Double Stops

[Cannabassist]

Can someone please explain to me what double stops are, and how they are played on bass, because I've heard people talking about them but don't know what they are.

[Jazz Ad]

A double stop is 2 notes played at the same time on different strings.
Most of the time they are used to play parts of chords.
3rds and 5ths are the most commonly used.

[nic salsus]

Originally Posted by Cannabassist

Can someone please explain to me what double stops are, and how they are played on bass, because I've heard people talking about them but don't know what they are.

Two notes played at once.....part of a chord.
Major and minor tenths sound great.

[Drop-the-One]

6ths are great too.
9ths are good in dark rock. Like A Perfect Circle

If you're looking at a brand new jazz standard... playing the tenths through the chord changes help you get a feel of the song.

[King Of Suede]

Yeah they're two notes played at the same time as people have said.

To answer your other question about how you play them...
Usually if they're on adjacent(sp?) strings then you can pluck them with one finger, just raking over both strings. If there's alot in a row or they're just really fast, you could alternate pick, but I find that strumming them like a guitar (w/o a pick) works a little better.

If they're on non-adjacent strings then you could strum them also (just make sure you're muting the strings between) or use your thumb and finger to pluck them (as in a classical guitar).

[Bassguy87564]

I like the tritone works really well with blues and dominate 7 chords just make sure you are playing the 3rd and 7th of the chord. Jaco liked using this alot, most song he plays this double stop.

[nic salsus]

Originally Posted by Bassguy87564

I like the tritone works really well with blues and dominate 7 chords just make sure you are playing the 3rd and 7th of the chord. Jaco liked using this alot, most song he plays this double stop.

At which point you start asking why this works.
What are the two notes that make a Dom7 sound like a Dom7?
The third and the 7.
Practicing arpeggios is a good way of getting familiar with where the notes sit that make good sounding double stops.
Also think about the idea that double stops that sound strange by themselves can sound great in in the context of a set of chords or if played against what another instrument is doing.
It's actually a lot to wrap yer mind around.

[Bassguy87564]

Originally Posted by nic salsus

At which point you start asking why this works.
What are the two notes that make a Dom7 sound like a Dom7?
The third and the 7.
Practicing arpeggios is a good way of getting familiar with where the notes sit that make good sounding double stops.
Also think about the idea that double stops that sound strange by themselves can sound great in in the context of a set of chords or if played against what another instrument is doing.
It's actually a lot to wrap yer mind around.

+1

[conebeckham]

Okay, does anyone know what doublestops Barry Oakley is playing toward the end of Mountain Jam?

[SteveC]

Tenths. I love tenths. If I play a double stop it will likely be a 10th. I use other intervals, but not as a multi note chord. I like using 9ths and 6ths. I tend to stay away from 3rds and 5ths - unless a latin tune.

[steveksux]

Originally Posted by nic salsus

At which point you start asking why this works.
What are the two notes that make a Dom7 sound like a Dom7?
The third and the 7.
Practicing arpeggios is a good way of getting familiar with where the notes sit that make good sounding double stops.
Also think about the idea that double stops that sound strange by themselves can sound great in in the context of a set of chords or if played against what another instrument is doing.
It's actually a lot to wrap yer mind around.

Worse for me is when you think the 3rd and 7th of one chord could also reverse, and the 7th becomes the 3rd of another chord, and the 3rd becomes the 7th...

So F and B are 7th and 3rd of G7, but F and B are also the 3rd and 7th of Db7.. just a different inversion.

Randy

[nic salsus]

Originally Posted by steveksux

Worse for me is when you think the 3rd and 7th of one chord could also reverse, and the 7th becomes the 3rd of another chord, and the 3rd becomes the 7th...

So F and B are 7th and 3rd of G7, but F and B are also the 3rd and 7th of Db7.. just a different inversion.

Once you get a grip on the basic chord theory it's useful to learn a little about voice leading. A community college "Arranging 100" type course is good or even a couple of lessons with a pianist/arranger just to give you the basic concept. Heck, there's prob'ly a bunch of info on youtube and other websites if you looked. Worth it big time.

[ryco]

Power fifths are fun too, as in Stanley Clarke's "School Days".

A song with a nice use of Major Tenths is the bass intro in Steely Dan's, "King of the World".

[steveksux]

Originally Posted by nic salsus

Once you get a grip on the basic chord theory it's useful to learn a little about voice leading. A community college "Arranging 100" type course is good or even a couple of lessons with a pianist/arranger just to give you the basic concept. Heck, there's prob'ly a bunch of info on youtube and other websites if you looked. Worth it big time.

Yeah, have heard of voice leading, I'm delving into jazz theory big time, that's on my list of things to check into... its a big list though...

Randy

[longfinger]

Originally Posted by Cannabassist

Can someone please explain to me what double stops are, and how they are played on bass, because I've heard people talking about them but don't know what they are.

Just going back a bit...

On a fretted instrument, when we play one note, we commonly say "we fret a note". But on fingerboard string instruments like violin, viola, cello and double bass, there are not frets, so to play a note, the common things to say is "we stop a note". We place one finger on a string to stop it's vibrating length at that point to give a higher sounding pitch than the open length of the string.

So every single note we play is a "stop". When we "stop" two strings at the same time to sound two notes, we are doing a "double stop".

It could be equivalent to a term such as "double fret", which is not so commonly used.

A "triple stop" is playing three stopped strings at the same time.

[Bassguy87564]

Originally Posted by steveksux

Worse for me is when you think the 3rd and 7th of one chord could also reverse, and the 7th becomes the 3rd of another chord, and the 3rd becomes the 7th...

So F and B are 7th and 3rd of G7, but F and B are also the 3rd and 7th of Db7.. just a different inversion.

Randy

This also makes life easier finding a tri-tone sub.