Double Bass Long time Lurker has Bass song selection question

[LongRifle]

As noted by the title, I have been a long time lurker and just now registered.

Here is what i need your help on.

My daughter who is 14, is a double bass player (since 6th grade) and pretty good. All Sr District Orchestra her Freshman year in High School.

She is also a pretty good electric bass player and accoustic guitar player

She takes lessons from an older bass player who is very, very accomplished, and assigns her very challenging pieces.

In her words "I love to be challenged, but I hate the music that I am being assigned"

I know this is a broad question, but could you guys recommend some pieces that are both challenging (enough to make her teacher happy) yet maybe something that is more well know, that she might like?

She loves Broadway musicals, and will gladly listen to classical stations on XM radio while we are in the car. I have tried to get her to play Rush and The Police songs on her electric but that does not seem to hold much interest for her. That is kind of shocking

Any help would be appreciated

 

[Jason Sypher]

The best approach is to listen to a lot of music around the house, all kinds of music and let her find her own way. Do some research, like you are right now, and find out who bass players are listening to, both old and new, and have that music available for her to explore on her own.

 

[Mike Goodbar]

If it has a melody, you can play it on the bass. I would encourage her to either transcribe the music she likes from available sheet music (most B'way stuff is available), or even transcribe it by ear. It would be great ear training for her. Maybe she has a piano-playing friend who can accompany her.

There are also books of popular classical pieces transcribed for bass (the infamous "pink book" springs to mind -- cant' remember the exact title of the collection right now).

 

[Violen]

Get her a real book. Have her learn the melodies and start memorizing them and the chord changes.


Then get her Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence by Dream Theater.


Figure out which direction she likes better.

 

[forester]

pit orchestra this summer..fun,fun ,fun.

 

[LongRifle]

Yes, she does some transposing, and is pretty good at it.

The issue is that from the teacher's perspective he gives her things like: The Elephant (which she likes), Bouree from Bach's cello suite and most recently anthony capuzzi's concerto 1st movement.

All I am trying to do is find more songs that challenge her like Bouree, yet that she likes

She really likes her teacher, just needs to new material.

 

[drurb]

Have you and/or your daughter had a serious chat with her teacher about this?

 

[eerbrev]

There are also books of popular classical pieces transcribed for bass (the infamous "pink book" springs to mind -- cant' remember the exact title of the collection right now).

The infamous "pink book" is the Oscar Zimmerman Solos for the double bass player book. It's got some really nice transcriptions in there, as well as some flops, though YMMV. Also, for some of the pieces (such as the bottesini elegy in D) they take some stuff down the octave for a lower learning level, which I don't necessarily agree with. That being said, I like the book.

What has you daughter been playing recently? perhaps we could guide you further if we had a recognizable piece to show what level she's at.

regards,

Eerbrev

 

[LongRifle]

I posted a very quick note yesterday giving a flavor of what the teacher has been assigning

": The Elephant (which she likes), Bouree from Bach's cello suite and most recently anthony capuzzi's concerto 1st movement. "

A couple of questions were posed in the last couple of posts.

- I hate to say this, but no, we have not had a serious discussion with the teacher. It is complicated. I think that conversation would go better coupled with... "here is a piece she would like to play" that way we are not "complaining" but we are offering a viable alternative. win win right?

- in addtion the pieces above, she has been selected to play in the "pit" for the Suessical Musical at her high school. But, that will be on electric bass and not the double bass

 

[Paul Barsic]

I like your approach of trying to get her to play Rush and The Police, trying to inspire her with things that you enjoy and maybe feature the bass more than other music of the same genre. You should suggest that she try to listen to many different kinds of music until she finds some stuff that inspires her. I think that will help her have a meaningful discussion with her teacher, let them have a conversation that begins, "I like..." rather than, "I don't like..."

Here is some stuff that has inspired me as a player. It is all jazz, but that was the music that inspired me to take up the double bass in the first place. You can buy some of these used on Amazon for only a few dollars. Also, the first three of these albums have at least one tune from Broadway or the movies, so that could serve as a bridge to her current musical tastes.

Bill Evans Trio "Sunday at the Village Vanguard"
Paul Chambers "Bass on Top"
Art Pepper "Art Pepper Meets the Rhythm Section"
Dave Holland "Ones All"
Miles Davis "Kind of Blue"

(Jazz fans will note that three of those albums have Paul Chambers as a bass player. To that I reply, "So What.")

 

[LongRifle]

I appreciate it... keep them coming if people have more ideas

I am copying and pasting the ideas and emailing them to my daughter.

She is really something, and really enjoys bass (both double and electric), as well as acoustic guitar. She has a lot of guitar fun with Taylor Swift stuff, Kenny Chesney, Zac Brown Band...etc.