Double Bass developing thumb position across all strings fluently

[Basscat125]

Hey Guys whats up, I came here to ask a pretty simple question.The title says it all really though! what kind of exercises have you fellow bassists used to be able to move fluently across all four strings in thumb position?

Many Thanks,
Conor

 

[Tom Lane]

I just run scales and arps. I'll be interested to hear if someone has a better idea.

 

[Basscat125]

thanks tcl, slow practice of the scales and arps is probably key here I guess. When is it not? hah.

Cheers
conor

 

[Tom Lane]

I suppose you could play melodies to break the monotony.

 

[Basscat125]

yeh thats a good idea. A friend of mine suggested playing horn transcriptions!
im working on miles davis licks in twelve keys so ill just add playing them in tp to the list....

Many thanks,
Conot

 

[Chris Fitzgerald]

As Tom probably remembers, I work from a system which begins with three basic scale positions in TP: one beginning on the 1st finger, one beginning on the 3rd finger, and one beginning on the thumb. Practicing melodies, walking lines, and soloing from each of these positions is a great way to get some TP fluency happening no matter where you find yourself starting.

 

[Tom Lane]

And I DO remember! Still have the handout in my binder!
Ultimately, I suppose, there's no magic to developing fluency in switching strings in TP. It just takes lots of repetition. Thousands of reps. Tens of thousands? A lot, anyway. A year or two.

 

[PaulCannon]

There are two books I would recommend. For straight ahead scales and arpeggios, take a look at volume 3 of the Rabbath method. It offers a comprehensive catalogue of hundreds of fingering patterns on all strings in every key.

Beyond that, Hal Robinson's "Boardwalkin'" is an excellent guide to pivots and thumb position framing. This will teach you to split the entire fingerboard into six positions and play across the strings efficiently. The arpeggios in here are also an excellent study, though not directly related to your question.

 

[Jeremy Darrow]

Boardwalkin' is a terrific book. You can also take just about every etude and exercise from Rabbath I and play them up an octave.

 

[Basscat125]

thanks for all the great information guys. Im very tempted to pick up a copy of boardwalkin' (and strokin' while im at it) the only problem is that i live in europe ,specifically ireland, and from what i've read the only distributors of these books are Robertons. please inform me otherwise if im wrong.Ehat is the best solution for gettig these books?

Many Thanks Conor

 

[Basscat125]

sorry for all the typos aswell. Im on my mobile.

 

[Jeremy Darrow]

Robertsons' is the only place to get it. They're very easy to work with, you should give them a call.

 

[Basscat125]

Ah alright! I'll hit em up with an email later!

 

[PaulCannon]

thanks for all the great information guys. Im very tempted to pick up a copy of boardwalkin' (and strokin' while im at it) the only problem is that i live in europe ,specifically ireland, and from what i've read the only distributors of these books are Robertons. please inform me otherwise if im wrong.Ehat is the best solution for gettig these books?

Many Thanks Conor

I might add that once you've gone through the book about 100 times, you can expand on the thumb position sections by adding all the intermediary steps between 4th, 5th, and 6th position diatonically. For example, in G major 4th position, the basic concept has you going across the four strings with your thumb on the octave harmonics. I would propose also moving up one whole step, moving your thumb up from G to A on the G string, and working across the strings in this manner. And then again, A to B on the G string, and so on.

Doing this, you must pay close attention to your hand shapes as they need to adjust for the half-step/whole-step patterns. If you're familiar with the Petracchi method, this should be relatively intuitive.

EDIT: You can also work between 3rd and 4th position this way using a low-thumb position technique, though this requires larger spacings and perhaps larger than average hands, or a smaller than average bass.

 

[mtto]

"Melodic Playing in the Thumb Position" by Michael Moore is really great. He lays out positions based on target notes and has exercises across 3 or 4 strings, scales, arpeggios, and scalar patterns. Then, he gives examples of playing over changes, in transcription and on the accompanying CD. Major, melodic & harmonic minor, pentatonic, and diminished scales.

It's a jazz book, and this is the orchestral technique forum, but the OP is a jazz player.

Petracchi's "Simplified Higher Technique" has some chromatic exercises across the strings that are a good workout.