Double Bass Singing and playing at the same time

[Sam Reese]

I'm not 100% sure about the remark about dairy & alcohol, but a lot of water might help stave off hand cramps on a 5 set day in the sun with 80% humidity (like yesterday). Also, @AGCurry thanks for the recommendation on MBHO mics!

 

[bcamp]

#1 on the Heil PR35, a dynamic mic that sounds more like a condenser. It hits my voice just right and does a great job of minimizing feedback and bleed from other sound sources, especially compared to a 58. Headset mics seem to pick up everything around me, at least the ones I've tried. As far as learning to sing and play at the same time, just practice and your vocal phrasing will naturally evolve into your own style. It takes time but it's worth it. There is nothing like the joy of singing & playing. Try it, I bet you'll like it.

 

[JBarz]

Hey gang, without derailing this thread - what are ya'lls thoughts on amplifying double bass and vocals together? My attempts to run guitar and vox through a single speaker always turned out muddy AF, but I am just now starting to experiment with bass/vox sound reinforcement and know it's a different animal to amplify entirely... Do you guys typically run into a two channel head or combo, bring a PA, or bring two separate amps/cabs to the gig -- assuming no house amplification?

 

[Steven Ayres]

Hey gang, without derailing this thread - what are ya'lls thoughts on amplifying double bass and vocals together?

I take a little mixer and powered speakers. Mackie 15s handle the bass just fine.

 

[Who da Ville]

what are ya'lls thoughts on amplifying double bass and vocals together?

I sometimes play solo in an old acoustic dancehall that really doesn't need amplification; it was built before there was such a thing as amplification. However, there is a sound system, so I use it. I place a condenser mic at about chest level (2-3 feet away from where I stand) and use it for both bass & vocals. No complaints, but it's a really forgiving crowd...

YVMV etc.

 

[Silevesq]

I'm thinking about doing the same from time to time.

There is a lot of things that can be worked on, but I guess I should ask what is your goal/intention?
Some of the thing I've work included. Singing melody and playing only the roots till I can do a more complicated bass line. I have also worked on Bach choral playing either line and singing another one.

But in the end one of the things that I think is not worked on enough is having a "full" voice. Just like a bass, your body should vibrate when you are singing and I would not buy a mic until I can singing with my whole body. Unless you are trying to work more on the "poppy" side of singing.

 

[quickfix]

I didn't sing at all for a number of...decades.
Once my wife and I started playing together she asked me to sing the harmonies, and play bass at the same time so she could ditch the harmonizer pedal she was using.
At first I wasn't sure it could be done. But after a few hesitant steps I found I could take the higher second, third, fifth, and sevenths with ease. All the while playing bass.
I found it much like building chords. Her melody (plus her guitar), my vocal harmony, and DB/BG bass notes. It became natural, very quickly.

I'm using a Shure 58.

 

[bassfiddlesteve]

In my Top-40 band days, I used to sing and play electric bass regularly. I never thought of myself as a good singer, but I could put a song across if it was in my range and it was a necessary skill to keep working.

Now I mostly freelance playing double bass, but in the trad jazz band I work with regularly I have become one of the primary singers. I've been taking voice lessons for the past few years and I think it's been helpful as I have much more resonance and volume. Unlike my Top-40 days, it's no big deal to change the key to suit my vocal range. As a baritone, it was always hard to find cover material that I could sing in the original key. Since I'm usually singing old jazz standards or New Orleans tunes I can generally keep the bass parts simple, but I can play a walking bass line and sing at the same time when I need to. I've become adept at going "auto-pilot" with the bass part, although there are still things I find challenging like playing a syncopated bass line while singing. I told the bandleader I couldn't sing "Iko Iko" because I can't sing and play a Bo Diddley rhythm consistently, even though it's only two notes.

As far as gear, I use a Sennheiser e835 on a boom stand so it doesn't get in the way of my bass. I always bring my own vocal mic and I'm never shy about asking for more gain or EQ changes. I have amplified both my voice and double bass through my Markacoustic AC101 combo which is a two-channel acoustic amp that can basically function as a small PA. Generally, there is a PA system on gigs where I am singing though.

- Steve

 

[BarfanyShart]

This video just came out on this topic. It's not very in depth, but another perspective on a way to get started developing the coordination.

 

[JBarz]

Here’s the kind of vox/bass stuff I’ve been working up
https://youtu.be/lU8InlXY7FI

“if I only had a brain” - I’ve been trying to learn and record a tune-a-day when I’m not too busy. Using shell voicings helps add interest a lot.

 

[Hammertime3]

My experience tells me it's more about how you start than what your level of expertise is. Example...I have a friend..blind..who is an accomplished musician on pedal steel, lead guitar, and fiddle, and has been playing in bands for over 40 years. He also has perfect pitch. Doesn't have much of a singing voice so he never really tried, and he cannot sing and play at the same time. I will never be able to play anything nearly as well as him, but when I started on guitar everyone sang and played. That's just how it was. In spite of the fact that he is light years ahead of me in terms of playing talent, I can play and sing and the same time with no problem. My friend will try to sing now and then when we get together, but his attempts are usually futile, so he quits trying. I started playing and singing and he didn't, FWIW.

 

[AGCurry]

... when I started on guitar everyone sang and played. That's just how it was...

Yes. My first instrument was ukulele at 8 years old, singing and playing Stephen Foster songs.

When I became a singing bassist (or bass-playing singer), nobody told me it was hard... no fear, just did it.