Can I Play Paganini's HARDEST Violin Piece On BASS?!

I attempt to play some of the hardest pieces ever written for violin, on BASS... Remember to TAP like and subscribe if you enjoyed this video!

IG: @charles_berthoud

Other channels/musicians featured in this video:
Frank Peter Zimmermann (God Save The King performer)

Music heard in this video
Praeludium and Allegro - Kreisler
Bach - Partita for solo violin Nº 2 in D minor, BWV 1004, Chaconne
Paganini Variations - God Save The King

Special thanks to Zachary Brunetti, AhLun, Sugabeat, Colin Heberling, Timothy Gabrielson, Turpid, David Geschke, Dario Cimmino, James Ansell, Rob Nack and all my other Patrons

[CharlesBerthoud]

What do you want in upcoming videos?! 👇🏻

[reepicheepsfriend]

Charles supporting Twoset while they are on break is so wholesome 🥺

[tappiocah]

Plot twist: He is the best violinist ever, he’s just faking it.

[wookie-zhgo]

Charles: taps guy on shoulder
Guy: hums flight of the bumble bee

[micaelbenavi]

Amazing! You have lived alone with your bass for many years probably.
Done nothing else than playing bass.

[sethmaki]

Berthoud makes it sound as though Paganini wrote this piece specifically for a cello/bass.

[davidbergeron]

I liked the one tiny slap in the Paginini

[skarpethinn]

@charlesberthoud - do you have version of Pachelbel's "Canon"?

[DanielCarlosJobs]

In a Nutshell: hard Violin pieces at Bass are pretty easy... for HIM!!! 😅

[jcopeman]

Truly awesome, my wife has now accepted the bass as a genuine musical instrument, which means I might be able to get it out of the office! It was the Paganini that finally convinced her!

[nickaguilera]

As a bass player, damn all respect goes to Charles. This dude can do some unbelievable stuff on bass.

[SkunkworksProps]

The chaconne is difficult for reasons other than speed and tricky fingering. For a start it's 17 minutes long, it combines really intense passages with very delicate ones, lots of chording (on a fretless instrument that can literally only play two notes at once) and tons of emotion. Kudos on God Save The King though.

I can also recommend Tartini's Devils Trill (with the Kreisler cadenza) and Ernst's Der Erlkonig as being pretty damn difficult.

[abelpalmer]

When someone says winter is the hardest violin piece

[fadedtoblack]

You know, I've seen you play some absolutely amazing stuff, and you get tongue in cheek about a song being hard, but then you nail it anyway. I'm curious if there are any pieces of music that really are your kryptonite. A song or movement you just haven't been able to figure out. Or that really made you rage, or tested your limits to the point where you're about to (or did) just give up.
I'd really like to see a video where you talk about the hardest things you've overcome, or haven't overcome, in your bass playing.

[JoolsGuitar]

"I'm feeling pretty metal today"
-me, waking up in the morning

[thomaslim]

One thing I want to point out with complete respect intended, is that in theory some of these pieces can be made EASIER on the bass. It is still incredibly difficult but Charles has an extra set of fingers to pick or tap on notes that might be a little hard to make shapes for with just his left hand. Frets also allow for less precise intonation to be landed while still producing the same note. The violin has a way smaller range of distance to create a half or whole step where there are no frets, meaning the slightest misplacement is represented with a sharp or flat note. Again, this is not to take away ANYTHING from the difficulty of the bass or Charles incredible talent, as a violinist of 14 years myself I just wanted to provide a little more insight as to why these pieces are considered the most difficult on the violin and not on the bass.

[juliansindall]

I once watched a bass player use a delay pedal to play chords at one end of the fretboard, then improvised tune at the other over the chords he'd just played. Then of course the tune he'd just played repeated shortly after for him to play new chords against the tune he'd just played. As he developed the piece, the chords moved toward the other end of the fretboard while the tune moved the opposite way. As an improvised solo while the lead guitarist fixed his broken string, it was awesome, and that in a tiny working men's club venue in Birmingham, UK. I'd love to see what you could do with that idea.

[Yellow-dxuk]

Ling Ling will watch your career with much interest

[stevierv]

Let's hope Brett sees this and it makes him feel well again :)

[flutechannel]

Ya did it. Now some of the hardest flute pieces.
Cassandras Dream song

Thats it. be prepared

Your welcome to the challenge
sincerely
lung lung