More later on the other stuff, but what do you mean by "playing chords". Curiosity killed the cat.
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Double Bass New jazz bass video tutorial series
More later on the other stuff, but what do you mean by "playing chords". Curiosity killed the cat.
More later on the other stuff, but what do you mean by "playing chords". Curiosity killed the cat.
Oh, sorry I wasn't clear. I meant playing more than one note at a time on the URB. For instance, Friesen typically strums chords when all of the bass faculty play the blues in the master class. But, any application of more than one note at a time. 4ths, drones. It seems like a more advanced technique, no? When I practice them, I have a really tough time getting 3 notes all in tune at once. If I play arpeggios I'm usually close enough so that a few cents here or there isn't very noticeable, but 3 notes simultaneously... that's tough. Even two notes simultaneously seems tough. I suppose, it might be because if I'm a bit off, adjusting becomes a much bigger issue with two notes simultaneously.
I have three videos out about double stop voicings - they are the ones titled "Shell Voicings". I don't tend to play triple stops because in the range that most of us play, they are very difficult to intonate, and even when you can do it, they tend toward muddiness. On 5 string electric, though, totally different story!
oh cool! I'll check them out. Hadn't heard the term "shell voicings" before.
Hey Chris, I just went looking for
I watched the vids on shell voicings/voice leading... Thanks! Great information! Good foundational description and great examples. I gotta say, I like the videos more than books for this type of information. For something like bowing, I suspect a book - like Goldsby's - is more appropriate. Way cool!
The new video on Bass Posture is finally done. It's a response to the many questions I've gotten over the years about how to apply the technical concepts I talk about in the series while playing from a standing position. Since I'm not a standing player, I've never been able to answer these questions in a satisfactory way. It occurred to me that the best way to answer the question would be to go directly to the source and ask great players to demonstrate how they hold their basses, and why. In this video, ten professional bassists do exactly that - three from a seated position, and seven from a standing position. Many thanks to the wonderful players and teachers who agreed to participate in the project!
Here's the timeline of the video:
0:00 Introduction (Theme music by John Goldsby)
0:52 Topic introduction
3:56 Seated Position Variations
4:00 Sidney King (traditional orchestral posture)
8:37 Chris Fitzgerald ("neo-cello" posture)
16:02 David Friesen (hybrid seated posture)
19:37 Standing Posture Variations
19:46 Rufus Reid (Rabbath/Laborie endpin posture)
33:08 Lynn Seaton (angled endpin posture)
38:53 John Goldsby (traditional endpin)
45:09 Tyrone Wheeler (traditional endpin)
51:09 Bob Sinicrope (traditional endpin)
54:00 Rich Armandi (traditional endpin)
59:51 Doug Elmore (traditional endpin)
1:02:01 Spoken conclusion
1:04:52 Outtro (Theme music by Lynn Seaton)
Here's the timeline of the video:
0:00 Introduction (Theme music by John Goldsby)
0:52 Topic introduction
3:56 Seated Position Variations
4:00 Sidney King (traditional orchestral posture)
8:37 Chris Fitzgerald ("neo-cello" posture)
16:02 David Friesen (hybrid seated posture)
19:37 Standing Posture Variations
19:46 Rufus Reid (Rabbath/Laborie endpin posture)
33:08 Lynn Seaton (angled endpin posture)
38:53 John Goldsby (traditional endpin)
45:09 Tyrone Wheeler (traditional endpin)
51:09 Bob Sinicrope (traditional endpin)
54:00 Rich Armandi (traditional endpin)
59:51 Doug Elmore (traditional endpin)
1:02:01 Spoken conclusion
1:04:52 Outtro (Theme music by Lynn Seaton)
Let me be the first to say that was a really great vid to see all the different physical approaches top playing bass.
I took a look in the mirror and realized I'm such a freak. I started out on the standard way but end up with something much different one I found a way to combine all the physical forms of other things I've been into. To weird to try to describe. Sometimes I move into the bass like I'm about to do some sort of body throw aikido-style, by taking its center as a way to push the bass into my fingers.
Everybody leans the bass back to pay tp in a manner while I bend my knees to get to the lower physical position. I don't know why but it's far less effort for me.
Anyway, it's also interesting to see all the pizz techniques side by side too. Thanks for all that work.
I took a look in the mirror and realized I'm such a freak. I started out on the standard way but end up with something much different one I found a way to combine all the physical forms of other things I've been into. To weird to try to describe. Sometimes I move into the bass like I'm about to do some sort of body throw aikido-style, by taking its center as a way to push the bass into my fingers.
Everybody leans the bass back to pay tp in a manner while I bend my knees to get to the lower physical position. I don't know why but it's far less effort for me.
Anyway, it's also interesting to see all the pizz techniques side by side too. Thanks for all that work.
