Uprights – acoustic and solid body double basses
Upright basses include the acoustic double bass viol (for those who care it’s not in the violin family but the viol family – (whatever !) double basses used in –
Symphonic ensembles of all sizes, mostly bowed (French and German bows) and Jazz ensembles of all sizes. Also used in pop music including country though not as often as bass guitars. Uprights also include solid body “baby” basses used in Salsa y Merengue, Latin Jazz and some Musica Latina and folk music bands.
As with all acoustic vs. solid body instruments, acoustic instruments of any type have an abundance of overtones included in the sound we hear. These ‘extra’ audio nuances account for individual “richness” or sometimes what people call “warmth”.
Historically the double bass viol is the only surviving member of the viol family (apart from ancient music re-creations) while the DOUBLE part of the name refers to a sound an octave below where it is read on music in bass clef. Though reading the same notes in bass clef, the double bass sounds an octave below the cello. That’s where the ‘Double” part comes from.
Most common double basses are of 3/4 size. There are some 7/8’s around and some convenient 1/2 size double basses with their accompanying long end pins. The size effects the placement of your fingering hand but once you get used to a different size, it’s usually not a big deal. Of course if you think this is a problem, you will create your problem, larger than it needs be.
To make things interesting, even within one single size, for example 3/4, there are different lengths of string measures (free to vibrate string length) between the bridge at the bottom and the nut at the top near the tuning. Importantly, whenever string length varies, the placement of the notes on the fingerboard also vary.
So whenever you find yourself about to play a different bass your not used to, as in sitting in with a group, which will most likely have a different string length and note placement than you are accustomed to, the first thing you must always start with is to warm up with your intonation study included in all three levels here.
This section is divided between pop/jazz upright acoustic basses and symphonic/semi-classical (sic) upright acoustic basses. For practical purposes, solid body “baby” basses are generally fingered the same as acoustic uprights and are included as well.