James Jamerson Left Hand Technique

[PolkaHero]

Everyone talks about "The Hook", Jamerson's right hand technique, but nobody seems to mention his left hand technique which I think is pretty unique. I've been going through the charts from Standing In The Shadows Of Motown and am finding that many of the songs were probably played in exclusively the first position especially the songs in a lot of flats. Seems like in a lot of the pictures I've seen of Jamerson, he more often than not is in that first position on the fingerboard. Is this something that transferred over from upright?

Do you guys who have worked through this book find yourself playing many of the charts in first position pretty much all the way through or do you make position shifts? It is really taxing on your left hand to play these tunes in first position all the way through!

[JimK]

Originally Posted by PolkaHero

Is this something that transferred over from upright?

I would say "Yes"!
I was just re-reading a Guitar Player mag from '79 (Howard Roberts cover)...Jamerson is interviewed. He does say every bass player shpould start on the URB...strengthens the hands was one of his reasons.

[Meddle]

Originally Posted by JimK

He does say every bass player shpould start on the URB...strengthens the hands was one of his reasons.

Who needs a URB to strengthen hands when you have a P bass with decade old flats and a mile high action!

I'm surprised he stayed in 1st position, surely that is making life difficult for yourself?

[JimK]

'Cause the URB had 2-mile high action? A mile would feel like butter.
...trust me, it would help. How do you think he played an "unplayable P-bass" so well?

[One Drop]

Yeah, I think he carried that over from the upright, and also using open strings and rakes.

[PolkaHero]

Originally Posted by Meddle

I'm surprised he stayed in 1st position, surely that is making life difficult for yourself?

Other than a few tracks where he goes up to a high D or Eb (Bernadette comes to mind, I Was Made To Love Here goes up to a high F also), there wasn't really a reason for him to venture beyond first position. Almost every photo in the book of him playing shows him in first or second position. And yes, it's a PITA to play these charts in first position even with a medium-low action!

[mccartneyman]

There is still a school of players who think that basses need only four strings and five frets. But it's true that many of the Motown hits can be played with limited left-hand movement. The Fender P bass I had had the dreaded "Fender Dead Spot" from B to D on the G string, so I learned to play those notes on the D string, something that carries over to this day no matter what bass I play, although I'm learning ...

[Mugnaio]

VERY interisting topic. I'm pretty sure he used almost always 1st positions with an awsome use of open strings (by the way charts from Standing In The Shadows Of Motown are often wrong, for example i found opened strings notated as note "in key", like a real A notated as Ab, and this is very bad to understand his style). About his left hand, do you think he used 4 finger/4 frets? He was a Upright player so I think he used 4 finger for 3 fret, shifting the pinky from 3 fret to 4 fret when needed. What do you think about? Sorry for my poor english.

[PolkaHero]

Originally Posted by Mugnaio

VERY interisting topic. I'm pretty sure he used almost always 1st positions with an awsome use of open strings (by the way charts from Standing In The Shadows Of Motown are often wrong, for example i found opened strings notated as note "in key", like a real A notated as Ab, and this is very bad to understand his style). About his left hand, do you think he used 4 finger/4 frets? He was a Upright player so I think he used 4 finger for 3 fret, shifting the pinky from 3 fret to 4 fret when needed. What do you think about? Sorry for my poor english.

I thought it was an interesting topic to start up too, but didn't much response on here.

[dvh]

Originally Posted by Meddle

Who needs a URB to strengthen hands when you have a P bass with decade old flats and a mile high action!

I'm surprised he stayed in 1st position, surely that is making life difficult for yourself?

Not at all. It's definitely a carry over from Double Bass where open strings mean less shifting and a reference for intonation...

[VanillaThundah]

I find myself sticking around the first position when I'm playing root or single notes in a bassline. Getting into more complex stuff like diads and tapping, I will venture further up on the fretboard. Not saying he was, but for your run-of-the-mill hired gun bassist, there isn't much reason to go past the 5th fret...as you can pretty much play all the single and root notes you'd need in that area. It's the fun stuff that makes you play further up =)

[PolkaHero]

Originally Posted by VanillaThundah

I find myself sticking around the first position when I'm playing root or single notes in a bassline. Getting into more complex stuff like diads and tapping, I will venture further up on the fretboard. Not saying he was, but for your run-of-the-mill hired gun bassist, there isn't much reason to go past the 5th fret...as you can pretty much play all the single and root notes you'd need in that area. It's the fun stuff that makes you play further up =)

I use a different approach and find myself playing more around the 5th-6th positions. I would rather play on the E and A strings instead of the G and D strings for certain notes due to the thicker tone. It's also less fatiguing on your fretting arm.

[tspivey]

Originally Posted by Mugnaio

VERY interisting topic. I'm pretty sure he used almost always 1st positions with an awsome use of open strings (by the way charts from Standing In The Shadows Of Motown are often wrong, for example i found opened strings notated as note "in key", like a real A notated as Ab, and this is very bad to understand his style). About his left hand, do you think he used 4 finger/4 frets? He was a Upright player so I think he used 4 finger for 3 fret, shifting the pinky from 3 fret to 4 fret when needed. What do you think about? Sorry for my poor english.

I'm coming from playing upright and I use the ring and pinky fingers in tandem as you mentioned. I'd be willing to bet that he used this as well.

[AlvarHanso]

I like to play in a single position (5 string makes it easier to move that around to 8th fret for G, 12th for E, etc.) most of the time, and it does tax the hands, but it's the natural style I've developed. I'm trying to incorporate more shifting into it, but for a lot of songs, it's muscle memory in one position.

Also, I was watching Standing in the Shadows the other day and noticed while they were talking about "the hook", that Jamerson was slyly using his thumb as well. Given the fame of the hook, I thought that was interesting.