PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER Whenever I work with a student interested in improving their technique, I like to utilize playing exercises

that use actual musical components, such as scales or arpeggio forms. Using this method, a player is able to further develop his/her ear by associating the shapes played in each exercise with a particular sound that can be used in a variety of musical contexts. In other words, they are learning to associate a particular visual cue with an auditory one. Most players who have been playing for a while have already begun to develop a comfort zone based on familiar shapes and patterns that they have worked on in the past. However, we cannot count on these shapes and patterns alone to expand our ability to express ourselves on our instruments. Memorized patterns are simply a starting point in our development as players. They are really nothing more than structures that assist us in recalling a particular sound that is compatible in an harmonic environment. Subsequently, if we learn the pattern only, but dont learn its sound and function, we are only becoming familiar with its structure on the fingerboard. Personally, I like to think of patterns solely as ear training devices. We learn how a particular set of notes sounds or feels as we repeat it over and over again in exercised form. Our freest form of musical expression on our instrument occurs when we are not thinking mathematically about what to play, or recalling a shape that we have memorized; instead, it happens when we finally abandon all thinking, and allow what we are feeling to influence the notes we choose. Obviously, this is quite an idealistic goal to try and achieve if we dont take the time to recognize what notes or phrasing methods accurately reflect our feelings! So, the challenge then becomes how to connect our shapes and patterns with a spontaneous and honest form of musical expression. The solution is very simple in concept, but it takes a significant amount of time to master: Let WHAT YOU HEAR guide what you play. Stated another way, it can be summed up like this: Work at making EVERY possible combination of notes, shapes, sounds or patterns so familiar to you that you are able to predict the sound of any note BEFORE it is even played. This is where our technique practice using musical components comes into play. It is not enough to simply memorize the pattern, itself. We need to learn the SOUND of the pattern. For example, lets say we were going to play a one octave C major scale in an exercise, playing the notes ascending and descending as shown in Ex. 1: Ex. 1

Fig. 1 shows a shape we might use to play this exercise for 4 string, 5 string, and 6 string bass: Fig. 1

As you play Ex. 1, notice that it has a particular sound and character to it. This is the sound of a one octave major scale, and if we were to simply move our hand position, we could likewise play another major scale starting on a different root note. Even though our placement and the actual pitches played would change with our hand

position, the tonality and basic sound of the exercise would remain the same, in addition to the pattern, itself. Now try playing Ex. 1 again, but this time try singing along with the notes as you play them. If you have heard a major scale played several times before, you may already be familiar with its sound, and as a result, are already able to sing this exercise without hearing it first. If you are not as familiar, try to memorize the actual sound of the scale, using the exercise to help you learn the sound of each individual note. Youll want to work this to the point where you can sing it or hear it in your head without the help of your instrument. This is a very simple implementation of the concepts I had presented earlier. From here forward, use any and all patterns you learn as ear training exercises, as well. The more complicated the exercise, the more challenging the ear training becomes, but it ultimately results in a playing approach that does not sound like you are simply piecing together several compatible patterns and exercises. Now that you know how to practice technique more effectively, lets continue with some workouts for your hands based on a slightly more elaborate version of our basic major scale pattern. For this lesson, we will use a reference fingering for the Ionian mode, which is the major scale pattern based off of its root. In order to extract as many notes from a single hand position as possible, we are going to use a three note per string approach for each of the following exercises. The fretting hand fingerings for these patterns on 4, 5, and 6 string bass are labeled on each fret block diagram in Fig. 2a-2c: Fig. 2a

Fig. 2b

Fig. 2c

For this lesson, we will present 3 different types of exercises that utilize this 3 note per string approach. (Each example shown is for 4 string bass, but you can apply them to 5 or 6 string bass by changing your starting position and adding as many notes as necessary.) As you practice each one, remember to keep your hand position and fingering as shown in Fig. 2. 1. Ascending/Descending in a single position This is the most basic of the exercises, but it takes on a new level of difficulty when we follow strict 1-2 alternate picking with the plucking hand in both directions. In this example, we start with the lowest pitched note in the pattern (the root of the G Ionian

mode) and play through the pattern to its highest note. We then descend through the pattern back to the root and start over again. Ex. 2 shows this exercise applied to a 4 string bass, starting at the 3rd fret, E string. Plucking hand fingering is provided underneath the staff. (For the fretting hand fingering, refer to Fig. 2a-2c.) Ex. 2

