Advice for a partially sighted (visually impaired) novice.

[Adrian_D]

Hi everyone,

I’m a relative novice with a visual impairment and thought I’d post to ask for any advice that you might have to help me improve my playing – particularly with locating my fretting-fingers.

My sight problems are a little tricky to explain, but basically I have lost much of my central vision, but have pretty good peripheral vision – so when I hold my hand out at arms length and look at my palm I can just about make out the tips of my fingers.

Here’s a more bass-relevant explanation: To see my hand playing the 1st to 3rd frets then I have to be looking at somewhere around the 8th or 10th which makes locating my fingers nicely behind the frets trickier than it might otherwise be - and multi-fret shifts trickier too. Give it a go and you’ll have an idea of what I’m up against.

I’ve found that putting black tape on the back of the neck helps with visual contrast and gives a nice tactile indication of where I am on the fingerboard and I’ve also been experimenting with black sticky-back plastic on the fretboard as a kind of poor-mans block inlays. (Sooner or later I’ll be asking about how to remove the finish from parts of the fretboard, stain the wood black and refinish it, but I think that’s for another day…)

I know that the real answer is to practice-practice-practice until it all becomes second nature, but anything to speed that along would be much appreciated.

Can anyone recommend any drills or lines that I could use to help bed in the muscle memory here?

Thanks in advance, Adrian.

 

[reddog]

Hi. Congrats on your new hobby! Talkbass (TB) is a great place to get advice and perspectives. The whole scales, modes, thing along with learning some songs by heart seem a great way to develop muscle memory. The ears will also be your guide. << This, I'm appreciating more and more as I try and not cringe playing my fretless. Best of luck and have fun!

 

[reddog]

 

[saabfender]

Running through scales and scale patterns across all the strings, esp. at the bottom end of the bass. Ascending and descending three and four note patterns. With a metronome. You are going to train to shred like a violinist or 6 stringer. This will improve your accuracy immeasurably if you have a 16th note to get to the next rather than every four beats.

I also hate “practice practice practice”. One of the least helpful pieces of musical advice I hear. No kidding you gotta practice a musical instrument. Thanks for the wisdom, CPT Obvious.

 

[Bassbeater]

I think it would be simple to get a luthier to put raised dots on the back of the neck that you could feel with your thumb. I don't really look at the fret board that much, but I wouldn't mind having some raised dots or divots actually.

 

[jj.833]

Hi,
I play bass for 20 years or so. I learned to play the bass guitar looking at the fretboard, which later, when I started to play sight reading, became an obstacle I'm struggling to unlearn. So I guess I want to say that you might take advantage of your handicap and probably save time in the end, if you start learning to play without looking at the fretboard.

When I later started to play double bass, I found that the double bass fingering (1-2-4 playing half steps) is helpful to orientate on the whole fretboard without looking, as you are making smaller jumps that are easier to muscle-memorize. You are jumping more often, and since you are constantly moving, your hand gets less stiff after long time of playing. (Actually, I use guitar fingering 1-2-3-4 more often when sight reading; you're gonna learn both in the end, but if you start with double bass fingering, you can't be wrong.)

If you are playing fretted bass, I wouldn't worry very much about fingering the exact spot behind the fret. This will come in time; more important is if you listen to what you are playing. If it sounds good, then your finger is in the right spot.

 

[Mushroo]

Hi Adrian, violin-family instruments don't have any visual indicators on the fingerboard. Therefore I recommend studying with a teacher who is proficient with both electric bass and double bass. Specifically, you want to find a teacher who uses the "Simandl method." Simandl divides the neck into "positions" and emphasizes good hand position and smooth shifting (without looking).

You didn't ask specifically, but it also goes without saying, you want to find a teacher who is good at ear training. This will allow you to learn songs without relying on sheet music or TAB.

If you post your location, I bet someone can recommend a good teacher in your area who is proficient with Simandl technique and ear training. With the guidance of a good teacher, you won't need to "practice, practice, practice" but rather merely "practice." Good luck and welcome aboard!

 

[MalcolmAmos]

I recommend you be with an instructor that has experience with sighted issues. We have an instructor in our home town that has several sighted issued students. They keep coming back for lessons so I assume she is helping.

I would think the key here would be ear training with the help of side, or back of the neck, raised dots.

Along with a knowledge of where the notes will be located on the fret board. I'd recommend finding your notes in first position (first 5 frets) for now. If first position is not clear what ever position you see best....

This may help. Using first position I let C be my home base. The B note is same string and back a fret. The D is same string and over two frets.

The E is up a string from the B.
The A is down a string from the D.

The F is up a string from the C.
The G is down a string from the C.

So ---- C is my home base and everything moves (can be found) from C's position.

