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ALL ABOUT THAT BASS, NO TREBLE:

SHAPESHIFTING FROM VIOLIN TO
DOUBLE BASS
By Tanatchaya Chanphanitpornkit and Tammy S. Yi

It is no wonder teachers favor the violin for their young
musicians. Its size alone is often reason enough to justify
offering it as a first stringed instrument to small players. But
children grow and musical callings change, and at some point,
whether for the individual student or because a teacher simply
needs some cellos and double basses to fill out that string
section, young violinists (and their teachers) will eye upright
instruments as the next stage in their musical evolution.
We are here to offer guidance to teachers who struggle with
what we call “shapeshifting,” a term we often use in our own
classrooms to describe the process of transitioning hand and
body positions between violin and an upright instrument.
For the purposes of this article, we will focus on how these
physical transitions can be developed over time from violin
playing to the double bass.
Successful transitions are critical for technical and musical
success with a new instrument. If good techniques are not
addressed early on, the transition itself can impair physical
development and limit a player’s musical potential. Those
hand positions that never seem quite right, such as incorrect
thumb positions, must be fixed early and corrected effectively.
While it is ideal to start a student on the double bass without
forming habits from violin playing, we understand this direct
trajectory is not always the reality. Therefore, transitioning
to the double bass requires new skills and will need time and
patience while students develop a new physical orientation
and expectations. In our experience, students who start
violin in elementary school will have developed some finger
dexterity and aural proficiency from having played the violin
for several years. Thus, instrument transitioning should
ideally occur in the sixth grade, by which time students will
be well prepared for the aural challenges and physical nuances
necessary to playing the double bass. Teachers can better
prepare students early on by addressing and focusing on the
following pedagogical concerns: double bass sizing, left-hand
technique, bow hold, and tone production.
Bass-Sic Understanding of Sizing
Choosing the right instrument size for new double bass
students can make the difference between students excelling
on the instrument or feeling frustrated and eventually quitting
during the transition process. The goal of correct sizing is quite
straightforward: provide students with an instrument on which
they can make the best sound most easily. While the size of
the instrument depends on the size of the child, a typical size
“
Teachers can better prepare
students early on by
addressing and focusing on
the following pedagogical
concerns: double bass sizing,
left-hand technique, bow hold,
and tone production.
”
for double basses based on grade level is as follows: 1/8 size for
elementary, 1/4 size for sixth to eight grade, 1/2 size for seventh
to ninth grade, and 3/4 for ninth grade and beyond. Although
some teachers use the cello for their smaller students instead
of a 1/8 size double bass, the differences in string tension and
divergent hand frame system between cello and double bass
make this a less-than-ideal strategy, and it should be avoided if
at all possible. When deciding between a larger or smaller size,
we suggest choosing the smaller size (this is very similar to the
process we use when selecting an instrument for our violin
students). At the beginning stages, comfort and ease of pushing
down the strings are as important as good tone quality.
When sizing a double bass, which is different from
setting up the playing posture, perhaps the most important
consideration is the length of a student’s arms. With the
student standing facing the double bass without the endpin
out and holding its neck with the left hand, the middle
knuckles of the right hand should roughly be able to graze the
bridge without the player having to lean forward (Figure 1).
This will provide an approximate, flexible height from
which young double bass students can bow with comfort
(details of endpin length and bowing will be discussed
later in the article). While a good general rule of thumb is
to align the nut of the double bass parallel to the player’s
eyebrow, it is important to consider that each student’s
physical characteristics will influence how they approach the
instrument.
From the High E to the Low E
After providing the student with an appropriately sized
double bass, you must next turn to questions of posture and

