Tuning in fifths

[Daniel Yeabsley]

I would like to hear about peoples experiences on tuning in 5ths.
I have hoovered up all the threads on TB on this topic and Red Mitchell/ Joel Quarrington etc.
My interest was piqued after playing on a friends cello. I have ordered the Red Mitchell Spirocores and the Dennis Masuzzo scale book from Lemur and am looking forward to diving into a new world!

Thanks, -Daniel Yeabsley

[Daniel Yeabsley]

The strings and book arrived on the 31st of December, and I immediately put them on.
First impressions: My bass (Cleveland ply) has really opened up with the new tuning. There's more bottom end, but also more clarity round every note. The A string is clear but not too zingy for a new spiro. The low C is fun, especially arco. The Denis Masuzzo book is great too. No BS, just a bunch of scales getting progressively more complex with fingerings, ending with some orchestral excerpts.

2nd impressions: Hmmm... well my bass is louder and has more clarity (and range) than before, but I don't like it. Too much clarity can equal coldness in my book, and I can't see my playing ever using the extra notes that the new tuning makes available. Playing 3rds is harder, and I really think that those thirds are my bread and butter notes. I'm not an orchestral guy or a Red Mitchell type melodic/ contrapuntal player, so the easy access to 6ths / 10ths etc is not a big deal.

Final result: I've put EADG strings back on (top 2 gut spiro bottom) and am a happier and wiser chappie. It's hard for me to compare the two tunings because they seem to suit different needs, but I learnt a lot from the experience.

[Johnny Layton]

I tried it for a couple of weeks...loved it, loved the sound, loved the range...gave up because I just couldn't work out the flat keys...then tried it again for a couple of months...loved it, loved the sound, loved the range...and gave up again for the same reasons.

I am still a big Silvio Dalla Torre fan with the 4 finger technique and all, and even that didn't help me much...it's just too fatiguing for me in the lowest positions and so I end up doing Simandl fingerings there most of the time. Call me a wimp.

Maybe I get a second bass someday and have it set up for 5ths tuning again.

I'd bet that Red Mitchell and Joel Quarrington would be monster players regardless of the tuning, but yeah they sure do make 5ths tuning sound sweet!

[Daniel Yeabsley]

There's a great chapter on Red Mitchell in the Gene Lees book "Cats of any color".

Gene talks to Red who really goes into detail on the 5ths thing. He also tells some great stories about Whitey.

BTW that book "Cats of any color" is about racism (against black and whites) in jazz, and contains a chapter about Wynton Marsalis and Stanley Crouch that really opened my eyes on 'reverse' racism, and how jazz should be a universal music.