Let me ask a question: What is the most fundamental material element
of any and all music? I would propose
that beneath any stylistic, emotional, or
intellectual consideration, it’s sound itself.
Strip away all of the permutations of musical
style and we are left with the universal
underlying natural science—some
would say magic—of sound.
Over the past few decades a growing
number of intrepid double bassists have
been exploring the sonic aspects of the
instrument, delving into the tone, overtone,
and noise possibilities inherent in
the upright’s giant amalgam of wood and
wire by using hands, bows, extended techniques,
and other implements and accoutrements.
It was the work of French bassist Joelle
Leandre that first opened my ears
(exploded them is more appropriate) to
many of these possibilities. Foregoing a
promising career in European classical
music, she dove headlong into the avantgarde,
and has consistently broken new
ground both as a composer and an improviser.
Her music and approach literally
changed my entire life, and I simply cannot
recommend her work highly enough.
Of course, Joelle is not alone; other great
bassists such as Barre Phillips, William
Parker, Mark Dresser, and others have
explored in similar territory, though from
different directions.
When I became inspired to follow these
musicians—not to their destination but on
their journey—I found not only the tip of
the iceberg of sonic possibility in sound and
expression, but I also began to find my own
voice on the instrument. Freeing myself of
stylistic and formal concerns to focus on
the bass itself and my own personal relationship
to it helped me to find a personal
way of approaching and hearing the bass,
and more important, of hearing what I
wanted to hear from my instrument.
So my humble suggestion to you, fellow
bassist, is to spend some time (if you
don’t already) exploring the raw sonic
possibilities of your instrument. Instead
of writing out possible exercises, which
might be contrary to the point of encouraging
you to do your own sonic exploring,
I instead offer a few suggestions of
possible ideas to use as springboards.
Idea 1: When it comes to exploring the
raw sound of your instrument, it might be
good to start by experimenting with the
most elementary thing: the overtones of
open strings. Overtones are not only the
building blocks of sound and pitch, but
are well represented on the bass due to its long string length. You can start by just
playing an open string with the bow on
upright or with your fingers on electric,
playing long tones and altering the bow
pressure (or pick/finger attack) and placement
on the string of the bow (or pick/fingers).
You might feel like a beginner again,
but that is part of the point—to hear the
instrument again with fresh ears. Listen
to how the overtones change the sound
the harder you dig in, or how they change
relative to bow or fingers placement. Try
creating phrases from the permutations
of timbre as you normally would with a
melody or rhythm. If you’re having fun or
getting ideas, take this exercise in whatever
direction you want to: do the same
thing with the other strings, with different
stopped pitches in different registers,
with double or triple stops, etc.
Idea 2: Next try this same idea, but instead
of open strings explore the harmonics on
each string consecutively. Notice how the
bass loves to project the harmonics. Find
the G harmonic on the G string (where a
C# would be if it were a fingered or stopped
pitch) and then slowly slide your finger
towards the scroll or headstock, listening
for the change in pitch as the overtone
series plays out before you. There are many
potential sounds and ideas embedded in
harmonics that can change the way you
hear the instrument once you start focusing
on and experimenting with them.
Bassists have been doing this since Dragonetti’s
day, and with ever-expanding
results (witness for instance Mark Dresser’s
encyclopedic knowledge and creative use
of harmonics).
Idea 3: This third idea may seem like the
most obvious, but it is something many of
us do not do enough of in our practice:
simply following your own ears, working
back from focusing on the world of sound
to that of notes and rhythms.
Start by playing one note, any note,
and then follow with the pitch your ear
wants to hear next, then follow that note
and the one after that in the same way,
trying to go on like this for 15 minutes or
so. Try not to consciously think of chords,
scales, tempos or meters, but just let your
inner ear guide your phrases. Use as much
space, or as little, as you want. If you find
yourself falling into a groove or a tonal
center, don’t worry and just go with it, but
don’t force yourself to stay there either.
Do this with whatever techniques or
sounds you want or can think of. This has
the added benefit of being a great ear training
as well as technique building practice.
Remember, You are the one making
the music. So make music you like and
enjoy the process.