Intonation, Part Two: The Sweet Spot

The second of a three part series on double bass intonation. The first episode focused on the science of the two most prevalent tuning systems in use today: Just Intonation and Equal Temperament. Part Two of the series focuses on the "Sweet Spot", the point for any interval where it is most in tune, and how to find it. Part Three will cover aspects of intonation like the differences between bowed and pizzicato intonation, strategies for playing with Equal Tempered instruments, and more

Video Index

by time stamp
0:00 Title screen and playing intro
1:06 Spoken introduction
1:37 On the need to adjust intonation in performance
3:04 My philosophy of bass intonation
4:15 Definition of the intonation “Sweet Spot”
4:52 The intonation envelope of an unstopped note on a plucked string
5:36 Fingered notes, and our left hand adjustment mechanism
6:18 Rolling the stopping finger in relation to a tuner
7:55 Sweet Spot practice against a drone

8:25 Perfect consonances against a drone
11:14 How to “sweep” aural attention to the upper overtones
13:16 Screenshot example of redirecting aural attention
16:50 Imperfect consonances against a drone
19:08 Dissonances against a drone
21:32 Review and summary: Five takeaways
22:51 Setup/technique tips to help hear overtones quickly
24:43 Playing outro and end title screen