The Bass in Fifths

[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!!