Double Bass Appreciating the Upright Bass

[erniej]

Depends on how bad you want that degree from that school. There is no universal law that says you won't have to do things you dislike in life. I wish there was. I'd be at home playing my brand new remnant that everybody's too worried about being PC to say, "hey, this thing doesn't make sense anymore/sucks, let's ease it out of common use."

Also consider, you don't have to do anything you don't want to do. No one is making you. But there are always consequences. You have to weigh the costs and benefits of doing something vs not. It does not matter what anyone else thinks. What do you want?

Wonder how this post would go over in BG if it were reversed. Not well I'd suspect.

 

[Mike Goodbar]

If you should decide to march bravely through the pain and frustration, finding the right method might be beneficial. As adjunct double bass teacher at a small state U., I teach a lot of reluctant crossovers from BG in pretty much the same boat you're in.

I don't know which method your teacher prefers, but I find that the Vance method works best for these poor oppressed blokes. It starts in the middle of the neck (1st finger D on the G string), where the finger spacing is closer to that of the BG, rather than way down in half-position a la Simandl and many other methods. Plus the neck curve gives them a nice tactile reference point to aid with intonation. Makes for a little less frustration.

But I wouldn't worry about it too much or put too much effort into it. By the time the two years is up, the double bass will most likely be completely obsolete and all us dinosaurs who so waywardly devoted all those years to an irrelevant instrument will be flocking to YOU for advice.

 

[TunnelPig]

I have no interest in trying to convince you to respect my choice of an instrument.

Good, because I have no interest in you trying to do that either.

 

[TunnelPig]

Yeth, this forum is specifically meant to be a discussion on double basses..........i'll put in a request to Moderation to have it moved to the proper forum.
Meanwhile, the DB is synonymous with jazz as much as it is with classical playing while the BG is not.
Can you tell us why you chose to be a "Jazz Bass major" if you play an istrument that is historically, in most cases, not synonymous with jazz?
Not to be flaming you, but you've made some rather uniformed and radical statements about our instrument, IMNO. (in my nice opinion).

I completely agree, I know that my feelings aren't fact and are only relevant to me, but I made them out of the frustration I've been feeling.

In playing settings at school (whether it's jazz or otherwise) I am allowed to perform on a bass guitar, and I insist upon it. It's that I also have to take private lessons on the upright (which are always just bowing scales) and I have a studio class with other upright bassists, where we also bow scales. The upright professor and all the other upright bassists are also very condescending, so I'm looking for a way to make the experience more tolerable for me as someone who is and intends to remain primarily a bass guitarist.

 

[Febs]

In playing settings at school (whether it's jazz or otherwise) I am allowed to perform on a bass guitar, and I insist upon it. It's that I also have to take private lessons on the upright (which are always just bowing scales) and I have a studio class with other upright bassists, where we also bow scales. The upright professor and all the other upright bassists are also very condescending, so I'm looking for a way to make the experience more tolerable for me as someone who is and intends to remain primarily a bass guitarist.

You might give some serious consideration to using the upright in some of those performance settings. You will likely find it much more challenging than using the electric, given that you are more experienced and more comfortable on the electric. But you may also find that you find the upright more inspiring when you actually play it out rather than limiting your use of it to lesson and practice situations.

 

[TunnelPig]

But I wouldn't worry about it too much or put too much effort into it. By the time the two years is up, the double bass will most likely be completely obsolete and all us dinosaurs who so waywardly devoted all those years to an irrelevant instrument will be flocking to YOU for advice.

Nice use of sarcasm, though I can't say I appreciate it. I don't claim to know everything, I only know what's right for me. Perhaps if more upright bassists didn't have this same stupid condescending attitude you've just exhibited I wouldn't be so irked about having to pick up the instrument every day.

 

[TunnelPig]

You might give some serious consideration to using the upright in some of those performance settings. You will likely find it much more challenging than using the electric, given that you are more experienced and more comfortable on the electric. But you may also find that you find the upright more inspiring when you actually play it out rather than limiting your use of it to lesson and practice situations.

That might not be such a bad idea. Thanks!

 

[TunnelPig]

A few more questions:

When you chose to become a jazz bass major, what kind of music did you think you'd be playing?

In addition to your dissatisfaction with DB, are you dissatisfied with the standard jazz repertoire?

When you found out that you'd also have to study piano to become a music major, did you resist that as well?

I knew I'd be playing jazz. I use my bass guitar in all the jazz playing situations I've been in. I also get to play funk here on occasion (The Meters, P-Funk) which I love exponentially more than standard jazz repertoire. That being said, I don't hate the jazz we play.

As for the piano question, no, primarily because I've been playing piano since I was four.

 

[Eric Hochberg]

Perhaps if more upright bassists didn't have this same stupid condescending attitude you've just exhibited I wouldn't be so irked about having to pick up the instrument every day.

Time for you to go back to the other side... your problem is YOUR attitude. You have been given the opportunity to learn something new, and you bitch and moan about it. And to those of us who love the instrument. You have a hell of a lot of nerve.

