Double Bass Is it possible to sustain a note while playing notes above it?

[carburetor]

Hello everyone!

I am not a bassist (I play saxophone) but I like to write parts for bass and I have a question about right-hand upright bass technique.

Is it possible to play a string and let it ring while playing notes on the string directly above it? For example, can you sustain the open D string while playing notes on the G string?

Like this:
----2--4-
-0-------(let ring)
---------
---------

But not like this:
----2--4-
-0--0--0-
---------
---------

I don't have an upright bass; the closest thing I have is a fretless acoustic bass. On this bass I can accomplish this by playing with my thumb, since the thumb picks downward. From what I've seen, upright bass players pick with their fingers, playing only "upstrokes" that come to rest on the string below, thus muting it.

But, I saw Christian McBride play with his thumb once, and I thought maybe there's a way to pick with the fingers so that they pass over the string below rather than coming to rest on it.

Any information is appreciated, thanks!

 

[Sean Riddle]

You would need to pluck up rather than across if you’re using your index and middle finger. If sustain is what you’re after, then using the thumb is the best bet.

 

[Les Fret]

You would need to pluck up rather than across if you’re using your index and middle finger. If sustain is what you’re after, then using the thumb is the best bet.

This. Or use a tirando stroke with i and m, so not playing against de underlying string. Or play the lower string with your thumb and the higher one with fingers. Many possibilities to play the same thing. That makes it fun!. Try them all and see what you like.

 

[jj.833]

You can technically play both options you have in your tabulature. The setback might occur from dynamics point of view. On this picture, you can see dynamics (dB, y axis) vs. time (seconds, x axis) of A string plucked mezzoforte on double bass. You can see that the dynamic difference between say 0.1 to 0.4 sec and 0.6 to 3 sec is very high. (Listen to atached file, it's the same sound.) Double bass plays very much loudest on transients. This can be mediated using good playing technique to a degree. However, if you play...

----2--4-
-0-------(let ring)

... it's quite likely that when the 2 and 4 are played, the 0 would not be hearable as it will get masked by the other tones. Especially, if there are other instruments involved. I'd experiment with 'bass quitar' techniques like strumming with fingernails and such. And I would be prepared it just don't work much.

 

[unbrokenchain]

I do this all the time in practice, for example if playing in the key of D I'll let the open string sustain to make it easier to tune notes on the G string. Thumb not necessary (though sometimes useful!), I just modify my RH technique to avoid hitting the open string on the follow-through. It's more difficult imo to leave the higher-pitched string ringing, for example letting the open G sustain while I stop notes on the D. Not impossible, but easy to inadvertently mute the G with my left hand.

 

[turf3]

The point is that the loudness of a plucked open string on double bass drops off so quickly (and a fingered note much faster than that), that you probably will not obtain a chordal effect very well. It's not like on a piano where you can play a note with your thumb, hold the key down, and play other notes above it, and still clearly hear the first note.

That said, you can hear Jimmy Garrison use this effect in his long bass solo between parts 1 and 2 of A Love Supreme (at least, I think that's what he's doing).

 

[carburetor]

Thanks for the replies!

So this is what I've learned: it is possible to achieve what I'm after by plucking with the thumb or plucking "up" with the fingers (which is called a tirando stroke).

Are these techniques commonly used or practiced? Would most jazz bassists be prepared to play a part that makes frequent use of these techniques?

And just to reiterate, I'm asking this because I write parts for upright bass and I want to know if they are playable. I am fond of polyphonic bass parts that use the high and low range of the instrument simultaneously.

Also, does anyone have an example (audio or video) of someone using either of these techniques (plucking with thumb or tirando stroke)?

 

[carburetor]

Thanks to jj.833 and turf3 for their input on sustain. I'm aware that the double bass has a loud transient and rapid decay, and I think I'm working within those limits. The phrases that I'm writing are around 2 or 2.5 seconds long at most. Even if it is quiet, I feel that having the low note sustaining underneath the phrase makes an appreciable difference, but I could be wrong.

 

[Papageno]

Plucking with the thumb is quite common indeed (at the expense of speed, though...). Besides using it to let another string ring as in your case, I find that plucking with the thumb gives a very specific and pleasing tone; I like using it for this purpose.
A further use of the thumb is this: (natural) harmonics acquire a very clear bell-like sound if I pluck them with the (right hand) thumb above my left hand towards the nut (in this case I play harmonics in the first octave part of the fingerboard). It feels slightly akward at first, but is rather easy actually. In this way, I can play clear harmonics up to the 7th partial (just intonated minor 7th).