left hand shift technique

[dansouth]

Ed and friends,

 

Anyone have any tips on developing clean position shift technique for the left hand. This has always been a weak link in my technique. Ideally, I'd like to be able to shift any interval comfortably, but in practice I have difficulty leaping more than a minor third (three frets) smoothly. I'd like to build more confidence in this area. Thanks in advance for your suggestions!

[Ed Friedland]

Dan,

Well, one thing I always look for are opportunities to use open strings to help me jump positions. Of course, in some keys this isn't possible, but for example, play an F major triad like this:

 

Start on low F, first fret E string. Play the open A and jump up to C on the 8th fret of the E string with your 2nd finger. From there, the next octve of the triad is right under your fingers. You can use this same jump in an F major scale, and with a little exploring you can find lots of keys that you can use this basic idea. The open string is a gift! Use it often.

 

As far as closed position shifting, well, it really helps to work it out slow, and have a clear sense of the jump. Look for the optimal fingering, and do your best to make it smooth and quiet. Again do it SLOW. Eventually you can speed it up, but don't sacrifice the clarity. I also like to practice "blindfold jumps". Pick a note on any string and choose an interval you want to jump to. Make sure you can HEAR it in your head first. Without looking, make the jump. You'll be surprised at how many times you can make this without looking. The key is hearing it first.

[bilmac]

Hey Dan,

 

I've had alot of trouble in this area myself. Probably comes

not taking the time to be precise, when I was first learning.

All sorts of bad habits seem to be catching up with me now. Going from one place on the neck to the next my fingers get all scrunched up or my hand ends up someplace where there is'nt any way to make it to the next note.

So latley I've been working my ass off on fixing this. One thing, is to practice REALLY SLOW... like half notes at 50-60 on the metronome. This helps alot. As for what to practice....right now I'm doing lots of scales. But not staight across the neck. I try to use the whole range of the instrument on the scales so I have to be precise on shifts. For instance:

 

Start an Ab major scale, 2nd finger on Ab on the E str. 4th finger on Bb, 1st. finger hits C on the A str. 2nd. finger Db and 4th. Eb. Now slide up with your first finger to the F on the A str. 3rd. finger takes G, 4th takes Ab on the same string.then 1st finger on Bb on the Dstr. 3rd finger C and 4th finger Db on the same string. Then I shift again, 2nd finger on Eb on the Dstr. 4th on F on the same str. 1st. finger on the G on G string and 2nd finger on Ab on the Gstr. Then go back down.

The actual fingering is totally up to your discression. As long as you use at least 3 positions per. 2 octave scale. Go slow and line up on each pos. squarely so you dont have to reeeeach for the next note. Once I find a fingering I'm happy with I use rythmic patterns on it like 1/4 notes and 1/8 notes; A A AAAA B B BBBB then as I get more comfortable, apply the pattern to the whole scale; A B CDEF G A BCDE.......or

A B BCCC D E EFFF..... there are unlimited combinations just with this simple pattern.

All this stuff might sound really anal, but it works. Another thing, I just got a book from the library called: "Techniques of Improvsation: vol. 1 a method for developing improvisational technique (based on the lydian chromatic concept by George Russell)" Written by David Baker. This was written to internalize the lydian concept scales, but works just fine for any scale any mode. The thing is, it was definatly not written with bass in mind. Consequently, some of the exersises are really odd. But suprise! they are a major workout for left hand shifts. I believe this book is way out of print but I'd be happy to send you some of the stuff if you want. Here is just one. Play an Eb, then a diatonic 6th above, then another 6th above that. Then move up a third and repeat the pattern. This one has got you jumpin all over the neck. Unless you have a 5 or 6str. even then it will drive you nuts.

One last thing you could try: Arpeggiate all the chords in a mode all the way up to the 13th. That will get you moving around the neck. Just do it real slow and make every shift prescise. You can do these with rhythm

patterens also.

 

I hope all this has been of help, see ys in the shed bill

[dansouth]

Ed and Bill,

 

Thanks for the helpful tips. I've been trying Ed's suggestion of hearing the pitch before making the leap, and it makes a big difference. It seems to work a lot better than thinking, "Let's see, three frets up on the A string...go!"

[bspangleyahoo.com]

Practicing two (or three octave) scales slowly as suggested is good. Do the same with three note (major, minor and diminished) triads and with four note (major, minor, half diminished and whole diminished 7th) arpeggios.

 

Also, practice playing glissandos (SP?) on your E string slowly but in time (mm about 50) by fingering F with your first finger and sliding your whole hand up 'til you play A on the 5th fret. Listen for a major third. Keep your thumb behind the 2nd finger and your other fingers in playing position. After you've mastered this, practice sliding up to your Bb on the 6th fret and continue until you can accurately slide up an octave (13th) without looking at your hand. Repeat the whole process starting with F# and G,etc. You'll find that after you master shifting out of F, that the others will come pretty quickly. The first will probably take a bunch of time though. My first bass instructor, who by the way was a violinist, used to call this "target practice".

 

Find a pretty piece of Bach (maybe the 1st Cello suite) or a nice sounding etude from a trombone book and work on an 8 to 16 bar phrase of it slowly every day. Try alternate fingerings and shifts until you come to a conclusion about what works and sounds best for you. Then perfect that phrase. Select another phrase from the same piece or another piece and repeat the process. If you spend a consistent total of 20-30 minutes a day on the target practice and working on slow reading, you will improve your shifting rapidly.

[dansouth]

Thanks to all for your replies and suggestions. I'm having fun with the exercises. Now, how about the shifting technique itself. Do you prefer to slide, hop, or something in the middle. I notice that sometimes downward slides sound messy (I use roundwounds). Any tips for making these shifts as clean as possible, i.e. so the listener doesn't notice.