Calling all who play Upright

[JadedBass]

Well My jazz teacher wants me to learn upright over the holidays so i checked one out from the orchestra teacher. jesus how much more strength you need to play upright. But i like it.

besides practicing practicing and practicing

what are some good tips to get used to upright and little hints and tips?

[Jody LeCompte]

Play slow, if you try to shred your fingers will never remember where they need to go...

[AlmightyPancake]

Intonation is key. Train your ears.

[White_Summer]

um
elbow up(left arm)
thumb behind neck(left arm)
practice scales scales and more scales(thirds, major minor etc)
dont attemp songs for a good while
make a recording of the scales and such with your elec then play along with the recording(tunning on every note is key)

[JadedBass]

thanks guys this does help


any more?

[Chris K]

Pull a good face when you play (Watch Victor Wooten and try some of his expressions). it will make your playing look much more convincing.

Oh, and I used parts of "The Desert Song" by Stanley Clarke to train my "pizzicato" style, but I still can't get the hang of the bowed bits.

[IbanezJumpstarter]

um
elbow up(left arm)
thumb behind neck(left arm)
practice scales scales and more scales(thirds, major minor etc)
dont attemp songs for a good while
make a recording of the scales and such with your elec then play along with the recording(tunning on every note is key)

Also, thumb should be behind second (middle) finger..and behind the neck.

When placing fingers down, make sure you've got an arch going on, as if you're holding a baseball or somethin'.

I dunno if you're bowing yet, but keep your hand relaxed. Someone should be able to easily take the bow from you. Bow right between the end of the fingerboard and the bridge, go towards fingerboard to get softer; towards bridge to get louder.

And that's it. :thumb:

[blizzard]

As well as what everyone else has said I would also add that if you hands start to hurt take a break for a while and also always try to do a good warm out before playing.

[JadedBass]

thanks you guys are awsome, but going to back to electric it feels like 10x easier. its funny

[Polyamarous]

thanks you guys are awsome, but going to back to electric it feels like 10x easier. its funny

Maybe this is all an elaborate scheme to make you more confident in electric bass and therefore improving your electric bass playing!

:smoke:

[fingerstyle]

a tiny little tip to make sure your thuimb doesnt drop off, dont 'bend' it (ur left thumb), have the knuckles locked and the tip of ur thumb pressing against the neck... so ur thumb should be like, bent inwards, instead of outwards... if u get it... yeah.

make sure ur thumb is opposite ur ring finger.... ummmm

learn positions and learn them well... the double bass is NOT convienent for shifting positons all the time.

oh and make ur practces short, uprights give the worst blisters. ive played electric for 6 years, and i still got blisters.

[6 string demon]

i suggest you get hold of the simandle bass method book and work through it. it will teach you about the proper hand position. book 2 will go into thumb position as well.

for simandle the bassic method is that you use your first, middle, and little finger only. the space between each finger is a semitone. your "half position" will have your hand up near the nut. your first finger giving you F,Bb,Eb,Ab, middle finger giving you Gb,B,E,A and your little finger giving you G,C,F,Bb.
and then each hand position is up a semitone.

Using this method it helpsyou stay in tune and give you a way of getting around the finger board.

As for practce etc, as said learn your scales etc. but your hand WILL hurt at first when your play the double. the way to deal with this is when it begins to hurt play on for a few mins. no more than 5 or so but then stop and rest your hands until they are ok. and then play again. the only reason i say to play a little bit when it hurts is that muscles grow at this point. when they are being forced to thier limits they regrow bigger and sronger. but dont damage yourself. be very careful. in the evening after playing bath your hands in hot water. massage your hands and stretch them out. this will relax the muscles and help prevent damage. The water will also help the calouses form quicker.

Hope this helps.

[Jublian]

Learn to play Hendrix solos on upright

[darrell]

Learn to play Hendrix solos on upright

Don't listen to him. lol.

Make sure you aren't holding the bass up with your fretting hand. I don't play upright, but I've been looking into it. I believe it's supposed to rest against your leg... it might be your chest.. either way, don't hold it up... your hand should be able to move freely around the neck and shouldn't have to worry about holding the bass up.

[hartke20g]

this reminds me that i've been wondering about some things about uprights lately. 1. about how high is the action supposed to be? 2. is the fretboard supposed to be completely straight, or do they usually have some indentations (smooth) on them? and 3. does someone have a link or something that would be able to show me the sizes of all the 'frets' (notes) on the fretboard?

[LewsTherin]

1. about how high is the action supposed to be?

it depends. for classical styles, its supposed to be higher, and for jazz/other stuff, its supposed to be lower.


3. does someone have a link or something that would be able to show me the sizes of all the 'frets' (notes) on the fretboard?



i do not, but i suggest this:

-find the 3rd, 5th, 7th, and 12th 'frets' by matching pitches to open strings. Once you find the 3rd, you can find 1st (octave below).
7th will allow you to find 9th (octave above) and 2nd (same note string up)
9th will allow you to find 11th and 2nd will allow you to find 4th which will help you find 6th.

Then, you have an idea where every note is on the board.


I also suggest playing to a tuner (one w/ a mic, or if you have a bass w/ a pickup, play into the tuner)

[Yarbles]

My teacher put sticky tape over the 2nd, 5th, and 9th 'frets'. It helps while you are getting used to it. I also have an ajustable bridge, so that helps with the different styles.