Double Bass Glowing tones

[David Potts]

Coming back to the Ab and Db, I believe that the absence of sympathetic resonance for these notes contribute to give them some "thumpiness" with less sustain and brilliance than the A and G neighboring Ab, or the C and D neighboring Db. Same consideration holds for the thumpiness of the low F.

On re- reading this thread's contributions I picked up on this quote for further comment.

The "thumpiness" could be the result of habitually using the weaker pinkie, supported by 3 or not, to play A flat and D flat. If I want the greatest clarity of these notes I will play them with the stronger 2 supported by 1. The extra tightness of the skin at the exit point of the string helps clarity and sustain by not damping the string as much. Try each possibility and hear the difference.

The bottom F is affected by the thickness and weight of the E string, the clearance of the string at the nut and the proximity to the nut. Here you are relying on the strength and toughness of pad (callus?) of the index finger alone to press the string down where it is stiffest (least flexible).

Another reason for "thumpiness" is that the bow contact point or pizzicato plucking point need to vary for best results, note by note, at the same time. You should consider avoiding bowing/plucking on a strong harmonic point above the fingered note because that harmonic will be absent in the sound, perhaps deadening it.

 

[Dogfightgiggle]

To bring this topic back around I’ll add a couple things I’ve been doing recently to manage resonance/glowing tones.

For a softer dynamic it is kind of nice to use the free fingers to tamp down the open strings and kill the glowing tones. Of course, it takes some care because touching a harmonic may cause it to ring and ruin the effect.

Alternately, if the dynamic is stronger then it is often nice to play lines on a single string with fingers more arched so that sympathetic vibration can occur freely on the neighboring strings. Here you have to be somewhat careful of the key you’re in.

And here’s a question, does anyone ever go so far as to block out chords in order to excite glowing tones? This would possibly be useful for held notes in flat heavy keys.

 

[Neil Pye]

Bear in mind that the partials (apart from 5ths and octaves) will not be in tune - some are wide and some are narrow, so they are of limited use for tuning