If you're comfortable with your hand strength, you can start at the first fret, but to learn this drill it's easier to start at the fifth or even the seventh fret, where the scale's a little kinder for making reaches. The important thing about this drill is to keep your fingers down on the strings except when you're moving from one string to the next. This ensures the best workout for your tendons, ligaments, and connectors.
Begin with your fingers on the second lowest string, spaced one finger per fret. So if your low string is your B and you're starting on the 5th fret, you're going to begin by fretting the A, Bb, B natural, and C. Play that string. Holding the note with your pinky, move your first finger to the E on your B string . Play it but let the Db ring. Letting the higher note sustain, shift your middle finger to the F on the B string and play it. Next -- still letting that Db sustain -- move your ring finger down and play the Gb on the 7th fret. Finally, keeping all your fingers fretting the last notes they played, shift your pinky to play the G on the 8th fret of the B string. As the G rings, shift your first finger back to the A where it was resting initially and play it.
Remember, keep all your fingers fretting notes and play SLOWLY.
That G sustains while you shift the middle finger to play the Bb. Next -- no surprise here -- bring your ring finger back where it was to play the B natural. Then , while the B's ringing, shift your pinky to play the C. Repeat this pattern all the way to your top string, always fretting with all 4 fingers, always playing slowly and evenly.
When you have all five fingers on the high string, you're going to work your way back down the way you started the exercise. That is, while the highest note -- the one your pinky is fretting -- rings, move your first, then second, then third fingers to the next lowest string. When the ring finger is fretting a clean note bring the pinky to the same string as the other fingers.
You should play this twice, low string to high string to low string. When you're comfortable in whatever four fret range you've chosen (usually this takes a couple of days to a week), move down two frets. Eventually you want to be able to play this smoothly and without exhaustion at the first fret. Don't get frustrated if it takes some time; this exercise is harder than it looks or sounds!
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Next is the first exercise from Steve Bailey's routine. He calls it the Hazard Exercise. There are 2 variations I'll go over here and they're TOUGH! Give yourself time to get used to them and don't push yourself faster than your hand is ready to do!
You begin with your first finger fretting at your lowest note on the board, usually F or C. Let it ring then play the next highest note with your middle finger. As that note is sounding play the note at the first fret of the next string -- Bb or F -- with your first finger. Play the note next to it, either B or F#, with your middle finger. Keep playing this way (SLOWLY, like you did in the last exercise) until you reach the top 2 frets (or stops if you're playing a fretless).
Here's where the challenging part of the drill begins.
Your first finger is not going to come up off that first fret until you begin the next part of the exercise. Since your first 2 fingers are holding down the string, you're going to use your ring finger to fret the third note on that high string. Lift it up and play the note you're fretting with your middle finger again. Still holding down that first note (although you don't have to play it) with your first finger, move your ring finger to the third fret of the next string down. As you lift it away from the fingerboard, play the note at the second fret of that same string with your middle finger again.
Keep moving in this way -- STILL HOLDING THAT FIRST FINGER DOWN ON THE HIGH STRING'S FIRST FRET -- until you reach the bottom string. As you're using the same pattern over and over, you should end up with your first finger fretting the first fret of your high string and your middle finger fretting the second fret of your low string.
Now it gets uglier.
Keep the second finger in this position, holding that low C# or F#, while the first finger is nailing that first note on your high string. Think of them as glued to those places for now. At this point your ring finger will play that D or G again (depending on what your low string is). Next, FINALLY, you get to use your little finger. Play the note at the fourth fret with your pinky. As you moved across the fretboard two fingers at a time before, you do it again with these two fingers -- ring and pinky -- until you reach the high string again.
When you do, your hand should look crazy and feel completely bizarre. Pain is normal at this point. Try and hold the position (1st finger on high string's 1st fret, middle finger fretting 2nd note of low string, ring finger nailed to 3rd fret of high string) for a couple of seconds before you give it a chance to relax. Because it gets thoroughly perverse next...
Lift your fingers from the fretboard (this may be a good time to shake out your hand) so that you can place your first finger on the 5th fret of your high string and play the note. Bring your second finger down on the next fret on the same string and play it. Lift it off and play the note your first finger's playing again. As that is ringing, finger the 6th fret note of the next string down with your second finger. As you're about to lift it up and away from the fingerboard, press down on the 5th fret of the same string with your first finger and play the note as your second finger comes up.
