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One of the most famous bass fiddle breaks in Bluegrass
comes from a group call, "The Seldom Scene". The song is Alabama
Jubilee. In the song, every instrument gets a chance to show what
they can do. When the acoustic bass gets its chance, the crowd goes
wild. I am going to attempt to show how this run is played as close as
I can. Though the run sounds hard, it is not that bad. The
song is played in the key of "C". In this key, all of the notes are within
the workings of the bass. Any other chord and it might not be so
easy.
In the examples below,
I use the bass guitar neck to show where your fingers will go. I do
this because it has frets and is easier to show where the notes are.
The same positions work with the bass fiddle. Listen
to the example.
A
bass is generally played by alternating two notes. As you stretch your string and sink in into the grove at the
top of the neck, try to tune it in a relaxed position to the lower
of the two notes. This
way the high note can be fretted on the fingerboard.
Some bending is necessary to keep it in tune but try to keep
it to a minimum with the way your string is set.
As you find your high note and a comfortable hand position,
just bend the neck a little until you are in tune.
Keeping the same hand position, bend the neck back and you
will be in the next chord. Go
back to your original position and move your little finger down
about a hand width and you are in your third chord.
Warren Yates
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