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20 Feb 99 - 22 Oct 12

2007 2008 2010

The Bass Education Project

This work is intended to disseminate the fundamentals of playing the double bass. Mastering the fundamentals of the instrument will
allow the student to play any music.
This work primarily evolved out of observing a need for teacher education:
Most elementary and secondary school orchestra teachers do not know how to teach double bass, hence there are a lot of crippled
bass players around. The fundamentals of bass playing are very different than violin. They are most similar to cello, but there are still
vast differences.
If you teach in a string program, please take a moment to glance through this page.
If you have any comments or questions, please contact me.

Fingering Charts
Philosophy

Cognitive Objectives

the Bow

Holding the Instrument The Right Arm and Hand

Moving the Bow Across the String Tone Production

Psychomotor Objectives

Instrument Selection
Placing the Bow on the String

More Fundamentals Moving the Bow

Philosophy
>Playing music is a physical (psychomotor), emotional (lymbic), mental (cognitive) and spiritual process.
>Learn to work the instrument, not just to learn a piece of music.
> Learn how to practice.
>All nerve cells have the capacity to learn.
>Anything you learn, whether theoretical or practical, can become part of your musical vocabulary, to be called upon at any time,
just as any other word, thought, or idea.
>Learn the vocabulary and conventions of many styles of music so you can say yes to many calls for work. Everyone needs a bass
player.

Cognitive Objectives:
>Know what notes are under every finger in every position.
>Know the intervals between each finger position within one hand position.

Psychomotor Objectives:
>Relaxed and proper approach to the instrument
>Relaxed and proper bow rest (right hand and arm)
>Relaxed and proper left hand position (left hand and arm)
>Bow Control (tone production and articulation)
>Shifting
Top of page.

About instrument selection:

Seek the advice of a knowledgeable professional bassist, teacher, instrument (bass) maker or repair person about any particular
instrument. You can buy a good instrument from a manufacturer or you may find one at a garage sale.
A variety of woods can be used for the parts of the instrument, either being carved and shaped from a single piece of wood or
formed out of plywood. Plywood basses are generally less expensive ranging in average cast from $500 - $1500. You may find one
in the classified for $200. "Real wood" basses generally range in price from $1,000 - $2,500 and up to ten or forty thousand dollars.
Beware: the price of an instrument does not necessarily determine the quality of its sound. A well set up, $350 plywood bass may
sound better than a damaged or ill set up $7,000 "real wood" instrument.
All wood instruments are susceptible to damage, such a cracks or the opening of seems. Many problems are easily repaired to render
a fine, playable instrument. Some damage to be particularly concerned about, though, are cracks on the front or back that may grow
and cross the sound post, just under the right foot of the bridge.
Search far and wide, ask around, and be patient.

The Bow:
Bows are made of wood (usually pernumbucco or xxxxx ) or fiberglass and have bleached or unbleached hair. The are two types of
bass bows, French, similar to a cello bow using a similar grip, and German, with a larger frog to accommodate an underhand grip.
Bow selection is personal. The choice between German and French bow is arguable and boils down to physical comfort and bow
control. After that, the main concern in bow selection is to choose a bow that has a comfortable weight and balance and that is
straight (not warped). Again, seek the assistance of someone knowledgeable about any particular bow.
Select quality strings (recommended: Flexocore Original or Flexocore `92) for all purpose playing, xxxxxx for strictly classical playing
and Spirocore for strictly jazz or amplified playing).
Also, select a quality rosin (recommend Carlson or xxxxxx); it should be sticky, not powdery and you should be able to leave a
fingerprint in the face of it if you press on it with your thumb.
Again, a $350 plywood bass set up with good strings, a decent bow and good rosin can perform as well as an investment of
thousands of dollars.
Top of page.

