I have been playing electric for about 13 years and I just started playing double bass about 3 years ago. Although my main focus is Jazz, I play classical etudes and repertoire. I practice with drones when I'm doing scales and etudes, but my intonation is still awful. When I am playing pizz, I feel like it is even worse. It is very frustrating to be a professional musician and to still sound so amateurish on upright during gigs. Any advice on tuning up?
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Intonation
- Thread starter joee.bass
- Start date
The tradition of how to play the double bass is long and fortunately continues to expand with Rabbath and other techniques. One of the main challenges for electric players picking up the upright is NOT playing the upright like the electric. That means in the lower positions on the upright the third finger is not typically used. Even for a guy with large hands like me, it is nearly impossible to play a whole step between the first and third fingers in tune (for example Bb to C on the A string or even C to D on the A string is a challenge).
You are doing the right thing by studying classical repertoire. If you are not already doing so, I highly recommend studying with a private teacher. Another thing to remember is the importance of hearing the pitch in your head of the notes you are playing. With the fretted electric, each note played will be in tune if the instrument is in tune. With the double bass, we are responsible for every pitch. Playing with a drone can be extremely helpful, but knowing the sound of the note in your head is very important. With a drone, it is always a comparison after the fact. In other words, generating your tonal center from within is important.
You are doing the right thing by studying classical repertoire. If you are not already doing so, I highly recommend studying with a private teacher. Another thing to remember is the importance of hearing the pitch in your head of the notes you are playing. With the fretted electric, each note played will be in tune if the instrument is in tune. With the double bass, we are responsible for every pitch. Playing with a drone can be extremely helpful, but knowing the sound of the note in your head is very important. With a drone, it is always a comparison after the fact. In other words, generating your tonal center from within is important.
That would be very helpful. Some of the patterns people practice would be a challenge to sing even for a trained singer. Good luck with those. Sing the melodies of the tunes you are learning. Sing bass lines, scales, arpeggios, etc. Obviously, the range of your voice may not match what you play on the bass.
Intonation is something that every upright player that I've ever spoken with (whether they're weekend warriors, touring jazz players, or working in a symphony) still works on. If you continue to put in the work required, it WILL improve. I didn't even start playing upright until I was working on my undergraduate in jazz performance, and for the first few years, my intonation was horrible. But, it gradually got better, and as it got better, my confidence in my intonation grew (which I believe is a big part of playing in tune).
A few things that really helped me:
- Use drones on more than just scales and arpeggios. Use them on your classical etudes, practice jazz solos and melodies to them, etc... Play slow enough to be able to correct your intonation, without "sliding" into notes
- Practice shifts from one position to the other (both single-string and across strings) with the drone
- walk basslines against a drone (example: put your drone on F, walk an F blues)
- walk along with recordings
- in general, play along with something that has steady pitch, whether that is a drone, recording, or another musician (playing with pianists and guitarists is great)
Good luck. Like I said above, don't get discouraged - it WILL get better with practice.
A few things that really helped me:
- Use drones on more than just scales and arpeggios. Use them on your classical etudes, practice jazz solos and melodies to them, etc... Play slow enough to be able to correct your intonation, without "sliding" into notes
- Practice shifts from one position to the other (both single-string and across strings) with the drone
- walk basslines against a drone (example: put your drone on F, walk an F blues)
- walk along with recordings
- in general, play along with something that has steady pitch, whether that is a drone, recording, or another musician (playing with pianists and guitarists is great)
Good luck. Like I said above, don't get discouraged - it WILL get better with practice.
These are all good suggestions but, as suggested by prof. Seaton, the ultimate aim should be to develop the ear to the extent that the drone is no longer required, no?
In other words, you are "unlikely" to hear the tonality if you need to always have an anchor point. This appears to be particularly true for us bass players, where during our solo, the band takes a break :-(
In other words, you are "unlikely" to hear the tonality if you need to always have an anchor point. This appears to be particularly true for us bass players, where during our solo, the band takes a break :-(
With Lynn's permission, I'd like to add that I think the drone can be very useful in ways we don't think of at first. One of these for me involves practicing tunes that modulate with a drone that stays put throughout. I find that doing this helps me stay anchored to the main tonality afterward even when the drone is off, and helps keep my pitch from straying when playing without accompaniment, which I have to do a lot on gigs with no chordal instrument. For me, it works because everything exists in relation to the "drone" of the main tonality of the song. Here's a post from a thread on the subject that goes into this a little deeper, and includes a soundfile of a modulating melody played against a single drone.
There are many paths to take when learning about music and bass playing. I always welcome other's input and suggestions on any topic in this forum.
Thank you guys so much. You guys have really been helping me build confidence in taking on the upright quest. Intonation has been my biggest downfall but I constantly remind myself that I've only been at it 6 months.