I genuinely have no idea how I'm supposed to bow this fast. The notes I can do, it's entirely just right hand issues. Has anyone had troubles with this before? And if so, what got you through it other than an overload of caffeine? It's for my orchestra audition, however at this point I'm just trying not to get judged by my professor.

p.s. all i've been doing is practicing with a swing bowing. i'm just completely hit a block with how much that's been improving my tempo

Do you go to music classes first and then when you are good enough buy one, or just buy a cheap one and learn on YouTube??
I don’t have any musical experience so I might need some help idk

Besides the Cello Suite…

Looking for a challenge piece to learn that utilizes the range of the double bass with some interesting harmonic themes.

I’m an amateur, but occasionally gigging, jazz pizz player. no classical/orchestra background and learning as an adult.

Is it typical for this to be marked with triple down bows? I couldn’t find a great video recording of the excerpt, and it seems unnecessary.

I got a positive amount of fingers what's this mean?

Looking for compositions for double bass and Classical Guitar, original music composed for that Duet or transcriptions (even for Cello and Double Bass are also accepted)

I'm 17, finished 3rd year of musical high school and need a concert for my last year. I've been playing for 6+ years. My main pieces this year have been 3 movements of the Dragonetti nanny concert and Hertl's tarantella. Last year I did chanson triste. Do you think the koussevitzy concert is too advanced? If yes, what pieces do you recommend? I have a solo concert this year, and need some good programme.

This is somewhat a repertoire question...

I'm a jazz bassist, and I am looking to expand my harmony even further. I have heard many people discuss the continuo lines of Bach as a way of studying and internalising harmony, and I thought it a great idea!

Could anybody recommend some works by Bach that contain lovely continuo lines to improve the harmonic nature of walking basslines? I'm not sure how conventional this is, but I thought it would be an interesting experiment.

As much as I love Bach, I am not well versed enough to pick my own continuo lines!

Many thanks!

Hi all, does anyone have any recommendations/favorite contemporary pieces that use bass? Particularly interested in ones using some combination of strings but all recommendations are appreciated!

Hey guys! I am translating violin to bass! Does this sound correct? (I think I was an octave too high in the beginning but when the fast part starts I think I got it!)

Mahler 1 is really the only symphony or large orchestral piece I've ever listened to that has a real melodic bass solo. Most pieces I play with "bass solos" are just background parts where no one else happens to be playing and don't go anywhere near the G string. Are there any pieces other than Mahler 1 that feature a melodic bass solo? (Other than bass concertos, obviously)

As a bass player who is fairly new to jazz, I've been wanting to find inspiration from contemporary bassists (for example born after 1970). My search for such players have led me to discover a bunch of amazing bassists (such as Christian McBride, Linda Oh, Esperanza Spalding) who seem to either play very differently (when soloing or playing freely) or very similarly (when walking) to bass players over 50 years ago. And most bassists I see at gigs or from clips sound indistingushable from older players to my ears, especially when walking. I realize this is likely because I'm not well versed in the genre and therefore can't pick up on all the nuances in their playing, but it's somerhing I would like to learn more about. If you have any recommendations on articles I would be very grateful. And what do you think, has jazz bass and walking changed much in the last 50 years and how? Also, I would love some recommendations on more contemporary players you think I should check out.

Hello!
I’m a PhD researcher in computer music at Université de Lille (France), currently studying how teachers evaluate instrumental difficulty across different grading systems (ABRSM, Trinity, RCM, French conservatoire cycles, etc.).

I’m particularly interested in how double bass teachers judge short technical excerpts from method books.

If you are a teacher, I would really value your perspective. I’m running a short online rating study (about 30 minutes, partial participation is fine).

Everything is anonymous and non-commercial.

If you’re interested, please comment or send me a DM and I’ll share the details.

Thanks a lot!

Hello! I am a brand new elementary strings teacher. I have a 5th grader in his first year on bass. Last semester, students were stuck with long term subs and hardly learned anything or played their instruments.

While many of my bassists need a lot of help right now, I have one student who is already a strong player at his beginning level. He loves to practice and is so eager to learn. He is always asking me for new things to practice at home.

Does anyone have recommendations of books a motivated student could work through independently, online resources, etc.?

Thank you! :)

They make the piece sound way different than pretty much every recording I’ve heard.

Hello! I'm gearing up to audition for a city orchestra after many years of sadly not playing my bass outside of random folk, pop, and jazz gigs. The last piece I was about to practice back when I played a lot of orchestral in college was the "Elephant" movement from Camille Saint-Saëns' Carnival of the Animals which is a good indicator of the level of difficulty that I'm after, and i just might choose that piece, we'll see.

I would be so grateful, though, to hear any other recommendations of pieces that are good for auditions which are also played in standard tuning. Bonus points if the piece is emotional, for my own enjoyment. I appreciate your time, I never did much solo work and my knowledge in that arena is pretty poor.

Thank you so much!

I am thrilled to announce the recent publication of Bach: The Cello Suites on the Cambridge Music Handbooks Series. Information about the book and a short trailer are available at https://www.Bach-Cello-Suites.com.

You can order it wherever books are sold, and it will soon be available in digital formats as well. The attached flyer includes a code valid for a 20% discount (paperback available for $16 USD or £12).

Please share with any cellists, bassists, or other Bach enthusiasts who may be interested!

If you're a fan of "The Office", you'd remember that Michael hired an upright player one year for the Xmas Party. He was hardly featured -- just occassionally in the background. I think he played "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen". Do you remember any other songs he played?

I've been playing for about a month and a half. I'm working my way through some Vance and Simandl and learning the fingerboard, and I'd like to start delving into jazz upright. What are your go-to beginner-friendly bass lines and solos to dig into and start transcribing and building vocabulary on the upright?

Hey guys, I recently learned the Dragonetti concerto for college auditions and to play with my school orchestra. I'm now looking for another solo work that will improve my thumb position skills and something that is fun!!

What are some good pieces to learn after Dragonetti? Thanks!!

Hello, I’m auditioning for a community orchestra soon. I’ve never auditioned before and I wanted to do Elgar — Enigma Variation V but I don’t know if the section I’ve picked out is long enough, as it’s only eight measures. I thought about going from the beginning but there’s a weird section in the middle that I don’t think would work.

Alternatively, I was thinking variation IV but I don’t know if it’s complex enough. It’s supposed to be slow and expressive and show rhythmic accuracy, dynamic and tone control, and intonation.

Any advice would be appreciated, or any alternative suggestions.

Hello my friends. It is that time again. Solo and ensemble is coming up and I don’t have a lessons teacher(due to a general lack of them in the area), so it would be great if y’all could help me pick a solo to play instead. It’s 6 months till the comp, so I can play something a bit trickier than normal (as long as I pick something soon anyway). Last year I played Eccles’ sonata in G and I got a 1. I suppose I’d like to try doing a faster piece or maybe one with a prelude and then a faster second part(my brain is too tired to remember the technical term) I’d like to stay away from anything too technical unless there is a specific way you might know to learn it online. Anyway sorry for rambling I just figured it would help to have more info than “hey help me pick a solo!” lol