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Moving on Up (right) Part 2:

Advanced Upright techniques

by Elizabeth White

The first upright article covered basic playing position and where the notes are. This article will take a deeper look at playing techniques for upright bass. I will repeat basic holding position - keep the thumb on the back of the neck, left elbow should be almost level with the shoulder, and keep the right arm fairly straight.

Left Hand
Hammer-ons and pull-offs are standard fare on any string instrument; they just take more hand strength to execute on an upright bass. Ghost notes, or muted notes, are achieved by resting a finger on the string or note that you want to ghost, normally with the left hand. This is most commonly used in funk and jazz. Slides are just moving up or down the neck while holding the string to the fingerboard. Sounds cool, but it takes a light touch on flat-wound strings (which is what most upright basses have) because of the friction.

An example of what thumb position looks like. And yes, that is the octave on my bass.

Open strings and notes up to about the fifth fret are fine, but what about closed positions? I recommend using open strings when ever possible because it's one less note to finger and will give you a pitch reference. Everybody gets off pitch on a fretless after a while, and comparing pitches will help you get back on pitch. Remember, until you are in thumb position you don't generally use your ring finger except to reinforce the pinky.

Thumb Position is when you bring the thumb out from behind the neck and start using it like a finger. In general, on acoustic basses you can reach the octave (12th 'fret') of the neck before having to go into thumb position. Bringing the thumb in front of the neck lets you access the rest of the fingerboard. In thumb position you generally quit using your pinky finger and start using your ring finger.

Right Hand Stuff
Arco is playing with a bow. Not everybody wants to play with a bow, but the sound can be well worth the effort. The first choice in bows is between German and French styles? They have different construction and ways of holding them. German bows have a large frog, and your hand wraps around under the bow to support it. A French bow has a smaller frog and is held like a fiddle bow, from above. When you play bass with a bow you have to remember to tighten the bow hair using the tension screw. If you get it too tight you could damage it. You should always loosen your bow when you put it up. If you get it too lose the frog can come off - it is no big deal, that is how they are re-haired.

The bow needs to be firm against the strings. Try to bow only one string at a time. Keep the bow perpendicular to the strings - I advise practicing in front of a mirror. Keep the elbow relaxed and fairly straight - but not locked.

Some specific notation marks for bowing are: meaning down bow (pull the bow towards you), meaning up bow (push it away from you), and slur - don't change bow directions between notes, and try to blend the notes under the mark into each other. There are two exercises at the end of this article to help you work on bowing. When bowing work more on tone and accuracy than speed. Speed will come, but pitch, tone and accuracy take much more work.

The French bow in this picture is a violin bow, but French bass bows look the same except larger. Slapping and popping are very percussive techniques and will eventually damage the fingerboard if you do it a lot. Slapping and popping bangs a vibrating string against the fingerboard, which acts like sandpaper on the fingerboard. Maple fingerboards will be more prone to damage, and steel strings cause much more damage than nylon or gut strings.

Popping is pretty much the same as on bass guitar, you wrap your finger under the strings and pull - then releasing the string.

Slapping is pretty much the same as on bass guitar; except you slap the string into the fingerboard with the palm or the side of the index finger. I don't use this technique much on upright except in bluegrass where I need the volume and the percussive tone to penetrate the other instruments. An upright technique that occasionally crops up is the 'double slap'. It is a combination of popping and slapping in a triplet. The pattern starts with the palm flat against the strings. Then you pop the string by pulling it away from the bass and letting it snap back. Next you slap the bass with the flat of your palm, bounce off the fingerboard, and slap it again. This series of strokes make up one triplet.

Strings and things
There is a dizzying array of strings out there for upright bass. In general there are steel and nylon/gut strings. Steel strings can come in different configurations. I recommend getting "all-purpose" strings, like D-Addario's Helicore Hybrids. Nylon/gut tend to feel softer, and true gut strings and can be quite expensive. They often are quieter than steel strings, and if you aren't used to finger-picking them you'll wind up with massive blisters the first few times.

When looking at bows keep in mind whether you want a German or French bow. Until you've become fairly skilled the differences between a good bow and a bad one isn't really going to be audible, so I'd recommend getting a cheap fiberglass bow to start with. They are easy to repair, and will serve as a good backup bow when you upgrade.

When it comes to rosin make sure you get bass rosin, not violin rosin. Rosin will evaporate off the bow over time, and the hotter the air is the faster you will go through rosin. As a beginner, rosin types and stickiness don't really matter until you get used to what can be done with a bow. That said - the best rosins I've tried so far are Pops and Carlsson.

Parts, Setup, and problems:
Upright basses are built on a balance of forces. As you play them the instruments will change, the wood will give, and things just happen. As you play your upright, check it over every two weeks or so for changes - hairline cracks, a bridge that is bending, a shift in the top, chips in the nut, problems with tuners and general wear and tear. Regular checks will allow you to spot changes and get them take care of before they cause serious problems. Finding a loose screw and tightening it now will save the frustration of having a tuner fail on you at a gig (been there, done that, and I have the souvenirs to prove it). Find a good violin luthier in your area. They'll be able to help you with questions about your instrument from a technical point of view.

Upright bass is an instrument that requires a large vehicle to transport it, and either a strong back or creativity to haul it. A traditional upright bass can weigh 20 pounds or more, and the sheer size of the instrument makes it unwieldy to lug around - buildings that make you go through two sets of doors to get in are my most hated adversary when hauling my upright. Compared to most acoustic instruments (except banjo) this is really heavy. There are dollies, modified golf carts, and special endpins with wheels on them available to help you move your bass, or you could invent your own.

D.C. Al Fine
Practice! Practice! Practice! To learn the techniques, the instrument, and work on ear training you've got to put in time practicing. Try taking bass guitar exercises and play them on upright bass. Also look into playing some classical pieces that have been arranged for string bass - techniques learned from playing classical stuff will serve you in good stead no matter what style you play. If in doubt, find someone to ask! Be it a repairperson in the local area for technical questions, or a local bassist for musical techniques, most people are more than happy to help when someone has questions.

Feel free to email me with questions and comments, and visit my new website,
Elizabeth White
EAWhite@lizardbass.com
http://www.lizardbass.com

This exercise is an F major scale in thirds. The bowing pattern stays consistent through the entire piece. One of the points of this exercise is to only slur the notes that are supposed to be slurred.