Would learning violin help with fretless intonation?

[fdeck]

There are multiple "schools" of BG fingering, making it hard to give an absolute answer, but I was taught to hold down those extra fingers on BG as well as DB.

I started on cello as a kid, and taught myself BG while in high school. When I finally took my first BG lesson, I already owned a DB that was unplayable, so my BG teacher knew that I was headed towards the DB. So he taught me strict DB fingering. At first it was awkward to give up my 4-finger technique, but it just took a few months of getting used to. One thing that helped was that the new technique was systematic, i.e., I always approached a particular thing in the same way, so that the good things could become habits.

If I ever think that the traditional technique is slowing me down, I just watch some videos on YouTube of the great bassists.

If another teacher had taught me a different but equally systematic technique, I might be singing its praises instead.

 

[Matthew_84]

It does make a lot of sense though.

In my first and only BG lesson, my teacher (who I believe was primarily a DB player) taught me this method, but I really didn't see its merit at the time. It seemed to slow me down, likely because I wasn't used to it, and he still maintained the one finger per fret technique, which even though I have large hands, it caused some strain in the first couple of positions.

I only worked on this technique for a couple of days and gave up, but on a fretless, with a 1-2-4 system, its benefits are obvious so I will work with it. Also, since I hope to get into DB one day when I can actually afford it, it may be worthwhile to get my fingers used to this now.

And actually, a couple of months ago, I was trying to find a way to help keep my non-used fingers close to the strings, and found this technique to help a lot, so I would gain some speed in this regard.

Thanks a lot,

Matt

 

[Billnc]

Also, would working through a DB technique book, like the Simandl, be beneficial to developing a proper technique?

Bass literature is hard to find, at least a hard copy you can look at before purchasing. If a book has tabs I will not buy it. I ordered the Simandl and think it was a very good book to work through. I like Internaional Music Company the best. Other editions can be hard to read. IMC's is laid out very well.

 

[Audiophage]

It might help you ear and make it easier to hear when you're out of tune on you bass, and maybe give you a better understanding of orchestration. However, learning to play violin is something you should do if you want to learn to play violin, not get better at bass.