I'm a female jazz singer who is looking to find a new instrument to play. I love the double bass and think it's the key part of any jazz combo. I have a good ear, pitch and reasonable theory and my boyf said he thinks I'd be great on double bass. I'm about average height (5ft 5in) but I'm quite small framed and am not very strong...
Would I be able to manage the bass? Is it a hard instrument to learn?
I've been learning trumpet for a couple of years and I found that really difficult. There were just too many things to practice. What are the hard bits about playing bass?
Well if ya wanna play any kind of Bass, then youve gotta understand how the Bass is suposed to be more off a feeling than a sound, and it dosnt matter what size you are or how strong, if you treuly want to play, then youll play, regardless of your physique, and everything that you need for playing bass comes with time anyway, so just go for it.
Where abouts in the UK are you based?
Footes in london hire basses i think.
The first thing you must do is get a teacher.
This will enable you to learn on their instrument and they can point you in the direction of the best hire possibilities.
You don't need lessons every week though.(i get them once a month or whenever i can afford them)
A teacher is vital as playing the double bass requires some very specific techniques that need to be supervised. It is easy to fall into bad habits that could end up inflicting some serious damage on your body (especially the left hand).
The other bonus to getting a teacher is that you get to play on their bass, which will probably be a very fine instrument. I will never be able to afford the tens of thousands of pounds to buy a bass of the calibre of my teachers, but it is an utter joy when i get to play his. It has taught me what i want in a bass and exposed the true limitations of my current bass.
At 5 foot 5 you'll be fine, as most teachers will start lessons with you sitting on a stool.
Thanks for the advice. I just borrowed a bass from a friend for the last week and I've got on really well with it. Definitely see what you mean about left hand technique... it could get painful if you weren't sure how to hold the instrument correctly.
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