Double Bass Thumb Position: Free Thumb or Keep Depressed?

[fu22ba55]

I'm strictly a jazz pizz player, but I practice arco about 30-40 minutes a day (most days), and I'm trying to unpack my TP technique a bit.

When pressing down notes on the G or D string (with 1,2,3) should I always strive to keep my thumb depressed BEHIND the sounding/stopped note? Basically keeping a "tetrachord" position "locked in?"

Or is it OK / acceptable / desireable to ONLY stop the note with the 1,2,3rd finger if possible, and let my thumb off the string?

Coming from an old electric bass background, I've always defaulted to keeping my thumb locked down in TP... as if I'm holding down the string behind the fretted note.

But today I gave my thumb a rest and noticed two things:
-vibrato is much easier
-adjusting to "fine tune" the note after striking is much easier.
-It's easier to "get lost" and wander away from my intended position on the fb.

 

[s van order]

I learned from my bass and cello teachers: thumb presses the string to fingerboard if it is required to stop a note to be played. Otherwise it is free to help balance the hand and support the playing finger(s). As you note, vibrato is relaxed and free this way. I find using a drone tone to practice challenging phrases up in thumb position very helpful for intonation.

 

[neilG]

It's not so much about position The thumb forms the "capo tasto". If you keep it on the string, you won't have to depress the string as far each time you play a note. Actively holding your thumb out of the way breeds tension in the hand. Just let your thumb rest on the string, it doesn't have to be on any particular pitch. "Locked down", in your words is not what you want.

 

[jj.833]

I think that holding the thumb pressed would help in fast passages like D-E-D-F#-D-G-D-F# played on D string. Otherwise, there should be not much reason to press the thumb down. It often helps to hold the thumb in the right position, but not pressed down until you need to play the note.

I remember that at first, I had a tendency to press the thumb down all the time, because it helped the intonation as the other fingers had very little physical work to do. But my thumb and the wrist were hurting fast, resulting in quick fatique and even minor harm. Later I realized that I need to find a way that hurts the least. Nowadays I think that the physique of thumb position is mostly a problem of posture/gravity, with wrist as the main control factor. When wrist starts to hurt, I'm doing something wrong.

 

[fu22ba55]

It's not so much about position The thumb forms the "capo tasto". If you keep it on the string, you won't have to depress the string as far each time you play a note. Actively holding your thumb out of the way breeds tension in the hand. Just let your thumb rest on the string, it doesn't have to be on any particular pitch. "Locked down", in your words is not what you want.

This is interesting, thank you.

 

[Chris Fitzgerald]

I like my hips to be over the leg that is bearing my weight, and not over the leg I’m stepping away from.

 

[s van order]

It's not so much about position The thumb forms the "capo tasto". If you keep it on the string, you won't have to depress the string as far each time you play a note. Actively holding your thumb out of the way breeds tension in the hand. Just let your thumb rest on the string, it doesn't have to be on any particular pitch. "Locked down", in your words is not what you want.

This: “ Just let your thumb rest on the string, it doesn't have to be on any particular pitch.”