Continue this pattern until you reach the 5th fret of your low string with your first finger. From this point until you're instructed otherwise, THE FIRST FINGER STAYS RIGHT THERE!
As you're playing through the drill, remember that no exercise should only work on one thing, so keep your notes rhythmic and play them with the same attack. This way you work on time and you keep your right hand involved, too.
With the first finger nailed to the 5th fret of your low string, bring your second finger down on the 6th fret on the same string. Play the note. At a nice, easy pace, fret the next note with your third finger. While it rings, move your second finger to the 6th fret of the next string and play the note (which should be A# if you have a 5 or 6 string with a low B -- just for reference). While it rings, bring your third finger to the 7th fret and play that note. Continue moving in this way -- always keeping that first finger on the 5th fret of your low string -- until you reach the high string and play the 7th fret note (likely either a D or a G, depending on what type of bass you have and how it's tuned). At this point your second finger will stay on the 6th fret of your high string.
This will be awkward and possibly painful. If it hurts at this point, take your hands from the neck and shake them out. Try not to wait more than 15 or 20 seconds before replacing them with the first finger on the 5th fret of your low string, your second finger on the 6th fret of your high string, and your third finger on the 7th fret of your high string beside the second finger. Play the 8th fret note of the high string with your little finger, still keeping all the other fingers on the fretboard. after the note rings for a bit (quarter note or eighth note feel -- don't rush this is you want to work your hands out!), lift it and play the 7th fret note again. Move the pinky to the 8th fret of your next string down and play the note there. After it's rung appropriately, move the third finger to the 7th fret note, just behind it on the same string and play it as you lift off your little finger.
This should be a familiar pattern by now, so repeat it all the way down until you reach your low string again. At this point your hands should be splayed in a far more awkward position than anything you've ever experienced on the neck of your bass (at least I hope that's the case!) -- first finger on the 5th fret of lowest string, second finger on 6th fret of highest string, third finger on 7th fret of lowest string, and little finger on 8th fret of lowest string of moving to fret the 8th note of the second lowest string. Try and hold this for just a few seconds before you release the neck.
This is the perfect time to shake out your hand. Usually for me, this is enough of the drill to get my left hand MORE than warm. When Steve Bailey teaches the exercise, though, he starts again with is first finger on the 9th fret and repeats both phases of the drill all the way up the neck! Personally, I think that's a little obsessive, but if you really want to maximize your fingers independence it's probably the best way to approach it.
Now remember, this is a TOUGH drill! Don't rush it and don't push yourself faster than your body can handle. If you only get part way through the first part of the exercise, that's a great start! It's about your health, not about being able to say that you blew through this like it was nothing. Play it slowly when you can do it for the most effect and focus on more than just what your left hand's doing. The consistency of your right hand's attack and rhythm are as key as what your left hand's learning.
And that's the first Hazard Exercise. He has more than a dozen variations beyond this one, but I've found that this was more than enough to get me started.
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This exercise is based on a Bach piece and is as much for your ear as it is for finger independence and general dexterity. You will play it in one key -- whichever one you like, but C major is the easiest to learn it -- and you can play it on every string, one string at a time, moving up or down. The essence of the drill is repeating a melodic device. This is the way I learned it...
You're only going to play the notes in the C major scale. All you're doing is moving from one step in the scale to the next and playing a pattern of that note, the note 2 steps above it, the note between those 2, and the high note again. Do this twice then you move to the next note in the scale and do the same thing. It's easiest to start on a high string and move through the lower strings as your hands get warmed up. Remember as you're playing that you are focusing on rhythm and attack consistency as well as left hand flexibility, speed, and endurance. Here goes.
Start on your G string. in a moderate, relaxed 8th note feel play C - E - D - E and let your hands stretch out so that you're playing the C with your first finger, your E with the little finger, and the D with either the middle or ring finger, whichever is most comfortable for you. Try it both ways, each a few times to be sure. Remember to repeat the pattern before you move on. Next you're going to play D - F - E - F, just moving up the neck a whole step. You'll find these minor third reaches are much more comfortable than the major thirds, particularly on the low strings. Always play the figure 2 times before you move on.
