Getting into upright bass

[Leftybass12]

I have recently gained an interest in learning upright bass. I have been playing electric bass for almost 4 years now and I was wondering how much different is it from playing and electric bass to an upright bass? If it helps at all because the fingerboards have no frets on them I have recently been playing a lined fretless bass.

[bassteban]

DB is quite different- IMO/IME much more demanding, physically. Of course it has a much richer history than slab- which is not to say one is better than the other, just that they are very different beasts.

[reedo35]

Doesn't matter if you play fretless, the DB is a different Beast altogether. You may have a better sense of intonation from playing fretless, I dk, but there is very little similarity, other than reading the same notes. I see you are a lefty, which means you will want to look for a left handed upright. By your profile, I also suspect that you are self taught. I reccomend for Upright that you find a teacher in your area and take at least a few lessons, so you don't hurt yourself down the road. DB is much more physically demanding than BG, and is a totally unforgiving mistress, but despite the pain and inconvenience, the reward is THE SOUND! That sonorous, Thunderous low frequency that pulses into your heart.
Good Luck!

[bstringrandy]

Here's the best analogy that I can come up with: Driving a Nissan 370Z and then driving a Mack dumptruck. You drive them both, but the techniques and driving experience are completely different.

My daughter, who's a senior this year in HS, has been playing upright in Wind Ensemble and Jazz Bands for 6 years. I've been playing electric for 27 years. I have an unlined fretless electric and to me, it is nothing like playing the upright.

If you're serious about getting into upright, I'd recommend some lessons up front to get your technique established. You can't just put the electric down and walk over to the upright and start using the same technique. The electric is more forgiving of bad technique. The electric and upright are 2 different animals and you can actually hurt yourself if you keep playing the upright incorrectly (carpal tunnel etc.).

Good luck with the crossover! I'd love to be able to do both successfully!

[Leftybass12]

Originally Posted by reedo35

Doesn't matter if you play fretless, the DB is a different Beast altogether. You may have a better sense of intonation from playing fretless, I dk, but there is very little similarity, other than reading the same notes. I see you are a lefty, which means you will want to look for a left handed upright. By your profile, I also suspect that you are self taught. I reccomend for Upright that you find a teacher in your area and take at least a few lessons, so you don't hurt yourself down the road. DB is much more physically demanding than BG, and is a totally unforgiving mistress, but despite the pain and inconvenience, the reward is THE SOUND! That sonorous, Thunderous low frequency that pulses into your heart.
Good Luck!

Thank you for the input, however I am not self taught. I have been taking lessons for 3 1/2 years from two excellent teachers in the Cleveland area. My first teacher was a guitar, piano, and vocal teacher, but knew enough bass to get me started and she helped a lot with my music theory. She then shipped me off to my current bass teacher. He is a phenominol bass player and has had experience in playing upright.

[reedo35]

Good, he should be able to guide you through choosing an instrument and at least getting the Basics down. Have you told him you were interested in DB? He could probably help you better, since he teaches you and knows what your strengths and weaknesses are.

[sevenyearsdown]

IME, there is little to nothing in technique that will translate from BG to UB.

It looks like you have a good start with theory though, which will help a bit. It's one less bit you have to learn while the physical part is progressing.

[Eric Hochberg]

I have to disagree with some of the comments here. I went from BG to DB and while they have differences, some of the techniques I learned on BG did translate. Two finger RH pizz and the left hand coordination I already had from playing BG gave me a big leg up when starting DB. Yes, the larger measurements, upright position, lack of frets, thumb position and amount of work DB takes relative to BG need to be addressed, but the transition is much less cold than getting to DB from piano/trpt/sax, etc. where there are no common physical elements.

[reedo35]

Are you saying the Pizz Technique on BG is identical to DB?
I have to disagree. And everything else that you mentioned being different is, well ,just about everything else,except arco technique.

[Eric Hochberg]

Originally Posted by reedo35

Are you saying the Pizz Technique on BG is identical to DB?
I have to disagree. And everything else that you mentioned being different is, well ,just about everything else,except arco technique.

I don't see where I used the word "identical" anywhere. How can you disagree with my personal experience? The left and right hand coordination learned on BG do translate to DB, IMO.

[reedo35]

Originally Posted by ehochberg

I went from BG to DB and while they have differences, some of the techniques I learned on BG did translate. Two finger RH pizz and the left hand coordination I already had from playing BG gave me a big leg up when starting DB.

It sounded like you were saying they were the same. I don't doubt that it helped you, but everyone is different. YMMV

[Eric Hochberg]

Originally Posted by reedo35

It sounded like you were saying they were the same. I don't doubt that it helped you, but everyone is different. YMMV

Did you start on BG and then take up DB? Just wondering.

[dvh]

They both have four strings (conventionally) tuned to the same pitches. The similarities end there.