Jeremy, I will work on it. Best regards Calogero

[@calogeromessina3719]

Hi Jeremy do you know why the piece "Infinite Martine" by François Rabbath start the arpeggio (from E to G) with down bow ? Best regards Calogero

[@JeremyMcCoydoublebassist]

@@calogeromessina3719 I didn't know this piece but I found a fine KZbin performance by Ryan Baird. He does, indeed, play arpeggiations in both directions and gets the bow to bounce either way. The direction I used in Thanatos allows me to "flick" the bow at the change to a down bow, across the strings, in the manner a violinist generally employs. Note that on a violin this is from low to high string because of the inverted position of the instrument. When we make the same motion across the orientation of our instrument, we play from high to low string. Thank you for sharing your observation!

[@jeffwheaton9182]

This is amazing! Any place where I can find the music so that I might learn this piece? All the best

[@JeremyMcCoydoublebassist]

Hi Jeff. Thank you! This etude is found in Francois Rabbath's "Nouvelle Technique de la Contrebasse", volume three, published by Leduc. Have fun with it!

[@jeffwheaton9182]

@@JeremyMcCoydoublebassist Thank you! Definitely will add this to my library!

[@erikharris471]

Bowing wizardry!

[@JeremyMcCoydoublebassist]

Thanks, Erik!

[@matteomirri114]

Where i can find the sheet music of this?

[@JeremyMcCoydoublebassist]

Thanatos is in the third volume of the Rabbath method books, "Nouvelle Technique de la Contrebasse", published by Leduc. Thanks for listening, Matteo!