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Hey there! I hope this doesn't violate any rules, but I've written books on jazz bass playing that are geared towards someone with a basic understanding of the instrument: https://www.amazon.com/Low-Down-Guide-Creating-Supportive/dp/069240595X

All of the advice here is great, especially regarding the importance of SOUND and TIME. The group I play in was working with Kurt Rosenwinkel the other day, and he dropped this gem on us: "Confidence comes from sound. Feel confident in your sound... because if you sound good, you'll feel good." So much truth in that statement.

Sometimes figuring out the "how" element of things can be equally daunting. I do recommend a teacher if you can find one, even for just a few lessons. And of course, reach out and ask questions at any time!

There's a book called Solos for the Double Bass Player which is an Oscar Zimmerman edited collection. It's got a few good early pieces, and some pieces for you to grow into.

When I was going to school I used it quite a lot in my first year, and every time I play Bottesini's "Elegy" in orchestral tuning, I can conveniently just give my accompanist that book, because it has the accompaniment in the right key. It's a good buy for that reason alone, frankly.

Other fun starters are around - "The Elephant" from Carnival of the Animals is a great early piece that allows you to focus on musicality without a huge level of technical difficulty.

If you want a growing challenge, Dragonetti's 12 Waltzes for Double Bass solo are super idiomatic to the instrument, but have a good level of technical challenge in addition to their musicality.

As for high level pieces, some people worship the Cello Suites. I differ, and think they sound very bad on the bass (and that's me using my most politically correct language on the subject). However, they do present a useful technical exercise if one really is determined to play them. They require a lot of extended technique and creative fingering choices, so they're good for making you "think with Portals". As an alternative I would recommend the Weinberg Solo Bass Sonata (which is written in the style of the Suites, but not the harmonic language) or the Fryba Suite in the Olden Style. Both were actually written for the bass, and are much more musically rewarding to complete.

My Recommendation? Start with the Elephant. if you find it too easy, buy the Zimmerman book. Once you get bored with that book, try out the 12 Waltzes, then branch out from there.

“Building Walking Bass Lines (Bass Builders) https://www.amazon.com/dp/0793542049/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_Z8qNDbFB7YZWN

There’s a second volume that goes deeper, but this is about the best intro level book I’ve found. Ed Friedland FTW. Great backing tracks, too.

In your price range, there are two popular, reputable options that I'm aware of for bows: they are the Glasser Fiberglass bow, and the Gollihur Music Brazilwood bow. These bows are both good for beginners, with the former option being a bit cheaper ($75 vs $154) than the latter option. However, the former option is a bow made of fiberglass, as opposed to brazilwood, which the latter is made of; as a result, the tonal quality of the two bows will differ quite a bit, with the latter option probably being preferable tonally.

As far as bass method books that are popularly used by beginners, Simandl's New Method for the Double Bass is the one I'm most familiar with. There is also the Rabbath method, and various other methods that are useful for beginning bass players.

If you're looking for rosin, I personally like Kolstein's Soft and Nyman's; however, you may have different preferences, or needs (depending on climate).

I strongly suggest that you contact a teacher before purchasing any of the above things, as they will best be able to determine your individual needs at this point in time. In addition, it would serve you well to find someone (if not the aforementioned teacher) to study with on a regular basis, as learning to play the bass on one's own might very well lead to developing bad, perhaps even dangerous habits.

I just got Mikes Downes' Jazz bassline book and it's amazing! It has tons of transcriptions and lots of very clearly laid out ideas to learn from. http://www.amazon.com/The-Jazz-Bass-Line-Book/dp/395481000X

Also I'd suggest listening to a lot of jazz and playing along with tunes you like. If you want a book of jazz standards I'd suggest something like The Bass Clef Real Book which has hundreds of lead sheets to lots of often played tunes.
http://www.amazon.com/Real-Book-Bass-Clef-Sixth/dp/0634060767/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1453667062&sr=1-1&keywords=bass+clef+real+book

There are a ton of Paul Chamber arco solos, but the scratchy gut tone is an acquired taste for some. Michael Moore, Lynn Seaton, John Goldsby, and Red Mitchell are other artists to look into. Martin Wind is another guy to check out; I like this particular recording quite a lot. John Goldsby's book on the subject is a great resource as well. It contains mostly exercises based on scales to teach articulation, but the transcribed solos in the back of the back are worth the price by themselves.

private lessons, definitely, but Simandl I is probably your best bet for learning solid left hand technique.

The core 4 (imo) are
Hal Robinson's Strokin and Boardwalkin

Petracchi's Simplified Higher Technique For Bass

Zimmerman's Contemporary Concept of Bowing Technique

Rabbath, Billé, Simandl, and Nanny all have useful materials for a starting double bassist as well. The goal is to make sure it sounds good and feels good - no book can help as much as a teacher who knows your strengths and weaknesses, but these are the ones I've found most helpful.

