How to Play Swing Music on an Upright Bass

The upright bass is a tall stringed instrument capable of a variety of sounds. The bass is popular in both symphony orchestras, where the instrument is played with a bow or lightly plucked for staccato passages, and jazz combos where it is plucked, sometimes quite energetically, to produce rhythmic beats. Learning to play swing music on your upright bass will let you jam with the best of swing players.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

1. Become comfortable with the basics of playing the upright bass before you can venture to swing music. You should be able to play all chords and notes, be physically comfortable with the instrument, which is played while standing, and be practiced in quick tempo.

2. Understand the importance of the upright bass and its place in a band. The bass is a key to the timekeeping and deeper sounds of the music. It brings a fluid, deep, enchanting sound to any style of music, especially swing. Some of the most well-loved bass players include Rob Bailey (AC/DC), Michael Balzary (Red Hot Chili Peppers) and Joe Bouchard (Blue Oyster Cult).

3. Find the frets. On a standard guitar, the frets are marked. On an upright bass, they are not. In order to find the four different frets, the general rule is to use your hand, placing your fingers diagonally along the four strings. This will make up the first fret. Shift your fingers down for the second fret, and so on.

4. Play a Bebop walk in G major by first adding an eighth note to create the appropriate scale. Walk through the G major scale by adding the eighth note with the emphasis being on 1, instead of 4.

5. Immerse yourself into swing music by listening to popular swing bassists, and familiarizing yourself with music in this genre. Ismael Reinhart is a composer known for his use of bass guitars in his Gypsy Swing music. Practice the music slowly at first to get the notes and finger sequencing down, then take it up to tempo and practice some more.