[78-L] Use of double bass in dance bands

Ron L'Herault lherault at bu.edu
Thu Oct 25 08:30:10 PDT 2012


And it may be even more complicated than that.   One jazz band leader that I
know prefers string bass because it "swings" more.  There are subtle
placements of the accent(s) on a beat, before, at the top of, after, or at
the bottom of, that affect the pulse of the music and therefore the
all-important feeling of swing.  

Ron L

-----Original Message-----
From: 78-l-bounces at klickitat.78online.com
[mailto:78-l-bounces at klickitat.78online.com] On Behalf Of Philip Carli
Sent: Thursday, October 25, 2012 11:09 AM
To: 78-L Mail List
Subject: Re: [78-L] Use of double bass in dance bands

As a tubist, and one who played in various groups from concert to dance
bands for many years, it's easy to 'blow' four-to-the-bar. It's an
articulation issue, not wind.  And there are numerous 20s dance band records
where the tubists handle it perfectly.  Going to string bass was a change of
timbre preference and variety rather than practicality. P. Carli
________________________________________
From: 78-l-bounces at klickitat.78online.com
[78-l-bounces at klickitat.78online.com] on behalf of Tim Huskisson
[timhuskisson at btinternet.com]
Sent: Thursday, October 25, 2012 10:38 AM
To: '78-L Mail List'
Subject: Re: [78-L] Use of double bass in dance bands

I would suggest that it was probably the other way 'round. When Double Bass
replaced Brass Bass, the players - when allowed to improvise - would play 4
in the bar - particularly in 'hot' passages. This in turn led to the
transition to 4 in the bar becoming the norm - and helped herald in the
Swing era.
Tim Huskisson


"..A major reason for the shift to string bass in the 1920s was the
transition from two to four beat phrasing - it was difficult if not
impossible to consistently blow four beats to the bar on a tuba!"

Dave Weiner


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