Double Bass Intonation....still

[bassat88]

I have yet to read this book but plan on doing so soon.

C.P.E Bach wrote a treatise on keyboard practice which I have heard is one of the best ways to learn harmony. If you can recognize the harmony you'll have a much better time of being able to hear how your part fits in and will have better judgement on where the pitch should be. Also studying scores and listening to recording so you know what's going on around you will help you as well.

Of course don't forget your scales and arpeggios!

 

[Bill Bentgen]

+1 on scales. Every, every day. If you are unsure of your intonation, than nothing less than an hour every day. I've been playing for 45 years and I still play scales every day.

Break the major scale up into two tetrachords. Play them slowly and try to make the intervals in the two 4 note sections match so that you hear the half-tone between 3-4 and 7-8. Doing this along with a drone is good.

Repeat every scale a gazillion times so that the actual fingering of the scale becomes second nature, and you can concentrate on the note placement within the scale.

 

[Jordan M]

+2 on scales. Also, arpeggios are possibly better because you have to work more to set them up.

 

[Andrew McGregor]

+1 on the arpeggios... every chord you can think of, in every inversion. Bass music isn't made of scales, so they have limited value. Arpeggios can cover every possible interval between notes, which is better ear and muscle training.

Also, understand how micro-intonation works... why the equal-tempered scale that keyboards and (most) tuners use doesn't really cut it, how to tweak away from that to something better sounding, when you can do that and when you can't, and how to use that for expressive purposes.

 

[Alex Scott]

i recommend peterson strobe tuners, they have a $10 iphone app, it is awesome, just as good as the real deal. if you have a touch, you need a microphone. if you don't have feedback or don't trust yourself, it will open the door to fixing your intonation. use that and figure out why you are out of tune. is it related to your position placement, finger spacing or your understanding of pitch? do you understand the concept of muscle memory? it can also be related to practice habits, do you slide around on notes when playing? do you not practice in chunks that are small enough for you to play perfectly? is your bow speed changing during notes? do you play each finger in the same space each time?

 

[David Potts]

My approach is perhaps more simple than many above.

The word SCALE comes from "Scala", Italian word for ladder.

Just like the rungs of a ladder the notes of a scale, be it Major, Melodic Minor or Harmonic Minor, are at rather precise distances apart.

I hear, and encourage my students to hear, a major scale as two groups of four notes (two "tetrachords"). Each group has the same spacings between notes. Starting from the tonic, Tone - Tone - Semitone.

Take C Major. C D E F and G A B C. The gap between the two groups is a tone, so the whole scale reads T T ST (T) T T ST.

No matter what form of scale or starting (tonic) note I choose I play the first four notes then pause a little before playing the next four so I hear the STRUCTURE of the scale clearly and try to PRE-HEAR the next notes coming towards me. If I am playing a two octave scale I repeat the middle octave before continuing in groups of four.

In the simple scales (few sharps or flats) there are many chances to check intonation against open strings.

I think of scales like flights of stairs that need landings every so often so that you don't lose focus. Incidentally, scales overlap each other so that the first four notes of C Major are the same as the last four of F Major, another reason why I promote listening in groups of four.

Another idea for helping intonation is to practice scales in intervals (3rds, 4ths, 5ths, etc. Especially 3rds). A spinoff from slow careful practice like the above is being so much more confident in keeping a clear mind as you move around the fingerboard locating notes.

Arpeggios are also important. Major, minor, dominant and diminished.

I make worksheets, one for each starting note, of scales and arpeggios over two octaves, starting with bottom E. Each sheet contains Major, Melodic Minor and Harmonic Minor scales. Also Major, minor, Dominant and Diminished arpeggios.
Where possible I work out two good fingerings for each that use different positions (overlaps).

I study two adjacent keys at a time (eg E and F). In this way I pretty well cover all the notes between, using different positions. I have an electronic tuner however this, like the piano, is set to tempered pitch.

To help play in tune with the piano, tune each open string to the same name note played near the center of the keyboard.

Hope all this helps.

DP