Where to find all the harmonics on a double bass (1/2) - Natural harmonics

[@trueconextionmusic7707]

I love your video. Can you make a video on how to write all these harmonics.

[@chriswestbass]

Thanks! I’m pleased you like it. Are you a composer? I always think it’s best for composers just to write the pitches you want to hear and leave it to the player to find their preferred way of playing the note. It’s very confusing to read when composers try to specify how to play harmonics and they often get it wrong. I’m thinking of doing a video about Ravel’s notation with this in mind. But as a player I have sometimes written out a suggested way of playing difficult harmonics, for example in Janacek, using diamond headed notes.

[@bumblesnowmonster]

Hi Chris, I love your lessons! I can't believe you're not getting more KZbin love. One bit of feedback I'd like to provide is that your channel's levels are really low. I have to turn up the volume pretty loud to hear you speak. This then makes the bass too loud when you play. Perhaps Geoff at Discover Double Bass may be some help? It's a community after all. Keep 'em coming! Thank you.

[@chriswestbass]

Hi bumble yeti! Thanks for your nice comment and helpful feedback. I guess I do have the microphone nearer the bass than my mouth. I will look into it.

[@russell_szabados]

@Chris West you might find buying a lavalier mic a better choice. You would simply attach the small lavalier microphone to the neckline of your shirt, facing your mouth, and it provides your narration it’s own audio channel. The bass sounds wonderful as it is. Using the lavalier adds a bit more complication to the video editing process, but allows you freedom to edit/correct your narration (if necessary) without affecting the rich sound of the bass. Just a suggestion! Feel free to inquire if you have any questions.

[@bobjacobson858]

Excellent video. I used to tease people by playing "Reveille" and "Taps" on my bass using the harmonics--and then pointed out that it's based on the same physics as the bugle is.

[@chriswestbass]

Thanks, Bob! It’s all one big note, isn’t it. That’s a great idea. I should have played a bugle call in my video about artificial harmonics instead of the theme from a TV football programme which won’t mean anything to anyone outside the UK!

[@bobjacobson858]

@@chriswestbass You're most welcome. Today i started studying and learning to play a trombone, an instrument which, of course, relies on harmonics almost as much as a bugle. In addition to my double bass, I also play clarinet (which was my original instrument nearly 60 years ago, so I have three kinds of instruments also playing in different ranges. If I get awake and can't get back to sleep for a while, I mentally "practice" these instruments. A slight case of tinnitus was just enough to use as a 'tuning fork" after I used an online tone generator to determine the pitch. I've been wondering if there is a way to re-string a double bass such that it could play an octave lower, thus serving as somewhat of a "portable version" of the octobass. The usual A and E could be flattened a tone to serve as the new G and D, but I don't know what to use for the new A and, especially, the E (and whether the neck of the bass could support the added forces. (Then, if a low C attachment is used, then the new E could go down to the low C of the octobass--but I doubt pitches that low would be of much use.)

[@chriswestbass]

Sounds interesting! I look forward to seeing the results of your experiments!

[@bobjacobson858]

@@chriswestbass Thanks, Chris; however, this may be an experiment I never get to carry out, particularly if I can't obtain the appropriate strings. Perhaps I could take a layer of winding from another string and use it to cover a stock E-string--as long as it covers a sufficient length to reach from slightly above the nut to slightly below the bridge, that would do the trick if the result is massive enough to produce the intended tuning with sufficient volume. I used to experiment with stock strings a bit--for example, a wound gut string could still be used as a higher-pitched string after the winding broke and was removed. In one case, we had a Durro brand gut G-string that was simply much thicker than the Sweetone and LaBella strings otherwise available, and it was uncomfortable to play, so I decided to take it off and use it as a D-string, which worked much better. (This was all back in the mid to late 1960s.) I have the other extreme on my (Kay C-1) bass right now, that I've had for many years--the steel G and D strings have been stripped of a layer of flat winding, so they are easy to play with fast action, but still have sufficient volume.

[@MsCellobass]

Im glad that the upright has a lot of harmonics because those strings are so thick! And i suppose they help with learning the huge fingerboard😁

[@chriswestbass]

You’re right, they are a great way of getting to grips with the geography of the fingerboard. And all those harmonics are in the same place on the bass guitar too.

[@doublebasshq]

Great video, Chris!

[@chriswestbass]

Thanks, Jason! That means a lot to me as you have produced so many great double bass videos yourself!

[@bustabass9025]

I have been monitoring your uploads for the past year or so, on my journey to add the double bass to my bass playing acumen. I would like to offer the following. Students present at all levels of the skills spectrum. Those who are just starting out, may find your instruction proceeding a bit too swiftly to keep pace with our level of understanding. Your heavy accent delivering your instruction rather rapidly, also tends to slow comprehension of your teaching efforts. No question you have mastered the instrument musically and physically. Just keep these humble comments in mind as you attempt to help others along the same path. Thanks!

[@chriswestbass]

Thanks for watching my videos and taking the trouble to comment. I don’t think anybody in the UK would think I had a heavy accent, but if you’re not sure what I’m saying, I always make sure that the close captions on my videos are accurate so they might help. And I’m always up for answering questions!

[@bustabass9025]

Oh, okay...guess I didn't know your tutorials were intended only for students in the UK. You're welcome.

[@vothewhale3234]

omg you taught jacob collier!... your explaining is wonderful indeed, no doubt i could become a musical genius if i took your lessons too :)

[@phber]

Great video! But i have some trouble following your minor arpeggio argument. Ok so the distance between E B and G are exactly 1/5 apart since they all produce the high B overtone but what does that have to do with the relation between notes 3-6 in the overtone series ?

[@chriswestbass]

Thanks. The notes under the nodes go down by the same intervals as the harmonics go up. EBG is the inversion of DGB. And the inversion of DGBD is a minor arpeggio. Does that make it clearer?

[@phber]

@@chriswestbass I see that this is the case, but how can i make intuitive sense of the fact that the undertone series happens to be equidistant on the string?

[@alfieharries]

So weird that a sharp 4 would be one of them

[@chriswestbass]

Western harmony is based on the octave, the fifth and the third i.e. harmonics 2, 3 and 5. So any harmonic that isn’t a multiple of these three numbers is unlikely to be a note in our scale. In a way it’s more of a surprise to find that harmonic 7 is quite close to one of our notes than to find that harmonic 11 is nowhere near one.