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Jason Heath's Double Bass Blog
An Introduction to Double Bass Playing - my book
The Rhythm Ruler - a tool for educators
There are two types of shifts: Anticipated or guide finger shift, and Delayed shift.
The anticipated shift is the most common and used for the majority of shifts.
In an anticipated shift:
Delayed shifts are less common and used when one wants to hear the shift or slide.
In a delayed shift:
A. Always look ahead and anticipate the next note, have a fingering that makes sense, upcoming notes should not be a surprise
B. Generally avoid 4 - 4 shifts ascending and 1 - 1 shifts descending, unless they make sense due to a slur or dotted rhythm
C. Shifts need to be accurate and relaxed
D. Shift when there is time to shift. For example, if there are dotted rhythms, shift after the dotted note.
When I teach vibrato, I emphasize three points:
Relaxed - Of course, we don't want tense muscles
Rhythmical - An uneven vibrato is usually not wanted
Controlled - YOU need to control your arm muscles not the other way around
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