Breaking in a bass

[David Powell]

Originally Posted by Brian Gencarelli

I do this:

Tune your E string down to D. Then hold your finger down on A on the G string. You end up with 4ths, or 5ths (if you are on your head). Then play a series of double stops on the strings D & A, A & D, D & A, etc... if you want to get tricky turn your bow underhanded and play the lowest and highest string at the same time.

You will feel your bass start to open up. Give it a whirl.

Brian

A variation I use of this warm-up is different. I introduce a very strong low pitched dissonance by bowing the major 7th interval (B on the B sring and Bb on the E) It all starts shuddering at about 2 Hz. I suppose the same thing can be done with the E and Eb on a 4 string. If the bass is feeling stiff, I do this for a few bow strokes and it seems to limber it up a bit. I think playing it often will do more than leaving music on, but if you do leave the music on;- my dog, Mars, prefers Stan Getz and Astrud Gilberto,....