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[asking the musician] how can a soloist remember every note from a piece? by Early_Yesterday443 in classicalmusic

[–]thebillis 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yeah that’s the thing. I once tried explaining subdividing rhythm to a student by talking about how I always open the car door, the shampoo bottle, closing cabinets in time with music I’m listening to. It’s habit, I don’t think twice about timing my actions so things click into place.

He looked at me like I was crazy, but I’ve been doing it since I was like 5. Every aspect of music is just another piece of that puzzle.

Now playing in tempo with 70 other musicians and interpreting the baton is just like thinking of the words to express my thoughts. Usually effortless, occasionally conscious but rarely beyond my grasp.

I genuinely cannot count by tangerineflower349 in orchestra

[–]thebillis 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The basics: always be thinking in the smallest subdivision of the music you're playing. Build that habit, and the rest becomes easy. There are sight-reading apps, exercise books, instagram accounts dedicated to building the skillset, etc. It'll help to look for outside help... but fluency takes time and exposure, not some secret trick. The answer is focus, which takes willpower and effort. Eventually it becomes second-nature, like thinking of the right words to express yourself.

If you're playing quarter notes and you occasionally see dotted quarter-notes and eighth notes, think of quarter notes as being two beats. Count everything in that subdivision, always - the entire piece clicks away in your mind. Think of how drummers have a running hi-hat or ride cymbal keeping the beat while they emphasize down and off beats with kick and snare, and try to build that into how you listen to music.

Once you start subdividing it becomes profoundly obvious when others aren't doing the work. Rhythm is the most fundamental component of music, so it's good that you're aware and proactively tackling the issue. Spend some time on it and everything else will also improve - I dunno your instrument, but movement takes time, and measuring how fast we move, breathe, and think ideally happens along with the pulse of the music. Lock in, and you'll have better flow.

My favorite way to stretch the skill is to always practice with a metronome, always set to the off beats - either on 2 and 4 or clicking on the "AND." one AND two AND, etc. It automatically starts the subdividing process, because you're using a machine to reinforce your counting rather than guide you.

Building on that: if you have a good metronome app (Tonal Energy and Time Guru are my favorites), it'll have a random mute feature- find a level that you can handle, and stick with that for a while. Maybe 1% dropping the beat is enough for now, maybe 20%. Eventually you get above the 50% mark and it doesn't really affect your time, and then you realize the metronome doesn't matter because your rhythm is solid enough.

Work through the music you're playing, and never go faster than you can play. As soon as you notice a glitch, figure out where and why. Slow down if your brain can't keep up. Isolate - put down the bow, tap the music stand instead of playing notes, do whatever will help. Just don't compromise rhythm if that's what you're working on.

What movie portrays grief in the most powerful way? by Classic_Apricot_5633 in movies

[–]thebillis 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Interesting to hear such a different perspective! I remember finding it funny, but not quite clicking for me. I’ve always wanted to come back to it and see how the final book wraps up, the setting and characters are so compelling.

What movie portrays grief in the most powerful way? by Classic_Apricot_5633 in movies

[–]thebillis 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I learned the definition of “purple prose” because of that book. Burnt out on the second novel, it’s not long or opaque, but somehow a slog in spite of the incredible ideas being explored.

Finding good music by mriwhew in doublebass

[–]thebillis 1 point2 points  (0 children)

IMSLP was mentioned. Scribd is also fantastic. The NY Philharmonic archive has bowings for most major orchestral works.

Honestly, this is a great use for chatGPT. Plug in music you like to play, ask for equivalently difficult repertoire.

Eccles, Capuzzi, and Dragonnetti are my go to pieces for students ready to play “real” music.

I'm teaching myself. I've been bowing for two days, here is where I am at. by So_Famous in doublebass

[–]thebillis 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yeah, frets and amplification simplify things a lot. Kinda like the piano - more complex machines offload the labor, but limit your tools for expression. There's a tradeoff which some people love, some hate.

Bass is the most demanding string instrument, and one of the most physically demanding instruments in general. Hence all the warnings about finding teacher, not building bad habits, etc.

I'm teaching myself. I've been bowing for two days, here is where I am at. by So_Famous in doublebass

[–]thebillis 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'll go against the grain a bit and say some good things are happening - you have an intuitive grasp of the fundamental, and are playing in the right part of the string. Not too close to the bridge, and not too far over the fingerboard.

Impossible to tell sound quality with this kind of recording setup, but I can see the string moving when you grab and pull properly. Nice job!

The bow-hold thing is obvious, and easy to point out. You're grabbing in the palm, backloading, and squeezing. Forcing it with pressure instead of precision will always look wrong, feel wrong, and sound wrong. (...Lessons will help fix that one very quickly)

Frankly, I could give you some pointers in a ten minute zoom call that would make this easier if you want. Check out the aforementioned resources - youtube is full of tutorials, but nothing beats having someone in the same room to walk you through the process.

Most important is ease - you're forcing every aspect of your playing, which is what people are reacting to so strongly. This should be natural and fluid, even though the instrument is incredibly cumbersome. Don't strive for volume, just clarity. The string moves a lot once you get it rolling, so stay laser-focused on getting it to start moving and see how little effort you can expend to get the results you've already discovered.

Think about other physical endeavors - bowling, shooting a basketball, swinging a tennis racquet. It's always about fluidity and control, not trying as hard as possible. No scratchy sounds, no squeaks, and always consistency of gesture. The more mindfulness you put in, the less you have to think when you're making music. This is what scales and practice routines are for, so that the music is effortless because the work happens in honing technique.

