The Art of Double Bass Playing is the result of a collaboration between Warren Benfield, an outstanding bassist/teacher and James Seay Dean, Jr., Associate Professor of English at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside, a skilled writer/editor. Warren Benfield started his professional career in 1934 as the youngest member of the Minneapolis Symphony. Moving on to the St. Louis Symphony as principal bass and then to the Philadelphia Orchestra as co-principal bass, he joined the Chicago Symphony in 1949 where he remained until his retirement in 1987. Benfield has always been dedicated to teaching, and during his years with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, he was on the faculties of Northwestern University and DePaul University. He has also given many master classes and lectures, including two in China. Since retiring, he is continuing to teach a few students at the American Conservatory and at Chicago's Merit School for underprivileged children, which focuses on the arts. Benfield's particular aim is to teach the approach of the double bass from a musical, as well as a technical standpoint.
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Art of Double Bass Playing,
By Brian "Brian" (Ohio, United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Art of Double Bass Playing (Paperback)
This book, while well written and very thorough, is a bit out dated. Many of the examples are very helpful, but much of Mr. Benfield's writing isn't very current with the bassists of today (I can't possibly believe that any orchestra would hire a bassist based "soley on his ability to play solos" and I also can't imagine that there are that many bassists that would play the Eccles Sonata at a major audition). This is a nice reference guide, but by no means the "final word".
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Art of Double Bass Playing,
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This review is from: Art of Double Bass Playing (Paperback)
"The Art of Double Bass Playing," by Benfield and Dean, is a bit dated and it is not useful for beginners. It is not a bass method. Rather, it is, as the authors say in the preface, a complement to traditional bass methods. It includes information about many bass topics: instrument, bow and string choices, information about contemporary techniques, his ideas about posture and practicing, and some ideas about playing in the thumb position. It outlines qualities needed by a double bassist in playing in an orchestral, ensemble and solo setting. "The Art of Double Bass Playing" includes passages from orchestral and solo repertoire and it refers to these passages in his discussions of playing technique.
The one thing this reviewer would caution any player about is this author's encouragement to stretch the hand in using extension fingering. (p.23) "... it takes daily practice to keep the hand stretched and the scales in tune." Stretching can cause serious injury. Use Rabbath's pivoting technique that rotates the hand about the thumb instead.
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Inside This Book
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First Sentence:
When we read in Leopold Mozart's Treatise on the Fundamental Principles of Violin Playing (1756) that this musician had heard double basses performing "concertos, trios, solos . . . with great beauty," and when we hear of the achievements of Domenico Dragonetti and Giovanni Bottesini, and listen to the recorded performance of Serge Koussevitsky and the live concerts and recordings of Gary Karr and Bertram Turetzky, we know that the double bass can be a musical instrument if it is in the hands of a musical double bassist. Read the first page Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Bertram Turetzky, New York, Fred Zimmerman New!
Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
When we read in Leopold Mozart's Treatise on the Fundamental Principles of Violin Playing (1756) that this musician had heard double basses performing "concertos, trios, solos . . . with great beauty," and when we hear of the achievements of Domenico Dragonetti and Giovanni Bottesini, and listen to the recorded performance of Serge Koussevitsky and the live concerts and recordings of Gary Karr and Bertram Turetzky, we know that the double bass can be a musical instrument if it is in the hands of a musical double bassist. Read the first page Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Bertram Turetzky, New York, Fred Zimmerman New!
Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 3
books:
1
book
cites this book:
- Ein Heldenleben: Tone Poem for Orchestra, Op. 40 (Dover Miniature Music Scores) by Richard Strauss on page 13, and page 16
- A Treatise on the Fundamental Principles of Violin Playing (Oxford Early Music) by Leopold Mozart on page 1
- Don Juan by Wolfgang Ama Mozart on page 16
- The Evolving Bassist by Rufus Reid in Back Matter
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