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Double Bass New jazz bass video tutorial series
I believe you wil find interesting stuff in it. If you want to have a glimpse into it before your library receives it, you may view some exerpts in google books.
Among the things I find really interesting in this book and did not find elsewhere, isvthe discussion of harmonic rhythm and of the importance of metric stress for harmony.
I got the book from the library and will be checking it out in the coming weeks. Thanks for the recommendation!
It's been a minute since the last video, but life does what it does regardless of our intentions.
The first of a three part series on double bass intonation. This episode focuses on the science of the two most prevalent tuning systems in use today: Just Intonation and Equal Temperament. Part Two of the series will focus on the "Sweet Spot", the point for any interval where it is most in tune, and how to find it. Part Three will cover aspects of intonation like the differences between bowed and pizzicato intonation, strategies for playing with Equal Tempered instruments, and more.
Video Index by time stamp
0:00 Title screen and playing intro
1:06 Spoken introduction – Intonation as math
2:26 Intuitive intonation and differences between the two approaches
3:57 Intervals as ratios and interval types
5:30 Intervals as frequencies as measured in Hz
6:18 Interval ratios as polyrhythms
7:31 Interval ratios as polyrhythms notated
8:45 Transforming polyrhythm into pitch by speeding it up
10:49 How to absorb the sounds of intervals intuitively
11:09 Just Intonation versus Equal Temperament
12:35 Learning to hear the difference between Just and Equal Tempered intervals
15:01 Direct comparison of all 12 Just versus Equal Tempered intervals
20:45 Three observations and conclusion
22:13 Playing outro
22:52 End title screen
This one is pretty nerdy, but it needed to be out before the information in the second one would have the proper context. I hope to finish the second one this month.
The first of a three part series on double bass intonation. This episode focuses on the science of the two most prevalent tuning systems in use today: Just Intonation and Equal Temperament. Part Two of the series will focus on the "Sweet Spot", the point for any interval where it is most in tune, and how to find it. Part Three will cover aspects of intonation like the differences between bowed and pizzicato intonation, strategies for playing with Equal Tempered instruments, and more.
Video Index by time stamp
0:00 Title screen and playing intro
1:06 Spoken introduction – Intonation as math
2:26 Intuitive intonation and differences between the two approaches
3:57 Intervals as ratios and interval types
5:30 Intervals as frequencies as measured in Hz
6:18 Interval ratios as polyrhythms
7:31 Interval ratios as polyrhythms notated
8:45 Transforming polyrhythm into pitch by speeding it up
10:49 How to absorb the sounds of intervals intuitively
11:09 Just Intonation versus Equal Temperament
12:35 Learning to hear the difference between Just and Equal Tempered intervals
15:01 Direct comparison of all 12 Just versus Equal Tempered intervals
20:45 Three observations and conclusion
22:13 Playing outro
22:52 End title screen
This one is pretty nerdy, but it needed to be out before the information in the second one would have the proper context. I hope to finish the second one this month.
Part Two of the series on intonation.
The second of a three part series on double bass intonation. The first episode focused on the science of the two most prevalent tuning systems in use today: Just Intonation and Equal Temperament. Part Two of the series focuses on the "Sweet Spot", the point for any interval where it is most in tune, and how to find it. Part Three will cover aspects of intonation like the differences between bowed and pizzicato intonation, strategies for playing with Equal Tempered instruments, and more.
Index by time stamp
0:00 Title screen and playing intro
1:06 Spoken introduction
1:37 On the need to adjust intonation in performance
3:04 My philosophy of bass intonation
4:15 Definition of the intonation “Sweet Spot”
4:52 The intonation envelope of an unstopped note on a plucked string
5:36 Fingered notes, and our left hand adjustment mechanism
6:18 Rolling the stopping finger in relation to a tuner
7:55 Sweet Spot practice against a drone
8:25 Perfect consonances against a drone
11:14 How to “sweep” aural attention to the upper overtones
13:16 Screenshot example of redirecting aural attention
16:50 Imperfect consonances against a drone
19:08 Dissonances against a drone
21:32 Review and summary: Five takeaways
22:51 Setup/technique tips to help hear overtones quickly
24:43 Playing outro and end title screen
The second of a three part series on double bass intonation. The first episode focused on the science of the two most prevalent tuning systems in use today: Just Intonation and Equal Temperament. Part Two of the series focuses on the "Sweet Spot", the point for any interval where it is most in tune, and how to find it. Part Three will cover aspects of intonation like the differences between bowed and pizzicato intonation, strategies for playing with Equal Tempered instruments, and more.
