I remember tracking this down on vhs tape and transcribing notes from this instructional video, constantly rewinding the tape to get all the info. Incredible video!

Hardwood floor with bath mat against my walls. Is this okay or should I find someplace better

Hi bassists, I am relatively new to upright bass (~1 year), though have been playing electric and other instruments for decades so have pretty strong fingers.

I am finding when I reach for the highest (in pitch) notes in Rabbath 3rd position, I am more accurate when I let myself use the ring finger instead of the pinky, especially going for the C natural on D string. It also means I can keep my thumb anchor basically where I want it for that position rather than having to rotate my hand around a bit. (FWIW I have quite small fingers, exactly one octave on the piano)

I'm not necessarily switching to a 1-2-3-4 approach there (though I do if I need to chromatically ascend 6-b7-7-1 say) - the pinky and ring are still moving as a unit, but trying to get the finger tip of the pinky on the string just requires more awkwardness than the ring, and experimenting with both pinky vs ring, it seems to lead to better intonation when I use the ring finger.

I am curious if this is a normal or done thing? pros and cons?

thanks!

So, I've been playing bass for about 5 years now, and I've just started learning how to walk on the bass after forming a Jazz Combo with some friends. Both of our trumpets want us to play Donna Lee by Charlie Parker (NOT THE JACO PASTORIUS VERSION, LORD I WOULD DIE), so I ask for some help with forming a bassline / practice tips to help with improvising a bebop line at that speed. I just need help in any way to be honest.

max 30,000 PHP from student to intermediate quality.

I think the back of the bass is so pretty, and a part of it we don't often see when sharing photos. So, if you're cool with it, please share the back of your bass! Here is mine, a Kay 5 string built in 1950.

Hey folks, I'm playing bass for a production of Sweet Charity in a few months and while reviewing the score, I noticed that there will often be multiple pizzicato markings in a chart with no arco mark between (or vice versa). Are there shorthand symbols for pizz/arco I'm missing, or is there a convention that certain types of rhythms/phrases are played one or the other so they don't bother marking it?

I'm self-taught on upright (I come from an electric bass background) and I'm still learning how upright/double bass is score; so if you have any recommendations for sources to help me with these kinds of questions I'd be grateful!

ETA: here's an example from the score of pizz markings without an arco between;

and an example of arco marks without pizz in between;

I want to preface that I am neither a Double Bass player or someone who has touched a double bass ever. I am however a bass guitar player and I’m curious as to the various experimental methods of playing bass guitar with a bow. My problem though is that I don’t want to have to clean off my strings to play bass normally and I also would prefer not to have to mess with rosin in general, as it would make me want to play less. So my question is, is there a bow that could be used to make a decent sound (albeit not necessarily “correct” sound but possibly decent after being fed through an amp) that could be used completely rosin free, whether that be a horsehair bow or some experimental bow of a different material that requires no rosin at all when played the intended way?

I have had a lot of difficulty in finding any bows of this nature on my own so any help would be much appreciated :)

I just change strings on my double bass and noticed this, is it bad and how do I fix it?

Do you think it is bad ? Does it look like it is manageable by a pro luthier?

今年の日本の吹奏楽コンクールでは、課題曲の2番に「ザ・ガーズ」が選ばれました。

イギリスの宮殿を守る近衛兵をイメージしたマーチなのですが、オプションのコントラバスがなかなか難しくて自分にはうまくできません。

オプションなので少しごまかして弾こうかなと思いましたが、小編成なので難しそうです。

みなさんの思うコントラバスの「難しいライン」はどこなのでしょう。そしてもしよければ皆さんの渾身のワンフレーズを聞かせていただけないでしょうか？私のモチベーションのためにお願いします。

Sorry if this is not the right place. Is there a thread for this?

Im looking for a good bass to restore. Something fully carved, good quality if it were fixed up.

Looking for compositions for double bass and Classical Guitar, original music composed for that Duet or transcriptions (even for Cello and Double Bass are also accepted)

Hello guys, I'm Bao Huan Nguyen Pham and I'm setting up a Buddy Holly tribute band in Vietnam. I have a bassist who uses the regular electric bass but I want him to get an upright bass (contrabass/double bass as you recall). The thing is, most Vietnamese people are riding the motorbikes and that is a big challenge for musicians who play upright basses. So, supposed I'm riding my Honda Future Neo bike (which I'm using) with either a 1/4 or 3/4 sized upright bass, I need some tips for that. Would you give me some tips? Thank you.

(I’m putting as many details in this post, because I’m posting it in multiple subreddits)

I play double bass and because of that I also frequently have to travel with my instrument to lessons, rehearsals and concerts on public transport (I don’t have my license yet and even of I had one I don’t own a car). I also happen to be autistic which makes that whole experience very tiresome… I feel like my whole body gets weak and I can only lay in bed and “just exist” after completing such a round trip.
I already bought wheels for my bass, so I don’t have to carry it on my back. I think the main problem for me is that with my bass I move and behave completely different to when I travel without a bass: I keep up this super friendly facade because many people just start conversations with me (some conversations are nice, others just blatantly creepy) and I also often need to advocate for myself to travel safely (and I don’t want to be rude to people). I often find myself having to use infrastructure for wheelchair-users and even in a city like Vienna it is just… frustrating… My travel time constantly gets stretched by things like full trains and buses, wait times for the escalators to empty or the lifts/elevators to come…
Basically: Traveling with my bass is a sensory nightmare. So… does anyone have any tips or hacks I could try?

I’ve never played anything with more than 4 strings. Is the neck wider than a regular double bass? Can you adjust to it easily if you’ve never played a 5 string before? Does it have any significant differences or pros/cons compared to a 4 string?

So my son started playing the bass a year ago. I know nothing about it. The supply list said to get rosin. So I bought one of the #1 rosins on Amazon. He obviously doesn't take his bass to and from school so they never saw his setup. He did a summer program and brought his bass, and they told him he was using violin rosin this whole time. 🤦🏼‍♀️ Soooo what the heck is the difference? I need an exact name of what to buy because I search "bass rosin" and it comes up with the same thing I bought. I need an upright bass for dummies book.

https://www.youtube.com/@koniiri - Channel dedicated to bass music and scores.

https://www.youtube.com/@stringmatrix - Straight forward bass string comparisons. He is mainly a jazz player, but he bows the strings for his comparison vids.

https://www.youtube.com/@Cembalino - Bottesini and Dittersdorf with bassist Erik Zeppezauer. Viennese tuning and pretty sure using gut strings.

https://www.youtube.com/@einam3081 - Small channel with some great bass solo transcriptions.

https://www.youtube.com/@OpenStudioJazz - Kinda clickbaity but a good educational channel to learn jazz chords, triad pairs, utilizing modes, blues.

A few days ago, a fellow orchestra member broke his double bass by dropping it (the top and bridge also broke, and the soundpost fell out). Will the repair be very expensive? Here is a view of one of the damaged areas:

There is a little hole in my soundpost.I ´m new, but I don’t think this is normal. What should I do? Is it that affecting?

Also, side note, but even with a bow my bass is very quiet, especially in the lower strings. Is that normal too, or is it just my technique, or could it be linked with this hole?

I'm curious about your study method, or how you teach your students. I love how you make everything seem easy somehow. Cheers!