Keep going like this, playing evenly and keeping the notes clean and slightly staccato. The remaining patterns on the G string will be E - G - F - G, F - A - G - A, G - B - A - B, A - C - B - C, B - D - C - D, C - E - D - E, D - F - E - F, E - G - F - G. Now play the same patterns in descending order. You can move up and down every string this way, just try and avoid playing the open strings because you're really not going to get much of a stretch that way.
Simply start on the lowest scale tone that you can fret. For example, on your E string the first pattern you can play will be F - A - G - A. On your D string it will be E - G - F - G. Try to play this in a number of different keys, and try to play it on all your strings, starting with your highest.
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This exercise is very simple. It's actually just a scale. The whole tone scale. The whole tone scale is a synthetic scale composed entirely of whole steps. If you remember a tune called "Up, Up, and Away (in My Beautiful Balloon)", there's a keyboard riff played in the chorus with a strange, unresolved quality. It's a whole tone run.
Alright, begin on the first fret of your lowest string. Play it with your first finger. While you hold that down, play the note a whole step above it. Holding both of those down -- if your hand will let you -- play the note a whole step above *that*. So far it should sound like the beginning of a major scale. BUT...
Next, holding down the second and third notes you played, finger and sound the one at the second fret of your next higher string. then play the whole step above that. If your bass is tuned with a low B string, you have just played C - D - E - F# - G# (or F - G - A - B - C# if your bass is strung with an E as its lowest note).
It gets stranger.
Play the first, third and fifth fret notes of your next string up. On the next string you'll play the notes at the second and fourth frets. By now I'm sure you see a pattern emerging. On a traditionally tuned 4 string you'll end up playing F - G - A - B - C# - D# - F - A - B (and you can tack on a C# at the end of your ascent if you like. On a traditionally tuned (if you can apply that phrase) 6 string, which stays in 4ths all the way across the neck, you'll wind up with C - D - E - F# - G# - A# - C - D - E - F# - G# - A# - C - D - E as your climb.
Now for the descent. This is a bit trickier, but not to play: just to keep it straight in your head. You're still going to alternate playing 3 notes on one string and 2 on the next, BUT... you will shift to a slightly different approach. You will play *ascending* notes on each string while you are *descending* the order of the strings.
For example, once you have played your last note of the climb and you're ready to move back down the neck, switch. That is you're going to play 3 notes on the string where you're fingers are resting, BUT you're going to play them as if you were going to start the exercise again. If you're on a 6 string, you should have just played the D and the E on your 2nd and 4th frets. Now you're going to play C# - D# - F, *in that order*! When you shift to the next string, you're going to play the notes at the 2nd and 4th frets (which should be A and B on a 6), again *in that order*!
It sounds silly, but if you play them so that the notes are descending as you're moving lower and lower across the fingerboard, then you're not getting a stretch. Cool? Cool.
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Finally, we have the easiest exercise for your ears and your hands, but the most challenging for your brain. This is what I call "Long Scales". While it's a pretty simple drill in one way, it will challenge you as long as you play bass. I generally like to use major scales when I do this one, but any scale is fine. And you should use more than one scale every time you do it. Stick to one a practice session, though. What you're going to do is very straight forward. If you have a 4 string you're going to play a 2 octave scale up the neck and a 2 octave pattern back down. If you're playing a 6, then you're playing a 3 octave scale up and back down the neck. BUT (aren't you sick of that word by now?)... You NEVER play it the same way, either up OR down. On a 4 string use F major as the first scale you try. On a 6 I recommend C major. On a 7, 8, 9 or more string bass, I suggest G major.
Start with a major because you don't want to have an open string as your first or your last note. It denies you maximum stretch and you're probably most familiar with the keys based on open strings anyway. As a second challenge try and play 3 or 4 notes on one string before you change to the next highest string. You'll find this really hard by about the 3rd or 4th time you run through the drill, but it's a great challenge to have.
Now an interesting way to enhance this drill once you get the hang of it is to play arpeggios instead of whole scales. By approaching the neck intervallically instead of from a scalar point of view, you will get the added benefit of hearing some rudimentary melodic structuring.
Further, you can play intervals aside from thirds. Try the same drill playing fourths, fifths, or sixths. Granted, on a 4 string you will not have as far a climb or a descent, but the point is challenging your hands and your brain.
works every time
