Where do I start?

[BigHedd]

Hi everyone.
I'm new to the board as you can probably tell, and I would like to start playing double bass. My question is where should I start? What kind of bass is good for beginners but not too expensive? What kind of bow? etc. I already know how to read music, due to 8 years of practicing the piano, so where do I start learning to play and what do I need? Also, where did each of you begin to play and where are you in your hobby or career now? Thanks in advance

Brian

[Don Higdon]

FIRST, ask around and locate the best bass teacher you can afford. Then ask him/her all these questions. The teacher is more important than the bass, the bow, the strings, etc. I learned the hard way that there's no substitute for a good teacher.

[Tim Ludlam]

BigHedd:

Seconds, thirds and fourths to Don's comments. It's an incredibly complex instrument that really requires quality instruction.

[This message has been edited by Tim Ludlam (edited February 13, 2000).]

[Anna]

Ditto what the other guys said.

It is really important when you start to have an instrument that is playable. There are instruments that are affordable and well set up out there, but I would take the word of a good double bass player over an instrument salesman anyday.

In the classical musical world the bass still has a reputation of being the easy instrument to play in the string family because we don't have as many notes to play in our tunes as let's say the violins. Just don't listen to that rubbish. As an ex-pianist and ex-viloinist I know that bass is a very challenging instrument to play, but it can be a very beautiful and rewarding experience.

[Tim Ludlam]

Anna:

Old joke, but worth repeating.

Did you know that the viola and the violin are actually the same size?

The violin just looks smaller, because of the size of the head of the violinist.

[CamMcIntyre]

I'm in close to the same situation, i play electric bass & cello currently. Next year however the teachers want me to pick up Upright-i know the basic concepts of half steps & whole steps & some of the fingerings but i haven't played an actual upright for more than 15mins. Do you guys think i stand a chance btw for the songs that do have a pizz. upright i use my ashbory for a quasi-upright tone but they want the real thing. thats all

[rablack]

MEGACEPHALOUS - Once again a vote for starting with a teacher. Until you've played for awhile you really can't assess the quality/playability etc. of a bass. A teacher can probably assist you in locating a bass. You should use the same sort of bow (french or german) as your teacher at first.

Where did I begin to play? - At age 38 after 26 years of guitar and electric bass playing. Now playing acoustic swing folky stuff for fun (ie serious hobby)