AdamWoodBass Posted November 20, 2009 Share Posted November 20, 2009 Hey guys, So I got given an upright, really nice looking thing and feels nice and sturdy... thats about all I know about it! Thing is I've been wanting to learn upright for about 10 years but never had the cash to justify buying one and out of the blue I get given one! Any recommendations for technique? Do you know of any instructional vids that are worth watching or should I just go find a teacher? Cheers Adam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stefboltonfc Posted November 21, 2009 Share Posted November 21, 2009 I wish I knew people who give out upright basses. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdamWoodBass Posted November 21, 2009 Author Share Posted November 21, 2009 He's an old mate of the family, he didn't have room for it anymore so wanted it to go to a good home. Just wish I could play the damn thing! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doddy Posted November 21, 2009 Share Posted November 21, 2009 Lessons all the way. It's a totally different beast to the electric,and you really need someone to show you the correct techniques so as to prevent any injuries.....and learn to play arco. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
witterth Posted November 21, 2009 Share Posted November 21, 2009 All Id say is, most of the lessons I've has from GOOD DB players has been...simply "have you forgotten those open strings!!!??? what notes are they??!!! and" how you can get around quicker if you use em????" "open strings are your friends....." ect ect coming from an electric bass background it make so much sense, I'm babbling but to the novice on DB(like me) oh dont forget to gaffer your fingerdinks if you're" rockabilly rockin" ouch!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdamWoodBass Posted November 22, 2009 Author Share Posted November 22, 2009 Cheers for the advice guys, I'm gonna be getting lessons. I found out you can do really serious (ie career ending) damage to your left hand if you dont use correct technique! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derrenleepoole Posted November 22, 2009 Share Posted November 22, 2009 Noticed you're in Saint Helen's which ain't too far from Blackburn, where in resides the fabulous upright player and teacher Steve Berry (Loose Tubes). Steve is a monster player and his lessons are really indepth and practical. I can give you a contact number if required. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean-Luc Pickguard Posted November 22, 2009 Share Posted November 22, 2009 I had some jazz lessons from Dave Jones at Richmond college, but also worked through the homespun tapes Todd Phillips DVDs, whick although bluegrass orientated were very good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teej Posted November 22, 2009 Share Posted November 22, 2009 [quote name='witterth' post='660731' date='Nov 21 2009, 02:03 AM']oh dont forget to gaffer your fingerdinks if you're" rockabilly rockin" ouch!! [/quote] Can't say as I'd go along with that, you really need to toughen your fingers not protect them. Slap technique is my friend: believe it or not a good slap style can be less physical effort than 'conventional' pizz (quotes because all the early jazz/ragtime/blues players would have slapped to get heard, it's the use of amps that enabled bassists to move away from that technique, it ain't rockabilly at all), and it can be a way of giving your hand a rest, transferring much of the work to the arm. Depending on the gig I'll slap probably 50-80% of the time: I never tape and I don't get blisters. My fingers are tough, but not coarse leathery pads. I often get people wanting to see my fingers and expressing surprise that they're not more calloused - there's more technique involved than brute force and a grin-and-bear-it attitude. Blimey, if it hurt I wouldn't do it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mateybass Posted November 26, 2009 Share Posted November 26, 2009 [quote name='derrenleepoole' post='662138' date='Nov 22 2009, 09:22 PM']Noticed you're in Saint Helen's which ain't too far from Blackburn, where in resides the fabulous upright player and teacher Steve Berry (Loose Tubes). Steve is a monster player and his lessons are really indepth and practical. I can give you a contact number if required.[/quote] +1 for Steve. He's a very approachable bloke, met him in the 90's and what a bass player.... and what a monster of a DB, if he still has it, the best sounding DB I've ever heard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdamWoodBass Posted December 7, 2009 Author Share Posted December 7, 2009 Hey guys, so I've sorted my self out with some lessons with a guy called Dave Spencer (Liverpool based player). He's a great player and a good mate, gonna do a trade off with him where I teach him electric and he teaches me upright! I think I've pretty much got my pizz technique down, just need to work a bit more on my intonation but we're getting there! Haven't started learning arco yet but it is very much so on the to do list. Hopefully I'll be confident enough to do a gig on it soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geoffbassist Posted December 7, 2009 Share Posted December 7, 2009 keep at it adam, you have a great ear so im sure you will be getting a great sound in no time :-) cheers Geoff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdamWoodBass Posted December 7, 2009 Author Share Posted December 7, 2009 Geoff me old mucker! Hows sunny Manc? I thought it was high time I got into upright playing as there seems to be quite a bit of work out there. It's a real pain though learning what is essentially a new instrument! I keep listening to Avishai Cohen and thinking "I wish I could play that!" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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