That’s bow as in oh, not bow as in bough. Last night saw my debut public outing on bowed double bass. I am confident on playing with my fingers and have plenty of live experience but using the bow is still quite new to me. However, it is hard to improve if you aren’t willing to take a few risks so I took the bow as well as the bass down to last night’s Taizé service at St Clements.

Playing for the service involved a fair amount of sight reading but all at a simple level with lots of repetition and scope for playing simpler versions of the bassline. I got a few squeaks and moments of dodgy intonation but the feedback I got was overwhelmingly positive, with people appreciating the baroque warmth of the sound. That means I am set up for the next part of the learning curve: playing bowed bass again because people liked it but working in the meantime to build up my skills.