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Double Bass Newbie Classical Help

H

Herbie 80's

Dec 15, 2008
679
6
#1
Howdy,

Recently I acquired my first upright (you may have seen it in the Double Basses section). My Music Teacher (at High School) has said that if I feel confident enough in a week, to come to practices for pit band. We're putting on "The Music Man" this year. Looking at the sheet music, it isn't too hard, but as I have only had the bass for two days, what are major things I should focus on?

The problems I have run into so far are:

My bowing stance - I can't hit the E string without my wrist bending too much (German bow). My stance is a sorta fencer's pose, right foot farther behind left, knee lightly resting on the back of the bass. The right shoulder rests on my gut lightly, and I can balance the bass with no hands. Since I am using a German bow, I use an underhand technique, thumb on top of the stick, index finger on outer side, and the rest of my fingers in the frog. The bow is deep in my hand.

I have tried multiple stances, bow holding techniques, but I can't seem to find one that works for me.

And: My intonation. I can hit certain notes well, and I have an idea of where the other notes are. I've had a bit of fun in thumb position as well, but learning First position is my first goal. What are some tips for intonation, fingers and the such?

The practice materials I have are some old Hal Leonard Jazz Basic books, and my Music Teacher is giving me the Canadian Military Upright Bass books.

Unfortunately, I'm not able to have an Upright Bass specific teacher, as I live in the almost-middle-of-nowhere.

Thanks : )
 
#4
Ok, that's pretty much the middle of nowhere in particular :-)

So, get yourself a stool. An ordinary bar stool will do, but it needs to have a foot rung at a comfortable height and be slightly lower than most bar stools, so you can comfortable put your right foot on the ground. Seated is easier than standing, especially with German bow.

The bow should not touch the palm of your hand except during the turn-around, and even then should be out near your knuckles rather than into your thumb muscle. Hold the stick more like a pencil, and use your 3rd and 4th fingers to control it.

Intonation is just practice. Match to a keyboard, pitch pipe, tuning fork, or a good digital tuner, and really listen to the pitches and feel their places at the same time.

Correct form for all this is important to avoid injuries... you do need to have a couple of lessons, but given how much of a mission that will be... do at least study all the video and pictures you can find of the top players.

Especially, understand that you should hardly work your hand and wrist muscles, everything is done with posture and the weight of your body. Balance the weight of your left arm through your fingertips, and balance the weight of the bow off your right hand.
 
#5
Dittos on the stool, the bow grip, and pretty much everrything Andrew said. If you want some suggestions on how to sit, go here:

http://www.billbentgen.com/bass/playing_position.htm

Your variables are; how far the endpin is extended, the angle of the bass against your body, where the corner of the bass rests against your gut, how close you are to the bass, and how far forward or backward your butt is on the stool. Find a position where you can reach the high notes at the end of your fingerboard with your left hand, and where you can comfortably bow the string about 2-3 inches from the bridge without hitting your right leg while bowing the E string at the tip. Try to keep your back straight, or you'll end up with chronic back pain like me.

After that, you have it made. All you have to do is play a gazillion scales and you'll be playing in tune! :-)
 
#6
Bill Bentgen said:
Dittos on the stool, the bow grip, and pretty much everrything Andrew said. If you want some suggestions on how to sit, go here:

http://www.billbentgen.com/bass/playing_position.htm

Your variables are; how far the endpin is extended, the angle of the bass against your body, where the corner of the bass rests against your gut, how close you are to the bass, and how far forward or backward your butt is on the stool. Find a position where you can reach the high notes at the end of your fingerboard with your left hand, and where you can comfortably bow the string about 2-3 inches from the bridge without hitting your right leg while bowing the E string at the tip. Try to keep your back straight, or you'll end up with chronic back pain like me.

After that, you have it made. All you have to do is play a gazillion scales and you'll be playing in tune! :-)
Click to expand...

correction - a gazillion scales only gets you halfway in tune.
 
#8
Okay, thanks guys.

Also, I've noticed, through reading the sheet music, that there are several changes between arco and pizzicato. In many of these changes I have an eighth rest to change between the two techniques. My Music Teacher told me that there is a special way to move the bow in my hand so I can change back and forth. However, I haven't been able to find videos or pictures of this.

Any help on this one?
 
#10
Arco to pizz with German bow: go to do a down bow, but instead go a bit further, roll your wrist 90° toward you and poke your middle finger through the frog to pluck the string. Takes a bit of practice not to hit the bass or your stand with the bow, but is very fast.

If you have a bit more time, you can roll a bit further and flick the bow around so it lies along the inside of your forearm, holding the frog with 3rd and 4th fingers against your palm, which frees up index and middle fingers to play pizz. Don't hit the bridge with the bow on the way past.
 
#12
I've started working through the videos that Phil pointed out. Very helpful. I've got the 'dip the tip' technique down, and can do a full C scale walking up and down in tune.

Thanks for the help with changing from Pizz to Arco, Andrew. I've been practicing a lot each day; about 5-6 hours, and my bowing is becoming confident. My next step is vibrato.
 

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