My jazz teacher is mainly making me focus on my bass guitar technique and repitore, so lessons aren't focused on upright bass too much. I'm getting too much hand pain from over playing snd and bad technique, and currently I can't afford private lessons till next semester . I'm going to save up for lessons and hopefully get my hands checked for carpel tunnel. Next time I will be taking lessons from a classical teacher.
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Double Bass I'm Going to Have to Quit Upright For Now
- Thread starter Donald Thompson
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- sad boy
If your goal is play upright, rather than quitting, perhaps stop over playing and focus on using good technique. If you quit, it's likely you will lose any conditioning and skill you have developed. So when your are ready to start learning the upright again, you will be back at the beginning.
To me studying jazz is more about theory and musical ideas...I don't see it relating to a specific instrument. When I was in school I learned new theory ideas in class and/or from a book. Next I applied those ideas to piano. The last thing I did was translate what I had learned to bass. After that I tried using the concepts in some sort of ensemble.
If you have more facility and endurance on bass guitar, I can see your teachers logic. That does not mean you shouldn't also put in some work on Simandl exercises to bring along your technique on upright. Just don't overdo it.
To me studying jazz is more about theory and musical ideas...I don't see it relating to a specific instrument. When I was in school I learned new theory ideas in class and/or from a book. Next I applied those ideas to piano. The last thing I did was translate what I had learned to bass. After that I tried using the concepts in some sort of ensemble.
If you have more facility and endurance on bass guitar, I can see your teachers logic. That does not mean you shouldn't also put in some work on Simandl exercises to bring along your technique on upright. Just don't overdo it.
My Jazz bass mentor told me I'd get more work if I could double on upright, and he wasn't wrong.
He also showed me how to use the minimum amount of LH force to get a note sounding. That has surely saved my bacon (or more specifically my wrists).
Hopefully you can find a path forward on upright bass with the right lessons - assuming you want to.
He also showed me how to use the minimum amount of LH force to get a note sounding. That has surely saved my bacon (or more specifically my wrists).
Hopefully you can find a path forward on upright bass with the right lessons - assuming you want to.
Right now my teacher seems more interested in teaching BG technique. There's no bowing involved, and he's more focused on teaching learning songs than learning more of the fundamentals of URB. So until I get extra funding for next semester, I cannot afford another teacher. Besides, they got two upright basses at school I can practice with.
Isn't it better to forget everything and relearn with better technique? The two issues I have right now getting a stretched out pointer finger for playing two whole notes in first position and not having enough force in my arm to play the e and a string without buzzing. I might need to look for a doctor.
It's your decision. If you are convinced you should quit...simply quit. No reason to start a TB thread where random strangers will try to change your mind
.Sounds like a potential setup problem IMHO.
No one says you have to play upright...EVER! Upright could/should open a bunch of doors for you down the road. But they may not necessarily be the doors you want to walk through.
Do what you think is right for you.
Good Luck!
Do what you need to do, my friend. Hope to see you back playing DB at some future point. If not, kill it on electric!
where random strangers will try to change your mind
Hey, I ain’t no random stranger not.
And OP: the way you tell it sounds like your teacher has better control of the BG, dabbling on DB, and is trying to nudge you into his comfort zone.
Are your physical problems the result of practising with wrong/bad technique because he gave bad instructions? In that case I’d stop playing DB (or both?) long enough to heal and if you have already developed bad habits, get educated about all misconceptions for starting again the good way.
I've always found the finger per fret method my electric bass students use - college level players who come to me with sometimes quite a bit of experience - very stressful on my hand and wrist in the money positions. Playing the upright should not hurt. Thousands of people, many I'm sure with smaller and weaker hands and wrists than you, play without pain. Taking some time off for getting rid of the pain and inflammation is wise; that would mean no electric bass either. Then rebuild your left hand technique paying attention to your whole body - right hand too. If your teacher is working on learning repertoire and building bass lines, he can make tremendous progress without an instrument by studying theory and ear training. You gotta be patient. You've got decades of music ahead.
- Jul 28, 2009
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This was my first thought as well. Added that you are experiencing pain because of bad technique that your instructor hasn't and can't address.
I remember my first DB teacher was exactly this. This was in High School for me. It was at a local music store which I had taken BG lessons with someone else for a couple of years. The store referred me to a teacher there. In hindsight knowing what I know now, he was terrible. Fantastic BG player but I realized later that he was a BG player that decided to take up DB and taught himself how to play DB. Having not learned how to play it right he was teaching me all of his bad habits. Good thing I decided to visit the local community college which had an orchestra and I found a teacher there he was an undergrad student who learned from someone who was the principal of a minor professional orchestra. This kid didn't didn't charge much. He was a mediocre teacher but far better than that BG-player-self-taught-on-DB at the local music store.. It got me off to a good start, which was what was important. It also opened up my life experiences to playing and enjoying classical music which was not something I ever considered at that point, but I digress.
At this point you don't need a Jazz upright teacher. You just need a good DB teacher. Just like the great jazz pianists, they start learning from classical pianists early on on life and later decide to focus on a genre, that comes later, the genre doesn't matter at this point. You just need someone to work with you on Simandl and proper technique.
A little on career choices. Careerwise in Jazz, just out of college, I distinctly remember turning down gigs as an upright player while my BG friends were begging and waiting for opportunities. They were very impressive players but are just too many of them compared to the need. And this was in the 1990'-early 2000's when BG was all the rage because of smooth "jazz". As a upright player, I have more opportunities than time for.
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BobDeRosa
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- May 16, 2012
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What do the teacher's interests have to do with you, and why should you comply?
It's a time thing. I can't really give 100 percent of my focus on bass and upright.
I made a thread on the OFPF thing, and while it does cover more on notes the bass guitar, it still feels more akward than just shifting when playing notes. On a second note, I've just played upright this morning, and I love that thing so much I might just keep it and play for 10 mins a day till I get better.
There is NO double-bass method that includes this*. Whatever else your 'teacher' has been telling you, if he is wanting you to do this then dropping him as a double-bass teacher is absolutely the right thing to do.
* unless you actually mean two semi-tones, e.g. B, C, C#
I’m confused. You say you can’t afford upright lessons, but you must be paying your current teacher who wants you to stop playing upright. Put your money towards a good upright teacher.
I've taught at a college for years and I understand your dilemma. I'm an upright player - a pretty good one of I do say so myself - who can cut the occasional gig on electric, but I don't consider myself to be a virtuostic electric player at all. Actually, I think that's a hidden strength; my lack of chops means I keep it simple, try to groove, and have zero interest in showing off. Come to think of it, good advice for any bassist. I often get electric students cause I'm the bass guy on the faculty. I do the best I can and I think I do an ok job, but I'm always upfront about my limits and encourage them to scour the Internet which is full of wonderful stuff if you know how to separate the wheat from the chaff. Instead of focusing on specific BG technique, I stress what I know: harmony, rhythmic feel, etc. Your teacher probably has a lot to teach you and you should soak it up even if he's not an expert on upright bass. Some places to look for upright stuff on the web could include Discover Double Bass and the videos put up by Talk Bass's Chris Fitzgerald. One thing you might consider, as others have mentioned, is making sure an expert - player or luthier - checks out the upright you're playing to make sure it's ok. I find some of the basses students get to be absolutely painful to play.
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