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Double Bass Beginning DB Help
- Thread starter Musik Meister
- Start date
Jazzdogg
Less barking, more wagging!
"Ray Brown's Bass Method" published by Hal Leonard (ISBN 0-7935-9456-1) is an excellent book!
Ray was a world class jazz bassist. His book schools you in all of the fundamentals of bass and chord theory you'll need to play jazz bass. His focus is on playing upright as a thinking bassist - he doesn't approach bass merely as a technician.
The exercises are invaluable, whether you're playing upright or electric, irrespective of genre. His presentation is straightforward, and the exercises aren't overly difficult; they're cumulative - no quantum leaps required.
He starts with photographs that show basic hand positions.
Chapter 1: Scales, triads, thirds, fourths, fifths, sixths, sevenths & octaves.
Chapter 2: Major triads, minor triads, chords
Chapter 3: Exercises in tenths
Chapter 4: Rhythm patterns with drops
Chapter 5: Diminshed chords
Chapter 6: Augmented chords, whole tone scales
Chapter 7: Blues patterns
Chapter 8: Extension scales & exercises
Chapter 9: Solo exercises, arpeggios for endings
If you can master chapter one before school starts, you'll be ready!
It cost about $13.00.
GOOD LUCK!
Ray was a world class jazz bassist. His book schools you in all of the fundamentals of bass and chord theory you'll need to play jazz bass. His focus is on playing upright as a thinking bassist - he doesn't approach bass merely as a technician.
The exercises are invaluable, whether you're playing upright or electric, irrespective of genre. His presentation is straightforward, and the exercises aren't overly difficult; they're cumulative - no quantum leaps required.
He starts with photographs that show basic hand positions.
Chapter 1: Scales, triads, thirds, fourths, fifths, sixths, sevenths & octaves.
Chapter 2: Major triads, minor triads, chords
Chapter 3: Exercises in tenths
Chapter 4: Rhythm patterns with drops
Chapter 5: Diminshed chords
Chapter 6: Augmented chords, whole tone scales
Chapter 7: Blues patterns
Chapter 8: Extension scales & exercises
Chapter 9: Solo exercises, arpeggios for endings
If you can master chapter one before school starts, you'll be ready!
It cost about $13.00.
GOOD LUCK!
im pretty much in the same predicament as the first guy who started this thread. i want to borrow a DB from my school and i can get everything from my school: bow, DB, Rosin. my issue is i cant spend any money on it cause im really strapped for cash so all i need are excersizes, classical and jazz, and ill be fine... i guess you could just write them out for me or email them
thanks alot
JB
thanks alot
JB
Thats for sure!
The first 3 chapters can take quite a while to play well with a bow! (Read as still trying)
Musik Meister: I know this isn't probably what you want to hear, but it is by far the best advice you can get on the subject of learning to play the double bass for the first time. Get a qualified teacher. I know it seems impossible because you are from a small town and you looked a bit already. Keep asking around, and if all else fails then take the trip to a bigger city (Atlanta or wherever) a few times over the summer. You don't have to drive in every week, but getting a good lesson once every two or three weeks, even once a month would be so helpful to you.
Double bass is a very physically challenging instrument to play, even with proper lessons! The trouble with teaching yourself with books, videos, etc is that there isn't anyone there in the room with you actually showing you what to do if you are doing it wrong. You may think that you can figure it out yourself but that is most likely not the case. There are details that are difficult to observe from the position of the player, and details that you may overlook because you think they are very minor but may turn into huge roadblocks in your playing.
And of course there is always the risk of injury that no video or book can predict. Again, a good teacher is the one and only way to approach learning the double bass quickly, correctly, and safely.
Double bass is a very physically challenging instrument to play, even with proper lessons! The trouble with teaching yourself with books, videos, etc is that there isn't anyone there in the room with you actually showing you what to do if you are doing it wrong. You may think that you can figure it out yourself but that is most likely not the case. There are details that are difficult to observe from the position of the player, and details that you may overlook because you think they are very minor but may turn into huge roadblocks in your playing.
And of course there is always the risk of injury that no video or book can predict. Again, a good teacher is the one and only way to approach learning the double bass quickly, correctly, and safely.
Well it's been 6 years since the original post... I wonder if MusicMeister is still with us in the bass community?
I have a couple of books, have asked a couple guys to make sure that I'm not way out of line, but, having done martial arts forever (and a day), I know that there is no replacing actual instruction from a qualified teacher - having said that, after looking all over and asking all over, I posted a craiglist ad asking if there was any upright teachers in the Ventura California area I don't have time to do the music courses at the local college or I would
if you guys know of any, much thanks in advance like I said, I'm in Ventura California
BTW what do you cats think of the Ron Carter bass book? Saw it at Barnes & Noble, was going to pick it up, but haven't gotten around to it yet
if you guys know of any, much thanks in advance like I said, I'm in Ventura California
BTW what do you cats think of the Ron Carter bass book? Saw it at Barnes & Noble, was going to pick it up, but haven't gotten around to it yet
I'm from Ventura too! I have been driving to Sherman Oaks to take lessons from Daren Burns. He's a good guy, and he can show you the basics... he's definitely not a classical guy, but I would highly recommend him for any other genre. His musical knowledge runs pretty deep.
I thought there was at least one classical teacher here (NeilG, I think), and it looks like Ventura College has classes starting in the fall (a strings class, and then a community orchestra or something... I figure I'll take the class, but I also figure I'll look more closely once August rolls around!) Either way... I'm pretty happy with Daren, but I don't drive in every week anymore.
I thought there was at least one classical teacher here (NeilG, I think), and it looks like Ventura College has classes starting in the fall (a strings class, and then a community orchestra or something... I figure I'll take the class, but I also figure I'll look more closely once August rolls around!) Either way... I'm pretty happy with Daren, but I don't drive in every week anymore.
I am going to be buying an EUB shortly and I will have to go through the process of relearning what I already know how to play on electric.
I found this teacher on youtube
he has a system and the knowledge and a bunch of videos.
I know it will help me.....
Maybe that is a good place to start if you don't have a teacher?
I found this teacher on youtube
he has a system and the knowledge and a bunch of videos.
I know it will help me.....
Maybe that is a good place to start if you don't have a teacher?
