It was impossible to find a scale or arpeggio book that proposed a few practical fingerings for simple ascending and descending scales or arpeggios. In François Rabbath’s Nouvelle Technique there are a daunting 133 fingerings for C major alone! Other systems suggest a single fingering that is very often impractical, and/or uses open strings, regardless of the musical situation. Many are overburdened with patterns, bowings, and fingerings.

Mr. Gale is the author of the “Music for the Developing Bassist” series of books and is Senior Faculty Trustee of the American School of Double Bass. He holds a Master of Music from Northwestern University; a Bachelor in music from West Chester University (Pennsylvania); and has studied with Carl Torello of the Philadelphia Orchestra, and Rudolph Fashbender of the Chicago Symphony. He is the former principal bassist with both the Huntsville Symphony and the Huntsville Chamber Orchestra (Alabama); the former executive director of the Allentown Symphony; and has performed with the Harrisburg, York, and Allentown orchestras — all in Pennsylvania. He has done bass presentations from state to international levels, and his articles have appeared in more than nineteen countries. His teaching experience — both in public schools and private studios — covers more than forty years. He and his wife Martha live on a mountain in Northern Alabama where he continues to write and work as a freelance musician.