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The Lowdown with Dr. D - Page 13

Upright Bass Set Up for Playability and Sound – Part 2

Upright Bass Set Up for Playability and Sound – Part 2

This is part 2 of this series by Dr. D. Check out Part 1. Set Up for Sound In terms of sound, there are any number of things that can affect the volume, sustain and tone of your instrument. The bottom line is that everything you do to the instrument matters. Strings matter. Tailpiece length matters. Tailpiece weight matters. Tailpiece...

Upright Bass Set Up for Playability and Sound

Upright Bass Set Up for Playability and Sound

I thought I would address a question left on No Treble’s Facebook page regarding string action on upright and volume discrepancies between different strings by talking a bit about set up on the upright bass. When someone talks about getting the upright bass set up, they are referring to a number of things, from bridge height to curve of the...

Practicing Scales (Part 2)

Practicing Scales (Part 2)

This week, Dr. D. continues the series on practicing scales. Check out part 1. Advanced Scale Work At whatever technical level you have been playing scales, you have hopefully been incorporating technical challenges into the mix. Mastering various fingerings, bowings, plucking techniques, refining your left hand shape, trills, vibrato, artificial harmonics, etc., should be an integral part of the routine....

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Reducing Feedback on Amplified Upright Bass

Reducing Feedback on Amplified Upright Bass

Steve Bunker sent in this request: “Can you talk about the best way to amplify the upright to avoid feedback and the best way to record the bass. I play mostly rockabilly.” Hi Steve! I’ll get to the recording part of the question another week. For today, let’s talk feedback. Feedback is a real problem for anyone amplifying the double...

Practicing Scales

Practicing Scales

The last installment of the Lowdown inspired a question from a reader about the “proper way to practice scales.” That would all depend on your specific goal, whether it be a technical or a musical one. There are innumerable ways to practice scales, and a plethora of material available to give you guidance. At the early levels, much more than...

Classical Pieces for Beginner to Intermediate Level Bassists

Classical Pieces for Beginner to Intermediate Level Bassists

This week, Dr. D. tackles a reader’s question about incorporating classical music into his practice routine. Q: I have recently started the switch to upright bass, I have been practicing technique and working my scales (pissing off my roommates) but I want to bring a third portion to my practice and incorporate some beginner classical music. What good is practicing...

Technique Series: Pizzicato (Plucking) Exercises

Technique Series: Pizzicato (Plucking) Exercises

The simple, straightforward exercises below are the best I have seen to develop and maintain right hand pizzicato (plucking) on the upright bass. They isolate the technique to focus one just one thing: your right hand technique. There is certainly room in a practice routine to work on right hand/left hand coordination, or tricky patterns, but these have proven to...

Flying with an Upright Bass

Flying with an Upright Bass

Many bassists will, at some point, find it necessary to fly with their upright bass. Although a professional bassist should be able to play acceptably on any bass that is thrown at them, there are a number of reasons why we want to play our own instrument on the road. If you are doing anything other than the simplest of...

The Lowdown with Dr. D: Mastering a Difficult Passage with Repetition

The Lowdown with Dr. D: Mastering a Difficult Passage with Repetition

In the course of mastering a difficult passage, we will end up playing the passage many, many times. However, if we do so blindly, we just waste our time. In fact, such mindless repetition can be detrimental. Additionally, if our mind wanders, then it is unlikely that we are actually improving the passage, so again we waste our time. One...

The Lowdown with Dr. D.: “Heavy” Bows

The Lowdown with Dr. D.: “Heavy” Bows

Here’s a question I received recently from Miguel G., and one I hear often: Q: Someone told me you use a super-heavy bow. Is this true? Can you tell me what this is all about? A: This is a very expansive subject, but here’s a bit of an introduction to the topic. It is true that my bow is heavier...

The Treatment: Gaining Familiarity With a New Tune (Part 2 of 2)

The Treatment: Gaining Familiarity With a New Tune (Part 2 of 2)

My jazz students and I often work through a process we call “The Treatment.” It’s a tune-based approach and I view it as a preparation for high-level study of improvisation. Once you can navigate a tune using the Treatment, you can more easily work on musical and artistic elements of improvisation. I adjust the Treatment to suit a student’s individual...

The Treatment: Gaining Familiarity With a New Tune (Part 1 of 2)

When improvising, we are freest when we have deeply internalized a song on multiple levels. Before we can improvise the “solo to end all solos,” however, we must have fully assimilated the tune. The fewer rudimentary thoughts we must hold in our mind (such as: what scale goes with this chord?, what fingering can I easily execute? what does F#...