Left Hand Technique for Double/Upright Bass Lesson with Geoff Chalmers
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- Опубліковано 13 сер 2013
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In this beginners lesson, we look in detail at left-hand double bass technique. Good left technique is crucial if you are looking to improve your intonation and want to play with comfort.
The upright bass is such a large instrument that it's essential that you learn to play with good technique, right from the start. By following this method you will be able to play for longer, without pain or discomfort and with great tuning.
I hope you enjoy the lesson and if you have any questions please let me know by leaving a message in the comments section below the video.
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As a musician for over 33 years, I am completely blown away by just how good this instructor is at teaching. He's extraordinarily good at this.
Wow, thank you so much! That's made my day.
@@DiscoverDoubleBass Love this channel, thank you for all great information.
I am glad to come a cross this channel!! Hello from the United States of America 🇺🇸.
Best teacher. I've been playing db for 30 years and i love watching Geoff. Informative and amazing teacher. Best by far!!!!
Thanks so much, that's made my day :-)
Just use boule sass or upright bass not db
A channel dedicated just to double bass? Subscribed for sure. :D
Great stuff! :-)
Agreed!
While I am learning on an electric upright, these lessons have been invaluable, and extremely well presented. Thank you.
i'm 14 and i've been playing bass for 3 years, and watching these technique videos really helps during the week because i only see my teacher on sundays, so thank you! 💘
Do you still play double bass?
I'm an electric bass player thinking of playing upright. Thanks to this video I've realized I've been playing with absurd stretches for 25 years, no ergonomy at all, almost hurting myself. Why someone can dislike this video is beyond my comprehension. I'm buying an upright for sure and taking lessons. Thanks, Geoff!
Hey Luis, great to hear you enjoyed the lessons and best of luck with the upright bass! I also started out playing electric bass and it's a lot of fun playing both!
Very helpful and informative! Now I wish I had a double bass to practice this on...
Thanks, I'm glad you enjoyed it and best of luck with your search for an instrument. :-)
Very helpful. Thanks Geoff!
Fantastic, Geoff! Really useful videos!
amazing advice thank you so much Geoffrey
Great video!!! The best instruction I’ve seen on this!!
Most useful hint I've had in a long time.
absolutely professional... thanks I'll will subscribe!
I'll be getting my bass tomorrow. Can't wait to start practicing again :)
I'm so happy to have find your lessons and site, Geoff! I'm finally taking the plunge to learn upright and your lessons are clear and informative, and your presence makes them very enjoyable.
Hey John, thanks, it's great to have you here! Enjoy your journey with the double bass :-)
I am learning double bass. And your video helps me a lot. Thank you for posting this
Geoff, this is an incredible lesson! Very well done.. thanks so much. - ASB
Great lesson. Thanks a lot.
Really great lesson! Very clear and easy to follow!
Geoff…thank you for taking the time to make these lessons…
Glad you like them! :-)
Thanks for the class. I´m starting to study with an upright bass and gonna try to apply these class into my practice!
Genial, muchas gracias.
Great explanation, thx!
Dear colleague, I wish to congratulate you for the simple and clear way you explained this matter of utmost importance, namely, the left hand position. I had the privilege to learn the bass with Mr John Schaeffer and that is precisely the way he taught me. Bravo, amigo 👏👏👏
Thank you so much for your kind feedback. I really appreciate that and wish you all the best for a music-filled 2021 :-)
Terrific intro to this instrument. Thank you
Great lesson - thanks!
Excellent lesson. Thank you man!
Wonderful Double Bass channel.
Parabéns! Excelente aula! Muito Obrigado!
(Congratulation! Excellent class! Thank you very much!)
Thanks for the lesson, after 42 years of electric bass and 25 years of fretless I have (long overdue) moved to upright. I have already jumped ahead in my playing just from this and the right hand lesson.
Hey Alan, that's great to hear and it's fantastic you have got into playing upright. I also started out on electric and playing both can be really rewarding. Best of luck with your practice, Cheers Geoff
Thanks Magnus!
Thank you so much I was thinking this days lot of abouth left hand tehnic, and your lessons solve those problems in my mind abouth it
Thank you
Thanks for this valuable information!
My pleasure, I'm glad it was useful :-)
Merci, I follow your tutos, Thank you !
You are welcome! :-)
Thanks for the video, as a somewhat experienced bass player who develops bad habits over time, it's great to be reminded of the basics.
Thanks for the lesson. Love it. Liked and subbed
Thank you for such a great lesson. I’ve been playing double bass for three years now but I’ve played it like a guitar actually. Obviously that was quite tough! I’ve only heard about playing DB with three fingers two weeks ago and it makes so much sense. This video really outlines it well. Looking forward to easier playing
Thank you! This really improved my technique!
Thanks for watching and good luck with your practice :-)
Really great lesson. Very clear and right to the point.
Thanks :-)
So helpful! Really great for beginners.
Thanks so much ☺️
very usefull!
