Please Help Me Improve My Left Hand Technique

[blankstare77]

What TYPES of exercises improve left hand technique? Can you give me all the information you can about left hand technique in this one thread please?

Once I get my left hand technique up, my right hand technique won't be so bogged down.

Thank you folks!

[deaf pea]

Originally Posted by blankstare77

Once I get my left hand technique up, my right hand technique won't be so bogged down.

I don't think that you really SHOULD divide it up - "the left hand/right hand techniques" . . .

It's all about the co-ordination between the 2 hands - one hand freting (and muting) and the other hand plucking, thumping, picking, or whatever (and muting) . . . speed and precision (no pun intended) comes when BOTH hands are working TOGETHER . . .

IMO, or, InMyVastExperience

[charic]

Theres a few tips on this on the warwick website, with vids to explain. One of my faves is just picking a walking bassline.. say something like beer by reel big fish, speed up or slow down as needed.

Other than that, pratice just playing this

------------------------------1-2-3-4-5-------------------
--------------------1-2-3-4-5----------1-2-3-4-5
----------1-2-3-4-5------------------------------1-2-3-4-5
1-2-3-4-5--------------------------------------------------1-2-3-4-5

if you play that enough times and fast enough youll definately improve strength and i found it helped my technique a LOT!

[PocketGroove82]

Blank, lets say you improve your left hand so much that you can play as fast as you want to. Then you work on your right hand so much that you can play sextuplets faster than "name the idolman".

Well, you still won't have 1/100 the ear/mind/hand connection the JJ. Johnson has with his T-bone. So, let me offer you a suggestion. Learn to connect your inner ear/song with your left/right hand technique, so you can play what you hear in your head.


That being said.
Work on getting your right hand fingers spread out to where they touch right behind/on the back side of each fret. Spread them out so you can play 1---2---3---4 on each fret, on each string. Then go 4---3---2---1. Then go diagonally up and down the 4 strings, up and down the neck.

Keep in mind this type of practice is hardly musical.

[Chad.mundt]

Originally Posted by PocketGroove82

Blank, lets say you improve your left hand so much that you can play as fast as you want to. Then you work on your right hand so much that you can play sextuplets faster than "name the idolman".

Well, you still won't have 1/100 the ear/mind/hand connection the JJ. Johnson has with his T-bone. So, let me offer you a suggestion. Learn to connect your inner ear/song with your left/right hand technique, so you can play what you hear in your head.


That being said.
Work on getting your right hand fingers spread out to where they touch right behind/on the back side of each fret. Spread them out so you can play 1---2---3---4 on each fret, on each string. Then go 4---3---2---1. Then go diagonally up and down the 4 strings, up and down the neck.

Keep in mind this type of practice is hardly musical.

Of course, ear is important. And, yes, I would even consider the most important part of my practice routine. BUT, there are other considerations. Having your technique down pat so that you can focus on creativity and not whether or not you're squeezing the neck is important. Who knows? Maybe this guy can sing convincing outside synthetic scales in patterns over trane rhythm changes in 11/8 at 280BPM, but he just can't get his hand to move quickly enough to match his ear. Or maybe he's just hurting in his wrist and wants to not give up the axe.

A good exercise book that I have my students use and practice with daily is Josquin Des Pres' (not the renaissance composer...) "Bass Fitness" book. It is an encyclopedia of LH kinesthetics. And, it only costs $10!

[manicbassman]

Originally Posted by charic

Theres a few tips on this on the warwick website, with vids to explain. One of my faves is just picking a walking bassline.. say something like beer by reel big fish, speed up or slow down as needed.

Other than that, pratice just playing this

------------------------------1-2-3-4-5-------------------
--------------------1-2-3-4-5----------1-2-3-4-5
----------1-2-3-4-5------------------------------1-2-3-4-5
1-2-3-4-5--------------------------------------------------1-2-3-4-5

if you play that enough times and fast enough youll definately improve strength and i found it helped my technique a LOT!

how many fingers have you got on your left hand then???

normal people do

---------------------------1-2-3-4--------------------------
------------------1-2-3-4----------1-2-3-4------------------
---------1-2-3-4---------------------------1-2-3-4----------
1-2-3-4--------------------------------------------1-2-3-4--

[PocketGroove82]

Originally Posted by PocketGroove82

Keep in mind this type of practice is hardly musical.

he's right!

[ExaltBass]

DVD - 'Accelerate Your Bass Playing' (Anthony Vitti) - berklee press - has excellent exercises (and other great info!)

