So, the past two weeks, I’ve been learning to work with German bow. This is a pretty big change for me, because in a way, it’s like having to re-learn and re-train all new muscle movements. Almost like starting from scratch. I guess this must be what jazz players who start using the bow must feel like: that they are in control of their left hand, but really need to focus on their right. Though, I know "how" the bow should feel in the string, and I also know what the strokes and stuff should sound like.

In a funny way, switching to German bow feels like a natural progression for me.  My studio teacher (Todd Seeber) is a himself a German bower, and my friend Ben Levy is also a German bower. I would consider both Todd and Ben to be my principal "sound models" — that is to say, when I think of certain bass sounds or strokes in my head, what I "hear" is the work of Todd and Ben. I guess ‘growing up’ (at NEC) as a bassist was difficult for me, because I had trouble matching German bow sounds with my limited French bow technique. I mean, some things come more naturally for German bowers than French bowers, and vice-versa.

So far, my experience with the German bow is that it feels very natural, and easy to play in the string. I miss some of the ease of play I developed with French bow - right now, I am doing very methodical work to get my bow tracking right and string crossings smooth. I figure that, if I’m starting something from scratch, the very least I want to do is to start with bad habits.