Not sure how I saved your life, but happy to help! I think learning to stay relaxed while playing is really important. For me, especially as I get older and more brittle.
@@chrisfitzgerald8356 I had to quit playing jazz guitar four years ago due to partial paralysis in two of my left hand fingers. Over 3 years, Through yoga and acupuncture I have gained some control back and I picked up the bass because I just want to play jazz . I could only afford an old p-bass. But in the normal electric position I still couldn’t play. Inspired by your videos as to how standing engages the core and puts less strain on the finger tendons and muscles, I welded an upright stand for my p-bass. So I know play the p bass upright using very similar techniques for an upright ! I played my first gig a week ago (in four years ). My dream is to own an upright eventually :) You saved my life in the sense it’s been my dream to play jazz and I don’t know what I would have done if I had to completely quit.
Thank you Chris for this inspiring video. For my part there is another difficulty when forté nuances or piano, both hands are less relaxed when I play forté passages. In my practise room I pay close attention to this aspect of things
I totally understand what you mean, and I think this is all just part of the process. For me, the heat of the moment in a performance is the time when I notice this happening. A lot of it has to do with setup and strings on your bass and coming to an understanding of what the limits of your setup and your body are. But it's hard not to get swept up in the moment and dig deeper than is necessary!
This is fascinating! Thank you, Chris :) P.S. While practicing improvising at slower tempos that allow me to pre-hear ideas, I thought about the sparring routines boxers go over or football teams rehearsing game schemes at a relaxed pace. Do you think these analogies are worth exploring in more detail?
Hi Manuel - I think those analogies are excellent! Focusing on the physicality in slow motion during a practice session is great in any sphere. For Kempo, I used to practice my kicks and sequence of hand strikes to a metronome in an earphone. For the kicks especially, it highlighted where the off-balance points were in a way that could not be ignored. My instructor loved this.
Hi, Andy from the U.K.here. Thank you so much for your lessons, particularly, as an aspiring jazz musician, the lessons on walking bass line construction which have proved invaluable. Ever since, out of the vast selection of tuition on the web/ UA-cam(in particular), you are one of three 'go-to' sites I value especially. I am an electric bass player(fretted and fretless but have of recent years wanted more to work with electro-acoustic bass. With the tradition in mind I am interested in studying acoustic bass playing equally with its electrical counterpart and wondered if you may be able to create lessons that might entertain the 'crossover between acoustic and electrical and their relevant approaches? I would be very much interested in anything that might be relevant to that aim? I sincerely hope so and would be sure to be 'in attendance'!! Many thanks again and look forward to your presentations whatever the subject. Tour loyal subject, Andy.
Thanks Andy. :) I don't play much electric any more, but plan to resume when i retire. In the meantime, I think the "Organic Harmony" video might fit the bill as it is a theory concept that is not instrument specific.
@@chrisfitzgerald8356 Hi Chris. Thank you so much for your reply- a very pleasant surprise! I will be sure to check out your recommendation which I thank you for. In any case, I will be sure to follow your inspiring lessons for which I can't thank you enough. Where can I listen to your music/ compositions if possible on social media? Many thanks, Andy.
Hi Chris, thanks for this very inspiring video. One thing that I find somehow missing( not just in this video but in most bass "instruction" videos) is exemples or advice for shifting down from the higher register to the lower: most exemples are scales going up, few going down and in my own experience I have much more problems (intonation, relaxation)going down. What do you think? Bernard(From France)
Hi Bernard, I agree that descending is more difficult than ascending; in this way, we bassists are often like cats climbing a tree - great at getting up, not so good at coming down. For me the key is maintaining connection to the board from the core when descending. If we are able to keep downward leverage into the board from the core of the body as we descend, we are much more likely to play in tune. The best words I have for it are "reverse gravity"; by tilting the core backward when descending, it is possible to replicate the same board connection while descending as when we ascend. Obviously, this is easier to demonstrate in person, but does that make sense?
