Hello all,

Recently, I began working through the Notebook of Anna Magdalena I found in a stack of dusty things in the piano bench. I have not looked at any of these since college, so it was rather comical to read my notes and such to try and survive the piano portion of my euphonium degree.

The Minuet in G minor particularly seemed to be a piece I really worked on in my piano lessons so I have begun playing it on Stick today.

What I've noticed is that my years of allowing my left hand on the Stick to be a chord motor for playing coffee shops and fancy steakhouses has left it completely unprepared for the left hand scales. I really want to fix this so I can play this piece again. Does anyone, maybe with a cello background, have "proper" fingerings for scales in 5ths?

Alright...back to the shed...

Michael

Scalar bass is not necessarily the best thing unless the musical genre demands it, as with some jazz walking or Bach counterpoint. Still, a scalar technique is an important tool for completing the bass line. I switch chords and modulate keys a lot and like the passing notes in scalar fashion.

Well, everybody's got their own fingering on Stick bass 5ths but this is what I like:

Ascending - Left hand fingers 1,2,3 or 1,2,4 per string followed by finger 1 or 2 for the fourth and highest note per string.

Descending - Fingers 3,2,1 or 4,2,1 per string followed by finger 2 for the fourth and lowest note per string.

Yes, it introduces "the big leap" at certain scalar intervals in the line but iI still like the feel. I think there's a lot of bass research, much in secret, going on among the more ambitious Stick players. Maybe we ought to re-imagine a more complete bass techniques (lines punctuated by left hand chords).

Jazz upright bass is often moving (walking) with sudden drops of larger intervals. Rock bass guitar often repeats the root notes, four to a bar. Polka tuba bass, another story. There have got to be other ways to construct a supporting bass line in 5ths. That's my continuing R&D, even while I'm comfortable with what I already have in left hand accompaniment.

What would allow for the most versatile harmonic changes and the most complete vocabulary on Stick bass? So far it seems, the instrumental bass register is riddled with musical styles.

This is basically what I'm doing but I have started to let the line dictate the region. The places I really trip up is when I have to play a D octave leap and descending scale, for example, my left pinky starts the root on the 7th fret. Trying to get that finger to anchor the attack and leap is challenging.

This also led me to have to work on Greg's finger swapping technique in a moving line that is not the typical way I move that left hand.

I feel like a 9 year old in piano lessons again!

When I approach a piece, I try every possible way to play a given figure using tapping, sliding, pull-off and hammer-on, starting on all possible fingers, all possible string/note locations, etc. I'll practice each one until it's clear that it's the path of least resistance, a blind alley or a cul-de-sac. This applies to 4ths & 5ths with both hands. Eventually I develop my own little rabbit trails and well beaten paths that work for me.

Solid method as well. That’s probably how most of these tunings emerged. Lol

Greg's method steals from the double bass method (upright). It was the natural way for me coming from classical and jazz upright along with electric bass and little hands! Of course now I use my right-hand thumb and anything else I can throw at the strings!

Right hand thumb is something that has never clicked for me. I am always mystified when I see videos of Stickists utilizing that technique.

MM

Oh My Goodness it's not a natural thing. There are some "techniques" that I've been able to develop and others that I never gave the chance. I wish I could do the "Boris" thing. I've been banging my rh thumb against the Stick a LONG time and it just started getting musical/(predictable). Like ten years? So...