Double Bass Help with some double stops

[Tony E.]

I'm not sure if this is the correct area to be posting in but I'll ask the wise DB gurus here anyway. I'm pretty new to double bass and can manage pretty well with sight-reading, but I came across a couple double stops in a piece I'll be playing for a musical and now I'm stumped. I cannot figure out how to play these to save my life, so ANY help or advice is welcome and very much appreciated.

*measures 80 and 81*

Yes, I know the picture is sideways, I don't know how to orient it correctly so please just bear with me here.

 

[Andy Mopley]

Are you sure it shouldn't be marked divisi?

On double bass a major 6th is one of the largest interval to write for because the fingering is even more spaced out than say a cello. There are also clarity issues, especially in the lower register, and they can become
muddy.

I read somewhere that nonadjacent double stops performed on the G and E strings together are possible by positioning the bow underneath of the strings with the hair facing up. Don't know how true this is, though.

 

[wathaet]

My reaction is typo. This is pizz, in which case it is very easy. Occams razor and good musical sense says it is pizz though.

If arco then I would do it as follows:
The first one 2nd finger C on the E string and E on the harmonic.
Second one let the open string ring and place the g gently on top with a matching taper.

 

[Cory Palmer]

My guess is that it’s not supposed to be a double stop. Most likely the note is supposed to change where the double stop is written. The piano part was probably cut and pasted into the bass part.

 

[Sean Riddle]

If these are supposed to be played pizz, totally possible. They're just tenths (aka a 3rd where the 3rd is an octave higher) and are very sonorous on the bass. The first can be done either with your second finger stopping the C on the E string and your ring and pinky finger stopping the E on the G string or the way wathaet mentioned. The second one can be played by plucking the open E string and the octave harmonic on the G string. For both of these I would pluck the lowest note with my thumb and the highest one with either my index or middle finger.
Now if this is supposed to be played arco and in a section, than the double stops should be notated with a divisi marking and thus the notes are split between the other players.

 

[Jazz Ad]

Ray Brown had great exercices in his bass method relating to 10th intervals and how to play them. I can't think of a way to play this with arco.

 

[SAlcott]

Looks to me like it was written by someone who knows very little about practical orchestration. It cannot be played arco.

 

[neilG]

Both are possible, if not practical: the first, as mentioned, C on the E, E harmonic on the A str. The second one is open E, G way up on the A string. I also think it's a typo or just a mistake. If the conductor has a full score, check that. If the score is the same, either learn to play it as written or ignore it and play one of the notes in a different octave that works.

 

[Tony E.]

Thanks to all for the help. Based on your responses i'm pretty sure that it was a misprint so I now feel a little more at ease.

 

[mtto]

I don't remember what the show is, but I've played it, and this is what I did.

 

[mtto]

When I played this show, my impression was of poor orchestration knowledge on the part of the arranger, rather than a typo. It happens.

There's enough happening in the rest of the band (or piano part if you're playing in a small group, like I was) that it isn't a big deal either way.