The Bass in Fifths

[Jeff Moote]

Originally Posted by Johnny Layton

I think sometimes that it isn't so much a matter of convenience as a matter of habit...one starts to play in 4ths and can end one's professional career remaining so.

I don't think there's anything inherently wrong with playing the bass in EADG tuning.

I agree entirely! My point was not that we shouldn't tune in fourths, but that we shouldn't get sucked into that Simandl/play everything in the lowest position possible/etc system which is very limiting. This is independent of tuning, but fifths both forces you to be conscious of the left hand/requires facility, and also offers other things (contra C without an extension, favourable intonation for some people)

[Tomas Bouda]

two years ago, i began studying with andrew downing - i was practicing in fifths and still gigging in fourths. it didn't make any sense. so, about 6 months in, i made the decision to go fifths full-time. i have been tuning in fifths since then. let me tell you that my bass has never sung so nicely, with a cello-like voice. being a really big guy (6'8") i find moving around on my 4/4 bass to be relatively easy, although, i must admit that i'm always looking for a 5/8 bass to totally shred on. i can't say enough good things about tuning in fifths...just give it a year, if you're going to give it a shot because you need that time to really get it under your fingers.

one problem with this tuning is that the concerto rep is really much more difficult to play - if anyone has any suggestions for concertos that work well in fifths, that info would be greatly appreciated.

[Calvin Marks]

Originally Posted by Tomas Bouda

two years ago, i began studying with andrew downing - i was practicing in fifths and still gigging in fourths. it didn't make any sense. so, about 6 months in, i made the decision to go fifths full-time. i have been tuning in fifths since then. let me tell you that my bass has never sung so nicely, with a cello-like voice. being a really big guy (6'8") i find moving around on my 4/4 bass to be relatively easy, although, i must admit that i'm always looking for a 5/8 bass to totally shred on. i can't say enough good things about tuning in fifths...just give it a year, if you're going to give it a shot because you need that time to really get it under your fingers.

one problem with this tuning is that the concerto rep is really much more difficult to play - if anyone has any suggestions for concertos that work well in fifths, that info would be greatly appreciated.

Hey Tomas, welcome to the club. I honestly haven't found much concerto repertoire that's more difficult in fifths than in fourths. Have you played the Koussevitzky? That one works well in fifths. I like playing the first cello suite in the lower octave, really good practice!!