MandShef

Unfortunately your violin bow won't do - it won't be the right size/weight. I wonder if it's worth you checking out the 2nd hand stuff on here to see if a cheap bow becomes available? The advantage of practicing scales arco is you can hold the note for longer and therefore stand a better chance of really hearing the note/intonation.

I'd also vote for scales being a really useful tool for improving intonation. Play them slowly with a bow so you can really hear each note. If you've got a piano/keyboard next to you while you play, then you can check against that every now and then. Don't worry - you'll get better with practice

Thanks, getting a good list to check out! I'm guessing some of the scores will be available on IMSLP so I can have a sneak preview!

Thanks for your suggestions. I'll have to do some research.

Hi there, my two sons age 5 & 8yrs are both keen on learning the double bass, and I love the idea of teaching them! I know you can get mini-sized basses for teaching young kids on, but I don't know what kind of age they're aimed at (I'm guessing 5 might be a bit young?!). Has anyone taught v young kids bass before? What sort of sizes do the mini-basses come in? And where do you get them from?!

Thanks! I'll check them out.

Every now & then the members of our orchestra get to vote for what they'd like the orchestra to play that year. It got me wondering what are the best orchestral works for double bass i.e. pieces that don't involve e.g. just plonking one note per bar over & over, or sitting counting in your head for endless bars rest!! We're playing Rimsky-Korsakov's Schehezerade at the mo, which is pretty good. What else do you rate?

What a helpful bunch - thank you! I will take your tips on board & check out those recommended books

Thanks for taking the time to answer. It's good to know it's not a major problem if I can't resolve it, it just bugs me in case it's bad for my finger joints. I guess with every other problem I've encountered I find slow practice helps, so I'll give it a go with this too. In answer to your question I'm using a bow (classical player). What's the full title of the book you recommend - I can't find anything under double bass & tarlton on amazon?

Hey all, just want to pick your brains again! I am getting frustrated with how my fingers (particularly 1st & 2nd) collapse when I'm playing in thumb position (i.e. [size=4][font=arial, helvetica, sans-serif][color=#000000]they kind of buckle at the first joint just above the finger nail). I can keep them curved for only a short time before they collapse. I also struggle to get a decent vibrato going. Is this just a strength issue? Does it even matter?! I notice my fingers also do this a bit when I'm playing the piano, so I'm wondering whether I've just got slightly hyper-mobile joints or something. The person I'm learning with seems to think it's not a major issue, but I'd like to make sure my technique is as good as it can be. Ta for any tips/info you can offer.[/color][/font][/size]

[quote name='Huge Hands' timestamp='1350400549' post='1838296'] About a year ago, I left my double bass in the dining room with my 2 year old son......the neck is no longer attached to the body.... [/quote] Ouch! After I caught my son sticking staples in my piano stool, we put a lock on the room where musical instruments are kept .....!

I used to have a chromatic tuner, but it kept running out of batteries. I play sat next to my piano, so I can lean over and check my tuning with that when I need to. I shape my hand with even space between 1st finger, middle fingers, 4th finger. My biggest downfall is that as I play, especially if I'm tired, my left hand tends to close in on itself, making my stretch smaller, and if I'm not careful I'll find myself playing e.g. an F natural instead of an F sharp, C instead of C sharp. Really need to keep it in check ... hence the repetition practice & scales etc!

For me muscle memory is really important, the reason for doing all those boring scales & studies! When I have a piece of music to learn, I split it up into sections, work out a consistent fingering, play it over & over again, slow, fast, separate bows, slurred etc because I want to instill the technical left hand stuff into muscle memory, leaving me free to concentrate on tone etc. Lovely example piece, but all that treble clef - yikes!

Wonderful how they make the double bass sing! Right, off to practice now (and if I can make my pieces sound even half as good I'll be peased)!!

I do use a dampit for mine, and use it as soon as the central heating starts being needed (which reminds me, I need to dig it out now!). Careful not to use it when not needed though, as you don't want mould in your bass! The bowl of water on the radiator should work just as well (not an option in our house, as the kids'd most likely knock it off!).

