Double Bass The "one" practice exercise

[Andy Mopley]

in your regime, that you religiously do, when practicing, and why?

For me, currently scales. I am trying to get better at intonation and hearing / singing intervals.

Regards to all

 

[longfinger]

Long tones, going up chromatically, then down chromatically. It's a musical meditation for me on the pitch.

 

[Don Kasper]

I have found this exercise to be my first touch (post-tuning) at the instrument - esp. the first key of A, as the open A string is a welcome & solid/reliable intonation reference point, and the Octave and Perfect Fifth intervals are crucial in establishing the tonality (and warming up my earz!)
Also - the range of the large intervals helps me immediately "feel" a large portion of the instrument from Half Position, well up into Thumb Position.
Smaller intervals associated with Many Scales(tm) follow soon afterwards.
I play this Rubato, Arco, Legato, Mezzo Forte. I'm really just attempting to (re-)connect my earz/brain/chops to the instrument.
Thanks.

 

[PaulCannon]

Some variation of Boardwalkin’ with a drone.

 

[jj.833]

I like Simandl 1, p. 38, excersise 7. Good for intonation and memorizing shifts. Easy to understand and to transpose to different keys. I play it with a drone. Arco, pizz.

Another one for pizz: I play octaves E on A string, e on G string, riff goes like: E e F# f# G g G# g# A (octave on A string) a (g string 3rd finger) C# (back down on A 1st finger) c# D d D# d#. Helps a lot with memorizing the 'odd positions' between D and G on A string. This area of bass is not much covered in Simandl or other books I know, and it is very handy for more modern funk-disco-pop playing. The same excersise works on E string, transposed to B. It's quite hard to do, so it also forces you to concentrate on posture.

 

[Fredrik E. Nilsen]

Menuet from Bach's 1st cello suite. Perfect warmup.

 

[Chris Fitzgerald]

Scalar and/or arpeggio patterns in 12 keys with drone and metronome.

 

[damonsmith]

It is either the first Petracchi exercise up the D or A, with chromatic triads followed by a double stop on the 5th across two strings back down with a drone or the two octave Simandl on P. 37 in the red book up an octave on the G string or transposed to the other open strings with a drone.

 

[Silevesq]

Lately the exercise I go back to is kind of boring. But I choose a scale, set a drone, put on a tuner, sing the note and play it very slowly alterning between certains note till I can sing only in my head the note and play it in tune with both my head and the tuner.

 

[neilG]

Galamian scales. The result of living with a violinist for 4 years.

 

[birgebass]

Lately I begin with arpeggios to a drone, and move the arpeggios in fourths. I set the drone a 4th above the tonic (if I begin with a G arpeggio then the drone is a C) and don't change the drone until I've worked through 3 keys. For example, starting on G I would play the arpeggio over the full range of the bass, but set to a C drone. Then I would do the same with a C arpeggio, still set the the C drone. Next I would do F to the C drone. After that I change the drone to Eb, and do the same pattern with the arpeggios, beginning with Bb. To me this is a little more fun than changing drones per key, and works my ear in different ways. I wouldn't say it is the "one," maybe just one of them. I also do other warm-ups, mostly Simandl.

 

[Andy Mopley]

It is either the first Petracchi exercise up the D or A, with chromatic triads followed by a double stop on the 5th across two strings back down with a drone or the two octave Simandl on P. 37 in the red book up an octave on the G string or transposed to the other open strings with a drone.

Just on Petracchi, Damon...Exercise 2b, from one bar to the next, the first note moves diatonically (key of G) but do the intervals for the other notes make up what he refers to as 4 chromatic and 3 semi chromatic apart?
I find the pattern challenging to follow.

Thanks!

 

[Andy Mopley]

Galamian scales.

Went to look it up, thanks Neil, another thing I learned from you!

 

[damonsmith]

Just on Petracchi, Damon...Exercise 2b, from one bar to the next, the first note moves diatonically (key of G) but do the intervals for the other notes make up what he refers to as 4 chromatic and 3 semi chromatic apart?
I find the pattern challenging to follow.

Thanks!

My book is still packed and I play it from memory, but, it is in the key of D on the G string, it moves through the D major scale, the first pattern is D with the thumb, F# with the ring, E with the index, it moves through the rest of the notes in the scale with a similar pattern without leaving the key - you can think of it as (scale degrees) 1-3-2 through each of the modes in D.

 

[Groove Doctor]

One thing? Daily practise.

 

[Chris Fitzgerald]

One thing? Daily practise.

^^^This. Build the habit, whatever it is, and keep it.

I have come to think of practice and exercise as basically synonymous. As musicians, our chops are like our level of fitness; it doesn't mean that we will play wonderfully or that we are prepared for the next performance, but if we work on staying calibrated we are less likely to get injured and more likely to be more precise with less effort.

These days I tend to exercise and calibrate about the same amount (40 minutes) 6 days a week. Any musical practice for upcoming material or performing is on top of that. I often wish there was time for more, but life is what life is. On the seventh day, I don't do either, and that is also welcome!

 

[210superair]

I try to play a little every day, mostly goofing with a song I like or running scales to speed up slaps. I have spinal stenosis, so nerve damage in my left arm and hand, and it's a gettin' tworse over time. So playing serves me two purposes: learning and exercise for my damaged goods. My left hand is almost totally numb nowadays, which ain't cool, but hey, at least my fingers don't get sore! lol...

 

[Sam Dingle]

Some variation of Boardwalkin’ with a drone.

Have you tried the play along cd so you can hear each individual note to check that it’s in tune?

 

[Andy Mopley]

Have you tried the play along cd so you can hear each individual note to check that it’s in tune?

That's interesting question, Sam - does the play along with CD develop the ear more so than playing with a drone, and is one less of a "crutch" than the other, or complementary?

 

[Sam Dingle]

That's interesting question, Sam - does the play along with CD develop the ear more so than playing with a drone, and is one less of a "crutch" than the other, or complementary?

I think its two different things. the drone will make you be aware of intervals obviously, but the play along is for me, a very good way to CONFIRM I'm in tune, also helps me focus on the notes around me, which I guess a drone would do too. I've personally never used a drone so I may add that in.