hey i can play electric bass, dose that mean that i can play the upright bass aswell? what are the differences? are the fingering positions any different. dose any body know?

I play electric and upright and am quite familiar with the subtle differences between the two. The strings are the same tuning and therefore have the same notes on them in the same ratios as the electric. As you might have guessed, you need to be exact with where you put your fingers on the upright, because there are no frets to get the correct note. The hand position for the upright is much different and more strict than the ele. You need your thumb directly behind your mid. finger, as if you are holding a can of pop. And as a good trick to remember, on most uprights, D, on the highest string (G) is at the turn of the neck where it curves back into the body.

Sorry if that was too wordey.

Yes there is a difference, not in the way you read the music, and obviousky theres a physical difference there... but an upright is basically made for classical and it sounds wicked in jazz, but when it comes to a rock band, its eleectric all the way!

How about the baby bass use in salsa music? Is it the same hand position?

I`ve played a baby tuba, bass(big tuba), euphonium and bass trombone. The fingerings of a bass is similiar to the baby tuba. Yes, baby tuba often played in salsa and especially
in samba and latin music. My favourite song so far in samba/latin is Brazil. E-mail me at ongkc@epcombb.org

woah were talking completley diffrent animals here!!! ive been playing (upright) bass since i was a young girl of 10. electric bass, well, there are two kinds: electric bass guitar, and upright electric bass. upright bass, traditionally called the double bass (contrabass, bass violin, etc etc there are many names) is the big ol` thing in symphonies. uuh maybe a visual would help:

electric bass guitar:
http://www.guitarhangar.com/guitars/images/fenpbass64.jpg

upright electric bass:
http://www.otheroom.com/NAMM2000/images/Inst/tubebass.jpg
(cool, huh?!!)

upright bass
http://www.bandsforhire.co.nz/bass_shop2.jpg

and you can even "pimp" your upright with an electric pick-up, as i have.
http://www.harmony-central.com/Newp/2002/Full-Circle-Bass-Pickup.jpg
and then ya just plug `er into an amp! so so so much fun to play!

and not to confuse you, but the washtub bass is quite nifty:
http://www.ehhs.cmich.edu/~dhavlena/db2.jpg

god speed.

-Lorraine

P.S.

to answer you question further, all basses (guitar, upright, electric, etc) are tuned the same way, in fourths, from low E to high G. the fingerings and positions are the same, yet oh so diffrent, and connot be explained in words. but if you wish to pursue the upright (as you should!), i would suggest lookng at some fingering charts, and investing in private lessons. i can answer any questions you may have. just gimme an email, id be happy to tell ya anything you need to know.

-Lorraine (again)

I have played electric bass for a while and now im starting to play upright also , and the spacing on the fingerboard depends on what size of upright you get , and where you put you`re bridge, if you buy it new. I have a 4/4 sized bass, and for me the finger spacing is more spread out on the upright than on the electric. For example when you play an octave on the ele. bass, its not to hard to strech the distance, but on the UR bass you have to put some effort into it.

hope this helped

Greg Wnuk

does n e one know where i can get an electric bass fingering chart 4 free... like off the internet?

If so, E-mail me

Electric bass for rock? It seems you havent seened the current trend of Psychobillie baands such as Tiger Army and such . . . .they use upright basses

Lorraine. Can you explain how you rigged that upright. What kind of input is that? I would love to try it myself. Thank you. Oh you can email me at drhourai@yahoo.com That would be great. Thanx

Brian

fender made the first electric, solid body, fretted bassed in the fifties (`54, i think). it was called the precision bass. it`s name was appropriate because, before it, the only basses were upright, unfretted basses. bassists had to be exact in every note in order to not sound out of tune. with the fretted bass, however, there was more leeway in finger-placement and more precise notes (hense the name "precision").

ironically, fender makes fretless precision basses. that`s a bit of an oximoron.