[blankstare77]

Originally Posted by PocketGroove82

Blank, lets say you improve your left hand so much that you can play as fast as you want to. Then you work on your right hand so much that you can play sextuplets faster than "name the idolman".

Well, you still won't have 1/100 the ear/mind/hand connection the JJ. Johnson has with his T-bone. So, let me offer you a suggestion. Learn to connect your inner ear/song with your left/right hand technique, so you can play what you hear in your head.


That being said.
Work on getting your right hand fingers spread out to where they touch right behind/on the back side of each fret. Spread them out so you can play 1---2---3---4 on each fret, on each string. Then go 4---3---2---1. Then go diagonally up and down the 4 strings, up and down the neck.

Keep in mind this type of practice is hardly musical.

I completely understand your gripe. Let me clarify what I am attempting to achieve.

I wish to work on all elements of my playing SEPARATELY. I will completely focus all my efforts on one aspect at one time in one way. Eventually, this one thing will become second nature. What I intend on doing is:

Working out the right hand.
Working out the left hand.
THEN I coordinate the two once I have isolated both hands and perfected their objectives.

I feel that by doing this it will greatly enhance my playing as opposed to playing etudes all the time and never REALLY WORK on certain elements in my playing.

Playing an instrument is like building blocks. Playing pieces or exercises are great, and I intend on doing that, but only after I've mastered left hand and right hand technique separately (not LITERALLY...you know what I mean). You can't absolutely focus all your efforts on FIVE DIFFERENT ELEMENTS at the same time! That's impossible! You must master one element and then master another upon which you build the foundation for your playing.

I have a great ear and a great sense of time. I have ideas of what I want to play going on in my head all the time, but ultimately my TECHNIQUE is what limits my expression. Before I can attempt to be a great bassist, I must first master the technique and instrumental obstacles that are associated with the bass, which is why I am inquiring how to achieve this.

[manicbassman]

it is pointless trying to isolate your left hand and only work on your left hand... you have to use your right hand to pluck the strings... if you ignore your right hand, then you will get into bad habits... you have to keep working on your right hand coordination at the same time as you work on your left hand fretting...

your right hand and your left hand work together

get the book Bass Fitness by Josquin Des Pres

work on it... I am... it's bl00dy hard work... looks simple but it isn't... oh and buy and use a metronome for the exercises

[Audiophage]

Originally Posted by blankstare77

I completely understand your gripe. Let me clarify what I am attempting to achieve.

I wish to work on all elements of my playing SEPARATELY. I will completely focus all my efforts on one aspect at one time in one way. Eventually, this one thing will become second nature. What I intend on doing is:

Working out the right hand.
Working out the left hand.
THEN I coordinate the two once I have isolated both hands and perfected their objectives.

I feel that by doing this it will greatly enhance my playing as opposed to playing etudes all the time and never REALLY WORK on certain elements in my playing.

Playing an instrument is like building blocks. Playing pieces or exercises are great, and I intend on doing that, but only after I've mastered left hand and right hand technique separately (not LITERALLY...you know what I mean). You can't absolutely focus all your efforts on FIVE DIFFERENT ELEMENTS at the same time! That's impossible! You must master one element and then master another upon which you build the foundation for your playing.

I have a great ear and a great sense of time. I have ideas of what I want to play going on in my head all the time, but ultimately my TECHNIQUE is what limits my expression. Before I can attempt to be a great bassist, I must first master the technique and instrumental obstacles that are associated with the bass, which is why I am inquiring how to achieve this.

But the exercises are supposed to help you develop your technique, not something you do after you've become a virtuoso at bass.

[charic]

haha, oops

yeah i meant 1-2-3-4 lol you could always tap the 5 with you right hand, or practice moving tho

[jenich CZ]

Man...today´s your happy day, because I found a great exercise on both hands at the same time

seriously, here it is:

Play various scales but tap the notes with the left hand and play the notes with usual fingerstyle with your right hand AT THE SAME TIME. Try to make the notes as shortest as it is possible. The trick is, that your both hands have to cooperate perfectly. Without it you´ll play just noises, because the note comes out only when your fingers hit the string at once.

So...you´ll develop left hand and the cooperation of your hands at the same time..

[ScottyAx800]

Blank, one of my favorite left hand exercises involves playing scales and arpeggios in a normal fashion without using my right hand. This allows me to gear my focus towards what my left hand is doing, I.E. observing/correcting weird quirks that are going on. Other than that, Steve Bailey has an exercise on his website, listed as "hazards". Great stuff.