New UB Player Psychosis

JeffBTZ · #1 06-10-2011, 06:31 PM

Hello everyone

I thought that since I'll be grabbing an upright from Cincinnati Bass Cellar in a week, I should find a good place to go with my questions and lo and behold, this site sucked me in. As I'm extremely giddy about getting my bass, I feel the need to talk about it to a point of annoyance and since my family probably doesn't want to deal with, here you go!

I'm looking to get an SB80 plywood as my first bass as I've heard great things about them and bass cellar (the nearest reputable bass shop, just a short 4 hours away) has been recommended by a few different people to me.

So, the point of this topic is this: Are there any tips that you guys can give me that you wish you would have known when you started playing upright?

chris1125 · #2 06-10-2011, 06:48 PM

Welcome! Good choice on getting started with a good upright, that is definately a step in the right direction. A great choice on basses to, the guys in Cincinatti are great. I bought my bass there and they hae worked on my bass and bows, always a top noch job. Where are you located? I expect seeral people to chime and and say get an instructor, probobly good advice to follow. I don't hae to many tips for you because erybody does it differently, but wouldn't be a bad idea to experiment and see what is comfortable for you. Sitting vs Standing, German vs French, etc. All good things to decide with your teacher

rkf · #3 06-10-2011, 06:48 PM

Hey ther, PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE i had this drilled in to me and im pretty dam glad i did

Andrew McGregor · #4 06-10-2011, 06:53 PM

Find a good teacher... you can injure yourself really badly, which sucks because you'll be wanting to play and have to lay off for a few months. It's not really possible to analyse your own physical approach to the instrument because a) you don't know exactly what you're trying to achieve and b) you can't watch yourself play from the outside.

JeffBTZ · #5 06-10-2011, 06:54 PM

I live in Northwest Ohio in a rural community. Currently I'm in correspondence with two possible instructors, neither of which are professional instructors but both play upright regularly and the one I'm leaning towards plays jazz professionally and also is proficient with arco. The downside with him... the lessons are 30 minutes away and will be at 8:00 AM during the summer. Yikes.

chris1125 · #6 06-10-2011, 06:57 PM

Go with the better teacher. Is waking up at 7am once a week really the end of the world?

JeffBTZ · #7 06-10-2011, 07:00 PM

That was my sentiment as well. It might be less convenient for me than an 8 PM lesson, but it will hopefully be more than worth it.

fdeck · #8 06-10-2011, 07:22 PM

On the bright side, 8 AM gives you the rest of the day free, and it won't be too hot and sticky to play at that time of morning.

powerbass · #9 06-10-2011, 07:25 PM

Yes go with the better teacher. Pick up a compact digital recorder and bring it to your lessons. I am working my way through the Simandl book. I record my teacher playing every exercise, then I load it into Garageband, edit it, then export it to my music folder on my computer. This gives me a play a long library to use for practice. This is really helpful since I am able to listen to the lesson (ear training) then practice along with it.

Steve Swan · #10 06-11-2011, 09:11 AM

The Cincinnati Bass Cellar guys are right next to my booth at ISB. Calm, experienced, and swell people all, they'll be fine guides for the start of your journey. You are in good hands there.

nicechuckh · #11 06-11-2011, 10:45 AM

Congrats on getting the bug lol. Hope you enjoy it for the rest of your life. Post pics whenever you get your bass ok?

JeffBTZ · #12 06-11-2011, 12:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nicechuckh

Congrats on getting the bug lol. Hope you enjoy it for the rest of your life. Post pics whenever you get your bass ok?

I'll be sure to.

Eric Swanson · #13 06-11-2011, 01:49 PM

Congratulations! This is a beautiful world.

My only humble suggestion, based on my own experience, is go with the best teacher you can find. Don't succumb to the idea that, "Oh, I am just a beginner, anybody will be OK."

If you want to play well, find somebody who both plays beautifully and who can tell you how they do it.

