How do you keep an overall bluegrass feel in Chris Thile’s elaborate compositions?
We committed the music to memory as quickly as we could; that was a huge element in keeping it in the folk/bluegrass medium. Even though it was written out, I wanted to approximate the feeling of learning it orally, the way most folk music is passed on. It became a process of practicing the music to get it under my fingers and being able to sing all of my parts—and everybody else’s, too. That allowed it to feel fresher and more improvised. As for the rhythmic aspect, I’ve played enough bluegrass to make that work
What were the particular bass challenges?
The biggest challenge was seamlessly integrating the arco passages. Plus, Chris is not a bass player, and some of his part-writing reflects that—it’s not the smoothest stuff to play on bass. But any time a non-bassist writes bass lines, it makes you think about your instrument in a different way and pulls you away from your natural tendencies.
The music has a wide dynamic range, and you get a full sound even with a light touch.
The ability to play dynamically is one of the best benefits of the instrument. I’ve spent a lot of time learning how to touch the bass with my right hand. With pizzicato, if your left hand is strong, you can get a solid sound regardless of how hard you’re playing with your right hand.
CAN BE HEARD ON
The Punch Brothers, Punch [Nonesuch, 2008]
CURRENTLY SPINNING
“Since [jazz bassist] Dennis Irwin died, I’ve been checking out things he played on, and I just bought the Brahms complete symphonies. I have two little boys, so on my changer I might have some Miles Davis, some Beatles, some bluegrass, and some classical to keep it interesting for them.”
GEAR
Basses Unlabeled e-size carved-top upright, likely of 19th- or 20th-century German origin; German-made French-style bow
Strings Pirastro Oliv gut-core G and Thomastik Spirocore rope-core E, A, and D
Electric Rig ’75 Fender Jazz with roundwounds; Aguilar DB 750 head
Studio Neumann U 47 microphone placed a foot from the bass on the G-string side near the upper bout
Live Audio-Technica ATM-35 condenser microphone clipped to the tailpiece on the E-string side, over the bassbar and about three inches beneath the bridge, run direct to the board
MIC LIKES
“In the studio, we used a ‘Decca tree’—three Neumanns about ten feet up, set in a triangle pattern. Part of my live sound is the two Neumann U 89s we use for vocals and stage ambience.”
www.punchbrothers.com