Playing Bass and Reading Notes: One Year Later

I began reading notes in bass clef one year ago in June.  This was after I began taking a "big band" class, an adult education class offered locally.  The band reads music, and I was obligated to learn.  So I began reading notes during my private practice sessions.  It was slow and tedious and not much fun.  However, after several weeks the note reading was getting easier.

Last Thursday, in my band class, I noticed that I was sight reading the notes with about 90% accuracy.  I have come a long way in a year.  The secret is PATIENCE.  There are no shortcuts to learning to read notes.

I  am not where I want to be yet, but I am much closer than I was a year ago.  Where will I be in a year from now?  I smile to think of it.

Lessons Learned: My Progress on Playing String Bass

Listen to the Band Here.

Last night my Big Band, now called "the Cats Swing Band," gave a recital to mark the end of the semester. The Apostolic Church on Parr Avenue in Campbell, CA were kind enough to make their church available for our performance, and the pews were filled with friends and family. 

I played my acoustic string bass, and all the band members loved it more than my bass guitar.  My friend and attorney, who plays alto sax in our band, said that there is "no comparison" between the sound of my stand-up bass and my bass guitar, and he favors the former.  I agree.

However, a string bass requires a lot more stamina, and I need to improve mine. I was pooped by the end of the performance.  Playing a stand-up bass is much more physically demanding than playing a bass guitar.  This means I need to do my practices on my double bass (string bass) rather than my bass guitar.  I need to run several fast plucking exercises each day, perhaps by playing a few stanzas of a fast jazz song, like the jazz piece "Cute" or "The Blues Walk."  Do it until I get tired.  Learning to play bass is more than just reading notes and learning chord patterns; it also involves study of technique and gaining the physicality needed for long and loud performances. 

Everyone told me I played quite well, but being my best critic, I am far from satisfied. I was, however, blown away by the enthusiastic audience, who broke into raucous applause when our lead tenor sax player soloed.  They broke into applause several more times before the performance ended.  This was thrilling for me, as I have played in many bands, but have never experienced this before. 

Everyone in the audience was grinning, open-mouthed, from ear to ear, including my always grouchy little wife. Afterwards we had a pot luck dinner. The band was ecstatic over the successful performance.

Some important milestones for me:
My new Acoustic Image Contra 4 bass amp performed very well:  I could hear my string bass above the orchestra!  The tone was great -- it sounded acoustic rather than electrified.  Some performances are known as "noisy gigs," and a band our size (15 members, mostly horns) creates a lot of volume.  However, my new amp has solved the problem of being heard, without feedback.  This was the best $900 bucks I have spent recently on my musical pursuits.

My Tuff Bag protected my bass:  I learned that my Calin Wultur Panormo bass is actually 7/8 size, not 3/4 as I thought.  So I ordered a Tuff Bag (gig bag) from a source in Arizona, and it protected by bass quite well, transporting it to and from the gig. No scratches or damage.

My note reading skills continue to grow.  A year ago, I couldn't read notes.  I have come a long way since then.  I am now reading much better in the keys requiring 3 or 4 flats, i.e. Eb and Db.  Learning to read music is a gradual process, a skill gained over time by repetitive exercises.  I can sight read slow songs in the easier keys, but not in more demanding pieces.  I will keep at it, and eventually will be able to sight read even difficult pieces.  Patience and practice are the keys.

Big Band Practice: My Progress on Double Bass Continues

Last night we held the first band practice with our new band leader, a young college student named Faris.  Faris is a senior at San Jose State University, majoring in jazz.  He plays piano and trombone.  But not at the same time, har har.

Faris proved to be an excellent band leader, and we the members got a lot of good out of this first session.  Unlike the former band leader, whom we much loved, Faris pays attention to the rhythm section.  He asked me to turn up my volume!  Omigod, I like this guy.  Then he asked me to play a few lines of the sheet music, and I did (thank goodness I have been learning sight reading of notes).  That went well.

Faris told me to be bold, to hit those notes with vigor, not timidly, as the band, and especially the soloists, need a strong rhythm section to keep them on course during solos.  He also implied that we need not follow the notes perfectly literally, that it is okay to throw in some flourishes that are not in the sheet music.  Jazz is about improvisation, after all.

In other words, "once again, with feeling."

I was into it last night.  My sight reading is the best it has ever been, though it is not as good as I want it to be, yet.  I will renew my practice with increased vigor.

The new practice site is in the band room of a junior high school, and it is crowded with chairs and equipment.  I didn't have time to bring in my stool, so I stood for the whole hour and a half of practice.  To my surprise, I didn't tire, my legs didn't hurt, and my arthritic right shoulder didn't ache. Also, I didn't get lost!  I must be getting in shape, but I think the intense focus also was a factor.  By god, I am going to be a double bass player!

Big Band: My First Practice

Last night I had my first practice with the big band.  We will be playing swing and jazz.  The project is actually through an adult education class, with a band leader and various musicians.  There is a big brass section:  a baritone sax, an alto sax, a trombone and three trumpets.  We could use a drummer and a tenor sax.  A guitar is coming.  As for me, "I proudly took my place, as the one and only bass" (from the Music Man).

My attorney (and close friend) plays alto sax, and invited me to join this group.  We are having a ball doing it.  The challenge for me is reading notes.  I do read bass clef, but not nearly fast enough; I can't really "sight read," but this project will help me do that.  I found myself straining to read the notes, and it was challenging, but I am sure I can do it, with enough study and practice.

That's a rule for success in learning to read notes.  Get in a class or program where you are obliged to learn it, with deadlines.  You may never learn anything new without a good reason and a good program for doing so.  With other musicians depending on you, you have a great reason.

I used my Fender Jazz Bass guitar for this first meeting, but will bring my Calin Wultur Panormo string bass to the remaining sessions.  A big band must have a traditional string bass; bass guitars are just too rock and roll.   I splurged on a better pickup, a Fischer, at $200, for my string bass.  Yes, string basses do need amplification (all those horns are loud), but this pickup ostensibly does not alter the warm, woody twang of the bass.

Our first three songs to practice are (1) Sing, Sing, Sing (2) Greensleeves and (3) A String of Pearls, all from the American Songbook of great old standards, which make for excellent jazz pieces.