It's high school jazz band. You just need to know how to read bass clef. If you've been playing five years then you have the chops already. You just need to know how to read decently 
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Satin doll, all blues, well you needn't
How about getting the DB instead of the EBG?
How about getting the DB instead of the EBG?
Exactly! Get on the Double Bass and play in the High School Orchestra as well as the Jazz Band. The school likely has a playable Double Bass just sitting in a closet.
Get with a REAL Double Bass Teacher, not some guitar player moonlighting at the local music store. Do this ASAP!
This will be the best thing you can do for yourself. There have been way too many Electric Bassists, since about 1964.
If you are having even the slightest thoughts about being a pro bassist... play the Double Bass, too (with a bow).
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Endorsed by GHS before graduation? Go Crab!
Become familiar with reading lead sheets. Learn how to swing, play Latin jazz, jazz waltz and how to lock in with a drummer regardless of time or feel. Study previous jazz bassists like Ron Carter, Charles Mingus, Ray Brown, John Clayton, Christian McBride, Jaco Pastorius, Paul Chambers, Anthony Jackson, and even James Jamerson... Study, listen and learn.
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Listen to bunches of jazz standards. The original recordings. Then choose 10 to 15 favorites and learn them inside out including the melody. That should give you a great start. If you truly do just that you'll have plenty of ammunition in your musical arsenal to cover whatever comes your way jazz-wise in a high school context. 
Don't worry too much about the reading. If you have mentally internalized some jazz standards that you really like and enjoy you'll truly kick the ass of the "jazz academicians".
It's extremely important that you listen to genuine jazz if you're gong to play it. "Book learned only" jazz players tend to sound truly awful.
Don't worry too much about the reading. If you have mentally internalized some jazz standards that you really like and enjoy you'll truly kick the ass of the "jazz academicians".It's extremely important that you listen to genuine jazz if you're gong to play it. "Book learned only" jazz players tend to sound truly awful.
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Your most critical skill will be reading music. There will be no tab, you have to read bass clef. If there is an audition, your biggest threat will be from the kid that plays upright in the orchestra, has been reading since he/she started playing and can double on upright. Get as much sheet music as you can find that doesn't have tabs and practice playing those with some jazz drum beats. It will be a ton of quarter notes with some occasional rhythms.
EVERY Electric Bass player's nightmare.
OP, do NOT get a REAL BOOK. Get the original recordings that the REAL BOOK attempted to copy.
I played trumpet in jazz band in high school and bass in jazz band in college. Lots of fun. But after college I've been looking for a jazz band to play in and it seems like anyone playing in a jazz band stays there until they literally die.
There's some good advice here, but as a current public school band director (who has a taught jazz band at the high and middle school level) I have a particularly good insight in what will be needed at the start.
The first thing you need to do (and only thing for now really) is to learn how to read music and learn the fretboard up to about the 8th fret - on every string - really well. Most bass lines in HS jazz are not going to go higher than that (at least not at first). Besides, if you keep working on learning the fretboard and reading music, you will know those notes when the music does go higher than that. I would get the Hal Leonard Method Books 1 & 2 and start working on them now. Book 1 is just standard notation and will get you pretty far (most of what you will need for the beginning of HS jazz band). Book 2 introduces TAB, but also sticks with standard notation. I'd also suggest getting a lesson teacher that will help you focus on learning standard notation. Too many like to teach TAB and how to play songs. You don't need to learn TAB; you need to learn standard notation. You don't need to learn songs; you need to learn to read music.
Second, don't worry about sight-reading yet, don't worry about improvising yet, don't worry about how to play jazz/swing/bebop/jump or any other style, or even how to play with others. You will learn all that along with the rest of the members, assuming you have a good instructor. All of the bass lines will be written out for you (assuming they are modern arrangements) so you won't have to worry about creating a walking bass line. But, you will need to be able to read music so you can play the bass lines that are written.
