| This
is one of the important strengths of the American School
of Double Bass®: If the Triangulation of Fingering
Systems is going to be used in achieving musical results,
they should be introduced much earlier than they traditionally
are, and should be taught as basic skills of the instrument,
not just tossed in with little preparation when they are
needed. Let’s
examine now the most important, and the most frequently
used point of the triangle: the “closed hand” technique,
or the “Simandl system”.
There is an immutable
truth to the Simandl system of fingering that all modern
bassists recognize: The left hand is best used when spanning
a whole step between the 1st and 4th fingers, with the
half-step between being accommodated by the 2nd finger.
There’s no question that this distribution of intervals
is the most advantageous for the vast majority of
|
the time when playing the “neck register” (orchestral
range).
The traditional interpretation of Simandl-style
fingering is the notion that the “ideal” fingering
is one that requires the fewest shifts and clings as close
to the fingerboard nut as possible. This approach was undoubtedly
the most beneficial in Simandl’s day, due to the coarse
and rough gut strings set rather high off the fingerboard.
But, with the advent of the louder, smoother, and more responsive
steel strings, set just a few millimeters away from the fingerboard,
the idea of minimal shifting and hovering near the nut is
dated. In fact, it handcuffs the player, creating a key obstacle
to producing a consistently more elegant musical result.
We are long overdue in updating our technique to fully exploit
this technological advance in the double bass. |