Mind-blowing tutorial! Looking forward to seeing more. However, I get a question from my bass teacher when discussing the relaxed left hand shape of playing: Would the relaxed way of playing be slower (compared to the traditional method) when dealing with fast passages? Seems like with the relaxed left hand shape, you always need to rotate the whole hand for a note to be played; while with the traditional Simandl style method, you only need to lift a single finger up and down for each note which seems faster the sense of minimal movement of the hand
Plus, what's the difference & relationship of the relaxed left hand shape with Rabbath's pivot method of playing? It seems to me that they look similar
Hi Si-yu, It's a valid question. In my experience, the answer is that it will only be slower to the person untrained in the practice. See the ascending scale passage at about 0:50 of this video as an example. The reason I believe that it is not inherently slower is because of the nature of the concept of core leverage works: a tiny motion from the core becomes a bigger one the further up the chain it goes. Think of vibrato as an example: I don't know a single professional player who creates vibrato as a motion of the fingers. The basic concept of core leverage involved is explained in the video as the "whip effect", and can be found in the video at bout 52:30. I would also point out that there is not an absolute dichotomy between the fixed hand and relaxed hand. The area in between, which many players utilize without naming it, is a use of the basic left hand frame with more conscious core support. The next step, which my classical colleague at UofL refers to as "the sports car and the truck", involves a mixture of the relaxed, smaller spaced hand (the sports car) for passages where it is most beneficial, and the use of the truck (the traditional spread frame) where it seems to help the most. In your case, if you have a teacher who is working to instill the traditional Simandl frame into your technique as a foundation, I would do what they ask and learn the many valuable lessons that path has to offer. In a sense, the relaxed hand is an advanced technique that for many people may be best applied after the traditional foundations have been laid. I believe in and use it implicitly, but it developed over many years in an organic way, and came about as a response to issues that I was having with the traditional technique in certain situations. I would never intend for it to be some sort fo pedagogical iconoclasm or something that is intended to be an "either/or" proposition. At best, it should be an extra tool in any bassist's technical toolbox, to be used when it seems most appropriate to that specific person at that specific point in their technical development. Some may feel they never need it, while others may use it more and more as the years go on. So do what your teacher is teaching you and listen to your body!
I have a colleague who is an Alexander instructor at my university. I think that method is great! For the ISB presentation, I had a 50-ish minute time limit, and I wanted to get as much of the concept included as I could. Relaxation is extremely important, as is posture. But here, I was trying to make connections from the extremities to the core, one link at a time. I think the idea of applying Alexander technique to bass technique is a great one, worthy of an entire 1 hour video on its own.
I don't avoid the term consciously at all. I guess I think more in terms of "total body knowledge". Obviously, the brain is what controls everything, but to me the idea of kinesthetic awareness over time is largely synonymous with the concept of muscle memory.
Sooooo glad This came on the 1st day of 2023. This is awesome and perfect for the New Year.
Thanks!
Wonderful to see you post a new video, Chris!!
Sully! Good to see you and hope you are well. :)
Legendary bassist
Deep and inspiring video. Many thanks.
Thank you!
Thanks very much for sharing this !
Thank you so much
I respect the effort you gave and your willingness to share your expertise in this wonderful lecture. I commend you. Thank you.
Thanks!
Wonderful stuff
Awesome!
Excellent tutorial. Thank you for sharing.
Thank you!
Hi Chris thank you so much ! You saved my life.
Not sure how I saved your life, but happy to help! I think learning to stay relaxed while playing is really important. For me, especially as I get older and more brittle.
@@chrisfitzgerald8356 I had to quit playing jazz guitar four years ago due to partial paralysis in two of my left hand fingers. Over 3 years, Through yoga and acupuncture I have gained some control back and I picked up the bass because I just want to play jazz . I could only afford an old p-bass. But in the normal electric position I still couldn’t play. Inspired by your videos as to how standing engages the core and puts less strain on the finger tendons and muscles, I welded an upright stand for my p-bass. So I know play the p bass upright using very similar techniques for an upright !
I played my first gig a week ago (in four years ). My dream is to own an upright eventually :)
You saved my life in the sense it’s been my dream to play jazz and I don’t know what I would have done if I had to completely quit.
@@jonathanfurtado7611 Amazing story! Glad you are able to play again. :)
Thank you Chris for this inspiring video. For my part there is another difficulty when forté nuances or piano, both hands are less relaxed when I play forté passages. In my practise room I pay close attention to this aspect of things
I totally understand what you mean, and I think this is all just part of the process. For me, the heat of the moment in a performance is the time when I notice this happening. A lot of it has to do with setup and strings on your bass and coming to an understanding of what the limits of your setup and your body are. But it's hard not to get swept up in the moment and dig deeper than is necessary!
This is fascinating! Thank you, Chris :)
P.S. While practicing improvising at slower tempos that allow me to pre-hear ideas, I thought about the sparring routines boxers go over or football teams rehearsing game schemes at a relaxed pace. Do you think these analogies are worth exploring in more detail?
Hi Manuel - I think those analogies are excellent! Focusing on the physicality in slow motion during a practice session is great in any sphere. For Kempo, I used to practice my kicks and sequence of hand strikes to a metronome in an earphone. For the kicks especially, it highlighted where the off-balance points were in a way that could not be ignored. My instructor loved this.
Hi, Andy from the U.K.here. Thank you so much for your lessons, particularly, as an aspiring jazz musician, the lessons on walking bass line construction which have proved invaluable. Ever since, out of the vast selection of tuition on the web/ UA-cam(in particular), you are one of three 'go-to' sites I value especially. I am an electric bass player(fretted and fretless but have of recent years wanted more to work with electro-acoustic bass. With the tradition in mind I am interested in studying acoustic bass playing equally with its electrical counterpart and wondered if you may be able to create lessons that might entertain the 'crossover between acoustic and electrical and their relevant approaches? I would be very much interested in anything that might be relevant to that aim? I sincerely hope so and would be sure to be 'in attendance'!! Many thanks again and look forward to your presentations whatever the subject. Tour loyal subject, Andy.
