lobematt Posted October 24, 2014 Share Posted October 24, 2014 Hey guys, As I'm sure some of you know, my girlfriend got me an upright for my birthday this month due to the help from some of you awesome bass chatters! First off, THANKYOU! What an epic present. Down to business! I've had a go at trying to get some basic technique together and just mainly playing arpeggios to try and work on my intonation. I really could do with seeing a good teacher for a few lessons and also to give my bass a quick once over as I think the E string seems pretty quiet, I think it might just need a new set of strings but would like a second opinion. I'm based in Liverpool city centre but don't mind travelling a bit for a good teacher! If anyone has any good recommendations please shout them out. Thanks again! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lobematt Posted October 24, 2014 Author Share Posted October 24, 2014 How rude of me, here's a pic! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TPJ Posted October 24, 2014 Share Posted October 24, 2014 Nice one! What a great gift. Definitely look into getting some lessons and most of all, Enjoy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassfunk Posted October 24, 2014 Share Posted October 24, 2014 Nice one. I started 18months ago and loved it. I have lessons off Steve McEvoy in Radcliffe North Manchester (not from from Liverpool if you drive) http://www.stevemcevoy.net/index.php He sets his own basses up too so might be able to look at your E string. Strings are a nightmare, so are bridges. Check to see both feet of your bridge are flush with the bass, try put a piece of paper under each corner. If you can push the paper under without problem the feet ned meed moving or re-shaping. I was really scared to move my bridge at first but now I'm always tinkering. Decent strings make all the difference I find. Try some of the Innovation trial sets to start you off. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hector Posted October 24, 2014 Share Posted October 24, 2014 Welcome to the team Matt, how exciting! No advice about teachers (because I'm a southern nancy) but I would say that you need to be patient with it - don't expect to play it like you play your electric bass. A teacher is good for showing you the right way to do things, but it takes a lot of effort later in the shed to train your body to do those things automatically and to get to the stage where you can play the instrument without worrying about technique so much. The more effortful your technique, the more it hinders your ability to get the music in your head out through the bass. Focus hard on doing very basic movements until they are [i]effortless[/i] (no unnecessary tension in wrists, arms, back etc.). DB can be unforgiving if you don't work hard at getting solid basics. It might seem like it takes a long time to do this, but all that sweating in the shed means you don't have to work so hard on the gig and can focus on locking in with the drummer, playing nice lines, doing sick dance moves etc. Have fun and good luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philparker Posted October 24, 2014 Share Posted October 24, 2014 Congratulations - I think you know the answers anyway and as many will tell you bass guitar and DB are not automatically interchangeable. I made sure I got a lesson on Day One to prevent impatience giving me bad habits due to poor technique. You obviously know 'music' very well, as I've played some of your transcriptions and you will know that you can't use some of your bass lines on the DB, Like the difference between playing lead guitar solos on a finely set up electric guitar and trying to do the same on an acoustic. I never expected to do quite so much with the bow, but I followed the ABRSM schedule and took a Grade 6 in classical bass and that has helped my intonation and given me the variety I wouldn't have necessarily got following the usual learning books like The Evolving Bassist et al. A good set up; finding the strings you like; spending lots of money on sheet music, pick-ups, amplification, more strings! Welcome to DB! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lobematt Posted October 25, 2014 Author Share Posted October 25, 2014 Thanks for the tips guys. If anyone has any good online resources for lessons that would be cool too. I've found discoverdoublebass.com but not much else apart from that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fatback Posted October 25, 2014 Share Posted October 25, 2014 (edited) You might find it useful to know of the Rabbath alternative / adjunct to the horrid Simandl method. Frankly, it saved me from quitting at an early stage. The problem I had with transferring from bass guitar was that my mental image of the board was built around a one finger per fret approach. Simandl totally interferes with that by that confining you to span of a tone. Rabbath allows you to 'see' the board as one-finger-per-fret, even though you don't actually use your fingers that way. The idea is you use your thumb as a pivot and cover an extra note by swivelling. Instead of having umpteen positions, you have only three (or four in my case, i modified a bit). Thiose positions are essentially thumb anchors around which you do your pivoting. Works wonderfully, speeds the transition from BG and makes correct intonation vastly easier because you're not moving your arm so much as you do with Simandl. Unfortunately, the available teaching materials are rubbish imo, but this is a good place to start if you're interested. [url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=54pMdTCmo8g"]https://www.youtube....h?v=54pMdTCmo8g[/url] Edited October 25, 2014 by fatback Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fellrunner Posted October 31, 2014 Share Posted October 31, 2014 Another thumbs up for Steve Mcevoy. I had lessons from him after buying an old DB on impulse last year and they made all the difference. It's a totally different beast to the bass guitar but I much prefer it now (still crap at both but not as crap as I was!) Learning to read music has been a big step forward too, and he really got me going with that. http://www.stevemcevoy.net Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lobematt Posted November 2, 2014 Author Share Posted November 2, 2014 I got my first lesson with a guy called Steve Berry who lives up in Blackburn. He was great and gave my bass a good once over, got a much better idea of what's going on now! I might still give Steve McEvoy a shout as Steve Berry was fairly pricey, although I must say it was worth it and I will be going back! I took my electric and split the lesson between upright and electric, when I guy who's played with Dave Holland is giving you advice it's usually worth listening too haha! The verdict for my upright was new strings, bridge adjustment or new bridge and probably a fingerboard shaving! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stingrayPete1977 Posted November 2, 2014 Share Posted November 2, 2014 Cool, at least you have a game plan now, I had no idea what my bass was like and no you tube video can tell you that, Jake checked mine over and declared it fit at my first lesson and Geoff Chalmers has played it at the bassbash and took a shine to it as is so I think I lucked out on the setup front Get practicing now then....I should be too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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