Double bass books

[fatgoogle]

Hi
Ive been playign double bass for a year and a half or so but had to stop lessons because my fmaily couldnt afford them anymore and i dont want to waste having spent 1200 on a double bass myself.

So are their any really good books apart from samindl which i already have that are good and show technique along with excersises. I found simandl good but now that i dont have a teacher to help me in stages. So im looking for a book(s) that are a bit more easy going and focus more on pizz as i feel ill be using this more later on especially when i go to uni.

Any help is great.

Thanks
Sam H

[Doddy]

Have a look at Ray Browns Bass Method and Rufus Reid 'The Evolving Bassist'.
They are both good books.

[mybass]

[quote name='fatgoogle' post='1084905' date='Jan 10 2011, 09:56 PM']Hi
Ive been playign double bass for a year and a half or so but had to stop lessons because my fmaily couldnt afford them anymore and i dont want to waste having spent 1200 on a double bass myself.

So are their any really good books apart from samindl which i already have that are good and show technique along with excersises. I found simandl good but now that i dont have a teacher to help me in stages. So im looking for a book(s) that are a bit more easy going and focus more on pizz as i feel ill be using this more later on especially when i go to uni.

Any help is great.

Thanks
Sam H[/quote]

Some in my collection, although along the Simandl lines...
"BILLE" "Nuovo Metodo Part 1 published by Ricordi.
Simandl's Gradus Ad Parnassum Books 1 and 2.
" Eighty Six Studies For String Bass by Joseph Hrabe (arranged and fingered by Franz Simandl).

[Gareth Hughes]

Hey Sam -

Check out John Goldsby's 'The Jazz Bass Book' - [url="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Jazz-Bass-Book-Technique-Tradition/dp/0879307161/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1294737666&sr=8-1"]http://www.amazon.co.uk/Jazz-Bass-Book-Tec...7666&sr=8-1[/url]

Part history, part lessons - it's a great resource. Plus, it has play-along tracks which are vital in developing your intonation.

[Damo200]

[quote]Simandl's Gradus Ad Parnassum Books 1 and 2.
" Eighty Six Studies For String Bass by Joseph Hrabe (arranged and fingered by Franz Simandl).[/quote]

No offence, but I won't recommend these for a player who has only been playing for a year and a half. Try the Simandl 30 etudes first.

[Gareth Hughes]

[quote name='Damo200' post='1085213' date='Jan 11 2011, 10:00 AM']No offence, but I won't recommend these for a player who has only been playing for a year and a half. Try the Simandl 30 etudes first.[/quote]

That's another great book - especially if you get the Music Minus One version that has the piano accompaniment.

[2wheeler]

Get some gigs and use that money to pay for more lessons?

[steve]

[quote name='2wheeler' post='1086563' date='Jan 12 2011, 12:11 PM']Get some gigs and use that money to pay for more lessons?
[/quote]

that's what I'm doing, but using electric gigs to play for upright lessons, sounds a bit kinky really

[fatgoogle]

Thanks. Going to get the ray brown bass method and The jazz bass book. Ill see about getting the 30 etudes with backing or my birthday.

[Xtof]

Hi, Sam
I recommend "Modern walking bass techniques" by Mike Richmond. Here is the best book you can get, in my opinion, of course. It is very progressive, and so full of music. If you have the occasion, have a look at it!
Have a good day.

[marvin spangles]

Hi
No matter which books you choose I think you have to make a decision. Do you want to learn the Double bass or do you just want to play. The technical demands of the double bass are so great that I don't think there is a shortcut to obtaining good technique. I really think you need to spend some time with the bow and get lessons even if they are only once a month. This will help your intonation no end and Pizz will be a breeze by comparison. Many of the books cover similar things. And although the Simandl is rather stuffy it does cover a lot of stuff. You should consider getting some repertoire pieces and working through them.
The Rufus Reed book is worth considering also.

[jdstrings]

My top choice for technique is a tome by Knut Guettler (?) who I think was/is professor at the Oslo Conservatoire(?). It is basically for classical players but if you want to be good you need to get a solid basic technique and that's where you'll get it! Amongst other things he explains the physics behind getting a good sound (mainly with the bow as I recall) which I think was really helpful when I was starting out. I never owned the book, hence the sketchy details, but borrowed it repeatedly from a library!