Teachers, How many of you recommend Simandl for Bass guitar?

[El Dragon]

I play fretless Bass guitar, and hoping one day will transition to Upright.

[Wm. E. Evans]

I haven't taught in a while, and my teaching credentials pale in comparison to others. That being said, I end up using Simandl fingerings quite a bit in the lower positions and for playing anything that is primarily pentatonic.

Ed Friedland's Hal Leonard Bass Method book 1 recommends a index-middle-pinky over three frets/stops that is similar to Simandl.

Also, a dude from Berklee with whom I took two lessons at one point recommended the Simandl book.

I've also had Evloving Bassist by Rufus Reid (a Jazz Double Bass book) recommended to me for bass guitar, which advocates a similar approach to Simandl but uses a lot more shifts.

OTOH, the American School of Double Bass recommends a hybrid Simandl/finger-per-"fret" approach that they call Simandl-plus (http://www.asodb.com/sp/sp2.html), however, Double Bass pedagogy is, admittedly, waaay out of my league.

[onlyclave]

I think using Simandl on fretless bass is only going to be useful for learning 1/2, first, second, third, etc. positions and the fingerings and shiftings required for that. Nothing more.

Remember that most of the Simandl (and Bille, my personal favorite) exercises revolve around arco playing and connecting the notes. Not pizzicato like a fretless bass.

Bass guitar is not a horizontal double bass. If you play on moving to double bass later on you are going to spend many years with a bow in your hand. Use 1-2-4 fingerings in the lower positions of your bass guitar (and thumb position in the really high range like Steve Bailey does) but go find a good electric bass method book to study from.

[HaVIC5]

Well, up until part three of Simandl, none of the exercises have anything to do with playing arco, and work brilliantly on electric as well. Great for intonation.

[BassChuck]

I use Simandl and Bille for my personal practice and just ignore the fingerings and bowings. The exercises are worth it and, especially the Bille, very musical.

The way I figure is that any method that has a long standing with bass players gives a solid musical background and is worth the attention of anyone wanting to improve technically and musically.

[DocBop]

Simandl has lots of good exercises like page 104-105 the Broken Chords in all Major Keys is a great daily workout no matter how long you've played. Also method books for traditional instruments have had a hundred years of refinement. The Rufus Reid book is good too. Along with trombone books even using the Hanon piano book and playing the patterns. It's all music, it helps develop reading, playing, and the ear.