3 hours would be great. It's mostly important that most of your practice is strategic and goal-oriented. There are good books out there about practicing well; check'em out.

Things you'd do well to practice/learn about other than sheer technique on your instrument: theory, ear training (be able to identify intervals and chords by ear), transcribing (writing down music by ear), walking bass, sight-singing and rhythm skills.

One good book I was fortunate to discover in high school (maybe early college?) is Chuck Sher's The Improvisor's Bass Method. It doesn't hold your hand too much, but it'd give you lots of ways to practice and think about scales as well as ideas of things to look for more resources on online.

I used this one as a student: https://www.amazon.com/O492-Method-English-Japanese-Simandl/dp/0825801524/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_14_t_0?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=3YMW2XCGJW6WN23MF539 That one looks like it's still bound with the terrible glued spine that won't lay flat on a music stand. Take it to Kinkos and have them cut it and put a spiral binding on it.

Sankey was always messing around with fingerings, and came up with some super awesome solutions to a lot of tricky passage work. That kind of creativity lends a lot of joy to bass playing. Haters gonna hate, I thought he was awesome!

This one by Ed Barker. Best recording I've heard. Paired with one of the best Arpeggione sonata recordings too!

One major difference is that when you play a note on the upright, the intonations is in your left hand and ear, opposed to just playing inside a fret. Since you already have jazz bass experience, I would recommend Simandl to work out fingerings and positions

These two books would be a good start.

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https://www.amazon.com/Ray-Browns-Bass-Method-Excercises/dp/0793594561

https://www.amazon.com/Evolving-Bassist-Millennium-Comprehensive-Developing/dp/0967601509/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=the+evolving+bassist&qid=1573349247&s=books&sr=1-1

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Also lots of jazz students have this book which would be good.

https://www.amazon.com/Jazz-Theory-Book-Mark-Levine/dp/1883217040/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=mark+levine+jazz+piano&qid=1573349459&s=books&sr=1-2

At least a handful of lessons. If your school has an orchestra program, ask that teacher if they could give you a few-even if they weren't a bass major, they will be a better start than going without any type of instruction.


As far as books,Simandl is one of the main schools of playing. I started with Simandl and then supplemented it with the Michael Moore Bass Method. The catch, I studied each of those under the guidance of a bass teacher. Initially in high school (I was in the band program, took lessons from the middle school orchestra teacher-an actual bassist), and then in college. From there, it was a hodge podge of others when my teacher deemed them appropriate ranging from Petracci to Ray Brown.

http://www.amazon.com/Strathclyde-Concertos-7-8-Davies/dp/B000003VY2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1320081331&sr=8-1

This is the only recording of it. It's not on Spotify or on Naxos. It is a beast. I worked on it with Quarrington a little before giving up (his idea, not mine- turns out he was performing it several months down the road and needed a guinea pig.) We spent a good half hour trying to figure out a few measures of rhythm. I am consequently, not a fan of that work.

xieyi by Anders Jormin good album, mostly upright with some horn interludy type things

Rufus Reid is a God.

The Evolving Bassist

The Evolving Bassist by Rufus Reid

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0967601509

Mel Bay Walking Jazz Lines for Bass Amazing book!
Just as applicable to DB as it is to electric.

> Simandl book 1

Are you refering to this one http://www.amazon.com/Method-Double-English-Japanese-Edition/dp/0825801524

Might be cheaper/easier to use a cigar humidifier and a mason jar. That way the humidifier is reusable (just add more water).

As someone who has recently switched from bass guitar to upright bass I can say that, although it's tuned the same, it's a completely different animal requiring a completely new skill set.

I have played BG for 13 or so years and recently began taking upright lessons. It's tough as hell. it's much more demanding physically, and while I can sort of fake my way around while playing pizz, the intonation is way off, the fingering I'm used to gets thrown out the window, and after a short time it just totally degrades in to crap.

With arco (my instructor is a classical musician, and he's teaching me with the bow 98% of the time) every. single. little. thing. you do wrong will be multiplied by a factor of about a thousand. Finger is a few millimeters off? You'll hear it. Bow isn't straight? You'll hear it. Bow placement, finger placement, pressure, angle, everything all come together to make every little mistake you make a travesty.

that's not a complaint, by the way. It's an excellent way to learn and to understand. I've found that I have to be much more methodological with my practice than i do with bass guitar. it takes much more thought and concentration than I'm used to. And although I've only been doing it for about a month and a half, I can see it paying off, even just in small ways. It's incredibly rewarding and fun, and, for me at least, these things come from it being so challenging.

Good luck with the instrument. Like I said: while it's somewhat similar, imo, I chose to approach it as if it were a completely different instrument. In the short time that I've been playing upright my BC skills have gone up as well, so that's a plus.

My instructor started me with this book by George Vance and it's giving me a good starting place. ymmv.