Double Bass newbie

[creswell]

Hello all,

Im a complete novice to the upright bass. Bought one a little while back as Ive always loved the sound - call it a mid life rockabilly crisis.

Anyhow, im trying to learn this beast. Would be grateful of any pointers. I bought Didi Becks's book. It's OK, but to be honest I think i need a COMPLETE beginners book - starting from scratch.

Didi for instance suggets 12 bar blues to learn, but doesn't explain it very well.

Does anyone have any exercises they could recomend for a complete novice - just to get a feel?

Also are there any recomended tuning apps?

Thanks in advance for any advice and apologies if this has been asked before.

Cheers

 

[jasonrp]

Have you ever played any music or is this your first instrument?

 

[creswell]

Have you ever played any music or is this your first instrument?

Hi,

Thanks for your reply.

I've played a bit of banjo, didn't get too far with it unfortunately. Harder than i thought plus the constant "deliverance" jibes started to grate. May go back to it - but I really want to learn the DB.

I have a basic understanding of chords....but yeah, i am pretty much a novice in all respects.

 

[jasonrp]

I would say you are the perfect candidate to get an instructor. Do some research on the person first, and if they seem good, take a few lessons to get started. You have an advantage in the sense that you have no technique yet, so you can start right of the bat learning proper fingerings, placements, and what not.

 

[creswell]

Ok thanks. Not quite the answer I was looking for but makes sense. I'm a bit skint at the moment (newborn in the house)and was hoping to learn myself - but rockabilly style DB resources seem very thin on the ground.

Thanks anyway for taking the time to reply.

 

[bassfiddlesteve]

creswell, I've read you request for info and I have a few bullet points you may find helpful:

• Gollihur Music has a section of books and DVD's designed to help you teach yourself how to play. They are selected by Bob and Mark Gollihur (who both post here on TalkBass) and some of them are geared towards bluegrass/rockabilly players. Have a look Invalid Link Removed.
• There are several videos on YouTube that purport to teach you to play double bass, and some of them are pretty bad. However, the free tutorials by Geoff Chalmers (another TalkBass member) are very good. They they are geared more towards jazz bassists, but you will still find them very helpful and I think you will enjoy his friendly teaching style. You can check them out here.
• Like most TalkBass members, I'm going to suggest that you study with a teacher. I realize money is tight, but even if you just take half a dozen lessons, it will get you started on the right path and may prevent you from struggling or having to unlearn bad habits, some of which have the potential to cause physical injury.
• Some rockabilly bassist employ a non-traditional left hand technique. While this might be fine for playing root-five and arpeggio patterns in the lower potions, it can hold you back if you ever want to play other styles of music. For this reason, I would recommend paying close attention to proper left hand fingering which may be different than what you see some other rockabilly/roots music bass players using.
• Many rockabilly bassists never learn to use the bow, but even if you don't plan to use one in performance, it's an important tool to help you learn to play in tune. You may also find that you enjoy using the bow and want to explore it further. You can get an inexpensive fiberglass or Brazil wood bow to start with if you don't already have one. Keep in mind that some rockabilly strings such as weedwackers or nylon coated strings cannot be bowed easily.
• As far as tuning apps, my favorite is the Pano tuner. On my iPhone, I find that it's relatively stable (i.e. the dial doesn't jump around to much) and it picks up the low notes well.

I hope you find this helpful...best of luck

- Steve

 

[creswell]

Thank you Steve for the advice, much appreciated. Will have a look through.

I'll also look at getting some lessons to get me going.

Cheers.

 

[jasonrp]

Geoffs lessons on youtube are great. If you can't get an instructor, I'd say look into those too. His lessons on bass placement and left hand technique saved my arm a lot of effort

 

[DrayMiles]

I can guarantee you'll injure yourself if you don't get a teacher...

 

[s2bs2]

"you'll poke your eye out!"
really though, you should

 

[creswell]

Thank you all. I have signed up to Geoff Chalmers' online tutorials. I am very impressed, exactly what I was looking for.

I am also looking into getting a few lessons.