Hi, it's Jack here from discoverdoublebass.com.
Thanks for watching another one of these videos, and my lesson today is really aimed the beginner
bass player who wants to move beyond one-octave scales and start moving just a bit further
around the fingerboard.
It's sometimes hard to make that jump from the really basic scales to the more advanced
ones, and this middle area of the neck can be quite intimidating.
So I've got a couple of quick tips to help you navigate this better and make the whole
process easier.
So let's look at those now.
So my first step is really straight forward but quite hard to do, and that's to take a
scale that you've been practicing over three strings and find a new way of playing it over
two strings.
Let me give you an example.
So say for instance you've been playing A minor scale.
Try moving up the second string rather than crossing onto the third string.
Let's get back to the original fingering and reference those top two notes, and then see
if the new version sounds the same.
Nearly, really listen.
Now the new version.
Maybe just focus in on that shift.
Does it sound the same both ways?
Now in order to be able to do this with the scales you're going to need to know the note
names of the scales that you're practicing or your arpeggios.
So you should be thinking about Latin names as you are working on these patterns, and
that will help you to move up and find the next one.
And the great thing about this is that, yes, you'll be playing in the same pitches of the
base, G and A, as you are here, but you'll be in a new area which will mean that you
can find different notes than if you were to just play in this initial harp position.
It is a great way to start moving onto two-octave scales without actually kind of going all
the way and spending loads of time working on this.
It's a simple method that you can practice and it works with arpeggios.
A different one, let's try B flat major 7.
So just check that they sound the same.
Practice them really slowly, and that will really help you to make progress to move around
the instrument a bit more.
So my second tip is to remain in the position that you're in, but play more of the notes
that are available to you.
What I mean by that is if we're playing, for example, F major 7.
You've got F-A-C-E-F.
There are more ways to play those notes.
There's another A here at the top, A-F-E-C-A-F, and there's also a low E. So you're not actually
having to shift up the fingerboard, but you're able to play more notes of the arpeggios or
the scales that you are practicing.
A different example, B flat major.
There's no notes that you can go up to without shifting, but there are notes that you can
play going lower, and these are the ones that people miss more often.
So you'd practice the arpeggio, B flat-D-F-A-F-D-B flat, but then let's keep going lower.
A-F, and then back to the B flat.
So this will really help your baseline creation, and especially if you combine this with the
previous exercise, then you can start moving around the fingerboard a bit more.
Practicing different fingerings and different routes around the finger board.
With both of these exercises, they sound quite straightforward, but there's a lot of mileage
in them, and I just wanted to give you a simple way to get started with your journey of learning
where the notes are on the instrument, as that's so important regardless of the style
of music that you're going to end up playing.
Well, thanks for checking out the lesson today.
I really appreciate it.
If you have enjoyed it and found it useful, click that "Like" button and give me back
some feedback to encourage me to do more.
I also have a product called "Double Bass Scales, The Play-along Collection".
I'll provide a link in the notes below this video so you can learn more about that.
You can visit the website for more free videos.
Keep practicing hard, and I'll see you next time.