Index by time stamp
0:00 Title screen and playing intro
1:06 Spoken introduction
1:37 On the need to adjust intonation in performance
3:04 My philosophy of bass intonation
4:15 Definition of the intonation “Sweet Spot”
4:52 The intonation envelope of an unstopped note on a plucked string
5:36 Fingered notes, and our left hand adjustment mechanism
6:18 Rolling the stopping finger in relation to a tuner
7:55 Sweet Spot practice against a drone
8:25 Perfect consonances against a drone
11:14 How to “sweep” aural attention to the upper overtones
13:16 Screenshot example of redirecting aural attention
16:50 Imperfect consonances against a drone
19:08 Dissonances against a drone
21:32 Review and summary: Five takeaways
22:51 Setup/technique tips to help hear overtones quickly
24:43 Playing outro and end title screen
Well, it looks like I'm going to be "That Guy...." again.
In the section at 11:14, you used synthetically generated(?) tones (and subsequent overtones) for your demonstration of "sweep aural attention..."
My first question is : Did you consider the effect of Inharmonicity that is inherent in the vibrations (and overtones) of wound/large, multi-layered strings?
The low/wound strings on a piano (or the strings on a DB), produce overtones (esp. upper partials) that are not at all mathematically reliable - they are, Sharp, in relation to the fundamental pitch, and might not be a reliable reference in your scenario.
Thx,
Yours Truly,
(That) Guy On The Internet.
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Don - thanks for watching the video and weighing in! The generated tones on that sample were from the Tonal Energy Tuner. I think they are a bassoon patch. I used them because it was the same patch used in the first video examples of each interval comparing just intonation to equal temperament.
In researching for this video, I tried a lot of different sounds from a lot of different sources. Every sound source has a unique signature for sure. My piano tuner, an older gentleman who has tuned concert pianos for decades, did a huge exposition on this last year, talking about the overtones on piano strings and how and why tuners decide to adjust the width of a piano tuning from bass to treble so that the overtones of the bass notes are more in tune with the treble (unwound) register than they would be if the piano were tuned more strictly to a rigid system. His tuning app even keeps records of each individual piano based on make, model, size, and year (mine is a 6’3” Baldwin from 1937, recently rebuilt with new strings, pin block, hammers, and rebuilt action). The detail these guys go into with on this subject is mind bending.
When I play the 12 intervals on a sine wave generator in Logic (set to the key of whatever I am using for home base for the interval set), it sounds slightly different because of the lack of overtones. But the real point is, even with pure sine waves, there is always a beat pattern - what I call turbulence in the two videos - for all imperfect intervals. The beauty of the sweet spot system, for me anyway, is that you don’t need to worry about all of the minutiae of what sound sources have what kind of overtones. You are just minimizing the turbulence (beat pattern speed) at all times. That is the one constant that never changes, even when other variables do. The “sweeping of attention” example was just inserted to remind people to listen to the entire sound to try to make sure the overtones are being accounted for.
Fortunately, a musician doesn’t have to understand the theory or the math to play in tune. Similarly, many people who can spout chapter and verse about intonation theory can be found to be singing/playing really out of tune. 30 years of conducting theory audits has taught me nothing if not that!
In researching for this video, I tried a lot of different sounds from a lot of different sources. Every sound source has a unique signature for sure. My piano tuner, an older gentleman who has tuned concert pianos for decades, did a huge exposition on this last year, talking about the overtones on piano strings and how and why tuners decide to adjust the width of a piano tuning from bass to treble so that the overtones of the bass notes are more in tune with the treble (unwound) register than they would be if the piano were tuned more strictly to a rigid system. His tuning app even keeps records of each individual piano based on make, model, size, and year (mine is a 6’3” Baldwin from 1937, recently rebuilt with new strings, pin block, hammers, and rebuilt action). The detail these guys go into with on this subject is mind bending.
