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Double Bass Double Stops

G

guillermo

Oct 1, 2004
49
37
#1
Hi:

I'm relatively new to Jazz theory and I'm in the process of learning intervals, scales, arpegios etc via the exercises in Ray Brown's book.
There are some exercises called "Double Stops ....". And,
on this months Bass Player magazine there's a Dave Holland solo transcription for wich the analisys says "look a the Double Stop on bar....".

What is a Double Stop ?

Thanks a lot
Guillermo
 
#4
Technically, two notes at once = double stop and three notes at once = chord. However, since you can't play as many notes at once on bass as you can on guitar or keys, most players will just use two notes (double stop) or three notes (triple stop) to imply the larger chord that's happening harmonically at the moment.

For instance, if the chord you want to imply is Am, you can play the double stop of A and C (the minor 3). But if the chord is Am7, you may want to play the triple stop of A, C, and G (the minor 7).

And remember that you don't have to play them from the root up. You can play wider voicings with these intervals, which also helps the notes speak more clearly.
 
#6
guillermo said:
Thanks , I see them now, all arround the place
Thanks a lot
Guillermo
Click to expand...

In the DB jazz world, IMO, what happened first is that somebody ( I wonder who? ) came up with that open D with that F# up just before the G harmonic on the G string, then brought it down a half step ( second finger on the E string to provide the C# or Db, fourth to provide the F on the G string and the rest is ..........can't do it arco without two bows.
Then Red Mitchell came along with his fifth tuning and well, forget about it, except for Michael Moore who can do double and triples...no problem at all.......what a show-off! :crying:
 
#7
Paul Warburton said:
In the DB jazz world, IMO, what happened first is that somebody ( I wonder who? ) came up with that open D with that F# up just before the G harmonic on the G string, then brought it down a half step ( second finger on the E string to provide the C# or Db, fourth to provide the F on the G string and the rest is ..........can't do it arco without two bows.
Then Red Mitchell came along with his fifth tuning and well, forget about it, except for Michael Moore who can do double and triples...no problem at all.......what a show-off! :crying:
Click to expand...

You can bow tenths by bowing on the underside of the strings between the strings and the body of the bass. I looked for a smiley face icon demonstrating this technique, but all I could find was this ninja. :ninja:
 
#8
TomSauter said:
You can bow tenths by bowing on the underside of the strings between the strings and the body of the bass. I looked for a smiley face icon demonstrating this technique, but all I could find was this ninja. :ninja:
Click to expand...


You can, I can't......I have a low B on the bottom of my fiver.
Very good Tom and your brain ( and you too ) are welcome to TBDB!
 
#13
oliebrice said:
I don't understand... how often would anyone want to play a 10th? More often than a 5th? 3rd? why? and how do you reach?
Click to expand...

Root on the E string, 10th on the G. Sometimes I play walking lines in tenths, when two-fiving it can be fun to alternate it with dominant or major 7th intervals with the root on the A string, if that makes sense. It's not like I would plan it ahead of time; sometimes it just pops out, like any other technique.
 
#14
How often is a taste question, why is a voicing question. The 10th sounds less muddy because of the distance between the intervals. Play an A on the E string and a C# on the A string, then play an A on the E string and a C# on the G string...
 
#15
Ed Fuqua said:
How often is a taste question, why is a voicing question. The 10th sounds less muddy because of the distance between the intervals. Play an A on the E string and a C# on the A string, then play an A on the E string and a C# on the G string...
Click to expand...

I do concur....yesireee. Alot of bassists don't think of dynamics in terms of intervals. The bass can sound a little muddy at times, especially when dealing with more than one note at a time.
 

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