Advice from Maugain on jumps

[insert-witty-username]

I just read a piece of advice in Maugain's method that stunned me, though it seems simple enough: when navigating a jump in the bass during a standard accompaniment, let's say from C [ c c ] to A [ a7 a7], don't lift the finger too much, but lightly touch the intermediate buttons when moving. In other words, don't really jump, rather slide.

In theory, this sounds reasonable enough, at least at slow speed one can in principle do any skip with this method with 0% error rate. But somehow it doesn't really work for me, and of course I never did it this way before in my close to 20 years of playing. (I do think that jumps of 4 or more can become tricky, especially going down near the bottom, let's say C to Ab.)

I was wondering if anyone actually does it this (Maugain's) way, especially experienced and advanced players.

 

[Dingo40]

I've been known to do this .

 

[Alan Sharkis]

The technique can be used to get a feeling for distances, but it doesn’t work for everyone. It works best for people with a lot of patience.

 

[Valski]

Making this technique work depends a lot on how the bass strap is adjusted. Also it's a question of practice; the more that you use jumps, the easier that they become. When playing the right hand you also don't usually look at the keys/buttons so you rely on muscle memory and touch. The same is true for your left hand.

 

[JerryPH]

Ok, it may be good for a less advanced user, but if I had done that with my accordion teacher (slide across the bass to mentally count or something), he would have take that baton to my fingers near immediately... lol

If it works for you, it works, but it won't work in all cases like practicing that jump over and over without sliding. Just my 2 cents worth... lol

 

[Scuromondo]

C to A is a relatively short jump that should be manageable with a little practice. On a longer jump—say from C to F#—I still jump but I must admit that I would momentarily sense the marker at E for confirmation immediately before depressing the F# button.

 

[JerryPH]

C to A is a relatively short jump that should be manageable with a little practice. On a longer jump—say from C to F#—I still jump but I must admit that I would momentarily sense the marker at E for confirmation immediately before depressing the F# button.

Very rarely, but it happens to me too at times, but it's not a habit I want to promote within myself. If I catch it, I stop and work at it for a few minutes until the jump is easier and that "reference point feel" is not needed.

 

[losthobos]

My worst leap is from C jumping to Bm7b5...ie B with a Dmin chord then flipping the fingers to E7....rarely land the Bm7b5...but gradually the success rate is improving...over years...

 

[Walker]

A well timed cough as you hit the Dm - would be fairly close to the sound of a Bm7b5 (whatever that is)

 

[Tom]

One of them dammed jazz chords as far as I can tell. Lost is obviously too highbrow for the likes of us cavemen.

 

[Walker]

L-hob pulled that chord "straight from the fridge, daddio".

 

[Tom]

Yeah, I pretty much just reached in for a cold beer..... Story of my life. Why Terry plays better venues than me....

 

[losthobos]

@Tom ...if you're under the delusion that I play better venues than you I can assure you that it's simply a matter of 'style over substance' and nothing to do with musical ability.. I'm a fraudster but thankfully joe public uses it eyes listen so a dandy shirt and hairspray gets me gigs
@Walker ...perhaps a cough and a Dmin would slip past the "proper chord police radar"...but joking aside this is where the CJS stradella modification would really start to shine...
Till the glorious day comes I'll keep faking it till I make it...

 

[Walker]

You are a wizard with the chords buddy! If I hadn't seen the title first, I'd have thought the topic was hieroglyphics.

​

 

[Harrytulipan]

Ok, it may be good for a less advanced user, but if I had done that with my accordion teacher (slide across the bass to mentally count or something), he would have take that baton to my fingers near immediately... lol

If it works for you, it works, but it won't work in all cases like practicing that jump over and over without sliding. Just my 2 cents worth... lol

Count? Today I played something with Eb-Dm. I just did it. Then I started to think and messed things up.

 

[Ffingers]

"Then I started to think and messed things up."

Getting all cerebral with music is destined to destroy fluidity, I reckon.

 

[Siegmund]

Re Bm7b5 (or B half-diminished, as the classical folk call it)... is there a reason to be jumping up to B fundamental bass, rather than playing the B on the counterbass row + Dmin? (Or Dmin + Ddim, if you don't care which inversion it is in?)

One of them dammed jazz chords as far as I can tell.

It is diatonic to C major, and was already around in 1700. It was probably more common in the first half of the 18th century than it was in the 19th; using the fully-diminished chord with Ab instead of A, or using G9 (with D omitted if only 4 voices) crowded it out.

Among the late 18th century composers, Haydn had a noted fondness for going all the way around the circle of diatonic sevenths, Cmaj7 - Fmaj7 - Bø7 - Em7 - Am7 - Dm7 - G7 back to C, where Mozart and Beethoven would have been more likely to alter several of them to be dominant or fully diminished.

 

[losthobos]

Re Bm7b5 (or B half-diminished, as the classical folk call it)... is there a reason to be jumping up to B fundamental bass, rather than playing the B on the counterbass row + Dmin? (Or Dmin + Ddim, if you don't care which inversion it is in?)



It is diatonic to C major, and was already around in 1700. It was probably more common in the first half of the 18th century than it was in the 19th; using the fully-diminished chord with Ab instead of A, or using G9 (with D omitted if only 4 voices) crowded it out.

Among the late 18th century composers, Haydn had a noted fondness for going all the way around the circle of diatonic sevenths, Cmaj7 - Fmaj7 - Bø7 - Em7 - Am7 - Dm7 - G7 back to C, where Mozart and Beethoven would have been more likely to alter several of them to be dominant or fully diminished.

Thanks ..I tend to jump as high as the B position to be able to "flip" quickly to the E7 and then just follow down the circle back to C ..as in the progression you noted ....this progression is very popular in gospel although as you mention a few of the chords are altered to dominants...
To my mind Jazz is nothing new ..as far as I can assume Bach invented the progressions soon as he tempered the scale....

 

[Tom]

Re Bm7b5 (or B half-diminished, as the classical folk call it)... is there a reason to be jumping up to B fundamental bass, rather than playing the B on the counterbass row + Dmin? (Or Dmin + Ddim, if you don't care which inversion it is in?)



It is diatonic to C major, and was already around in 1700. It was probably more common in the first half of the 18th century than it was in the 19th; using the fully-diminished chord with Ab instead of A, or using G9 (with D omitted if only 4 voices) crowded it out.

Among the late 18th century composers, Haydn had a noted fondness for going all the way around the circle of diatonic sevenths, Cmaj7 - Fmaj7 - Bø7 - Em7 - Am7 - Dm7 - G7 back to C, where Mozart and Beethoven would have been more likely to alter several of them to be dominant or fully diminished.

Thanks for this explanation, Seigmund. (I was attempting a little humor). And, I admit have been known just to play Dmin for Bm7b5. (See "Moon River").

 

[Walker]

And, I admit have been known just to play Dmin for Bm7b5. (See "Moon River").

Quite right Tom, quite right... no country gent would ever press more than one chord button at a time. Whatever next - using that unsavoury diminished row. Well it's just not polite, is it...