How long did it take you guys to become competent with double bass?

tegnoto89 · #1 01-08-2009, 12:30 AM

I'm an electric player now, and next year I'm hopefully going to learn upright.. I generally practice very hard - I can already read music, etc.

So how long do you think it would be before I have a grip on it, and can improv decent walking bass lines, and play some arco pieces? Will my electric experience speed things up at all?

lowend219 · #2 01-08-2009, 01:10 AM

i've been playing electric for 3 years and upright for about a year. I haven't had all the time in the world to practice, but I'm still constantly working on my intonation. If you can already play good improv walking basslines on electric then you'll have an easier time. If however, you're like me and are still working on refining your walking skills even on the electric, then it may take some time.
having played electric helped me in the sense that, i knew what my scales and arpeggios are supposed to sound like, so I know when my intonation is off.

My advice, get yourself a good teacher. the upright truly is its own beast.

chancletarock · #3 01-08-2009, 01:35 AM

i did the same thing, and really they are very different in a lot of regards. sure it's the bass clef, etc. - but the approach is often miles apart by most players.

really what i realized after playing electric for 3 years is:

1) that my ears weren't as up-to-par because i thought of everything visually. donno what learning is like for you, but either way, you need to *HEAR* the notes on the upright.

2) a great appreciation for self-made tone. with the electric i relied on the dials, for tone, and in upright it's all your flesh and bone.

the good thing is that these two things, once developed on the upright, will make your electric playing way better. and you'll probably realize that upright is the pimpest sounding instrument on the entire planet and the electric is really only cool for rock music

Andrew McGregor · #4 01-08-2009, 02:10 AM

I don't know how it goes in Jazz... but from scratch it takes about four years, three hours a day, to be able to play in an orchestra that can contemplate a reasonable fraction of the literature. Obviously, if you can already read well that will reduce.

Since I was already a professional orchestra player when I first picked up an EB, I can say that that instrument is really pretty easy by comparison... I bet it's not coming in the other direction.

Bass · #5 01-08-2009, 09:49 AM

My first DB gig was about 6 months after starting. Played e-bass for about 9 years before that.

zeytoun · #6 01-08-2009, 09:52 AM

I'm new here and getting ready to learn to play upright bass too, so I keep asking myself the same question.

Keep in mind that the variables can alter the timeline wildly. I heard on person play double bass a few days ago, and it was discouraging, because they had been playing for 10+ years, and their pizzicato intonation was making my ears hurt on very simple bass lines (but arco was fine). Then I hear another guy who's been playing for a month, and while he was no Mingus, he was laying down some solid lines.

And of course, a lot of it is how deep you go with it musically. Bluegrass, pop, folk, etc, would probably be a lot quicker transition medium than bebop or Bottesini or Beethoven.

heavyhitter · #7 01-08-2009, 09:54 AM

I dont play an upright, but after 13 years of electric I am still not compitent.

SoonerMatt · #8 01-08-2009, 09:56 AM

I went the other way around. I started playing upright/classical bass in middle school and went to bass guitar a year later. While I still play bass guitar more I'm still surprisingly proficient with upright bass; I played all through middle and high school and just for grins auditioned for OU's orchestra and actually got in.

If you practice enough I'd say you'd get used to moving around an upright and getting the right feel for it in about 6 weeks or 2 months. But like lowend said, get a teacher, it'll make the transition much easier.

hdiddy · #9 01-08-2009, 10:03 AM

I coulda start gigging after 4 years but I'm not sure I'd enjoy it. Count on it taking much longer than you think. Intonation is a bitch.

KrisH · #10 01-08-2009, 10:28 AM

Although I played upright a little in high school (30+ years ago), it took me at least nine months of off-and-on practice to feel comfortable enough with my sound to drag my DB into an acoustic practice and ultimately, to coffeehouse gigs. Hearing the intonation is key. When I get fatigued, I start losing it.

txstatebass · #11 01-08-2009, 10:34 AM

It seemed like as soon as I got an upright, people started calling me for gigs. My poor EBG sits in a corner 99.9% of the time. However, the good gigs didn't start coming until my junior year of high school. I guess in total it took a good four years before the real pros started calling me for sub work, and another two years of that and jam sessions before I got regular pro work. To literally answer the question though, I still feel insufficient most of the time.

bergerXL5 · #12 01-08-2009, 01:58 PM

I honestly don't think I'll ever consider myself competent on an upright. The producers seem to disagree.

Dbassmon · #13 01-08-2009, 03:04 PM

Competent in which circles? Are talking about local schmoes or talking about the playing with "the cats"? I think you should be able to a club date type gig fairly quickly if you already have a reportoie, already know something about music and stick to the money notes. A year or so....
If you are talking about mastery of the instrument and being able to play Jazz at Lincoln Center, (play anything, in any key, in any position, in tune) you might think in terms of years/decades depending on if you can practice 5-8 hours a day. If you are adding arco playing to the mix... even tougher road.

The secret is to enjoy getting better.... it's the journey, not the destination. Kinda like life.

MDEbass · #14 01-08-2009, 04:36 PM

Your reading skills will help, but your EB skills won't. Depends on how much time your willing to put into practicing and how often. If you want to get serious about DB you are probably going to mainly focus on DB if you want to improve quickly.

Quote:

Originally Posted by txstatebass

My poor EBG sits in a corner 99.9% of the time.

HA! Same for me once I picked up DB. Funny how that happens.

Steve Clark · #15 01-08-2009, 04:57 PM

I've had mine since late October. I've been assured that I will spend 5 years working on the beginners mistakes and then I can move on to the advanced ones.

Marcus Johnson · #16 01-08-2009, 05:14 PM

I've been playing for a long time. Although "competent" is a malleable concept, I have a hard time listening to anything I recorded more than a few years ago. It evolves; your ear and your technique change. Some days I'm happy with my playing, more often than I used to be. Other days, I just think I'd be better off applying for a job at the new Whole Foods outlet. I'll probably do that anyway, just in case.

wineaux · #17 01-08-2009, 05:45 PM

I've been playing for about two years and I'm most definitely still a beginner. But last night, I actually played something that sounded just like what I was "singing" in my head. It was a thrilling moment that I was beginning to think was never going to happen. When I get to the point where I can do that regularly, then we can start talking about competence.

So I'll get back to you in 5 or 10 years!

reedo35 · #18 01-08-2009, 05:59 PM

I've been making a living at it for over twenty tears. But with a little more practice, I'm confident I'll get it right sometime soon.

StyleOverShow · #19 01-08-2009, 06:23 PM

My path went EB to fret less to EUB to DB. I don't feel quite there yet on the DB after 6 months and almost a year on EUB. I spend almost all my practice time on the DB and alternatively the EUB. I've played EB for nearly 40 years.

I just starting working with an R&B group that is drawing me back to EBG and eating into my DB practice time. It's all good though. Keep working at whatever it is.

-richard

pianodan · #20 01-08-2009, 06:23 PM

I've been playing on and off since my freshman year of high school '68, (started DB for Dixieland), by my senior year, I thought I was pretty awesome, my director thought so too, I played jazz, blues and concert then, put I've never played real paying gigs until the last few years.
I spent twenty years in the Navy in engineering; steaming ships, didn't get a whole lot of off time between Navy and family to try to get in a band. I rarely saw my wife and kids as it was and they wouldn't have appreciated it too much if I were playing in clubs as soon as I got back in home port.
My intonation still sucks sometimes, fingering a 5th position note on the "G" I sometimes miss the pitch and have to quickly correct. However, I still like playing my DB much better than playing my fretless BG. The BG is easier to lug around though........