improve two-finger walking technique

[Hank Hirsh]

can anyone offer suggestions for improving two-finger walking and soloing technique? i want to develop speed and eveness. is there a text similar to Hanon for piano? i am studying Simandl and Rufus Reid as well as reading and transcribing great solos.
thanks for your help
hank hirsh
www.hankhirsh.com

[Marcus Johnson]

The only thing I've ever seen is to just rigorously apply the 1-2 technique, no matter what the string crossings, intervals, or whatever. It's not always the most musical way to play a given line. But it does force your fingers to do things that they may not want to do, and it might open up possibilities that you wouldn't encounter otherwise. Like the man says, one acquires technique in order to abandon it. It's not much fun to practice. But if your hands get used to the gymnastics involved, it can be a portal to nice things.

Ultimitately, fluid, vocal pizz technique involves bringing one-finger, two-finger, hammering, slurring, vibrato, etc., all incorporated into a whole concept.

[Mark Perna]

To start:

play even eighths on one note using a 1-2 finger stroke with a metronome at a variety of tempos starting slow and working up in tempo. Concentrate on 1. playing as evenly and with as little extraneous motion in your right hand as possible and 2. relax as much as possible. To keep from going insane, you can make up little variations such as playing a bar of one note and then moving up an interval of your choice and playing that note for a bar and then shifting to another note etc. Don't get too fancy with the left hand though. The idea is to concentrate on working your right hand.

After you've mastered that exercise, start varying the left hand. Play the above exercise playing scales using 2 hits per note with the 1-2 stroke (i.e. c-c-d-d-e-e-f-f etc.). Always with the metronome and always concentrating on relaxation, economy of movement and evenness of attack. You're still concentrating on the right hand but you are adding more left hand. As a warm up, I like to do this exercise while playing a G scale from open G up to thumb D (or higher) and down again. It works your intonation, shifting and right hand technique.

After that's second nature, play scales, arpeggios with the 1-2 stroke. If you've mastered the first two sections, you shouldn't have too much trouble adding this to your bag.

The big secret is to isolate and work the right hand before trying to combine it with all the stuff you need to do to make music.

[Dave Speranza]

Come on Hank...all the guys you listen to play 1-finger!!

It can be hard to get the two different fingers to sound the same, because they attack a different place on the string, but calivox's exercises will certainly help...

How long until the hank hirsh quintet becomes a quartet with no saxophone?

[Hank Hirsh]

Thanks Calivox
i will let you know how it goes.
hank

[Hank Hirsh]

Dave, fancy meeting you here.
i think it will be a while, but i am on the case. let's hang out some time.
h

[Hank Hirsh]

thanks Marcus
h