Double Bass Open strings vs. stopped notes

[neilG]

You either play in tune or you don't.

No comment, it just bears repeating.

 

[fergus currie]

I don't know of any bass player (or any musician for that matter) that play every note in tune (so you could put a tuner up there and it would always be dead center).

How can you talk such idealistically about any artistic endevour?

I agree that in pro bands the tuning should not be an issue... but unfortunately it is so we gotta deal with it. Not stick our head in the sand.

FC

 

[neilG]

I know plenty of musicians who play in tune consistently. We can only agree that "in tune" has some nuance to it, but not enough to say that nobody plays in tune all the time. Have to disagree with you on this issue.

 

[eerbrev]

In my opinion, at the top level of orchestral playing, open strings are to be avoided unless one is looking for a special 'open' sound. You rarely hear other string instruments playing open strings. There are exceptions of course - very fast passages where the open string won't 'stick out' for example.

The intonation 'benefit' idea is baloney as I see it. You either play in tune or you don't. Is it ok for every note other than an open string to be out of tune?? no. So then there's no reason to treat the notes EADG any different.

The idea that the audience and others sitting further away can't hear the basses playing out of tune is nonsense too! Of course they can! If they couldn't, us basses would have a reputation of being always perfectly in tune- which is unfortunately not the case.

Intonation is one of the fundamental aspects of being a musician, along with rhythm and control of volume/tone. If we give up and decide that it'll never be right, or it's too hard, we might as well pack it in, IMO.

+1. I agree with all of these things.

 

[fergus currie]

Please don't misunderstand, I'm not getting on anyone's case here. The problem of intonnation is something we all know about. You can't pretend it doesn't exist. My aim in this thread is to find out different opinions about playing in positions where the notes on otherwise open strings are stopped. If my stopped A on the E string sounded just like my open Astring I would only be asking if we should use vibrato or not. But it doesn't and I'm not.

C'mon Neil, you must notice the difference in your section between open and stopped notes, not by intonnation of course.

FC

 

[Matt Burri]

For the most part, I always play my A's open, my D's open sometimes, and open G only if it's not repeated or sustained for very long. Sometimes I'll play a stopped D or G without vibrato just to control the tone color and pitch. In comparison to most string players, I'd say I use a little bit less vibrato in terms of speed, width, and frequency.

I've gone back and forth between using them every single time A D or G occurs and closing every note except for E just so I could wiggle on it. Right now I've kind of settled in the middle. I don't really have a concrete rule but my preference is definitely predictable for the most part because of how I want to sound.

Also, as many have said, the time period of the piece and the character of the passage are very important. I vibrate way more in romantic pieces than I would classical or baroque pieces, meaning I'm much more likely to close a note.

This is all in terms of orchestral playing, solos are kind of a different game for me.

 

[neilG]

C'mon Neil, you must notice the difference in your section between open and stopped notes, not by intonnation of course.

FC

Sure, there is almost always a difference in timbre, but I didn't think that was what we were discussing. Some of the players in my section have basses that sound all warm and fuzzy on open strings. I hope to own an instrument like that some day.

 

[fergus currie]

Hi Neil, I guess my initial post was directed at anyone playing in an orchestra but pro players in decent bands will obviously have different criteria. I was surely thinking of timbral differences in my (and your) case, but to keep it open I threw the bait of intonnation in the ring, and lets face it, in most cases this is the basic criteria.

What I'm going to do is put together a list of examples where open strings are preferable (IMHO of course) and another where stopped notes make a convincing alternative.
That should take up my two free days!

There are lots of interesting opinions here and I will try to respect all of them in my lists.
Stay tuned - I should get it up by Friday.

FC