The plucking hand alternate fingering is probably the most challenging part of this exercise. Most of us have a tendency to rake the strings on the descending portion. (Raking is when the same finger is used to sound 2 consecutive notes.) As I had mentioned earlier in a previous article, try not to rake at all when you are working with exercises that call for strict alternation. This way you will develop full independent control over both techniques and will be able to always choose the best approach for each situation. 2. Sub grouping scale fragments in a single position Sub grouping is when we break down a larger form or pattern into smaller pieces that can be played or approached individually. In the case of scale patterns, it is helpful to practice playing smaller fragments in order to break away from a purely linear way of rehearsing, such as shown in Ex. 2, above. Ex. 3 demonstrates a way of sub grouping the notes in our G Ionian pattern starting with a 2 note grouping and then increasing the size of each fragment by one note as the exercise progresses. This continues in an ascending and descending fashion until the complete 3 note per string pattern is played ascending and descending at the end of the exercise. Ex. 3

As the exercise moves along, pay close attention to the sound of each sub grouping as they get larger and larger, until ultimately you reach the top of the fingering pattern and then descend back down to the root. Now put your bass down and look at this exercise again. See if you can sing the exercise without the help of your bass. Look closely at the shape of the exercise on the staff. Notice how the placement of the notes on the staff visually parallels the step-wise movement of the pitches on your fingerboard. Its okay if you cant see this right away. It takes some time to be

able to sight sing effectively. But now you hopefully see how to make the connection between sight and sound, and as a result, your practice efforts will be much more fruitful. You will start to hear this type of scalar movement on your own as you work through other types of shapes and exercises. As in Ex. 2, dont ignore the plucking fingers strict 1-2 alternation as you work through these sub groupings! 3. String skipping in a single position String skipping exercises involve scalar movements that do not move across adjacent strings, as is the case with Ex. 2 and Ex. 3. Instead, they require us to make jumps across wider string distances with both the fretting and plucking hands. This approach presents its own set of challenges, however. For example, it is harder to deal with plucking hand string muting when the hand is busy hopping across the strings. The best way I have found to deal with this problem is to utilize a movable anchor with the plucking hand. (You can get more information on this if you will refer to my August, 2001 article.) You will also find that it is slightly more difficult to achieve consistency in tone when your plucking hand is having to reach farther distances to pluck certain notes. Crossing strings requires a slight change in hand position, and you have to compensate for this change in feel. Ex. 4 demonstrates one way of using string skipping to play through our G Ionian scale pattern. Ex. 4

Notice that each consecutive 3 note grouping corresponds to a single string taken from our 4 string scale pattern in Fig. 2a. In other words, in Ex. 4s ascending movement we first play the 3 notes from the E string, followed by the 3 notes from the D string, followed by the 3 notes from the A string, and then finally the 3 notes from the G string. The descending motion is simply the reverse. Once again, strict 1-2 alternation from the plucking hand is of utmost importance in this exercise in order to further develop consistent and accurate plucking hand technique. As with all technical exercises, you want to start very slow and then move your way up to more challenging tempos. Take care not to allow yourself to become careless with any of the fretting hand fingerings or plucking hand alternation. Your discipline will pay off immensely. Also keep in mind that these 3 examples are just a tiny sample of the countless ways in which you can expand your approach to practicing scale patterns. If you are already familiar with the rest of the major scale modal fingerings, you have probably already figured out that you can apply these exercises to them, also. For the purposes of this article I wanted to choose examples that were easy to play but also unique enough to inspire some hybrid approaches of your own. I hope that they have opened some doors for you and have helped to add something fresh to your practice routine. Obviously, these approaches shouldnt end with the major scale. You will want to expand your practice routine to include other scales and forms in all positions on the bass neck and in all keys. Finally, allow me to stress one more time how important it is to sing these exercises as you learn them! Your disciplined technique practice, combined with your attention to ear training will continue to bring you closer and closer to mastery of your instrument.