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Technique: Double bass spiccato

2026-01-09T10:04:00

Gaelen McCormick

Gaelen McCormick offers tips on teaching the technique on double bass

Spiccato is a difficult bow stroke for any string player, and double bass students are often taught it too soon without enough attention to detail. This is probably partly because they tend to start later than other string players and therefore don’t have the same level of playing experience and technique behind them when they are expected to play spiccato – especially in group teaching situations where the lead teacher is unlikely to be a double bass player…

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