Third, I would not move to double bass unless you are ready to commit to it. I can promise you that there are many more HS jazz bands that use electric bass than use double bass. If you enjoy the HS jazz band and want to stick with it then I would suggest learning double bass. But, I would not suggest learning is while you are trying to learn how to read music while learning how to play in the jazz band. Stick with the instrument you are comfortable with at the start and you will have more fun. Don't be intimidated if there are more than one bass player and they other(s) play upright. There is ALWAYS a place in jazz for electric bass. School jazz bands play a wide range of music from big band to latin to rock to funk. While big band will sound best on a double bass, rock and funk always sound better on an electric. Latin can go wither way. For slower latin tunes, I like the upright sound. But, for fast tunes I like the electric.
My last piece of advice is to get with the jazz band director as soon as you can and see what their expectations are. If they are like me, they will be to be able to read music, have a good attitude, and be able to work well with others.
The first thing you need to do (and only thing for now really) is to learn how to read music and learn the fretboard up to about the 8th fret - on every string - really well. Most bass lines in HS jazz are not going to go higher than that (at least not at first). Besides, if you keep working on learning the fretboard and reading music, you will know those notes when the music does go higher than that. I would get the Hal Leonard Method Books 1 & 2 and start working on them now. Book 1 is just standard notation and will get you pretty far (most of what you will need for the beginning of HS jazz band). Book 2 introduces TAB, but also sticks with standard notation. I'd also suggest getting a lesson teacher that will help you focus on learning standard notation. Too many like to teach TAB and how to play songs. You don't need to learn TAB; you need to learn standard notation. You don't need to learn songs; you need to learn to read music.
Second, don't worry about sight-reading yet, don't worry about improvising yet, don't worry about how to play jazz/swing/bebop/jump or any other style, or even how to play with others. You will learn all that along with the rest of the members, assuming you have a good instructor. All of the bass lines will be written out for you (assuming they are modern arrangements) so you won't have to worry about creating a walking bass line. But, you will need to be able to read music so you can play the bass lines that are written.
Third, I would not move to double bass unless you are ready to commit to it. I can promise you that there are many more HS jazz bands that use electric bass than use double bass. If you enjoy the HS jazz band and want to stick with it then I would suggest learning double bass. But, I would not suggest learning is while you are trying to learn how to read music while learning how to play in the jazz band. Stick with the instrument you are comfortable with at the start and you will have more fun. Don't be intimidated if there are more than one bass player and they other(s) play upright. There is ALWAYS a place in jazz for electric bass. School jazz bands play a wide range of music from big band to latin to rock to funk. While big band will sound best on a double bass, rock and funk always sound better on an electric. Latin can go wither way. For slower latin tunes, I like the upright sound. But, for fast tunes I like the electric.
My last piece of advice is to get with the jazz band director as soon as you can and see what their expectations are. If they are like me, they will be to be able to read music, have a good attitude, and be able to work well with others.
Freshman year of high school I had already had 7&8th grade band under my belt.
I hope you do too.
Sight reading, Sight reading, Sight reading, Sight reading, Sight reading.
Major and minor scales should already have been pounded into you.
Music theory is about the same as saying Computer Science to a Warwick staffer.
We aren't all on the same page.
We already were playing Pachebel's Canon in middle school.
High School we were moving on to Mozart.
My audition was playing Jellyroll Morton cold on a Tenor Sax.
Bass I ended up taking up sophomore year along with baritone sax.
Transitioning to bass clef wasn't as hard as slowing my roll.
If you really want to do something, you will practice hard.
I don't know if you had to play to keep your chair before, but you will in high school.
I hope you do too.
Sight reading, Sight reading, Sight reading, Sight reading, Sight reading.
Major and minor scales should already have been pounded into you.
Music theory is about the same as saying Computer Science to a Warwick staffer.
We aren't all on the same page.
We already were playing Pachebel's Canon in middle school.
High School we were moving on to Mozart.
My audition was playing Jellyroll Morton cold on a Tenor Sax.
Bass I ended up taking up sophomore year along with baritone sax.
Transitioning to bass clef wasn't as hard as slowing my roll.
If you really want to do something, you will practice hard.
I don't know if you had to play to keep your chair before, but you will in high school.
Just be a sponge. I learned tremendous amounts of skill and knowledge in high school jazz band. I had a lot of buddies that gave me crap for sticking with it for 3 years, but I did it because I learned so much.
