String Pedagogue Research Paper by Taylor Fletcher

String Pedagogue Research on

Franz Simandl
By

Taylor Fletcher

String Pedagogue Research Paper by Taylor Fletcher

Music is constantly changing and advancing to reach new levels of musicality and
beauty. As music grows and changes, so do the instruments that produce it. The double-bass is
the largest instrument in the string family and is also pretty young! Double-basses that we are
familiar with today (the four-string E-A-D-G model) did not come around until the 1920s
(Lohse). Basses before that time usually consisted of 3 strings, or had four strings- just with
different tuning. Since the double-bass has not been around too long, it means that the pedagogy
is even further behind. Franz Simandl was one of the first recorded people to write a methods
book for the double bass. His method is valued by almost all bass players today, and his lineage
of students can be traced back to many other great bass players. We will look at who Simandl
was, what method of bass-playing he taught, his compositions/method books, and how Simandl
relates to the pedagogue of Double-bass playing today.
Franz Simandl was born August 1st, 1840 in Blatna, Bohemia. From birth to age 15 we
have no record of what he did with his life, although it most likely involved playing the bass
because in 1855 he became a student at the Prague Conservatory. At the Prague Conservatory he
studied with Josef Hrab, another famous bass teacher and author of bass literature. Sadly,
records of Hrab are few, what the little we know of Hrab is from what Simandl tells us through
his writings and through the teachings passed down through generations. After Simandl finished
his studies at Prague he went to play for the Vienna Court Opera Orchestra as principle bassist.
There, he was most likely a part of the Austrian Army since the Court Opera was a state-run
organization (similar to that of the U.S.A Military bands today). He stayed there from 18601868 right before Gustav Mahler became the conductor (he arrived mid-1870s). Once his time

String Pedagogue Research Paper by Taylor Fletcher

there was finished, there are accounts of Simandl emerging as a singer in opera groups and freelance playing in opera orchestras for about a year. In 1969 Simandl began teaching at the Vienna
Conservatory. He stayed there until 1910 when he then retired and then passed away two year
later on December 12th, 1912 in Vienna. During his time at the Vienna Conservatory he wrote
different sets of methods books and etudes and also served as the principal bassist at Bayreuth
where he premiered many different pieces with Richard Wagner. He was such a brilliant teacher
that by 1913 (a year after Simandl died) every bassist in the Vienna Philharmonic had been a
student of Simandl. He left a legacy that still stands today and a method that is tried and true.
The way that Franz Simandl taught the bass was actually quite simple. Simandl starts
students off with the parts of the bass (it is quite a lofty instrument to get a grip of) and how to
hold the bow and the bass. In Part I of his first method book for double-bass he goes through
the position of the bass player. In taking his position next to the instrument, the player must
stand in such a way that the weight of his body will be born principally by the left foot, the right
foot being advanced for the distance of a short step, in an outward direction. The body must be
held as quietly as possible, and in a perfectly up-right manner. The instrument is placed in front
of the left, in such a way that it will incline somewhat, but very slightly, in a backward direction
towards the player, and allowing its right edge, formed by the back sides of the instrument to fit
into the left thigh of the player, (New Method for the Double Bass, Simandl). See appendix 1
for a snapshot of Simandls New Method for the Double Bass. As you can see, from the example
in Simandls method book, he is very deliberate in what students should do. He has an exact
way to hold the bass and an exact way to hold the bow. This can be difficult because not all
students are the same. Some larger players might have to hold the bass differently than smaller
players. However, Simandl does address the root of how to hold the bass (where body weight

String Pedagogue Research Paper by Taylor Fletcher

goes, how to stand, etc.) and he does leave room for adaptations to his method although he does
not mention it. Many of the beginning stages of bass playing are taught through word of mouth
and are passed down generationally, so having a method book for the basics of the bass is good
as a reference, but not as the sole-source of knowledge for young bass players. For the rest of
Part I (about 40 pages) Simandl goes over many different things including how to hold the
bow, use the bow, the first 6 positions on bass, the list goes on forever. Simandl covers
everything that you can think of on the bass. He is very basic, which is the main criticism about
his method for teaching the double-bass. The lack of musicality and melodic material in the first
method book can be difficult to inspire students to play. Michael Priester, an associate faculty
member at James Madison University, uses Progressive Repertoire by George Vance alongside
Simandl to combat that problem. Overall, Simandl patented a method for teaching the doublebass that works well and is useful tool for any string teacher, it is just up to the teacher to add in
the passion, vision and joy for playing beautiful music.
Surprisingly, Simandl did not release too many books. His works include New Method
for Double Bass vol. 1 and vol. 2, 30 Etudes, and Gratus ad Parnassum. Simandl also wrote
other solos and concertos for double bass. What is most popular and useful are his Methods
books and his Etude books. The pedagogue of Simandl is addressed in his New Method for
Double Bass books, which we already mentioned and evaluated. His step-by-step approach
continues in the etudes. They build off of each other and start simpler and shorter. Some of
them are even meant to have piano accompaniment, which is great for students who want to
perform! The etudes (30 Etudes, Gratus ad Parnassum) are where you will find the culmination
of everything simple and mundane from Simandls method books. He puts complex fingerings
together with complex bowings and challenges students to push their limits on the bass. I like to

String Pedagogue Research Paper by Taylor Fletcher

think of the etudes as workouts where students can apply what they are learning and practice
on an actual piece of music. They are musical and lyrical and also apply prior knowledge about
the bass. The only downside to using Simandls etude books is that they assume that you have
used his method books. It is hard to jump right into the etude books unless you have first played
through each fingering pattern in his method books.
Life-long learning is the hope of many teachers. Simandl does a great job at this because
through his methods he teaches students how to be their own best teacher. He gives them the
tools to be as exceptional as they desire to be. Many current professional bass players can be
traced back to Simandl. Some of those include Adolf Misek (he studied directly under Simandl
at the Vienna Conservatory, also I played a solo written by him in my senior recital!), Gary Karr
(a world-renown solo bassist), Fred Zimmerman (once the principal bassist of the New York
Philharmonic, and a popular contemporary of double bass methods), and many other well-known
bass players. Franz Simandl has made a world-wide impact on the way that the double-bass is
taught and played.

String Pedagogue Research Paper by Taylor Fletcher

Appendix 1:

String Pedagogue Research Paper by Taylor Fletcher

Works Cited:
(Lohse) http://doublebassguide.com/?page_id=3
Biographical Information:
"Simandl, Franz." (2011): OAIster. Web. 18 Apr. 2015.

http://hw.oeaw.ac.at/oebl/oebl_S/Simandl_Franz_1840_1912.xml#?
http://www.billbentgen.com/bass/players/simandl.htm
Methods Books:
http://imslp.org/wiki/New_Method_for_the_Double_Bass_%28Simandl,_Franz%29
Etudes:
http://imslp.org/wiki/30_Etudes_for_the_Double_Bass_%28Simandl,_Franz%29
Simandl, F., & Zimmermann, F. (1957). Gradus ad parnassum : 24 studies for string
bass. New York City : International Music Co., c1957.