Essentials for Bassists

What should every bass player, student or professional have?

First, one should examine the short list of things that we can't buy:
You need talent, a desire to play well, and a willingness to work hard at something that does not always reward us. We need the intelligence to know when to take risks, and when to play it safe. We need to combine street smarts and book smarts.

Second, there's the matter of getting a good education, and having many sources of inspiration. A good school and a good teacher aren't enough. Musicians need to listen to music in live performances and recordings. We need to hear other people play if we're going to communicate in the musical language. We also need to play with other musicians in different forms of ensembles if we are going to sound good outside the practice room.

Third, there's all that stuff we need to buy:

1. A Bass! Obvious? I'm surprised how many students reach the college level and have not purchased their own instrument. The subject of what instrument to buy is quite serious, but for now, I'll just say it's very important to have your own. Every instrument takes a while to get used to, and it's important that you can have the bass on your own terms, and not need to share it. Contact me if you want free advice on purchasing an instrument, and no, I don't sell them myself.

2. A Bow. Jazz or Classical. All bass students at NIU are required to have one, since it is what I teach. Even if you never intend to perform with one, it's the best way to work on intonation. I can't imagine that a bass player wouldn't want to use a bow, but even the most reluctant player should try to get a decent composite bow for about$200.

3. Rosin. If it doesn't come in a round container, it can't posibly be bass rosin, even if it's labeled that way.

4. Electronic Tuner. I know some purists would disagree, but I believe in checking with the electronic tuner to see if our ears are hearing the pitch correctly. I like to check the tuning of the open strings at least once a day with a tuner. We should strive for even temperment in our tuning, and be aware of the difference between natural 3rds and tempered 3rds. Keep in mind that the tuners do not always respond to the part of the note that we hear. It might pick up an out-of tune partial(harmonic)so don't rely on it 100%. Also, keep in mind that at the end of the day, we're not in tune unless we're in tune with everyone else.

5. Metronome. Just the basic is fine, and sometimes you can find a tuner/metronome combination model. Fancy metronomes like "Dr. Beat" can be useful, but I prefer to use the computer to set up complex rhythms.

6. Recording device. I used to use a cassette recorder and even had a great reel-to-reel that I could play at half or double speed. Now I use a Mini-disc recorder, but there are several options out there. You can use an iRiver or even record directly to the computer. I'd love to hear some feedback on what people are able to use. One part of the recording equation doesn't change: you should have a good microphone that is intended for recording live music from a distance of 3-20 feet.

7. Computer with midi software. You can use this as a fancy metronome by setting up any rhythm you want. I like to put on slow scales and etudes and play in unison on the playback. I also like to use it to play along with excerpts and use it as an electronic accompaniment for solos. I'll describe these techniques in detail later.

8. Music. Every NIU student needs to have a copy of the first 3 Solo-Suites for 'Cello by Bach, prefreably the Samuel Sterling edition. I like to have students learn most of the movements with these transpositions before they concentrate on the editions in higher keys. Check my syllabi from NIU and future posts for more specific suggestions.