American String Teacher

Vol. 71, No. 3, August 2021, pp. 33–38
DOI: 10.1177/00031313211024541
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Copyright © 2021, American String Teachers Association WWW.ASTASTRINGS.ORG | 33
 FE AT U R E
Figure 1. Checking for correct bass sizing.
instrument setup. This includes how far to extend the endpin,
how to position the double bass to meet the student’s body, and
how to make playing the instrument as comfortable as possible
for the new player. Here are items to focus on to help students
adapt to their own style and form new habits.
Bring the Bass to You
It is tempting for new students to lean on the double bass
and for teachers to bring the student toward the instrument.
Instead, tell students to bring the double bass to them. Place
the double bass upright, an arm’s length from the student,
and align the neck of the double bass with the student’s left
shoulder. When the student is using a stool, bring the stool to
the student and have them sit toward the stool’s edge. Tilt the
double bass toward the student and angle the closest seam of
the upper bout toward the midline of the student’s body; this
will cause the double bass to rotate slightly. This process is
crucial in setting up a double bassist whether they are sitting
or standing. Throughout the process, postural changes can be
complicated and require much trial and error, especially at the
beginning. It is important to solicit feedback from the student
throughout the process. This will take multiple attempts to
solidify posture.
Use the Stool to Help Transfer the Weight of
the Double Bass off the Left-Hand Thumb
Sitting on a stool will provide good support for the double
bass on the student’s left leg. The left leg should be up on a
34 | AMERICAN STRING TEACHER | AUGUST 2021
stool’s rung, whether it is upper or lower rung will depend
on individuals. Aim for the rung that creates a bend slightly
less than ninety degrees at the knee. The right leg relaxes out
away from the double bass, but with the knee relaxed and not
locked. Stools come in a variety of sizes and should be selected
to fit the student. A way to gauge the size is when the student is
standing, the stool should come up to no higher than the lower
part of their hip.
Adjust the Endpin
Proper endpin length will ensure that bow contact from
the right hand and left shoulder angles is as comfortable as
possible. Just as in violin playing, the shoulder should always
be relaxed and never lifted up when playing each string. To
determine ideal endpin length, have the student bow in the
middle between the fingerboard and the bridge. If the student
is “reaching” downward with the arm and shoulder to bow, the
bass is set up too low; if the student’s arms and elbows seem
tense or the left arm seems to be reaching upward, the endpin
is set too high. The endpin anchor strap will be adjusted to
optimize the distance of the instrument from the body, which
can add a measure of confidence and stability for beginners.
Take a Bow
In our experience, the best bow hold for shapeshifters who
are changing from violin to double bass is the French bow.
The familiarity for transitioning double bassists can ease the
emotional challenges that so often accompany the transition.
By relieving students of the burden of having to learn an
entirely new bow hand, the French bow allows students to
channel their energy and focus into the reconstruction of the
left hand, which often proves to be the most difficult aspect of
the transition process. One long-range advantage of starting
students with French bow is the possibility that while the
French bow may be more difficult to learn at a basic level, it is
easier to refine in the more advanced stages of playing (Stoops
and Dell 2011, 32).
Although a proper French bow hold does resemble bow
holds for violin, viola, and cello, it is different in several
important respects. Remind students the similarity to the
violin would be to angle the hair toward the bridge, resulting
in what feels like the opposite direction. For the double bass
bow hold, we recommend that the pinky should not be on
top of the stick. Having the pinky on top of the heavy stick
will cause tension and negate the use of natural weight from
the arm into the strings. As a double bassist draws a down
bow, the hand does not pronate nearly as much compared to
playing on the violin because the bow is shorter. The opening
of the elbow and arm will sufficiently compensate for the
angle of the bow to be straight on the string.
To teach a French bow hold, have the student start by
holding the tip of the stick with the left hand and placing
the right-hand thumb at the crook of the frog with the bow
parallel to the floor, in the air. The student should be able to
move the bow up and down vertically with just the thumb;
 FEATURE

Figure 2. (A) Rounded fingers; (B) check thumb position; (C) transfer weight to strings.

this will permit maintaining a flexible bow hold. Then have

the student relax each finger one by one—first the middle
finger, then the pointer finger, the ring finger, and the pinky,
in that order, all the while feeling and maintaining the
balance in the middle of the hand (Figure 2A–2C).

Reconstructing the Left Hand

Left-hand technique transition is challenging for some
students. Remodeling and reconstructing the left hand to
develop proper double bass hand technique will take much
time, patience, and diligence on the part of students. To help
students overcome this during transition, emphasize that
using an incorrect hand frame can hinder performance or
cause pain. As in the violin, we should aim for a natural hand
position. To model the double bass hand position, tell students
to imagine holding a soda can. If the double bassist has trouble
with the soda can concept, have them open the hand and form
a letter “C.” Although the thumb of the left hand will naturally
want to align with the second finger, the thumb should follow
the middle finger as though they were magnetically attached
(this sense of a magnetic connection to the thumb can be
extended to all the fingers of the left hand as players develop).
To determine if a hand frame is correct, look for the thumb Figure 3. Correct thumb positioning.
to be directly behind the middle finger while maintaining the
C-shape as students transition from the E to the G string in
a clockwise motion. In this motion, the thumb will change half-step positions between those fingers (Figure 3), where
location relative to the middle finger depending on which “the third and fourth fingers act as a unit” when playing a note
string is being played. The thumb should never stay in one (McClure 1966, 19). When pressing down, the pads of the
spot behind the neck and should rotate while maintaining the fingers should be used without collapsing the finger joint. The
C-shape so that the thumb stays directly opposite of the middle C-shape should stay intact with the thumb always maintaining
finger, thus moving horizontally from right to left on the contact at the back of the neck, even when other fingers are
back of the neck. The first and second finger pair and second putting weight into the fingerboard; this is very different
and fourth finger pair should be equally spaced to create from the left-hand position on the violin, which allows use of

