5 Essential Tips For Playing Upright Bass
Author: Mike Richmond, Guest Contributor
Larger than most of its players at approximately six feet, the upright bass is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern orchestra. Grammy Award Winning Jazz bassist and educator, Mike Richmond shares 5 Essential Tips For Playing Upright Bass.
1) Intonation
Slow scales and standard tune melodies (with lyrics which will have longer note values) all arco.
2) Left Hand Position
Practice in front of a mirror to check left hand observing proper width between fingers/be careful not to lower the left elbow excessively which would tilt the left hand to a flatter pitch.
3) Time
Practice walking on standard tunes with a metronome on 2 & 4 slowly to 250 bpm/any app with swinging drums and chords where the bass can be removed is helpful.
4) Melodic Bass Lines
Practice melodic bass lines by not always playing the root of the chord on the downbeat.
5) Modern Walking Bass Technique
In an environment that allows rhythmic creativity when walking a bass line use skips, ghost skips, pull-off skips, and triplets which will create an ongoing dialogue with the drums and rhythm section (These techniques are demonstrated in my book Modern Walking Bass Technique.
About The Author
Mike Richmond has been featured on over 350 recordings (15 solo) and has recorded/performed internationally with the Charles Mingus Dynasty/Big Band/ Orchestra, Miles Davis, Stan Getz, Quincy Jones, Dizzy Gillespie, Bobby McFerrin, Ravi Shankar, Elvin Jones, Gil Evans, Woody Herman, Thad Jones & Mel Lewis, Horace Silver, Jack DeJohnette, Joe Henderson, Phil Woods, Art Farmer, Benny Golson, BB King, Chet Baker, Hubert Laws, Sonny Stitt, Clark Terry, Don Cherry, Lee Konitz, Bob Brookmeyer, Milt Jackson, Kenny Wheeler, Henry Mancini, Joào Gilberto, Astrid Gilberto, Michel Legrand, Chico Hamilton, Richie Havens, and Pat Metheny. He has won Grammy Awards with Miles Davis, Quincy Jones and the Philadelphia Orchestra. His book Modern Walking Bass Technique (Ped Xing Music) is used worldwide as one of the leading texts on jazz bass technique. Mike's workshops have been well received throughout the United States, Europe, Asia, China, South America, and the Middle East. Mike is a professor of Double Bass at New York University (Teacher of the Year 1991 & 1994). He represented the United States in France as a guest lecturer at the “International Symposium On Jazz Pedagogy” sponsored by the French Cultural Ministry Mike has been a guest soloist with the Bratislava Philharmonic Orchestra, United Arab Emirates Philharmonic Orchestra, Prince George's Philharmonic, Lima Peru Symphony, Costa Rica National Symphony, Cologne Radio Philharmonic Orchestra, Cologne Radio Big Band, the Hamburg State Opera, and the Hacettepe Conservatory Symphony (Turkey).
Additional information can be found at http://www.mikerichmondmusic.com.