Upright Bass Question

[paperbag1213]

Ok so I am performing the song Perdido-Duke Ellington
Our band is taking the song very quickly 300 BPM at a minimum, no joke


Theres my solo, i'd appreciate any suggestions, but there is not a lot of room for experimentation. Because the band director just told me to play the bass line an octave up.

If you have any ideas on how to improve the solo thanks

 

[Andrew O]

Thumb Position
Pluck the strings like an electric
Cross your fingers

 

[Michael J]

Okay...

First- Learn to sing this- before you even think about touching your bass. Get it so you can sing the solo perfect.

Second- Start playing this solo at say... 100 BPM. Use a metronome. Now once you feel really, really strong with it... slow it down. In increments of 5 BPM making sure its solid at each speed until you hit good ol' 40 BPM. Now, once you have done all that, proceed to step three!

Third- Put the metronome on beats two and four- and repeat step two.

Fourth- Now, start speeding it up in increments of 5 or 10, until you reach the speed you aim to play it at. Whenever you screw up twice in a row, slow it back down 20 BPM and repeat.

Fifth- do step four with the metronome on beats two and four.

That should make your solo about as solid as the most solid rock out there. Fun thing to do if thats not enough for you- put the metronome on beat four only...

Good luck!

Oh yeah- another good idea is to record the solo done on an electric and play along to that to get good intonation.

 

[paperbag1213]

Thats what i've been having trouble with keeping intonated through out an entire song. Especially with Latin feeling songs. I can usually keep intonated while playing Ballads and other styles, just while playing samba songs. Is there a specific reason for this?

 

[golem]

Thats what i've been having trouble with keeping
intonated through out an entire song. Especially
with Latin feeling songs. I can usually keep
intonated while playing Ballads and other styles,
just while playing samba songs. Is there a
specific reason for this?

There's a reason that Latin bands favor the Baby
Bass and other small uprights with only minimal
sustain but a thumpin attack. Put a sock in it !

Also, focus on the root and let the rest of the
chord be [exceedingly] "well tempered". At 300
BPM the roots will make the impression. All the
other notes should fall where they will not ruin
that impression, but shooting for dead on will
just drive you nutz. Maybe I should'nt say that
the non-root notes will "fall" but that they will
"flow" ... run ... skip ... dance. It's Latin Dance.

​

 

[Mr Praline]

Keep it simple. Have the melody in mind when you play, begin with notes true to the chord voicing.

 

[paperbag1213]

the latin feeling song is not at 300 bpm golem its perdido that is the fast one

 

[golem]

the latin feeling song is not at 300 bpm
golem its perdido that is the fast one

Okeedokee.

Therefore ... do NOT stick a sock in it. Which
of course means you are now more exposed,
intonationwise. So ... altho you'll need to be
more on pitch without any damping [sock],
you can still apply the concept that, at 300
bpm, the root notes will carry the listener
thru the changes and the rest of the notes
in each chord provide the character of each
chord ... they shouldn't be so wacko'd as to
defeat the on-pitch impression provided by
the root notes ... but neither should you let
all those "second tier" notes drive you crazy.

Keep it moving. When I worked in graphic
design we had a saying about imperfections
in designs that would be viewed 50 ft wide
on huge billboards: "At 65 mph, no one's
gonna notice."

Frinstintz, don't "fret" your way into killing
the wild energy in the 7th bar of that solo ! !
Executed with style, it will "white out" any
lingering clams from bars 1 thru 6. Use it.

​

 

[fatgoogle]

Not to hyjack this thread or anything, but i want to play bass, for an orchestra close by, and as my trumpet playing isnt going any were, DB it was.

How do cheaper DB say around 600 euro or EUB's compare to more expensive DB. When im playing wit them, they would lend me a DB, so i dont have to drag my own around.

 

[TylerDurdenPSSC]

The cheaper ones you're finding are probably made
from cheap plywood as opposed to more prominent
woods. (I find plywood NOT to be a problem for the
applications I've experimented with. (Rocka and Psycho
billy bands.)

However, for something more elaborate than that,
you may notice the difference in tone.

 

[fatgoogle]

ok thanks, but as tehnique goes, learning to bow and pluck it right, how would they compare to other DB, most likely the DB at this orchestra is quite old, and maybe amazingly good and then again might not be. I just want to get going.

 

[JanVanHove]

for technique and intonation, if you use a CCB, as they are called (for Cr@ppy Chinese Bass), Get it properly setup by a competent luthier. It will likely cost a few hundred bucks, but you'll get a playable instrument, as opposed to a doghouse with strings on it...

 

[golem]

ok thanks, but as tehnique goes, learning to bow
and pluck it right, how would they compare to other
DB, most likely the DB at this orchestra is quite old,
and maybe amazingly good and then again might
not be. I just want to get going.

Yah. Getting going. Jeez. Very important
first step, getting going ! ! Do it.

Setup and maintenance on an URB is not
generally a DIY thing, and can be rather
expensive, so it's hardly worth bothering
with those $800 cheapo URBs.

OTOH an EUB is low maintenance and is
suitable for personal DIY setup same as
any bass guitar. Most will have the same
action height, neck profile and FB radius
as an URB ... IOW a great practice device
and also giggable for non-orchestral stuff.
Natchurlee you want full scale [41" +/-].

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

But there are non-orchestral gigs where
showmanship demands a real URB, such
as period genres like proto rocknroll and
rockabilly. Some jazz ensembles will also
demand and URB ... some just to meet
audience expectation [it's about money]
and others just outa snooty attitude. An
EUB is usually welcome in fusion, Latin
jazz and Latin dance. Some jazzers will
welcome it, as will some big bands.

So, it's giggable with limits, affordable,
great for practice, and easy to transport.
You'll face a bit less prejudice if you get
one with somewhat of a "violin family"
shape, and an end-pin [rather than the
tripod-type stand]. All of which spells
"Palatino 500". They're about $650 with
gigbag, end-pin, bout simulator, and a
built-in PU system.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

There is a tone difference. Nothing really
resonates in the same way as real "violin
family" construction. You can get a nice
$3500 URB for about half-price used. It
will prolly be in a thin cheap-ass bag and
need a $200 set up. The owner will often
throw in his original PU, that he removed
when he upgraded ... unless he's already
given that away ... and sometimes even
his first bow [same story].

Oh yeah, URB PUs need a megohm input
impedence. But the Palatino, like most
other EUBs, is internally bufferd to use a
regular 100K [250K etc etc] ohm input as
found on a typical bass amp. To buy an
outboard buffer is about $60 to $160 and
it usually has multifunctions additional to
impedence matching: 2 or 3 band EQ, DI,
comp, notch, whatever yada yada .... not
a bad deal really. Fishman is very popular
throughout that price spectrum.

Rosin. You need rosin. And lessons.

​