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Thursday 22 August 2013

Jeff Bradetich's Double Bass: The Ultimate Challenge

Source: Amazon.com

Double Bass: The Ultimate Challenge by Jeff Bradetich is a treatise and a resource to help its reader find answers to necessary questions that will allow for the greatest possible achievements on the double bass.

The twelve chapters of the book discuss the following issues:
1. Physical Characteristics necessary for success in playing the double bass
2. Standing vs Sitting
3. The Right Hand
4. The Left Hand
5. Fingering Concepts
6. Shifting
7. Intonation
8. Bow Strokes
9. Harmonics
10. Vibrato
11. Pizzicato
12. Practicing

The book also contains a special pull out section of Technical Exercises. I have worked on the first nine pages of the Technical Exercises and have found the exercises to be very relevant in improving the common technical issues faced by double bassists.

If you are still undecided whether to get yourself a copy of this book, Orin O'Brien's review of Double Bass: The Ultimate Challenge would possibly impress you enough to decisively do so. Here is her endorsement of this book:
"This is one of the most important books of the last fifty year. It should be in every university and conservatory library, every teacher of the double bass should read it, and double bassists of every level will find confirmation of their strengths and lots of answers for the questions."
If you would need to be further convinced , Thierry Barbe's endorsement of this book is equally positive:
"Students from all over the world and from every level, please, trust him! Take everything as your real basis for a well-founded technique! I personally, and totally, agree with the content."
I have bought myself a copy of this book recently and have started reading the first few chapters. The concepts are written in a clear fashion. The photographs and the musical examples that are found in the book aptly illustrate the concepts. I am very pleased with myself for getting a copy of Jeff Bradetich's Double Bass: The Ultimate Challenge. I have found the keys to successful practice that was discussed in this book to be succinct and useful. My words of gratitude to Jeff Bradetich for writing the book.

Jeff Bradetich's Double Bass: The Ultimate Challenge is available from the following sources (non-exhaustive):




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Also see:
Jeff Bradetich's The Ultimate Challenge, by Ovation Press String Vision, 2 Jul 2011
Jeff Bradetich's new book (video) by Jason Heath, 25 Jun 2009
Jeff Bradetich

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