C on the piano is all the white keys, the "white bread" area, which I still use when messing around on the key board. Perhaps messing around with C's area can help - as a starting place.

As you get into the other keys, like Bb, using your dots find the Bb and then be happy with a I-IV-V progression with roots and fives. Right at first. Take this one small bite at a time.

Good luck.

 

[mambo4]

It's a challenge, but realize that you do not need to see at all to develop physical accuracy.
In your case I'd recommend practicing scales and arpeggios on a single string , eyes closed,
to develop your proprioception (muscle memory) of where notes are on the neck.

That way you learn to rely on proprioception + hearing to guide you instead of eyes.

Now that I think of it, that's something I may try next time I pick up my bass.

 

[Adrian_D]

Hi Everyone - Thanks for all the advice so far.

Someone else (at Scott's Bass Lesons) recommended the Simandl method too so I will definitely check that out - a quick search through some of the threads here makes it seem quite promising - it's at the lower frets where I'm having the most trouble so it could help alot.

I'm in Brighton (south coast of England) if anyone knows any instructors around here, that would be great.

As for the tactile advice - I'm continuing to experiment with bits of tape - I'd rather not permanently alter the neck of the bass before I've got my hand position right.

 

[Bassbeater]

Plenty of really great players with no sight at all have no problems. I think your issues are generally unrelated to sight, which is good news, esp if sight is deteriorating with time. It's not archery, so just go with it and keep playing by ear. All is well! Have fun! Welcome to the board!

 

[MalcolmAmos]

I had stick on dots, finger nail polish - the Bb pattern, where it started and ended, was in red - and all kinds of aids right at first. Little finger nail polish remover and some loving care did the trick.

Good luck.

 

[paulears]

When I was 19 I had to play bass in a very dark environment - the music stand was lit, but dimly, and I had a similar problem. Just couldn't see where my hands were. I had a bass I didn't like much, and I filed a ¼" of the binding at the place where the fret dots were. It did let me feel the right fret, but over the years, once light was restored, I assumed I'd gone back to looking. When I joined a band where I had to sing and play bass, I discovered I simply could not look at my hands, because I was singing - and it didn't matter. I'd actually learned without noticing where the notes were. Before the song, as a confidence thing, I still sometimes look, and in one song, there is a very big downwards jump that I still try to catch out of the corner of my eye.

The advice to simply practice is the right one. After a while it's comes. As long as you find the right starting note, you really don't need to look.

Oddly, I don't find the double bass harder, but easier. I have the tail post marked with the normal height of the bass, and the fingers just fall on the right place when I bend my arm.

It really is simply familiarity.

 

[ELG60]

Hi Everyone - Thanks for all the advice so far.

Someone else (at Scott's Bass Lesons) recommended the Simandl method too so I will definitely check that out - a quick search through some of the threads here makes it seem quite promising - it's at the lower frets where I'm having the most trouble so it could help alot.

I'm in Brighton (south coast of England) if anyone knows any instructors around here, that would be great.

As for the tactile advice - I'm continuing to experiment with bits of tape - I'd rather not permanently alter the neck of the bass before I've got my hand position right.

Hello, @Adrian_D. Welcome to talkbass. Perhaps low_tack painters tape would be a good temporary solution. I've been working lately on playing as much as is convenient, without looking at the fretboard. Stages tend to be dark anyway and I figure that I'll be better able to interact with my bandmates and the audience.

 

[mambo4]

As for the tactile advice - I'm continuing to experiment with bits of tape

I'm not sure about that. It may help you at first, however;
In the long run your own body can tell you where you are on the neck.
But you have to practice "listening" to your muscles , not little bits of tape.

 

[Texan]

What about small adhesive beads of some type on the back of the neck in either the shape of braille numbers or some form so that you can feel where you are on the neck with you thumb or palm? Aside from the muscle memory from practice and your visual impairment, this may be the best "road map" possible.

 

[JES]

I was going to say a combination of learning position playing and a few well placed tactile markers (painters tape is a great option).

 

[Fender_Bender]

After a while your muscle memory gets attuned to such a degree that you won’t need to be looking at all.

 

[pbassjbass]

I'd suggest doing two octave or even two and a half octave scales which run across all four strings and above the 12th fret. Train your fingers and ears together. (And don't forget the chromatic scale). Do octave exercises, and chord outlines. Again up and down the neck, but the focus is pair your ear with your fingers.

In many ways it's a similar problem to learning to play and sing.

 

[dreamadream99]

Before you start drilling and hacking at your instrument, start playing with fingertips right behind the fret, so that you can feel the fret just beneath the string. This prevents buzz from playing between frets.

Next, just keep playing and learning, and eventually you’ll know where notes are just by sheer repetition.