SO.. I went to my first Regimental Band rehearsal tonight to play flute. And then they asked if I would consider learning the Double Bass as their concert player will be retiring in a short while!! Now I can play violin....how hard will it be for me to learn?

And how hard are bass parts for orchestral/wind band music? I am not going to be able to practice apart from actually at the band rehearsals. I said I'd give it a go, but how crazy am I???

Oh and of course I still need to learn the piccolo parts for when we are on parade/marching!! My medical came through incredibly quickly - I 'm wondering if this is the reason????

If you can already play violin the transition ought not to be too painful, well, actually it might. I find the strings on the bass pretty tough on my hands (and I'm a reasonably rugged bloke!)

I've been mucking about on my bass (without lessons) since the summer (what summer?) and doing OK. I played a duet with the CD player doing the bass part of Pachelbel's Canon the other day and was pretty pleased with myself!

Of course it is really going to be the trick of holding the bass, bowing it, and also marching at the same time. Good luck!

N

LOL thankfully that is what the piccolo is for!!! The bass is only for STATIONARY concerts!!!
Mmmm I feel blisters in my near future!

Dawnmc,
I started double bass end of April 2009, I was in between grade 4 and 5 on violin.
With minimal practice (30 minutes 3 times a week I'd say) I got to grade 5 standard by December.
I stopped practicing then and reached about grade 6 standard by April 2010.
If I did practice I would be at grade 8 now and that's practicing 'normally' ie: 30 minutes 5 days a week, unlike with the violin I practice 1 to 2 hours a day 7 days a week and I am 'still' not grade 8

If you cannot practice AT ALL, you will still learn/progress at least initially up to grade 6 like me, then I think there's a chance you will stay at grade 6 capability with no practice, but I am just guessing based on my experience.....

Orchestral parts it depends really, at my level I can play a good half of the repertoire reliably, 3/4 not so reliably but no way I can play the whole lot. Most double bass bits in orchestra are very simple but I'd say 1/4 of it is fast passages where you do need the skill to play them well.
So it also depends on what stuff you play in that orchestra, you could ask to see a sample of their typical music...

At present there is NO WAY I would be happy being the 'only' bass player in my orchestra, I could not keep the 'section going' on my own as I cannot play all of it, I fake the stuff I cannot play, so I need another bass player next to me to 'cover up' where I cannot come in, especially if it's a bit where it's the double bass leading

In the first 6 months it's a real physical challenge to play the bass, sore fingers (so sore you can cry), lots of stamina needed, and aching muscle like you've done a gym workout, but it will soon go with regular sessions....

Thanks Jojo! I think the Band music is going to be easier than full orchestral scores, but it may yet prove me wrong. There is only one string bass, and that is miked up to get over the brass, so I get the feeling it will be alot of plucked bass lines...

I'm not looking forward to the sore fingers, but hey I'm up for the challenge if the current bass will teach me. I have a little grace period, I think. The funny thing is then the other band will get wind of it and I get a horrible feeling they will ask me to play it too!!

yes, the DANGER with playing the double bass is that 'word spreads' then everybody wants you to play the double bass for them
when I asked Croydon Symphony if I could join with the violin for rehearsals only I 'made the mistake' of mentioning I am learning the bass and sure enough the first thing they said: 'OH, you MAY want to join us with the bass then!' I said 'NO, I asked you if I could join with the violin'

it's good you will have someone to teach you the 'essential basics' of hand/forearm position, bowing (the left hand/wrist being crucial to do well), also which bass will you use? I take it it's the one the band has? according to strings and set up it will make a huge difference on how easy on you it is to play.....I had my bass readjusted so to be much easier to play: lowered nut and bridge to bring strings as low as possible without impacting on sound, changed strings to ones which are gentler on fingers (yes some strings split your fingers in half!), so I hope you are lucky to have a bass that's gentle on the player if not....poor you I'll be sharing in the pain

There is one bass in each band room, so a different one per band, I think! Still it would mean that if I get good on it and end up moving back to the UK one day (probably 10 years in the future) at least I will have a chance of still being in demand!!