Great way to teach and pleaseant way to learn! Even not being an Native English speaker, I am very satisfied and learn a lot with you man!!! Thank you so much. Warmest regards from Brazil!!!
Hey Derik,
I think using arm weight is crucial for technique in both hands. It really helped me to increase my stamina and comfort on long sessions.
Cheers Geoff
Great videos Geoff, i like your relaxed style and how you impart the information, gonna check out your website !!
Thanks Tony, I appreciate that :-)
Great for remembering the "bassics"! 70 year old and not playing enough to keep in shape. Played a two hour upright gig the other night and, according to my physical therapist, sprained both hands...I was having fun!
Thanks, I'm glad you enjoyed it and I know what you mean about those gigs. It's easy to over do it and I find I really need to keep practising to stay 'bass fit'.
Just watched it and you are a great Teacher! Thank you
You're very welcome! Thanks so much :-)
Just discovered this channel and found it amazing! You are the excellent teacher this channel deserves : )
+Jonas Omland Thanks, I really appreciate that, cheers Geoff :-)
thanks this really helped :)
I learn a great deal from you Geoff. You supplement my weekly instruction very effectively. Many thanks
Thanks Evan, I really appreciate that. 👍
Great teacher.
Thank you so much.
Thanks a lot
Nice!
Merci beaucoup Geoff pour tous ces excellents conseils. Just great.
+Denise Dufour My pleasure, I'm glad you enjoyed the video, cheers Geoff :-)
What a wonderful video
Thank you so much! 😊
Thanks!
very simple, nice explanations...good work, Geoff...
Thanks, I'm glad you liked it :-)
It is absolutely fantastic left hand posture presentation! Thank you very much!
My pleasure Margarita, I'm really glad it helped :-)
Excellent lesson
I’m just started learning the double bass and come from a bass guitar background so this lesson was great for me !
Great to hear! I also started on electric bass and it's a lot of fun playing both. Good luck with your practice. :-)
Hey Geoff, good lesson.
Hope things are good,z
Thanx man.... really helpful stuff
My pleasure Norbert, cheers Geoff
Loved this lesson. I've been playing electric for a couple of years and am now thinking about learning double bass as well. These videos are answering a lot of general questions I have about the instrument! Thanks :)
Great stuff, I'm really glad they are helping. I started on electric and love playing both so if you go for it I bet you will enjoy upright too, cheers Geoff
gracias buen material!..
Thanks, I'm glad you enjoyed the lesson, cheers Geoff
Good lesson and very well explained.
Thanks :-)
Great work, Geoff! I would, however, like to point out that Ray Brown used and taught four finger "extended" left-hand technique at third position and above. It worked pretty well for him.
Good stuff
Thanks from Brazil, Geoff !
Hey Fernando, glad you like the video and best of luck with your practice! Cheers Geoff
Very god teacher.Thank you.
Thank you! 😃
Fantastic. I wish my teacher had taught me this ages ago. Subscribed.
Thanks Asher, I'm glad you enjoyed it, cheers Geoff
Thank you so much for the lesson. I just started playing upright after many years on electric and this is starting me off with the right techniques! Much appreciated!
Thanks and best of luck with all your music.
This is a really fantastic video, Geoff. Really happy to see you've had so many views! 1000s of views per video, and 26+ videos, is really quite an achievement!
Thanks for all your help Max, hope you are doing well mate. :-)
Great lesson…amazing bass!
Thank you! :-)
great teaching.. subscribed
Thanks :-)
Thank you. Just started playing as an adult.
Music ed student here who played bass for 3 weeks in a methods class a year ago... and now has to teach a bass lesson. This is great review, thank you.
Hey Jeanette, I'm glad it's useful and I hope the lesson goes well :-) cheers Geoff
This are such great lessons! they gave me some ideas for my own teaching! My teacher used to tell me that there's an imaginary finger between the first and the second finger of the left hand, and i always find it useful when explaining the left hand. keep the good work!
elobos1 That's a great way to think about it! Thanks, cheers Geoff
VERY NICE ........... VERY GOOD TEACHER .
Thank you :-)
Queria ter aula com esse professor. Ele parece ser legal.
A excellent tutor
Thanks Roger, I really appreciate that :-)
Muchas gracias,por la leccion..... por mas que yo entienda poco ingles, comprendo perfecto tu lección!! viva la música!!
pitrecantropus erectus Thanks/Gracias :-)
I’ve only played the db for three years and I’m pretty good at it
Again, informative for the electric to acoustic crossover. Dividing your hand into three and omitting the third finger will take some getting used to. Thanks!
hey man thank you so much. after 8 long years of electric i am finally learning double bass and this helps so much. hope you answer quickly, ill have alot of questions soon to come
Hey Lucas, I also started out on electric and its a great foundation. You already know about the location of the notes on the fret board and bass line construction so the big thing to focus on is technique. If you need any help just let me know, Good luck with all your practice, Cheers Geoff
you convinced me. I am going to buy one
jeff hill same (and I’m only 16)
First Class Lessons. It seems that a lot of viewers come from electric bass (as I do) & these lessons are helping me to become a Double Bassist....which is quite a different skill.