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Figure 4. (A) Finger trampolines: hovering fingers; (B) finger trampolines: fingers down.

fingertips. Frequently check the student’s thumb placement

during shapeshifting, because students may resort to old habits,
where the thumb is aligned with their first finger. Locking and
stretching the pinky is also another bad habit that transfers.
To build strength in their fingers and solidify their hand
frame, beginning and intermediate players can practice in
what we call, “finger trampolines.” For this exercise, students
should maintain the correct hand frame while sinking into
the string with all four fingers to build strength and stamina.
When pressing down, be careful to keep all four fingers down
as a unit (Chiego and Neher 1994, 85). Young double bassists
can start with a few repetitions on the G string (thinnest
string) and work their way up to more repetitions and the E
string (Figure 4A and 4B).
Just as we remind violin students to never collapse their
left arm when holding their instrument, we must also
offer similar reminders to double bass players, regularly
encouraging them to lift their left arm. One way to correct
arm angle is to have students put their arm to the side, with
shoulders straight and perpendicular to the floor. While
keeping the upper portion of the arm fixed perpendicular to
the floor (Figure 5A and 5B), have students fold their elbow
in toward the double bass. That should result in a beautiful
bass arm. Proper setup will give the double bassist the ability
to play fast and in tune as they progress in their studies. Figure 5. (A) Correct fold from the elbow that allows
tall fingers; (B) incorrect fold in which results in
tension.
Getting Shifting Into Shape
Although violin, viola, and cello pedagogy generally does bassists shift as early as possible. Shifting for double bassists
not introduce shifting early in developmental cycle, double is imperative since only three one-octave major scales—F,

36 | AMERICAN STRING TEACHER | AUGUST 2021


B-flat, and G—can be played in one position without
shifting or pivoting. While the idea of shifting so early can
be daunting for both teachers and students, there are two
exercises that can help students prepare: string sweeps and
ghosting.
String sweeps are a great way to introduce the gesture of
shifting to young students. By “sweeping” the left hand
up and down the string without any weight in the fingers,
students can internalize how the upper arm moves when
shifting. The sweeps should be done with a consistent
C-shaped hand frame while maintaining contact between
strings and pads of fingers. Going into thumb position past
the neck of the bass means that the C-shaped hand frame
might look slightly different, but the curved fingers and
relaxed thumb remain nonetheless. As students progress,
they can be guided to increase finger weight to build strength
in the fingers. At no point should the student open the
hand fully during this exercise. The more information their
fingertips and thumb can gather from the strings, the more
accurately students will learn how to shift.
Ghosting is a mindful practice for hand independence,
focusing on note accuracy when shifting (in the left hand)
and control of dynamics (in the bow hand), using a tiered
increase in left-hand finger weight from no weight (just
touching the string) to the full weight required for optimal
tone production. Ghosting also provides the double bassist
with ways to think about and approach learning the shifting
gesture. Table 1 illustrates the sequence of finger-weight
increase and the practice objective at each step (in all steps,
the bow is applied at 100 percent weight).
At any point, if the student’s left hand seems tense, have the
student apply 120 percent finger weight to demonstrate the
unnecessary tension and then release weight back to a firm
but full 100 percent when pressing the string down to play a
note. To unlock any tension, the student has coming into the
ghosting sequence, try tapping the student’s left-hand thumb;
this often proves quite effective.
Watch Your Tone
A strong, resonant tone should be the goal for all beginners.
A high-quality bass tone will provide good intonation and
Table 1. Ghosting Finger Pressure and the Practice Objective at Each Level.
Finger weight (% of maximum)
0 Understand and accurately shift to and from different positions.
25 Ease of shifting and maintaining correct hand frame.
50 Speed of shifting.
90 Finger contact with strings without collapsed fingers.
100 Accuracy of pitch with relaxed hand frame.
FEATURE
mature orchestral sound in the ensemble (Lane and Robinson
1992, 63). Violinists rely heavily on harnessing gravity to
produce a rich tonal center. Double bassists, too, must rely
on gravity to help produce a luscious bass sound, where the
arm is working with gravity while the hand works simply
as an extension of that gravity when using either a French
or German bow. Since students often do not know the full
extent of the sound they can make on their bass, you must
help them conceptualize and heighten their expectations
for tone production. This is accomplished most directly by
demonstrating a resonant sound on the student’s bass so
the student can have an aural experience of the instrument’s
sound potential. It is important to note that to achieve a
sustained sound on the thicker strings, the bow will move
slower than on the violin.
The limb exercise is a good place to start for students to
understand how to use their natural weight rather than
pushing down on their bow, a common mistake that can lead
to tension and pain. Have the student rest their extended
right arm on top of your arm. When you drop your own arm
from beneath the student’s arm, the student’s arm should fall
free. This is precisely what the student’s arm should feel like
when playing the double bass—using the entire weight of the
arm without the muscular assist.
Getting “the sound of the wood” is conceptually effective in
producing a full tone. During long tones, the student should
imagine filling every crevice of the room or hall with bass
sound. During the demonstration of sound,
allow the student to feel the back of the bass for the
vibrations. The student then has a way to mentally compare
and independently check if their sound is at its fullest
potential. It is important to ensure that the student is not
pressing down, but rather sinking into the string when
playing. For optimal tone production at the early stages of
learning, the bow should be straight and should contact the
string at a point between the fingerboard and the bridge.
Finally, if pizzicatos have a “thuddy” sound, this usually
means the left hand is not pressed all the way down to the
fingerboard.
For a newly shapeshifted student, the myriad new details of
the new instrument can be daunting, and it is always a good
idea to do a final check before playing.
Practice objective
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 FE AT U R E

