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Double Bass Year 1 Double Bass song book

Z

zemas

Jun 8, 2016
4
4
Great Pacific Northwest
#1
I trepiditiously going to throw this out there as I am sincerely finding it difficult to find.
Will some people help point me to some easy 1st year Double Bass song books?

I'm adult learning the DB.

I have a teacher. We are using Simandl.
It is an arduous climb, but I am having so much fun and appreciation for the instrument.

That being said, Simandl is.... tough....
I am committed to Simandl and my teacher is awesome.... (he is very protective of me learning and experimenting on my own). Simandl is so boring.... I am slowly getting better.

For the holiday season, my instructor let me use a year 1 Double Bass christmas carol book:
The Bubbly Bass Book of Christmas Carols: 40 Traditional Christmas Carols arranged especially for Double Bass
by Amanda Oosthuizen

it is mainly exclusively in the 1st position

Are there similar song books to augment my Simandl?

I was told by a fellow DB, Simandl is health food (you got to eat your vegitables) .... I get that, and I am committed... I just need some inspirational snacks and dessert every so often....

Throw this old man a cookie please....
 
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#2
zemas said:
I trepiditiously going to throw this out there as I am sincerely finding it difficult to find.
Will some people help point me to some easy 1st year Double Bass song books?

I'm adult learning the DB.

I have a teacher. We are using Simandl.
It is an arduous climb, but I am having so much fun and appreciation for the instrument.

That being said, Simandl is.... tough....
I am committed to Simandl and my teacher is awesome.... (he is very protective of me learning and experimenting on my own). Simandl is so boring.... I am slowly getting better.

For the holiday season, my instructor let me use a year 1 Double Bass christmas carol book:
The Bubbly Bass Book of Christmas Carols: 40 Traditional Christmas Carols arranged especially for Double Bass
by Amanda Oosthuizen

it is mainly exclusively in the 1st position

Are there similar song books to augment my Simandl?

I was told by a fellow DB, Simandl is health food (you got to eat your vegitables) .... I get that, and I am committed... I just need some inspirational snacks and dessert every so often....

Throw this old man a cookie please....
Click to expand...

I really like the George Vance "Progressive Repertoire" books. He has you playing all over the bass.

**Leigh
 
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#5
A few years ago, my voice teacher gave me a couple of books containing Bach piano etudes targeted for younger students. I've had a lot of fun with these. The tunes are interesting enough to keep me playing them (for years). Plus they're easy enough that I can actually play them. After I get a tune fully ingrained into my head (and muscle memory), I will learn to play it somewhere else on the fingerboard, which greatly helps me develop my chops. Furthermore, these piano tunes have two voices; I've found that the left-hand part often is musically worthwhile, and fun to play...I sometimes find the bass part more interesting than the right-hand part. Eventually, I end up with a very catchy tune with two voices that I can play in multiple places on the neck. I know that these weren't written for solo bass, but I've found that these etudes make very satisfying bass solos for this intermediate-level hobbyist.

YVMV, etc.
 
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#6
Who da Ville said:
A few years ago, my voice teacher gave me a couple of books containing Bach piano etudes targeted for younger students. I've had a lot of fun with these. The tunes are interesting enough to keep me playing them (for years). Plus they're easy enough that I can actually play them. After I get a tune fully ingrained into my head (and muscle memory), I will learn to play it somewhere else on the fingerboard, which greatly helps me develop my chops. Furthermore, these piano tunes have two voices; I've found that the left-hand part often is musically worthwhile, and fun to play...I sometimes find the bass part more interesting than the right-hand part. Eventually, I end up with a very catchy tune with two voices that I can play in multiple places on the neck. I know that these weren't written for solo bass, but I've found that these etudes make very satisfying bass solos for this intermediate-level hobbyist.

YVMV, etc.
Click to expand...

Do you mind sharing the titles of those Bach piano etudes? They sound interesting to this "aspiring to be intermediate" arco player.
 
#7
marcox said:
Do you mind sharing the titles of those Bach piano etudes?
Click to expand...
As best I can tell, Bach didn't name his etudes. The tunes are titled according to the type of dance: ie. 'Minuet', 'March', 'Bouree', 'Polonaisse', etc.

I suspect that there are bound volumes of some of these tunes available at music stores targeted for young piano students.

One place I'd suggest looking is the 'Anna Magdalena Bach Notebooks'. These are tunes written by Bach and/or some of his friends and associates, and presented to his wife as a present. My understanding is that these notebooks/tunes were used in the musical education of their children and/or as entertainment pieces for small dinner parties.

One update; I've been working on some of these tunes with a friend who plays F-horn. We're playing duets, switching back between the left- and right- hand parts...much fun! We're actually playing one tune that Bach took the trouble to name: "Minuet in G". Yeah, I know, Bach wrote lots of Minuets in the key of G, but this is one that he actually took the trouble to name...
 
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#9
The Bach Cello Suites for Bass Guitar. (bach2bass.com)
Is awesome, definitely for the ebass - which I love.

It would be even more amazing if there was something like this but instead of the tabulature it had the position / finger.

I know guitar/ebass tabulature is great - but it made me lazy for so many years playing the ebass (once I got my doublebass, I decided I would relearn sheet music notation (I used to be able to play sousaphone sight reading long long long time ago). Tabulature made me sound good on the ebass and fast - but it plateaus equally as fast... I need sheet music. (my 2023 new years resolution is to focus on note duration - apparently my subdivision skills suck (my, "one and twosies, ands and e's" all go out the window while focusing on intonation etc... and don't get me started on "bow preservation"...

(you should have seen my teacher's reaction, when I asked how do I know which position to be in, is supposed to be obvious?)

(I must sound like a grumpy old man - or a spoiled entitled baby).

[I really do love my double bass - I just can't wait till I'm as proficient as my ebass]
I need more patience and time... Thanks for this awesome community.
 
#10
For those who are interested in the real meat of the advanced bass repertoire - that is - bluegrass and oldtime! :D, Alfred has a Invalid Link Removed which has chords, basic accompaniments, basic and more complex melodic for a bunch of "classic" oldtime songs.

Cripple Creek, Road to Edinburgh, Kesh Jig, etc. Especially fun if you have a fiddler to play with.
 
#11
You all answered my question beautifully. I got George Vance Progressive repertoire, as well as "The New Simandl" (Cole Davis)...

All stimulating which is exactly what I needed.

Funny, when sharing with my teacher - I got the following response, "The Old Simandl is exactly what you should be using at your stage"... (kinda ouch, but I love his response).

My teacher is likely half my age. If I can become 1/2 of what he is today I will consider myself amazing.
He, kindly reminds me his instruction method is classical (his background)...

Apparently, all the greats start off on classical, if they fail there is always jazz.... (ha ha... don't start flame wars, just a joke - heck if I could play like Walter Becker (Steely Dan), I would be more than satisfied...

I will reach for the moon, and if I end up in a mother pluckin country band so be it...
 
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