Keep up the good work Geoff !
Looking forward to the next instalment.
Hey Jim, thanks for stopping by and it's great you enjoyed the lesson. I also started out on electric and love playing both. Best of luck with your practice, Cheers Geoff
Hey there ...started on double bass a few years ago with your lessons but had to go back to primarily Electic Bass guitar 🎸.... now desperately missing playing Upright--- these beginners lessons are invaluable!! I'd forgotten a lot of the basics & was getting cramps 😫 due to bad posture. Thanks so much Geoff 🙏 these lessons are concise to the point very very informative and fun too ...keep up the great work Sir!!
Hi Harry, that's great to hear! I'm gald to help. By the way, if you are getting hand cramps I would recommend this lesson as it's very common for players (like me) who come from a bass guitar background. discoverdoublebass.com/lesson/using-arm-hand-weight-the-balance-point
Best of luck with all your practice! Cheers Geoff
This video is so helpful! I play cello and I am learning double bass. I thought that cello and bass were played pretty much the same(besides the fact that double bass is often played standing up). But now I see that the technique is pretty different. (fingering for example) You've got some very helpful tips! Thank you!
You're very welcome! I'm glad you found it useful.
Hi Zoltan, thanks mate. By the way yours are looking great. Cheers Geoff
Thank you very much! For my birthday this year I got a slightly-unexpected Ibanez electric upright... and a completely out-of-left-field double bass that my wife managed to rescue from a school orchestra that had folded. I just replaced the broken endpin yesterday so I can now adjust it to a reasonable height. Instrument plus endpin plus bow has still come in at less than £100 :)
I played 42 years ago in the school orchestra, self-taught after switching from cello in my last couple of years when the previous bassist left, so learning to play properly will be a novelty.
Congrats on the new bass and best of luck with your practice. :-)
Good morning. I haven't picked up a upright since my college days and that was a very long time ago. I have been playing bass for years. I have always wanted to get back into a upright for years but have been lazy. Recently I stop being lazy and brought a electric upright. This first lesson was exactly what I need to get back on point with the instrument. I was messing around with it but after going through this lesson I realized that truly need a refresher course. Just this first lesson have helped me to correct several things that I was doing wrong. Simple lesson plan but what a great foundation to start from. Thank you and I will be going through the rest of your lessons here. And possible more than once, :). Thank you my brother for sharing your knowledge and skill set.
Thanks Anthony, I really appreciate your kind words and hope you're having a great time playing upright again :-)
Great! I tend to stiffen up in my left hand. But in fact it shouldn't take that much pressure at all, just enough to get a sound. Thanks for the video....John
Thanks John, I'm glad you enjoyed the video :-)
I played double bass when I was young and recently started bass guitar, so I needed to watch this to find out that I wasn't crazy for remembering all the "weird" fingerings. I wonder if these fingerings can be adapted to the fretless electric bass though.
I’ll try these recommendations. I’ve been playing a few weeks and really struggling with the flying pinky!
Good luck!
I’ve been using a broom stick to practice .
Excellent video. All of what you said depends on a properly adjusted bass. The string height and the bridge curvature must be correct. Most student bases are not properly adjusted which makes teaching and learning more difficult.
Bought my upright (Upton Hybrid) about 8 years ago, took lessons locally for about six months or so but then work got in the way and I had to take a hiatus.
I love the instrument and this video is good, much of this was review from my instructor but the part about rotating your hand around when playing the E so the thumb is 180 opposite was really good, I always struggled with clean fingering on the E..... doh ! Looking forward to more.
Thanks, it's great to hear you've enjoyed the lesson and I hope you enjoy getting to spend more time with your upright. :-)
Hey Nathan, It can be frustrating if you already have similar technique on cello and need to unlearn the different fingerings etc..The good news is you will have a lots of useful skills though, like being used to hearing and correcting your tuning... I think just the usual advice of playing slowly and carefully and over time it will become more natural. Good luck with it. Cheers Geoff
I think the rotation of the thumb tip well help me transition from a few quick notes I have to slap in the a string then quickly move to the g string and I've been having trouble with it. grant it, it's about 4 notes in two seconds and I got really frustrated with it last night
What a great class! Though I feel that I have to mention that it is possible to play with fingers 1 through 4 from the forth position or even sometimes from the third position in certain circumstances. I studied for prof. Anders Jormin for five years and he always plays with all for fingers from the forth position, which I myself also do. It's of course a matter of what you prefer but I thought that I would just share by experience!
Gald you enjoyed the video and I'm a big fan of Anders Jormin, it must have been amazing to study with him! I agree that using 4 fingers from the neck block is a good option for some players.
Geoff at what approximate distance should the tailor's rope be? I'm stuck in the hammer-on of your composition "birds landing" 😁🤷♂️