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Video me playing Blue Monk


Jezyorkshire
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Great job Jez, your intonation is superb and I love your lines, very cool video! My only thought was you might want to have the bass angled a bit more open (facing forward) which may mean you can keep your left wrist straighter. It looked a bit too side on to me.... Perhaps also work on using more arm weight in the right hand, but really I though it looked very solid and your playing is fantastic!

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wow, thanks Geoff, wasnt expecting that, i agree with the arm weight thing, and a bit more to the front would prob be good, where abouts in leeds are you Geoff? i was thinking of having you check my technique to be on the safe side and have now got a bow so could do with some advice there, thanks, Jez

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Id make the bass a bit more vertical. You'll find in the future when your going into thumb position that you have no where to move to get into position and out again. Also this will give you room to raise your left elbow and get a better left hand position. Keep your elbow up and it will keep your playing up.

Also look into alternating your right hand fingers, 1st, 2nd, 1st, 2nd. It's more economic and you'll be able to get those tasty ghost notes in there to add rhythmic variation.

Otherwise sounds amazing and a good feel. Get a few lessons and you'll be well on your way.

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Thanks fatgoole, do you mean raise the height of the bass? (more endpin out) it does feel good at this height but it may be better a little higher. i have issues with alternating my right hand fingers as i much prefer the sound of my first finger, but i agree, i do use ghost notes but i think i do them with my first finger and deadening the string with my left hand, i usually find it difficult not to use them lol so find it surprising that there arent any in vid! i was probably trying to be disciplined as i knew it was gonna go on youtube !

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Great job fella! I agree with the comments. I'd say if you try to lift your elbow (i.e. dont let it drop), it'll be easier to straighten the wrist. It's amazing how much more hand strength you'll have by sorting that little thing out. The rest is practice and building up stamina.

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However you do it will depend on your physiology, the bass, your posture etc, but as Geoff says you need a slightly flatter LH wrist to avoid working those tendons over the bend. It's not critical but it makes ergonomic sense, and will increase efficiency. (This might sound crazy but being loose in the hips and knees can add a lot of support into your upper body position... it's all part of a bigger picture)
Your finger positions, movement, spacing, support etc are all really good... you could maybe raise your elbow a fraction.
Nice tone, feel and lines. Great!
A couple of lessons with Geoff will give you real time in depth explanations of all this stuff... go for it.

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Fatgoogle, i thought that it is better to have it slopin rather than too vertical to make use of left hand arm weight to assist in finger pressure? Thanks Rev, i was surprised how good it sounded from in front of bass on recording, Jake,i know what you mean with the loose cos i keep noticing im tensing my feet badly!

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My 2 cents worth Jez:
Sounds good. You have a good jazz feel. Good notes. Fingering looks good. Most importantly (For me anyway) I was taping my feet--very good sign. Just for the record have you noticed that some of the top line jazzer's on quite a few instruments have unorthodox techniques--so there is no correct way in the true sense of the word ---( I'm not saying that for the classical guys). If I only had the musical genius of Django!!! with his two workable fingers for his solo work with his left hand----

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[quote name='Jezyorkshire' timestamp='1396046324' post='2409529']
wow, thanks Geoff, wasnt expecting that, i agree with the arm weight thing, and a bit more to the front would prob be good, where abouts in leeds are you Geoff? i was thinking of having you check my technique to be on the safe side and have now got a bow so could do with some advice there, thanks, Jez
[/quote]

Hey Jez, Im in Armley, feel free to give me a shout if you fancy a lesson. I'm not doing regular private teaching at the moment, but am sure I could find a spot if you did want some help. I think you are really on the right track though. Its great you get what I mean about the position of the bass to reduce the angle in the wrist. Good luck with your practice mate, cheers Geoff

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[quote name='jakenewmanbass' timestamp='1396118203' post='2410162']
I think it's worth pointing out that DB can leave you injury prone, so while it's true that there is no 'one correct way' it certainly is true that risk of injury should be minimised.
I've been doing this a fair old time now now and I've known a few guys get tendonitis over the years.
[/quote]
+1

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Thanks Timbass, technique is a work in progress, been rushing on some things, i think some of my issues are due to a frozen shoulder i had a few years ago, im having a rest for a week after this week while my bass is at luthiers, im gonna get it to play a bit easier in half/first position so an adjustment on fingerboard relief and do some exercises i was given when i had physio.

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