Holding the instrument:

There are two postures for holding the bass, standing and sitting. I strongly recommend that students sit, particularly younger students.
Some players feel that they have greater freedom of movement be standing. If you choose to begin students standing, be sure to
spend generous amounts of time teaching the students to support and balance the instrument with the body, NOT with the left hand.
Allowing the student to use the left hand to support the weight of the bass will have devastatingly crippling effects on the students
ability to develop any left hand technique. In the sitting posture, the instrument is automatically supported and balanced by the body
enabling the young player to have more freedom of arm movement and preventing the early development of detrimental left hand
habits.
In the standing posture, the players legs should be straight. The instrument is supported by the left leg and hip/groin area. The bass is
tilted back slightly, similar to the angle of the fingerboard, leans slightly into the player and is twisted slightly clockwise towards the
player.
In the sitting posture, choose a stool that is approximately the same height as the length of the players inseam. It should have rungs so
that the player can elevate the left foot slightly. The right foot should rest flat on the ground. The bass is held in a position similar to the
standing posture, however, slightly more accentuated. It is supported by the inside left thigh and groin area, and slightly by the left
knee. The bass is tilted slightly back, similar to the angle of the fingerboard, leans slightly into the player and is twisted slightly

clockwise towards the player. The left knee can be used to slightly adjust the angle at which the bass faces towards or away from the
player. With the player's right foot comfortably flat on the floor, the fingerboard should be about parallel to the right thigh.
Top of page.
The Right Arm and Hand
The right hand holds the bow.
Though there is a choice between German and French bows, most students who are converted from other string instruments will feel
most comfortable with a French bow.
While most people refer to the hold on the bow as the "bow grip", this phraseology carries a connotation that evokes a visual image
and a psychomotor response that is detrimental to effective bow technique. A more appropriate phrase, resonant with the desired
result is "bow rest".
The bow rest for the bass bow is similar to that of the cello bow, with some slight differences. There are, however, more pronounced
differences from that of the violin or viola right hand.
Holding the bow:
1. Have the student, sitting or standing up straight, let their right arm and hand at rest.
2. If the student's arm seem tense and not relaxed, have them gently shake out the tension from their arm and
come to rest.

hand and let them

3. This natural, relaxed hand position is the proper bow rest.

The hand should be in a relaxed, curved position, palm facing the hip.
4. Place the frog of the bow in the right hand, the front curve of the frog at the tip of the thumb. The thumb should remain curved and
rest gently in the front curve of the frog. It should not bend backwards or stick through to the other side of the bow. The left side of
the fleshy part of the index finger near the furthest knuckle should reach slightly forward on the stick. The other three fingers should
remain slightly curved with the fleshy part of the fingertips resting on the frog. The hand and should remain relaxed.
Top of page.
Placing the Bow on the String:
1. Supporting the weight of the bow and the relaxed student's hand and arm, place the middle of the bow on the D-string just above
the halfway point between the bridge and the end of the fingerboard. The stick of the bow should tilt slightly towards the player. The
full weight of the arm, the hand and the bow should rest on the string. Furthermore, in the sitting posture, the angle of the strings
provides enough support so that there is no real need to "grip" the bow and the right hand can remain completely relaxed. In the
standing posture, the angle of the strings is more vertical, thus requiring more support from the hand to keep the bow from sliding
towards the bridge.
1a. If the student's arm and hand are not relaxed, the full weight of the arm an hand will not provide the necessary energy to make the
instrument work properly. This energy is supplanted by muscle pressure which corrupts the sound, hinders technique and can be
physically damaging to the player.
Practice relaxation exercises to relax the right arm and hand and to develop a psychomotor understanding of the feeling of allowing
the right arm and hand to be "dead weight".
Allow the student to hold the dead weight of your hand and arm so that they Explain that this weight is all that is necessary and that
there is no need to "press" the bow onto the string. Have the student allow you to support the weight of their arm and hand until they
can fully relax their arm and hand to the point of being dead weight. Then repeat step (1). Repeat steps (1) and (1a) as necessary.