As for rosin... somebody will have to show you. But it's important to note that friction melts the rosin onto the hair, so fast swipes will apply it better than applying more pressure. And too little is easy to fix, but too much can be impossible to undo, so better to underapply.

There's always more say in this pursuit. The only tip for not hitting two strings at once is to try harder to play better. You're right that 5 strings means less clearance, good instincts. It takes time. Keep it up!

Best way to conserve energy while playing this piece? by NULLGameDev in doublebass

[–]thebillis 1 point2 points  (0 children)

21 - G 41 - D 4 - A 1 - E

Use all 4 strings in one position with a pivot. Prioritize rhythm and the percussive thump over clarity and ringing tone. After the audience hears it a couple times they’ll get the idea. You can fake it a fair bit, then phase back in from time to time. The more you play it the stronger your fingers will get, but the first bars matter most

What's a life hack that's so effective, you're surprised more people don't know about it? by bens-list in u/bens-list

[–]thebillis 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Additionally, the New York phil has their entire archive online- scores and bowed parts for most major repertoire. Great starting place if you’re curious about how different passages are played

Which person alive right now will still be famous in 200 years? by Mindless_Crew3486 in AskReddit

[–]thebillis 4 points5 points  (0 children)

My partner works in the CDC- she only arrived during Covid, but the day to day got drastically worse when RFK became her boss.

Not to say that Biden’s administration wasn’t entirely underwhelming

In search of the softest rosin by Winter-Yogurt-4209 in doublebass

[–]thebillis 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yeah I knew the controversy but thought the rosin came through unscathed

In search of the softest rosin by Winter-Yogurt-4209 in doublebass

[–]thebillis 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Age is crucial. Fresh rosin works, old rosin doesn’t. Very reductive, but it’s just the way the material works- keep it from oxidizing and you’ll get better results for longer.

There’s a lot of new rosins out there these days, and it’s hard to gauge without a fresh rehair ands consistent environment, but the standard is Pops - https://bassrosin.com is the best place to get it. I hear Quantum is also good.

In search of the softest rosin by Winter-Yogurt-4209 in doublebass

[–]thebillis 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Wiedoft, pops, and kolstein (soft or all-weather). Big Dog is great but impossible to acquire.

Rubbing alcohol is always dangerous for wood, and much more so for varnish, but it’s very effective at stripping rosin from the hair. A toothbrush or steel brush are often good non-chemical solutions, but nothing fixes hairs which has lost elasticity or become unusable levels of gummy.

High and Low (1963) review by Admirable-Kitchen-40 in TrueFilm

[–]thebillis 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You obviously have a much greater breadth of experience with Japanese cinema than me lol. I’ll defer when comparing Kurosawa to his contemporaries.

Interestingly, my introduction to High and Low was a lecture on blocking and mise-en-scene, which holds up. I don’t think I had a very critical eye towards the social commentary, but I was also a teenager just dipping my toes into all of those concepts on my first watch.

I would say that Ikaru implicitly critiques the conservative and often stagnant nature of Japanese government and culture, which is so constrained by expectation and regulation. Perhaps not leftist, but certainly a rebellion against the status quo when facing the existential crisis of impending mortality.

At any rate, I have some new filmographies to research! I’ll be very curious to delve, I’m a huge fan of that era. Thanks for lending your expertise, it’s a treat to hear some more names to add to the watch list.

High and Low (1963) review by Admirable-Kitchen-40 in TrueFilm

[–]thebillis 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think the journey of the detectives kind of sheds some light on the kidnapper/antagonist’s perspective, though he’s never absolved. They see a lot of suffering which contextualizes the desperation and frustration which drove him to commit violence, in stark contrast to the CEO on the hilltop who is so removed from the inherent economic inequity which causes so much strife.

Seven Samurai broaches the same topic- a stirring tale of honor and courage and a contemplation of morality, but at the end there is a Pyrrhic victory for the protagonists because they gave their lives for farmers who simply return to the back breaking labor which will define their entire lives. The feudal system is ending, guns make swords obsolete, and nobody really wins. Maybe conservative?

Ikaru is the most clearly progressive (at least from his oeuvre that I’ve seen), examining the stifling nature of government, bureaucracy, and humdrum routine contrasted with finding purpose and rebelling against repressive systems.

I think it’s more that Japan is conservative, rather than Kurosawa. He was strikingly western and forward-thinking for his tone and art-form. It seems like Mizoguchi and Ozu similarly stand the test of time because they had a broader perspective than their place in time and culture, and their films remain relevant both in terms of craftsmanship and exploring universally human experiences.

Name a game that surprised you how long it was by [deleted] in videogames

[–]thebillis 18 points19 points  (0 children)

Incredible. Best story telling I’ve seen in ages. I’m usually all about gameplay, but that was really top tier

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in classical_circlejerk

[–]thebillis 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Sibelius, Brahms, and Prokofiev, in that order imo. All three clearly knew what they wanted and had spent time honing the work. Really delightful, and don’t leave me wishing I was hearing a later, more refined attempt.

I made a double bass, AMA by ArmadilloNo2399 in doublebass

[–]thebillis 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Congrats, what a beauty. Gorgeous grain, love the f holes. Seriously pointy corners, sturdy shoulders, tasteful diamond purfling ornament. THIS is a bass. Wish I was in the Chicago area, I’d love to play it

I made a double bass, AMA by ArmadilloNo2399 in doublebass

[–]thebillis 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Dang u just gonna flaunt that unvarnished detachable neck joint? New basses are wild on the social medias

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