Bass: How to Be All about It Tammy S. Yi (tyi@chapman.edu) is an assistant

We hope that we have provided string teachers with some professor of music education at Chapman
guidance to help safely and effectively transition their students University. She received her doctorate in music
from violin to an upright instrument. Students come in education from Columbia University. Prior to
Chapman, she was the violin and conducting
all shapes, sizes, and temperaments, of course, and not all
instructor at Columbia University, orchestra
methods will be equally applicable to all students; the teacher’s conductor of Manhattan School of Music
art often lies in recognizing these differences and adjusting Precollege Orchestras, and assistant professor
methods and techniques most appropriately. In our experience, at the University of Arizona while serving as conductor of the UA
motivation is key. Do not hesitate to encourage students to Philharmonic. She also founded the First Children’s Orchestra of
watch videos of professional double bass players; there is a Harlem and HOPE Children’s Orchestra of Orange County. She
world of high-level solo and ensemble double bass playing continues to perform as an international conductor and teaches
available online and elsewhere that can be wonderful sources courses specializing in string education, anti-racism, and social justice.
of inspiration for beginning double bass players. Ask your bass
players to be accountable to one another and remind them
that developing new hand and bow techniques is necessary for
musical success. Shapeshifting is not easy, and it will require
a lot of patience from both the student and teacher. If you
are not a double bass player, take some time and work on
these exercises yourself. Notice how you are interacting with
the instrument. Practice in front of a mirror, and remember
how the technique feels on your hands, arms, and body. Your
students will experience the same struggles, but with sensitivity
and care, shapeshifting can lead to much success for your
program.

ORCID iDs
Tanatchaya Chanphanitpornkit https://orcid.org/0000-0002-
1219-0097
Tammy S. Yi https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6336-8115

References
Chiego, John, and Patrick Neher. 1994. “Developing
Accurate Intonation.” American String Teacher 44 (1): 85–88.
doi:10.1177/000313139404400123.
Lane, Jonathan D., and Paul Robinson. 1992. “Who’s on Bass?” American
String Teacher 42 (1): 63–64. doi:10.1177/000313139204200125.
McClure, Theron. 1966. “Low-Down on Bass: The Left Hand.” American
String Teacher 16 (1): 19–42. doi:10.1177/000313136601600125.
Stoops, Anthony, and Charlene Dell. 2011. “Double Bassics: Teaching
Double Bass for the Non-bass Teacher.” American String Teacher 61
(3): 30–34. doi:10.1177/000313131106100306.
Tanatchaya Chanphanitpornkit (tc2752@tc.
columbia.edu) is a music educator, double bassist,
and conductor based in New York City. She
earned her BM from the Eastman School of Music
and her MA and EdM in Music and Music
Education from Teachers College, Columbia
University. She is currently an adjunct and
conducting instructor at Columbia University,
double bass professor at the William Paterson University, conductor of
the Manhattan School of Music Precollege Concert Orchestra, and
orchestra director at Nyack Public Schools. Chanphanitpornkit is a proud
founding member of the nonprofit Girls Who Conduct. She is currently a
doctoral candidate at Teachers College, Columbia University.
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