Rosin for use in Singapore's climate

What is rosin used for? To produce a sound from a string-instrument, a string-player would usually draw a bow across one of the strings of the instrument. In order to increase friction and make the bow-hair grip the string and produce a sound, a regular application of rosin is required.

Rosin is a solid form of resin obtained from various species of pine tree. The Contrabass Shoppe has a page that gives a very informative account about how rosin are made and a short account of why some double bass players prefer soft rosin wheras others prefer hard rosin. Here's the URL: http://www.contrabass.co.uk/rosin.htm

In this post, I shall attempt to share my personal experiences of using various kinds of rosin in the Singapore's climate. Singapore's climate can be described as being humid in general. According to one source, the mean daily temperature is 26.8°C.

The Contrabass Shoppe has featured three different kinds of rosin and described them in fair detail. I shall attempt to share my personal experiences with two of the rosins mentioned on The Contrabasso Shoppe.

Nyman Rosin
Photo credit: http://www.contrabass.co.uk/rosin.htm

Nyman rosin is quite a great rosin to use in the Singapore's climate. Firstly, it is not too sticky in our climate, and as such, it will not be prone to melting itself away under the hot tropical climate. A bow with Nyman rosin feels fairly easy to control and has a fairly rounded tone. I think it works very well when playing music from the Classical period, especially works composed by Mozart.

The only thing to be careful is try to store it in places where it is not prone to falls. Bad falls can break a piece of Nyman rosin to unsightly pieces.


Pops Rosin
Photo credit: http://www.contrabass.co.uk/rosin.htm

I initially did not like the sticky feel of Pops rosin. It would demand a bit more deliberate bow control to achieve a delicate and smooth tone on the bow that is rubbed with Pops rosin. However, this is one rosin that makes the double bass sound clear and bright. I find that it works particularly well when I play symphonies by Beethoven.

My main word of caution is that please keep the Pops rosin in its red container, and keep the container preferably in an upright position. Otherwise, Pops rosin is likely to melt under the hot weather and gets distorted in its shape, and you may find yourself in a sticky mess. In addition, as compared to when I was using Nyman rosin, I find myself rehairing my bow more regularly when I use Pops rosin.


Petz
Thanks to P., I have the pleasure to use Petz No. 2 rosin. Petz No. 2 rosin helps in the production of a beautiful and warm tone when I used it in United Kingdom in a dry and fairly cool climate. However, Petz No. 2 rosin feels very soft and tends to be prone to shape-distortion in the Singapore's climate.

Carlsson Swedish Bass Rosin
I personally find Carlsson Swedish Bass Rosin to have similar properties to Nyman Rosin. Maybe this arise because I could not differentiate the subtle differences between the two? I particularly like the design of its container because I know that it will be difficult for me to lose the lid.

L'Opera's Jade, Double Bass Solo rosin
My personal experience with this rosin is pretty mixed. A bow rubbed with this rosin produces a fairly delicate and soft sound. I find that there is less "noise" and it feels more smooth playing the first movement of Eccles' Sonata in g minor when using Jade rosin as compared to Pops rosin. However, this rosin does not seem to provide enough grip in the Singapore's climate. I felt the rosin was lacking in grip especially when playing fast passages.

Meantime, if you have personal experiences to share about the use of rosin in the Singapore's climate, please add your views to the comments-section.

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Most of the above-mentioned rosins can be purchased from the following places (Note: this list is not exhaustive):
http://www.contrabass.co.uk/rosin.htm
http://www.synwin.com.sg/scripts/prodList.asp?idCategory=350

Synwin Enterprises
845 Geylang Rd, #03-01 Tg Katong Complex, Singapore 400845
Tel: 6743 7865
Fax: 6743 4862
Website: www.synwin.com.sg

Frank Brothers Violins
1 Esplanade Drive, Esplanade - Theatres on the Bay, #02-08 Esplanade Mall, Singapore 038981
Tel: 6883 2581
Website: www.frankbrosmusic.com

References:
http://www.contrabass.co.uk/rosin.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosin

Happy Birthday Tony Osborne!

10 Nov 2007 is Tony Osborne's 60th birthday! Tony Osborne is an important double bass educationalist and composer who has made significant contributions to the double bass literature. Cheers to more years of great compositions and music by Tony Osborne.