[quote name='adriansmith247' timestamp='1348080061' post='1809062'] Wouldn't bumping up and down kerbs risk damaging the bass? [/quote] Hi Adrian, yes I think that's the problem with those wheels that stick in where the endpin goes, but the bass buggie is designed to help absorb shock, so it's a much smoother ride for the bass. If you find carrying your bass fairly easy then it's probably not worth the money (it's £120), but I struggle and was getting back ache lugging mine around!

What emotion? Pure envy!! I wish I could play so beautifully - especially Rinat Ibragimov on his 3-string bass

I've got a Hindersine bag [url="http://www.djmmusic.com/Itemdesc.asp?ic=DBB"]http://www.djmmusic.com/Itemdesc.asp?ic=DBB[/url] which I think was good value at just under £50. Padded, strong zips, lots of handles, handy extra pockets and rucksack straps. No wheels though (I ended up getting one of those fabulous bass buggies!).

Perhaps I'll post a pic of it when I get it back, looking (hopefully) all lovely & fully restored. At least, I will if I can figure out how .....

Thanks guys. You'll be glad to know that I haven't abandoned my poor ol' bass. The luthier has kindly given me a double bass to use until my old one is fixed, so the pressure is off! I can just leave him to do a good job, knowing that I've got an instrument to use for my rehearsals/concerts etc in the meantime. What a relief

Not sure this would count as a double bass 'cleaning secret', but I was advised to give the strings a wipe with meths/alcohol wipe (careful not to get it on the fingerboard) - I've never attempted to boil the strings. As for the body, if you wipe it down with a duster after you've played, you should avoid any rosin build up (assuming you play arco?).

Thanks all. I hadn't really thought about the practicalities of getting a new bass, and in my heart of hearts I'd like to keep my old one. I was just getting nervous of how long this repair job is taking, and the repeated description of it being so 'fragile'. Thanks for taking the time to give me your opinion on this - it's sometimes hard to know what's for the best, and good to be able to discuss it with fellow bassists

Thanks Derren, I think the consensus is going to be stick with it. I'm just getting a bit frustrated with a whole summer of borrowing double basses to get by, and now it's looking like I'll be bass free over the autumn too. Plus, I'm fretting about how fragile my old bass is, considering how it is a bass that will travel to and from concerts etc, not just be kept in a room. Still, it is lovely, and the only one I've ever had!

Hey guys, I'm just after your opinion. My old (1890's built Lowendahl) double bass has been in with the luthier to repair over the summer hols. It's got numerous cracks etc that need sorting. I've just been told today that to complicate matters, it looks like previous repair jobs on it have been a bit dodge, and where there should be wood, in parts there is what the luthier described as 'plastic wood' which he says is crumbling to dust when he tries to open up the back. This is going to result in it taking even longer to repair, and places it in the fragile (but beautiful) antique double bass category! In the meantime I'm having to beg & borrow double basses in order to continue my usual orchestral rehearsals & concerts. On top of this, it's putting a stop (or at least a delay) to my hopes of setting up as a teacher (can't start teaching 'til I've got a fully functional bass to use!). Part of me is thinking it might be worth offering my poor old, valuable (but fragile) double bass up in part-exchange for a new, perhaps not as good but stronger double bass (after all - I have to be able to travel to concerts and to potential music students with confidence). On the other hand, I keep getting told what a good double bass I've got, that it's a beautiful instrument, not to be parted with - that if I persevere I'll have a very good instrument to play that should sound beautiful. What would you guys do - keep it (& put up with the long period without + forever worry about every slight knock) or sell & replace it (& possibly regret losing a lovely antique!)? I can't afford to pay for repairs [i]and [/i]buy a cheaper spare bass to take to concerts etc (& besides I'd have no space for an extra one) so it'll have to be one or the other :/ What would you do (I think I can guess but I'm just curious)?!

Funnily enough I was practising in 1/2 position today. As well as the Simandl, I used Keith Hartley's Double Bass Solo 1 which has actual tunes to play rather than just exercises (makes it less boring!).