Moving the Bow Across the String:

The energy to move the bow across the string comes from the larger muscles in the upper arm, thus movement initiates in the upper
arm. A psychomotor simulation to this feeling can be created by having the student hold their right arm and hand at rest at their side as
they did to prepare the bow rest. The teacher should then initiate a back and forth swinging in the arm (similar to walking) by pushing
back and forth on the front and back of the student's upper arm. The arm and hand should remain relaxed and the inertia of the hand
and forearm should keep the hand lagging behind the upper arm. This is as it should be in playing. If the hand and forearm are ahead
of the upper arm, the upper arm is not acting as the driving force and the arm cannot remain relaxed.
Top of page.
Start with simple tone production.
1. Prepare with a relaxed arm and proper bow rest and place the bow, about three inches from the frog, on the D-string, just above
the half way point between the bridge and the end of the fingerboard.
2. Be sure the arm and hand are relaxed and the full weight of the arm, hand and bow rests at the contact point between the bow and
the string.
3. The teacher can initiate tone production by firmly pulling back on the students upper arm. Inertia and friction at the contact point
should cause the rest of the arm, hand and fingers should lag behind. The joints of the elbow, wrist, and fingers should act as springs
or shock absorbers. The extra movement should not be exaggerated. This indicates movement that is not initiated by the upper arm.
If the arm, hand and fingers move all as one unit, without any flexibility, the arm is not relaxed.
The attack of the sound should be clear. Draw the arm at a constant speed and stop about two or three inches from the tip of the
bow.
Repeat, always resetting the bow on the string correctly, so that the student can learn what it is supposed to feel like when the arm
draws the bow correctly.
This movement is a "down bow".
4. Allow the student to initiate tone production themselves. Watch for signs of appropriate relaxation and muscle movement initiating
from the upper arm.
Repeat step (3) if necessary.
-------------------------------------------5. Repeat the process (steps 1-4) pushing the arm forward, starting about two inches from the tip of the bow moving to about two or
three inches from the frog.
This movement is an "up bow". Again, be sure that the arm is relaxed, the weight is in the string, movement initiates from the
upper arm, the joints act as a shock absorber for the forces of inertia and friction and the bow moves at a constant speed.
Top of page.
More Fundamentals of Moving the Bow Across the String:
Practice the tone production sequence outlined above with the following variations:
1. Practice on each of the strings.
2. Practice moving the bow at many different speeds.
3. Practice placing the bow at various points between the bridge and the end of the fingerboard.
4. Practice attaining different volume (dynamic) levels.

5. Practice using varying amounts of bow (full bow, half bow, about three inches of bow).
6. Practice starting at different points in the bow (middle, down bow starting near the tip, up bow staring near the frog).
Note: Often, due to the physics of the construction of basses, tone production on the A-string is difficult and sounds raspy. This is
called a "wolf" and is remedied somewhat by a "wolf suppressor".

Also, a cognitive/psychomotor note: We have established that the driving energy comes from the upper arm and that the joints act as
shock absorbers. In order to successfully execute the above variations, another concept must be learned and several learned
concepts must be integrated. The fingers have an additional job. They are the "sensors" That is why we place the fleshy parts of our
fingers on the bow, that is where most of the nerve endings are. The fingers sense the friction at the contact point providing
information as to what psychomotor movements are required to produce the desired sound.
The parameters that we vary to achieve different sounds (loud, soft, fuzzy, warm) are:
bow placement, bow speed, and weight. Think of these three parameters as a 3-way balance. If you change one, you must make
adjustments in the others to maintain an equilibrium. Be aware of subtle sound and physical feeling differences as you vary these
parameters. (When varying "weight", do not press into the string, allow more or less of the full weight of your arm, hand and bow to
rest on the string).
Top of page

Putting Up Bows and Down Bows Together:

Bow Articulations:
Crossing Strings:

Download
Bass Fingering Charts
here.
Half Position
First Position
Between 1st and 2nd Position
Second Position
Third Position
Between 3rd and 4th Position
Fourth Position
Fifth Position
Between 5th and 6th Position
Sixth Position

Top of page

Try these links:

Double Bass Pedagogy ResourcesThe String Pedagogy Notebook

Walking Bass (a pedagogical thread)

Todd's Bass Lessons (electric)
David's Bass Links
David's Bass Page
(top of page)