Bilbo

Straight wrists are a must - take it from one who knows. I played upright incorrectly for a realatively short period and messed my wrist/arm up a lot for a long time. One lesson from Jakesbass and I was back on course. Deal with it now.

I get this sometimes. You are pressing too hard. You don't need to press strings as hard as you think you do to get them to do their thing. Its a nervous affectation aggravated by loud drummers and guitarists; you feel that in order to be heard you have to play harder (r/h) so, logically, you tend to grip the strings/neck harder with your left hand. Try fretting a string and then lossening your grip on it and see how much tension you can release before the note is choked. I bet it is more than you thought? Then transfer that knowledge into your normal playing technique and the numbness will reduce/disappear.

Glad that my post on my bass has proven useful. I am increasingly happy with the bass. As my technique settles in and I am starting to find things coming a little easier, I am finding that the bass' potential reveals itself more and more. The build quality is pretty good for the money; I am particularly happy with the end-pin and the machine heads (are they called that on a db?) but the whole thing feels robust and fit for purpose. With the new Evah strings, it sounds better and better as my hands get comfortable with the wider neck (watch that l/h thumb folks).

Bump - reduced price

Nice. Very Patitucci but with your own slant on it.

Original tune called Power and the Key by a band called No Quarter. Mason's Arms, Pantygasseg - Aria SB700 through Sound City Amp. I was 17. The tune was later recorded for Heavy Metal Heroes Vol. II (not on Spotify but it may be out there somewhere).

After 30 years of playing, thousands of gigs, dozens of recordings, I STILL want so much to be a musician. Despite intellectually knowing that I can play the bass and contribute to the performance of music, I continue to struggle emotionally about feeling able to define myself as a musician. I think it may be something to do with not being a pro or with never having recorded anything I would consider to be more than charity shop fodder. I kind of feel that, if I can just deliver something worthy, I may be able to say 'I am a jazz musician'. As it is its more like 'I am trying to be a jazz musician'. I guess I am a bit screwed up!

Photos?

Bump

Its so exciting, isn't it. I am finding a new impetus to my practice and am focussing on basic skills and basic bass disciplines, filling gaps in my playing and knowledge. The arco thing is a buzz (both literally and figuratively ) and even listening to the double bass on cds etc is more rewarding. I got a Finale French carbon fiber bow from the String Emporium in the US (£270ish) but they start at £40 (yitamusic ebay - endorka recomneds the £100 models). I got a db bass stand from DJM which is surprisingly robust for £30 and holds the bass comfortably. Pick ups - I got a K&K model for £70 (Golihur Music in the States) but that is a credible budget model rather than a must have. Plenty of useful advice on here, as you have clearly already found out!!

You could tune it to a Nashvlle tuning (EADG one octave higher than usual (the high strings of a 12 string set) and an ordinary B & E string. Sounds like a harp.

Kenny Garret - Triology (Kiyoshi Kitagawa on bass - who? Real powerhouse of a player - great sound, great time)

[quote name='Low End Bee' post='908080' date='Jul 28 2010, 12:22 PM']So where's a good, non boring, place for a non reading, no theory, never had a lesson, self taught chap to start?[/quote] Learn the names of all the notes on the neck.

[quote name='Annoying Twit' post='908076' date='Jul 28 2010, 12:17 PM']I can read music.[/quote] So find some charts chock full of syncopation and work with them.

Learn to read music.

[quote name='Annoying Twit' post='908048' date='Jul 28 2010, 11:59 AM']What is this "four finger tapping riff"?[/quote] It's Gonzobass's metaphor for 'some superficial party trick'. i.e students wanting to know a lick or trick that is of no intrinsic musical value but which [i]looks[/i] clever instead of learning something that is useful like a scale, arpeggio or chord.

I am now locked into that battle with double bass strings where I find I like them one minute and not the next and start talking myself into wanting Spiros or whatever. At the gig on Sunday, the E and A strings sounded HUGE and really growly but the D, G and C strings were a bit less satisfying. Was it me, was it the bass or was it the strings? Ask me again tomorrow and I will probably give you a different answer. More to the point, I felt, with hindsight, that the volume, poor sound and freneticism of the pianist undermined my own sound as I was concentrating on keeping up/in time rather than on the more musical aspects of the art. In short, I suspect I would have sounded better with more sensitive accompaniment. I think I need to concentrate on the music and let the sound develop as it does for now. As my technique beds in, I will get more of an idea of what works. It sounds pretty good on its own and in recordings so it is probably an amplification thing as much as a string thing. I also want to get it professionally set up but have to wait for the cash to present itself before I can proceed!!

Got a double bass stand off DJM. Tigermusic stand. Solid enough. £30 + p+p. Recommended it if anyone was considering it. Did another trio gig last Sunday - paino player couldn't play under 380 bpm so I have a nice blister for my trouble. Bless

I have just downloaded the 7 cd set by Wynton Marsalis Live at the Village Vanguard from itunes for £8.99. [b]That's 63 tunes for £9[/b]. Have it on the original cds but this is astonishing value and a fantastic listen so I now have it on my ipod! Great bass from Reginald Veal and Ben Wolfe but most of all great jazz played by a great, great band. Highly recommended.

FUN!! You haven't got time to have FUN!! Get to work....

Nothing!!! Why would everyone need to know any one line more than any other? If I never play a Motown/Stax line ever again, it would be too soon.... Personally, I find thousands of famous (and profoundly memorable) basslines so jaded by over-exposure that they bore me rigid. (oops argument already rehearsed and requisite scolding undertaken) Learn some scales (Major, Minor, Melodic Minor, Augmented, Diminished, Chromatic), play them in thirds, fourths, fifths, sixths and sevenths, in 3, 4, 5 note patterns - in all modes and all keys and there you have it. Its all under your fingers.

I have a spare 3/4 double bass soft cover that came with my bass (from Gedo Musik). It is black, has two shoulder straps and loads of pockets and handles etc. I already had a better one I had bought of ebay for the bass I was then using so this one is going begging. I took it off the bass as it arrived and never put it on again so it is pretty much as new. Can't be bothered to photograph it - its black and double bass shaped. What more can I say!! Say £35 inc P+P? Offers accepted First come first served, as it were.

I am only one month into arco playing and have both. i can already see the benefits of having some knowledge of both. The German fell more easily into my hands but the French is more, eh, controllable (?) soundwise. Its good fun exploring the mysteries of both. That's the fun of learning.

The rules are teh explanation and generally come after the fact. They, in turn, allow you to recreate the effect on the original piece that gave you inspiration. If you inspiration comes from somewhere outside of the Western harmonic tradition, there will not be a rule for it in that tradition and you will have to find a different way to make sense of it all. Other cultures have their own rules (ragas, flamenco, african etc) and, if you want to sound authentically Indian, Spanish or African, you willl need to understand the 'rules' of that game. If you don't, you will sound like one of those 'James Galway plays The Beatles' albums. Close but no cigar. I like the theory because I want to do this properly not play at it.

It would depend on what is before and what is after the phrase. I could play each note or barre it, depending on where it was on the neck, what the speed of the piece was etc.