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Double Bass Surviving a 3 hour gig?

#61
I use a similar bass/arm weight technique when I play and it works well. I can always tell when I'm doing it wrong too because a song like Sha Na Na's version of "rock and roll is here to stay" is easy if I do it right and I can't finish it if I'm doing it wrong

*the Sha Na Na line is much more fun than the original btw
 
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#63
Stuart.C said:
Yay so I just survived a 3 hour gig.

One word: Stool. I had no left arm issues, I got a little cramping in my right when I got sloppy but I corrected for it.

I also did lots of stretching, drank lots of water and basically treated my day as if I was about to run a marathon.

In rehearsal I tried to play the pumping root fifth stuff with proper technique and realized it just doesn't work, barring actually feels much better.
With the stool I can get tones of arm weight and really focus on playing with minimal effort.
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Yeah. sitting... especially cello style if you're big enough, allows you to use the arm weight. That's great that you were able to do the gig. If sitting works..go for it. I would need smaller bass advantage of this. I cannot get comfortable sitting and playing "bass style" i.e. off to one side.
 
#64
Huy Nguyen said:
FWIW: I've been doing slap more and more, but in Milt Hinton's style, not the regular rockabilly type. I've found that with a more physical approach that slap requires, it's even more important to economize even further. Any wasted motion/energy will take it's toll even faster than if you played pizz only.
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.

I'm a huge fan of Milt Hinton, as a musician, photographer and most importantly as a human being; I've watched every clip I could find of him slapping. When you say "not the regular rockabilly type", are you referring to the physical differences in slap technique, or not-so subtleties of jazz phrasing, harmony etc compared to the often more basic lines of R'billy's root-five? Or maybe both?

I'm eager to unlock the mysteries of his slap style. Well, all slap styles.


okcrum said:
Instead of drinking (insert favorite gig beverage here) try drinking something with electrolytes in it during the gig (Powerade for example). And eat your bananas!!! Cramping can happen even with chops if you get dehydrated. Never forget the athletic element of playing DB. ;)
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I've switched from brand-name sports drinks such as Powerade, Gatorade, Pocari Sweat, etc to ...

COCONUT WATER!

Pure, 100% natural, not from concentrate, no additives yadda yadda and it has those aforementioned electrolytes. Of course, it's not to everyone's taste, but I love it, it isn't too sweet, naturally. It's not always easy to find, and is a little more expen$ive.
 
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#65
Getting your electrolytes involves more than sipping or guzzling commercial drinks. You need to have more sources than cans of bright colored liquid labeled "electrolyte"...and coconut water...isn't that what Papillon survived on for a little while in solitary confinement? :-)
 
#66
Feral Feline said:
.

I'm a huge fan of Milt Hinton, as a musician, photographer and most importantly as a human being; I've watched every clip I could find of him slapping. When you say "not the regular rockabilly type", are you referring to the physical differences in slap technique, or not-so subtleties of jazz phrasing, harmony etc compared to the often more basic lines of R'billy's root-five? Or maybe both?

I'm eager to unlock the mysteries of his slap style. Well, all slap styles.
Click to expand...
FF, I just posted in this thread to update my findings.
Help please - jazz slap (milt Hinton style) | Page 2 | TalkBass.com
 
#67
I am not an expert but play three and four hour bluegrass gigs regularly and I am a short, fairly small/medium sized woman.

One thing not mentioned is the height of your bass. It is my understanding that nut should be at eye level. Reaching too high up could exacerbate your finger/hand fatigue.

Best of luck.
 
#71
Feral Feline said:
.

I've switched from brand-name sports drinks such as Powerade, Gatorade, Pocari Sweat, etc to ...

COCONUT WATER!

Pure, 100% natural, not from concentrate, no additives yadda yadda and it has those aforementioned electrolytes. Of course, it's not to everyone's taste, but I love it, it isn't too sweet, naturally. It's not always easy to find, and is a little more expen$ive.
Click to expand...

I drink coconut water by the gallon as well. It's loaded with potassium which is a good thing.

Problem with the sports drinks is that most of them are loaded with sugar, or worse the fake substitutes.
 
#72
Finished a 4-hour gig last night and the only thing that hurt were my finger tips. A while back on electric bass, I concentrated on a lighter touch and lower action for more speed and more fluidity. Going to upright, the strings are much further apart, adding 20 pounds of tension to each string, etc. and slowly building the callouses back up is a process that can't happen fast enough.

The Gary Karr exercises of holding the bass and leaning it into your fingers helps out a great deal for me.
 
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#73
It's funny how fast you can lose it on an upright. I've spent the last month doing mostly etudes and theory stuff and you can really quickly lose any stamina that you had. I got bored so I started playing some of the tunes I knew and they wiped me out. Just going a month without playing that stuff was enough to make me lose what stamina I had
 
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#74
jasonrp said:
It's funny how fast you can lose it on an upright. I've spent the last month doing mostly etudes and theory stuff and you can really quickly lose any stamina that you had. I got bored so I started playing some of the tunes I knew and they wiped me out. Just going a month without playing that stuff was enough to make me lose what stamina I had
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I honestly can't remember ever having felt like that. We even used to do "continuous" club dates ( for more bread obviously) ; I think we got off the stand for five minutes per hour? I guess happy to have a gig and having to eat trumped fatigue. Or maybe they just don't make em like us anymore :)
 

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