Good advice. When I was warning about the upright player that doubles on electric, I meant that their biggest threat was that they could already read, and read well, rather than the threat of the upright. I should have made that more clear.
You should want to be there to play jazz.
Your idea of jazz and the teacher may come into conflict.
I had 3 music teachers in 4 years, but one private horn teacher and one private bass teacher.
Something to think about while you are locked up for 4 years.
Maybe pick up an instrument or 2 no one else wants to play, it worked for me.
Your idea of jazz and the teacher may come into conflict.
I had 3 music teachers in 4 years, but one private horn teacher and one private bass teacher.
Something to think about while you are locked up for 4 years.
Maybe pick up an instrument or 2 no one else wants to play, it worked for me.
When I joined a Big Band a few years ago, I recorded the audio of the band playing the songs on my iPhone and took photos of the sheet music to take home and practise. I was totally ready for my first gig with them in just a few weeks.
I read an article in a Bass Magazine when I was 16yo about learning to play Jazz. The author suggested I pick one bassist to listen to and learn from. He had studied Ray Brown so I studied him too. A few years later a piano player commented how my basslines "sound very Ray Brown". WIN!!It's extremely important that you listen to genuine jazz if you're gong to play it. "Book learned only" jazz players tend to sound truly awful.
Big Band standards are a given.
If you are want play bass, low horns, doghouse I hope you aren't coming from traditional starter brass or woods (unless you played trombone) bc slowing your roll is going to be an added complication.
Give us context, what other instruments do you play?
Essentially you are there to add bottom and shore up unlearned tempo to a shrill and janky band full of kids.
Just keeping time playing in key farting out whole-half-quarters buys you a slot if no one else wants to do it.
If you are want play bass, low horns, doghouse I hope you aren't coming from traditional starter brass or woods (unless you played trombone) bc slowing your roll is going to be an added complication.
Give us context, what other instruments do you play?
Essentially you are there to add bottom and shore up unlearned tempo to a shrill and janky band full of kids.
Just keeping time playing in key farting out whole-half-quarters buys you a slot if no one else wants to do it.
I was lucky, kid that was 1/1 clarinet in middle school band thought he was going to get a Benny Goodman sheet.
He got a Cannonball Adderly sheet, couldn't roll with it, and his mother came into the band room a few days later making a scene about how he was better than the any of the kids in the 1 row.
I dunno what environment you guys had in high school, but I got 3 complete tools over 4 years that would pound the hell out of the class to make State.
Challenge days just sucked. Mostly you played whatever was in your folder unless you were going for 1/1 or 2/1. Then you got random sheets to play cold.
That's how I transitioned to bass clef easier than most guys, 2 line tends to hold down low and rhythm, and I was 2/1 most of the time.
Edit: 2 teacher wasn't bad, teachers 1 and 3 we're complete juvenile dicks that liked to interrupt the class, pull out their trumpets and play your part to show the class how you specifically sucked. As a 43 year old senior DevOps engineer I can look back on those 2 guys in a different light.
They never got over themselves enough to enable their class. Their comfort overrode any opportunity to grow as a person. It reflected in how the 1st one could never keep a paying side gig and had to move out of the City. He was always butting heads with you publicly about your playing if you were 1st chair anything.
The 3rd guy drove a barely running 79 Honda Civic and was constantly using us as a jazz orchestra to highlight his garbage original compositions. He dressed like Dave Brubeck and was such a "Jazzman" in direct contrast to my horn teacher that was a gigging player that I quit my junior year.
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I'll repeat this again because some people are really over thinking this.
Learn how to read bass clef. That's it. You do not need to know theory for a high school jazz band. Knowing it will not hurt you, but if your goal is to get in then knowing how to read music (and sight read) is the ticket.
Being able to improvise is not needed, either. If you can't do it then instructor will have another instrument take the solo. It's not a big deal.
Learn how to read bass clef. That's it. You do not need to know theory for a high school jazz band. Knowing it will not hurt you, but if your goal is to get in then knowing how to read music (and sight read) is the ticket.
Being able to improvise is not needed, either. If you can't do it then instructor will have another instrument take the solo. It's not a big deal.