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Step 1
Learn to read notes on a bass clef staff. Music for double bass is written in this clef, so in addition to having basic theory and music-reading skills, you will need to get used to reading it. The five lines of the bass clef represent (from bottom to top) the notes G,B,D, F and A. The spaces, from bottom to top, represent the notes A,C,E and G.
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Step 2
Hold the instrument correctly. Due to the instrument's height, the double bass can only be played with the musician standing up or seated on a tall stool. The instrument is held in the left arm and fingered with the left hand, while the right hand reaches down to control the bow.
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Step 3
Learn where the notes are on a double bass and how to finger them. The four strings, from low to high, play the notes E, A, D, and G when played "open" (without fingering from the left hand). All other notes are played by pressing down on a particular string with the fingers of the left hand, effectively making the string shorter. For most players, the process of learning where to press for each individual note is one of trial and error. Strings may be pressed with one or two fingers.
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Step 4
Learn plucking, or pizzicato, technique. This involves fingering the notes with the left hand while plucking them with the first and second fingers of the right hand. Jazz bass players play pizzicato exclusively, except on very rare occasions. Classical players use this technique as well, but are expected to switch back and forth between bowed and plucked playing, sometimes changing techniques very rapidly in a single piece. For this reason, it's good for classical players to learn to play pizzicato while holding the bow in the right hand.
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Step 5
Learn to use the bow for classical playing. There are two major schools of thought in double bass bowing: German bowing, in which the hand is threaded through the handle of the bow, and French bowing, in which the hand wraps around the bow to grip it. Which you decide to use is a matter of personal preference, but the two techniques use different kinds of bows, so shop accordingly. When you have determined how to hold your bow, learn to make sounds by drawing the hairs of the bow across the strings of the bass. Keep your bow parallel to the ground and make contact with the bass strings just above the bridge (the wooden piece near the bottom of the strings that the strings are stretched over).