When I play the 12 intervals on a sine wave generator in Logic (set to the key of whatever I am using for home base for the interval set), it sounds slightly different because of the lack of overtones. But the real point is, even with pure sine waves, there is always a beat pattern - what I call turbulence in the two videos - for all imperfect intervals. The beauty of the sweet spot system, for me anyway, is that you don’t need to worry about all of the minutiae of what sound sources have what kind of overtones. You are just minimizing the turbulence (beat pattern speed) at all times. That is the one constant that never changes, even when other variables do. The “sweeping of attention” example was just inserted to remind people to listen to the entire sound to try to make sure the overtones are being accounted for.
Fortunately, a musician doesn’t have to understand the theory or the math to play in tune. Similarly, many people who can spout chapter and verse about intonation theory can be found to be singing/playing really out of tune. 30 years of conducting theory audits has taught me nothing if not that!
Yes. Same with my Piano Tuner Guy...(PTG)
OK. I had not heard of this concept in my past 52 yrs of study, and am more of a Fundamental Guy when it comes to matters of "Intonation".
Also - I would not be capable of implementing this concept in the midst of a Drums/Cymbals/Piano/ Horns, etc., maelstrom.
Yeah...Reminds me of Supreme Court Judge (Potter Stuart) who once answered "...I know it when I see it....", when asked to define Obscenity.
I (usually/hopefully) know it when I hear it. (Intonation, that is.)
IMFO, of course.
Thanks,
My PTG has been extremely helpful in getting my thoughts together on this topic. I don’t know when I’ll have time to do the third installment, but in it, there’s a practical example that my PTG suggested based on his years of experience tuning pianos for orchestras. When the piano is a featured part of the orchestra, as in concertos (yes, the proper term is concerti but I’m just not that posh), he mentions how he can hear the tuning of the orchestra flex to accommodate the piano, then return to its normal state when the piano isn’t part of the texture.
He suggested this example, and it’s a great one: he played an octave low A and asked me to play a C# (he had his Lamborghini strobotuner on, but only he could see it). When I did, he said “you intuitively played a just 3rd. Keep playing that note”. Then he played an A major triad above the octave on the piano while I kept the note going. He then noted that I instinctively adjusted the C# higher to match the octave of the C# the piano was now playing. He said, “See? You couldn’t help yourself, because the brain’s need for that perfect octave to be in tune is stronger than the brain’s desire for the 3rd to be Just. It’s an intuive hierarchy”
I find that listening to - or better put, feeling - the beating pattern of the overtones in the maelstrom is much easier than trying to hear the fundamental, especially since in the lower register the string length is too short to put much of the fundamental out there. There’s a sidebar in the video about this, which I describe as Kinesthetic intonation.
I had a great discussion with Arnold Schnitzer about this at ISB regarding round vs. flat back basses. In the maelstrom, it’s often easier to use the tactile senses to feel those beat patterns and adjust than to hear them. I told Arnold that I can feel the beats where my body touches the bass on round backs much better than flat backs. He said that made sense, because the bracing on flat backs could mute or distort the vibrations I feel through the edge of the back plate. He suggested I try a flat back with a boomerang brace that didn’t span the whole back, and sure enough, I could feel the intonation much better on one of those. But he also said “if you like round backs, just stick with that”.
I can’t read irony on the internet. But in case this wasn’t ironic, I used that very quote early in the first video to describe the difference between conceptual and intuitive intonation. It’s what the whole Sweet Spot concept is based on, in a way.
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For me, Overtones, Etc., aside, a note (in the maelstrom) is either IN or OUT of tune.
But I'm just a simple (old) guy with Four Strings and A Dream.
Thanks for the convo.
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I like to play duets with my students as part of intonation demonstration and discussion. I have to be mindful of not getting too nerdy and deep into the physics and math. It does seem to help them understand and increase awareness. I'm anxious to check out the videos and see if I can give the students some more useful info. At least I'll gain some.
I'm not a DB player, but I use your educational material frequently. I'm grateful for your work every time I click on my "TB Resources - Chris Fitzgerald" folder in Dropbox, right next to my "TB Resources - Don Kasper Lead Sheets" and "TB Resources - Ed Fuqua - Jazz Pedagogy" folders.
