Double Bass Long-necked upright Bass

[wathaet]

You use your thumb for the G#, one half-step above the open string?!? We're talking about Simandl half-position, right . . . and you're using your thumb for that note?

Yes, not as crazy as you think. Pretty mainstream in our bassclass with P.V.E.
He would demonstrate Mozart 40 last movement in thumb as one fingering option. Bb-D-C-A-Bb-D-C-A in tumb on the G string, and that is the one I never could get to work for me in real life. I blame a smaller hand and inferiour shifting technique. (thumb on all of the A and Bb!!)
I also use 4-2-thumb and 4-1-thumb sometimes in lower registers. Whatever it takes to get the job done. If you practise low thumb scales and get comfy, it can be a very useful tool for certain problems.

 

[John Goldsby]

Cool...great! I’d love to see/hear a video of the Mozart 40 excerpt.

 

[damonsmith]

It may have already been said, the first Petracchi exercise starts on D on the G string. Low TP is useful for chords, it is used in a lot New Music compositions.
That G# on the G is not tough to access. I've used it when I've landed on whole or half step double stops with the open G against F or F# and then the music calls for it to move but retain the dissonance.

 

[John Goldsby]

It may have already been said, the first Petracchi exercise starts on D on the G string. Low TP is useful for chords, it is used in a lot New Music compositions.
That G# on the G is not tough to access. I've used it when I've landed on whole or half step double stops with the open G against F or F# and then the music calls for it to move but retain the dissonance.

Right . . . like this exercise from Petracchi:

But I don't see him using thumb in the very lowest positions in his book. He seems to always use fingers in the low positions and the thumb when things "get high."

For another great example of thumb in lower positions, here's Marcos Machado demonstrating a chromatic exercise from his book "The Tao of Bass."




I'd be interested in seeing any other vids related to this topic

 

[Tom Lane]

Yes! Vindicated!

 

[John Goldsby]

Yes! Vindicated!

Vindicated . . . almost. But I think Marcos Machado is only going down to an Eb or D with his thumb in that video. When he goes lower, it's all fingers.

Any other examples out there?

P.S. @Tom Lane — you are vindicated . . . in saecula saeculorum.

 

[damonsmith]

But I don't see him using thumb in the very lowest positions in his book. He seems to always use fingers in the low positions and the thumb when things "get high."

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Yes, a lot of those low exercises are really great, sort of condensed and amazing. For a long time I just did the TP stuff, but the whole book is worth checking out!