If it goes ahead (the current bassist is a little precious but he knows he's not going to be allowed to continue forever) then I'll ask you which are the best strings on fingers, if you don't mind!! I'm quite excited but not looking forward to the pain!!

Now I'm sure I must be misinterpreting something here jojo. but your post suggests to me I may get to grade 6 more quickly if I stop practicing. Just how did you make that progress without practice?

I have not passed grade 6, I am just using the term 'grade 6' to give an idea of what kind of pieces I might be able to play, what kind of things I can sight-read etc
I have learnt scales up to grade 8 but do not play them at grade 8 standard (ie all the right slurs and right tempo etc)
how did I do that? by going to my lessons once a fortnight and 30 minutes of practice approx 3 days a week in the first 6 months then 1 to 2 days a week and no practice at all now (apart from 2 or 3 sessions) in I can't remember but at least 4 months (hence why I cannot move anymore forward and feel myself slipping back slightly but when I knuckle down to it i quickly get back to the skills achieved, last lesson for example after half an hour of 'fiddling' around I got my 'elephant' up to an ok standard). My double bass teacher often (from the 1st lesson actually) has said to me I am quite talented on the double bass, don't know if she's saying this to make me feel better or if it's the truth, if it's the truth then maybe I am 'blessed' that I don't need to do much on it to get a result out of it...

I find that now with NO practice all I have is my lessons and my orchestral rehearsals, these things are enough to keep me where I am at grade 6 standard but I am not improving anymore, I have (understandably) reached a 'plateau' which I know will be EASILY and QUICKLY broken if I practiced even only 30 minutes 3 times a week, I'll shoot forward then

Ah right. I guess I equated no practice with doing nothing at all.

not your fault as I did not mention earlier in the thread I keep the lessons going and the orchestral rehearsals


ps I also believe that although violin is VERY different it also has many similarities and I am SURE that all the practice I do on violin 'rubs off' on the double bass a bit

If you lower the bridge, you change the sound, because you have changed the leverage of the lateral vibrations, and the proportion of the energy at the two feet changes in consequence, exciting the plate differently. It's a small effect, but if you want to avoid it while making the strings closer to the fingerboard, you change the fingerboard angle.

I don't think either of those will be options for me, there are no Luthiers here in Gibraltar, I look after the violins here as much as I can....the best I will hope for is a new set of strings! Hopefully I might get a go on it tonight.

thank you KenM
I am actually talking without any 'proper knowledge' of what was done to my bass, I 'assumed' most of these things, I gave it to my luthier (who is the best double bass luthier in/around London I've heard from some people) when I was away for a week, he kept it, did whatever to it and gave it back, I know he's lowered the nut (or the grooves in the nut) as that's one of the things I remember him saying but was not paying too much attention as his wife (my teacher) was talking to me at same time, so don't know 'really' what he's done to the bridge, he may just have shaped it slightly I don't know
I know I should not talk at random like that to begin with, but whatever he's done it will have been the 'right' thing to do as he's an expert at these jobs having built double basses for years.....

ps but also, 'a bridge' could be a bridge that's too tall to begin with surely, if it wasn't 'cut' properly? (just wondering, I know with violin bridges that is the case if it's not cut properly from the original thing you have)

The 'right' thing would be to unglue the neck from the body, change the angle of the glued surface, and glue it back.

True. Fitting usually means adjusting the feet to the local slope of the plate, but a luthier should know if it is too high.

I think the most likely scenario is that the bridge was not cut right to begin with, you know what these instrument get to you like from the 'factory'?
(he is a luthier, I'm not )

Not from experience, but I can see why. In a factory, every component will be made to the same dimensions, making a consistent design if all the acoustic components have the properties that the designer was expecting; not if not. A luthier making an instrument by hand can subtly vary the dimensions to compensate for the acoustic properties he hears from the wood he is using. Also, he will know how to assess his wood for density, uniformity and probably other properties of which I know nothing, so as to use it only on an appropriate function.