The Spider and other exercises

[oggiesnr]

One of the problems I've inherited from forty years of playing squeezeboxes is my natural left hand shape. On a melodeon the fingers cover the chords and the thumb sticks up to cover the air button giving a very flat hand. When I play DB my hand naturally falls so that the thumb is above the first finger.

To overcome this I've been doing a variation of the Spider exercise that I use as a warm up on electric bass. I consciously start with my thumb in the correct position opposing my second finger then open E, F, F#, G fingered 1,2,4, move straight across to the A string, then first finger A#, shift first finger to B, second finger, fourth then shift to D string and first, shift first, second etc, shift to G and the same pattern. Then reverse back down shifting four to four instead.

If I'm feeling brave I can also continue going up coming back across the strings in the first pattern and then go back down.

The point being to make sure my thumb moves on the shifts with my second finger rather than falling into it's natural tenancy of lagging behind.

Has anyone got any other exercise I could do for a bit of Variety?

Steve

[FLoydElgar]

SCALESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS 3 octaves will help you with every thing....
A musicians tool in being dextrous on their given instrument...
Duncan McTiers daily exercises £6 and goodluck

[ubassman]

I think that this could help a lot - there are some good shifting exercises . Good luck with it ! http://www.spartanpress.co.uk/spweb/details.php?catno=RM158

[oggiesnr]

Thanks folks. I've also downloaded Geoff Chalmers e-book and I've started using some of those exercises (and a mirror).

Steve

[mtroun]

Everything I thought I knew about left hand technique was shattered in my first lesson with Tom Martin. I was trying too hard before! I would say one of my biggest issues on the bass is being able to relax (probably after a long time playing nearly unplayable instruments)

[ubassman]

[quote name='mtroun' timestamp='1378468251' post='2200737']
Everything I thought I knew about left hand technique was shattered in my first lesson with Tom Martin. I was trying too hard before! I would say one of my biggest issues on the bass is being able to relax (probably after a long time playing nearly unplayable instruments)
[/quote]
+1 learning to relax was a breakthrough moment for me too ...Murray Grodner made the great point that as bassists we tend to think about intonation as being a finger issue when in reality when we move up and down the fingerboard its also about the fluidity of the arm , shoulders and the relaxation of the whole body thing that's needed.

[fatback]

[quote name='ubassman' timestamp='1378468876' post='2200753']
+1 learning to relax was a breakthrough moment for me too ...Murray Grodner made the great point that as bassists we tend to think about intonation as being a finger issue when in reality when we move up and down the fingerboard its also about the fluidity of the arm , shoulders and the relaxation of the whole body thing that's needed.
[/quote]

Which is where Rabbath's method really scores. Only three arm movements to worry about mostly.

[ubassman]

[quote name='fatback' timestamp='1378469795' post='2200768']
Which is where Rabbath's method really scores. Only three arm movements to worry about mostly.
[/quote]
...but remember the original post from Steve ...he is needing to get his thumb under his fingers - not so easy to pivot á la Rabbath if that all important thumb isn't in the right place ...but it could just do the trick !

[jakenewmanbass]

It's all in the arm... the fingers can only go where the arm takes them, after a hundred years of moving to the same place you'll start to get there more accurately and quickly, (just need to condense that pesky 100 yrs)

[fatback]

[quote name='ubassman' timestamp='1378471403' post='2200810']
...but remember the original post from Steve ...he is needing to get his thumb under his fingers - not so easy to pivot á la Rabbath if that all important thumb isn't in the right place ...but it could just do the trick !
[/quote]

Point taken, but because accurate thumb positioning is the key to the whole business, and you only have to learn three or so positions, it might make for easy practice. Every now and again I mark those positions to check and practice thumb shifting accuracy, and it really works.

[ubassman]

...there so much to learn and explore on the double bass ! I think that's what Iove about it ...constant change and refining of ideas.