Thanks, Huy. When I talked to the guys before and after shooting they all talked about going through a lot of trial and error to arrive at the stance they ended up with. I'll be the first to say that I learned a lot from being behind the camera, too. Lynn's thing is really interesting and I had never noticed the angle of his endpin or the "straight to the floor" thing.. or the fact that he likes it because it's like playing seated, but while standing, which Rufus also mentions. The closest I ever came to any of those standing postures is the one that John demonstrates toward the end of his section where he blocks the bass with his knee, but when I do it it throws my back all out of whack. Bob's stance totally ruins my left arm, but it works fine for Bob. Different strokes, which is kind of the point. We each have to find our own way!
Lynn's position reminds me of Reds seated playing. I would say that John's approach is probably the standard.
And then there's the Gary Karr/michael klinghoffer approach where the bass leans forward and falls into the fingers. I'm somewhere between that and John's but with the endpin lower like Bob. Almost vertical.
And then there's the Gary Karr/michael klinghoffer approach where the bass leans forward and falls into the fingers. I'm somewhere between that and John's but with the endpin lower like Bob. Almost vertical.
I see a little connection between Lynn's stance and Red's, but Red had the bass much higher and seemed to come around the body from behind rather than from on top. Agree that John's approach os the norm that I've seen, he just makes it look easier than most. John has long been one of my role models for many reasons, but more than anything it's the way he makes playing the bass look easy and relaxed.
I wish I knew someone who used the Klinghoffer/Karr stance - if I had I would have tried to include them in the video. They both look very relaxed when they play, but my body just can't find that comfort zone. Plus, as Lynn and Rufus pointed out, that vertical stance means something different in the way the bow is connected to the string because gravity needs to be dealt with. But they sure make it work!
I wish I knew someone who used the Klinghoffer/Karr stance - if I had I would have tried to include them in the video. They both look very relaxed when they play, but my body just can't find that comfort zone. Plus, as Lynn and Rufus pointed out, that vertical stance means something different in the way the bow is connected to the string because gravity needs to be dealt with. But they sure make it work!
Yes, from my understanding and experience, the bass "falls" into the bow generating the pressure against the hair, instead of the arm weight doing it. The hitch is finding the spot to maintain good posture while doing it. Bass stands vertical allowing you to stand very close to it, and the right hand is not so stretched out. Left elbow isn't bent at a sharp angle like when the bass is leaning into you as there's more room up top.
I dig how Rufus raises his elbow to get to the E string
I dig how Rufus raises his elbow to get to the E string
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Matt Brewer looks like he plays with the bass fairly vertical. Notice how his Left Arm is often directly behind the neck, NOT adjacent to the neck, AND how far away the bass neck/fingerboard is from his neck. Yikes!
Also - his L Hand is a bit unconventional - I see his L thumb often esp. in the lower positions (NOT cool, bro!), and he is fond of a kind of "baseball bat" grip, there, at times. Yikes!
I'm not real fond of this vertical stance, but is seems to work for him. Ya Think?
Also Too - Clarence Penn is a serious MF. Yikes!
Thanks.
I can never get comfortable with the side of my bass against my belly as in the above example. But sometimes you see guys doing it and they sound great. Likewise, I don't make too many judgements about the thumb being visible in the low positions; I've seen Edgar and Paul Kowert do that live on more than one occasion, and I'm surely not in a position to criticize either of those guys! I guess if one of my students was doing that we'd explore it, but if they sounded that good doing it I'd probably mention that they should examine certain parts of their technique should they ever experience pain and then move on.
There's a sonic argument for the belly-on-the-side: Touching the back will dampen the natural resonance of the body. This is part of why Freddie Green played guitar with the form he did. If you watch him the first almost sticks out sideways. And if course he gets an amazing tone.
I'd like to add a few bits because the "Karr stance" is in my opinion not where it starts for Gary and there is no single way to stand:
Gary's technique is centered around the sound you want to get from the instrument (using the bow). "Your sound" (in Gary's case closer to the bridge) is probably the only thing you never compromise - regardless of playing German/French bow or playing standing or seated. So putting the bow in the correct spot to get "your sound" determines the height of the instrument. Then you find a way to get comfortable with the instrument. Playing French bow gives you a different arm length than German bow etc. Everything else what you do with your body - all bodies are shaped differently - also when it comes to leaning the instrument into the bow, is just ways to be comfortable and maneuver the instrument into the correct spot to produce the most gorgeous sound possible at that moment. (You don't lean your instrument into the bow all the time.)
Also, when you listen to the sound of the instrument, you're actually supposed to listen to what's coming back from the hall. That way you also get the most projecting sound. I experienced this first hand many times listening to people play: some of the things that people do can be bad to your health but things like leaning over the bass, pressing etc. are actually also very bad for your sound. This applies to sitting, too. The same players usually sounded a lot better standing than sitting playing the same piece of music.
Thanks Chris for this great video discussion about holding the bass. Wonderful to see and hear all the different approaches from so many great bassists. I guess I tend to favor something between John's and Tyrone's approaches although I stand/sit on many gigs with both feet planted on the floor. Again, great video and wonderful work.
So interesting that it appears many of these bassists used the same instrument, (AES La Scala)?, and yet all pulled a different tone and volume. Says a lot about the "all in the hands" thing....