Thanks Andy. :) I don't play much electric any more, but plan to resume when i retire. In the meantime, I think the "Organic Harmony" video might fit the bill as it is a theory concept that is not instrument specific.
@@chrisfitzgerald8356 Hi Chris. Thank you so much for your reply- a very pleasant surprise! I will be sure to check out your recommendation which I thank you for. In any case, I will be sure to follow your inspiring lessons for which I can't thank you enough. Where can I listen to your music/ compositions if possible on social media? Many thanks, Andy.
Hi Chris, thanks for this very inspiring video. One thing that I find somehow missing( not just in this video but in most bass "instruction" videos) is exemples or advice for shifting down from the higher register to the lower: most exemples are scales going up, few going down and in my own experience I have much more problems (intonation, relaxation)going down.
What do you think?
Bernard(From France)
Hi Bernard, I agree that descending is more difficult than ascending; in this way, we bassists are often like cats climbing a tree - great at getting up, not so good at coming down. For me the key is maintaining connection to the board from the core when descending. If we are able to keep downward leverage into the board from the core of the body as we descend, we are much more likely to play in tune. The best words I have for it are "reverse gravity"; by tilting the core backward when descending, it is possible to replicate the same board connection while descending as when we ascend. Obviously, this is easier to demonstrate in person, but does that make sense?
@@chrisfitzgerald8356 Hi Chris thanks ! it does make sense . I'll work on that " reverse gravity"
Mind-blowing tutorial! Looking forward to seeing more.
However, I get a question from my bass teacher when discussing the relaxed left hand shape of playing: Would the relaxed way of playing be slower (compared to the traditional method) when dealing with fast passages?
Seems like with the relaxed left hand shape, you always need to rotate the whole hand for a note to be played;
while with the traditional Simandl style method, you only need to lift a single finger up and down for each note which seems faster the sense of minimal movement of the hand
Plus, what's the difference & relationship of the relaxed left hand shape with Rabbath's pivot method of playing? It seems to me that they look similar
Hi Si-yu, It's a valid question. In my experience, the answer is that it will only be slower to the person untrained in the practice. See the ascending scale passage at about 0:50 of this video as an example. The reason I believe that it is not inherently slower is because of the nature of the concept of core leverage works: a tiny motion from the core becomes a bigger one the further up the chain it goes. Think of vibrato as an example: I don't know a single professional player who creates vibrato as a motion of the fingers. The basic concept of core leverage involved is explained in the video as the "whip effect", and can be found in the video at bout 52:30.
I would also point out that there is not an absolute dichotomy between the fixed hand and relaxed hand. The area in between, which many players utilize without naming it, is a use of the basic left hand frame with more conscious core support. The next step, which my classical colleague at UofL refers to as "the sports car and the truck", involves a mixture of the relaxed, smaller spaced hand (the sports car) for passages where it is most beneficial, and the use of the truck (the traditional spread frame) where it seems to help the most.
In your case, if you have a teacher who is working to instill the traditional Simandl frame into your technique as a foundation, I would do what they ask and learn the many valuable lessons that path has to offer. In a sense, the relaxed hand is an advanced technique that for many people may be best applied after the traditional foundations have been laid. I believe in and use it implicitly, but it developed over many years in an organic way, and came about as a response to issues that I was having with the traditional technique in certain situations. I would never intend for it to be some sort fo pedagogical iconoclasm or something that is intended to be an "either/or" proposition. At best, it should be an extra tool in any bassist's technical toolbox, to be used when it seems most appropriate to that specific person at that specific point in their technical development. Some may feel they never need it, while others may use it more and more as the years go on. So do what your teacher is teaching you and listen to your body!
beautiful! what's the piece you were playing at the beginning? :)
Hi Manuela, that piece is "Nature Boy". It's always been one of my favorites.
@@chrisfitzgerald8356 aaah right! now that I listen to it again I recognize ti, thanks!
No mention of Alexander Technique and the importance of not tensing the neck at the start of any thought of moving?
I have a colleague who is an Alexander instructor at my university. I think that method is great! For the ISB presentation, I had a 50-ish minute time limit, and I wanted to get as much of the concept included as I could. Relaxation is extremely important, as is posture. But here, I was trying to make connections from the extremities to the core, one link at a time. I think the idea of applying Alexander technique to bass technique is a great one, worthy of an entire 1 hour video on its own.
@@chrisfitzgerald8356 Apologies. I thought you were a qualified AT teacher, which I why I thought it strange you hadn't mentioned it.
@@Ricobass0 Ha... no. I'm a professor of jazz bass and a (retired) martial arts enthusiast.
Do you avoid the term "muscle memory" deliberately? If so, why?
I don't avoid the term consciously at all. I guess I think more in terms of "total body knowledge". Obviously, the brain is what controls everything, but to me the idea of kinesthetic awareness over time is largely synonymous with the concept of muscle memory.