 

[TunnelPig]

Why do so many posts look like trolling to me? Define what jazz is to you for starters. Most of what we all think of as serious jazz has been developed and played on the double bass. DB is so completely intertwined with jazz that it is hard to hear jazz played on anything else. This isn't just our view, this is the view of the entire world. Name one electric player who successfully integrated the instrument into a jazz context. Ok, there are a few but most do not prefer Bob Cranshaw with Sonny Rollins over say Doug Watkins on DB. The DB is a magical instrument. It's interesting that you don't feel that way because just about anybody who sees me take the case off my bass at a gig says "omg, that's amazing". I'm trying to remember being twenty. I remember feeling fully formed, as if all my ideas were set and I knew what was what in the world. What happened along the way is that I grew and you will grow and expand. You might even grow to love the DB. I think you need to decide whether to just take this big pill in hopes of getting something very valuable from it or move on to another program that is electric centric. I totally understand either position. The electric bass is a great instrument that does many things very well. One thing it doesn't do well is jazz. Keep that in mind.

Not a troll, just a frustrated kid. I wasn't able to respond because, coincidentally, I was practicing the double bass.

I don't know how to define what jazz or music in general is to me fully, that's something that I've been finding out throughout my journey. But I also don't spend most of my time listening to jazz, I listen to way more funk and soul. I think that my train of thought was that learning jazz would ultimately help my playing in those fields.

But hey! It's not the jazz that's the problem, I like jazz fine. I just play it on an electric bass in my playing settings, it's wrapping my head around the double bass that just isn't happening.

 

[TroyK]

What do you expect man? You walk into a tent revival and say "This whole Jesus thing is just some antiquated BS. That's how I feel anyway, what do you guys think?"

 

[TunnelPig]

Time for you to go back to the other side... your problem is YOUR attitude. You have been given the opportunity to learn something new, and you bitch and moan about it. And to those of us who love the instrument. You have a hell of a lot of nerve.

I'm inclined to disagree. This is the best group of bassists on the internet, so I came here for some anonymous wisdom, an escape from the snide remarks, an escape from being talked down to by my professors and peers who think that playing an instrument that's been around longer makes them better. So when I come to this great place and get more of the same, you better believe I'm going to be really frustrated.

 

[Jake deVilliers]

In the immortal words of our crusty old uncle - "Hey kid, get offa my lawn!"

 

[Febs]

I'm inclined to disagree. This is the best group of bassists on the internet, so I came here for some anonymous wisdom, an escape from the snide remarks, an escape from being talked down to by my professors and peers who think that playing an instrument that's been around longer makes them better. So when I come to this great place and get more of the same, you better believe I'm going to be really frustrated.

I'm actually surprised by how mild many of the responses are, considering the nature of your opening post. Rather than getting defensive when you see posts that defend the instrument and its heritage, recognize that the reason that you get those responses is because you are talking to a group of people who truly, passionately love the instrument. Perhaps you can take some inspiration from that, perhaps not, but you should at least respect it.

 

[Eric Hochberg]

So when I come to this great place and get more of the same, you better believe I'm going to be really frustrated.

Don't you get it? Again, it's your attitude and the way you come off. You'll get the same results wherever you go.

 

[TunnelPig]

What do you expect man? You walk into a tent revival and say "This whole Jesus thing is just some antiquated BS. That's how I feel anyway, what do you guys think?"

You've missed the point of my post. I tried to make it as clear as possible that this wasn't an attack, despite having frustrations. This is me asking for help (from those who don't feel as though they're too high and mighty to offer it) for ways that a bass guitarist could start to wrap his head around DB despite a strong preference for the bass guitar. Since you've stated you have no interest in helping, please don't feel obligated to because there's more than one person on here.

 

[TunnelPig]

Don't you get it? Again, it's your attitude and the way you come off. You'll get the same results wherever you go.

Actually, some of the posts here have given me some good starting points to approach the DB from a new light. I'm appreciative of them, they're the ones I came here for. THEY'RE the ones that have the best chance of changing my attitude, not you, some random name on the internet, telling me that you think I have an attitude problem.

 

[Eric Hochberg]

This is me asking for help (from those who don't feel as though they're too high and mighty to offer it) .

Owwww....there you go again.

 

[Eric Hochberg]

not you, some random name on the internet, telling me that you think I have an attitude problem.

And again...

 

[Cody Sisk]

Time for you to go back to the other side... your problem is YOUR attitude. You have been given the opportunity to learn something new, and you bitch and moan about it. And to those of us who love the instrument. You have a hell of a lot of nerve.

Eric is absolutely correct here. I guarantee that this is the message everyone is giving you at your school. This is tolerated in high school, but not in College. College is not compulsory education, they don't have any problems with kicking you out on your ass if you can't do what is asked by the curriculum.

I had a discussion about kids like you with my former college professor just recently. These morons at my Alma Mater decided that they were going to generate a petition so they weren't forced to play in the opera pit orchestra in order to maintain their music scholarships. Can you believe the nerve of these kids? Here they are given opportunity to participate in full opera productions, good candy to put on their resumes post-college and they bitch and moan about having to do it? The nerve! By the way, every kid on that list was handed scholarship release forms and were sent packing. They had to make way for the kids who appreciated the opportunity to expand their horizons and take advantage of opportunity.

College does three things for people:
1. You're not there to learn the material presented, you're there to learn now to learn, how to teach yourself, become a lifelong learner
2. Unfortunately, you must maneuver obstacles and crank out BS in order to achieve your goal of graduating. That's the hard part but it's necessary to weed out the posers. (the real world has A LOT more BS to deal with btw)
3. Have a piece of paper (bachelor diploma) that opens doors in America, no matter what choice of major is on it.

Appreciate what you have. Appreciate the opportunities presented or get out of the way of those kids who will. Either that or go find you a hard-knocking day job and play your funk gigs to your heart's content on nights and weekends.