Please find a short youtube video dedicated to Tony Osborne. Wishing him a Happy Birthday!
(Video link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0dGk_euND0A)

Tony Osborne has recently been appointed the Visiting Lecturer in Composition at Bulmershe College, University of Reading. Congratulations to Tony Osborne.

d'Bassists had performed one of Tony Osborne's compositions, Blue Styles, earlier this year. To listen to it, please visit: Tony Osborne's Blues-Style (1981)

Read more about Tony Osborne here: http://www.musiciansgallery.com/start/composers/osborne/tony.htm
http://www.ozzape.com/tony/

Last but not the least, if you would like, you are invited to join in to wish Tony Osborne a Happy Birthday!

Jason Heath's Advice for aspiring music performance majors

If you should have such questions in your mind: "Should I pursue a music performance degree?", "How could I identify a good teacher from an established institute to study the double bass from?", "Where can I find resources to learn to cope with a music performance career?", then please read on.

Jason Heath, a double bassist with a B.M. and M.M. in Double Bass Performance from Northwestern University, has an interesting post that discusses on the various issues that aspiring music performance majors should take note of. This post also points the reader to resources that offer helpful tips on taking auditions.

Do find time to read: Advice for aspiring music performance majors

Aaron Copland's What to Listen for in Music

What is the best way to appreciate music? Of course, the most basic and best way would be to listen to it, or to experience it.

If that is the case, why on earth would I want to write a post on the American composer, Aaron Copland's book, What to Listen for in Music?

Simply, as outlined by composer, William Schuman, in the Introduction section of this book, "Listening to music is a skill that is acquired through experience and learning. Knowledge enhances enjoyment." As such, it does help to read about and learn how to listen to music with greater skill.

In this book, Aaron Copland provides insightful suggestions for listening to music that will bring one a deeper appreciation of music. The book discusses how one can hear what is going on in a piece of music. It discusses how one could not just listen to music for the sheer pleasure of the musical sound, and not just experience the expressive meaning behind a piece of music, but to be sufficiently conscious of the sheerly musical plane, i.e to be aware of the melodies, rhythms, harmonies, tone colours and the musical form in a more conscious fashion.

I had myself acquainted with this book during my undergraduate years when I had studied a module on Contemporary Music as one of my electives. However, I had not read the entire book then. Last year, Emily presented this book to me as a Christmas gift, and I eventually got down to read the entire book. Although I had previously been acquainted to learn how to listen to music in a more conscious fashion, I have found that I was much more able to know how to and what to listen for in music after reading this book entirely. I have particularly found the book's discussion on the topic of musical form to be easy-to-understand and fairly comprehensive. I believe I would still refer to this book from time to time.

This book was written primarily with the layman in mind, but I am sure that music students and anyone else would find it a fruitful read if they were to read this book with the objective of learning how they could experience greater enjoyment when listening to music.

This book is available from Borders (Singapore) and Kinokuniya (Singapore). It is also available for purchase from Amazon.com: Aaron Copland's What to Listen for in Music.


Credits: Image source: Amazon.com

Emily the composer

Credit: Image taken from http://www.emilykoh.net

Emily, local composer, has her own website with her own domain name. Find out more about Emily and her endeavours in composing music here: http://www.emilykoh.net

Besides composing, Emily is also an avid double bassist. She is a founding member of d’Bassists.

10 Nov 2007: The Bass Line

Students from the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music (Singapore) will be presenting The Bass Line, a concert of Double Bass Music on 10 November 2007 (Sat), 7.30 p.m.

Venue: Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music, Orchestra Hall (3rd level)
Please click here for the link to the location map

Do make time to support this interesting concert. Admission is free.

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For more information about the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music, please check out this URL: http://music.nus.edu.sg/about/

Also read about Mr Guennadi Mouzyka, Artist Faculty, Double Bass, Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music.

Practice Tracks on Jason Heath's Double Bass Blog

For the strings players, while practising scales, have you ever wish that someone could be playing scales on the keyboard together with you so that you could listen to how each note would sound and then pitch your notes to the correct intonation?

While practising a piece of music, have you ever hope that someone could play the same of music along with you?

Practice tracks can be a solution to the above demands. One particular site which I recommend double bass players should check out is the series of practice tracks available on Jason Health's Double Bass Blog. Jason Health's Double Bass Blog is an online resources that I would turn to for double-bass-related news and contents. I have been reading it almost every day.

You can find the links to these practice tracks right below:

Double Bass MP3 Scales
Double Bass MP3 Sonatas, Concertos, and Solos
Double Bass MP3 Orchestral Excerpts

Happy learning.