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Most players
have been thoroughly grounded in what we call closed
hand technique. Franz Simandl’s famous New Method
(which is not “new” at all — it was first
published over a century ago) is still the leading proponent
of this system. In the “closed” technique the
left hand spans a whole step (on one string) which requires
the hand to stay compact and move quickly. This system
works well for about 90% of playing situations. Problems
arise in the other 10%. There are passages that don’t
lend themselves to musical success by using just this one
technique. The old school said: “Here are the fingerings...
just play the passage over and over, and faster and faster,
until you get it right!”
All of us have been subjected
to this “beating your head against the wall” and
have wondered if there were better ways to achieve success.
Advanced players eventually do find ways to fill this last
10% gap. Certainly, there have been many fine players who
have had full careers and never used anything except closed
hand technique. This singular approach, however, does not
provide the left hand with options so necessary to the
bassist of the 21st-century.
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