Jazz Upright Bass DVD by Ed Friedland

[ctcruiser]

FYI - I picked up a copy of Ed Fiedland's DVD called "Jazz Upright Bass".

For the beginner and intermediate aspiring jazz player, this DVD provides a lot of useful information.

He shows right and left hand techniques, walking scales using open strings to move up the neck quickly, thumb position, jazz bowing, performance protocols, intros, endings, etc.

It comes with a small booklet with music.

There is also a performance section with him playing along with Llew Matthews on piano and Kendall Kay on drums, two players I have seen quite often in the Orange County area of Southern California.


http://www.edfriedland.com/

[Dandy Dan]

I also have been using this dvd. I have found it very cool!!My teacher is straight arco so she sez she knows nothing about pizz playing. Ed showed the right hand technique he uses and I have found it to be quite useful. Lots of info for sure. Simply a great buy.

[wineaux]

My copy arrived last night and I can't wait to get started!

[bassbuddie]

I have it too, it's a very cool DVD. There is a cool section about different intros and ending for standards.

[dmperry24]

I too picked up this excellent DVD, and I highly recommend it for anyone wanting to play upright bass in a jazz group. Ed doesn't deal with how to play jazz per se--meaning which scales go with what chords, or how to make walking bass lines, etc. Rather he deals with techniques specific to playing jazz on the instrument. And he clarifies how techniques differ from other forms of music. His explanation of the different ways to perform pizz was thorough. His discussion on triplets and skips covered the necessary material well. He provided a lifetime of bass playing experience in a two hour format--something other training tape instructors should learn from. I would love for Ed to put out a DVD on Rockabilly styles and slap bass--it would be a keeper.

His section on thumb position is worth the price of admission alone. Ed is a great teacher, and he explains more clearly than I've ever heard before how the thumb position works from the transition to playing in the position and how to execute scales and arpeggios up there. Being the fine and patient teacher he is, he offers numerous examples (in demonstration and in the accompanying booklet) on how to accomplish playing way up there--something I had been leery to try before, but now feel like it is within my grasp. The only minus I noticed here was that Ed's intonation up high was slightly off a few times (pitchy as they call it on "American Idol").

His section on bowing was worthwhile too, but not as detailed as the thumb position stuff.

Another area where Ed scores well is in his discussion of bass playing protocols in performance from the count-off to different styles of endings. All priceless information packed into a short space--nothing is wasted here.

Ed concludes with some typical performance pieces. He draws most of his instruction from his fine "Jazz Bass" book. Several of the pieces in there are covered in performance. I would recommend getting his book as a reference work for the DVD. Another recommendation is Ed's two Walking Bass Lines books. I hope all of you who are interested in learning jazz bass get as much out of the DVD as I did.
Mike

[ricobasso]

I'll start dropping hints for Father's day then

[bonaventura]

Where did you all get this great DVD? Online somewhere or direct from Ed himself?