JeffBTZ · #14 06-11-2011, 03:15 PM

Yea. That was my goal originally. It would be ideal for me to find someone who plays more classical and some jazz as well, since I've heard from a good source that being classically trained is a good springboard into jazz. The problem is basically that I live in an area in which jazz is not popular and upright is nearly unknown. In fact, most of my friends still think that i'm buying a bass with two necks. So finding someone to fit the aforementioned bill might be a bit tough. I guess it just comes down to finding the best player that I can who is willing to teach.

nclinsey · #15 06-11-2011, 03:45 PM

Hi there,
I just joined the site myself not to long ago and have found it to be super informative! This is actually my first post in the Double Bass forum, so....Hi everyone!
I've been only playing the big bass myself for a couple of years after playing slabs for close to 17 years.
The things that I've learned in my short time include;
Get a teacher. I started off self taught after being unsuccessful at finding a good teacher close to me and it has taken me twice as long to get my technique even close to serviceable.

Get the best bass you can afford. I nice DB will change your life!

Practice. And Practice. And Practice some more. These are not easy instruments to play. Luckily they are one of the most rewarding. (in my books!)

Enjoy. I have been gigging on the big bass for the past few months or so and love it. The sound of a DB locked in with the kick drum is unbelievable. Seriously. I don't know what your musical styles are, but I'm a country/bluegrass player and....wow. So good.

Have fun on your journey!

JeffBTZ · #16 06-11-2011, 04:14 PM

Mm. I never did clarify my interests did I? I'm mostly into alternative rock in terms of what about 75% of my library consists of, but I'm also into blues, jazz, some classical (although my interest in classical has been increasing lately) and some other genres that are more focused on an artist i like than the genre itself.

As for what i'll be playing... I'll be playing DB in jazz band at school along with electric bass (which reminds me that I need to get to work on being able to site read with a bass guitar in my hands). In addition to that, I'll be playing upright on worship team if they let me. If they don't let me, I'll still be playing upright on worship team.

There's only one other bassist in our church, so tough luck for the worship leaders I guess.

engedi1 · #17 06-12-2011, 08:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fdeck

On the bright side, 8 AM gives you the rest of the day free, and it won't be too hot and sticky to play at that time of morning.

Hah! This brings back great memories of playing bass at Brevard summer music camp where the bass would stick to you it was so humid!
Seriously, finding a good teacher is worth getting up at 7:00. When I was in high school, I would get up at 5:30 every day so I could make it to orchestra rehearsal at 7:00 am before school. ( I lived an hour away) It was hard, but was great experience and I loved it. I do recommend focusing on classical technique at first, since everything you learn there will lay a foundation for whatever style of a music you eventually fall in love with and seriously pursue.

fdeck · #18 06-12-2011, 09:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JeffBTZ

Mm. I never did clarify my interests did I? I'm mostly into alternative rock in terms of what about 75% of my library consists of, but I'm also into blues, jazz, some classical (although my interest in classical has been increasing lately) and some other genres that are more focused on an artist i like than the genre itself.

As for what i'll be playing... I'll be playing DB in jazz band at school along with electric bass (which reminds me that I need to get to work on being able to site read with a bass guitar in my hands). In addition to that, I'll be playing upright on worship team if they let me. If they don't let me, I'll still be playing upright on worship team.

There's only one other bassist in our church, so tough luck for the worship leaders I guess.

Sounds like you've got a lot of cool things going on, and they will all reinforce one another.

Amusingly, when I was in college, I think that the professors in my major all conspired so that there was an 8:00 class every semester for four years.

JeffBTZ · #19 06-13-2011, 07:26 AM

I got a reply back from the guy i'll be taking lessons from. Apparently, his lessons cost $10 per half hour lesson. This seems extremely cheap considering my guitar lessons were 15. I suppose I'll chalk that up to the fact that there's probably a grand total of 2 people learning DB within a half hour drive.

engedi1 · #20 06-13-2011, 09:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JeffBTZ

I got a reply back from the guy i'll be taking lessons from. Apparently, his lessons cost $10 per half hour lesson. This seems extremely cheap considering my guitar lessons were 15. I suppose I'll chalk that up to the fact that there's probably a grand total of 2 people learning DB within a half hour drive.

Wow! That is really inexpensive, the cheapest I have ever heard. i would be worried it communicates a lack of confidence. I have a BA and charge $35 per hour for lessons, $40 if I go to the students house. Take a few lessons and see if he is up to snuff.