Jumpy Fingering

[Panya37]

OK, while we are on the topic of fingering, I am really struggling with a tricky bass jump from Am7 (Cmaj + A) to B7+B in a gorgeous version of the Gaelic song 'Fear a 'Bhata'. I have a 72 bass. I do practice it a lot, but at the moment it seems to require luck to get there. I don't really have time to find the marked E to give me a reference point. Can anyone suggest a better strategy? Or an alternative?

 

[rbs]

Though the music says Am7, the notation show an A minor chord, I think. I'd just play an A minor, from which you can get easily to the B chord.

 

[JerryPH]

Yup, that's how I would play it as well. A minor to B 7th... easy jump. If I was playing on the free bass, I would do it "properly" and I could see how the difficulty increases.

Like anything that is challenging, just start off very slowly, modulate back and forth between the 2 chords and as you get more and more comfortable, increase speed. At first it is more luck than proficiency, but as you develop the muscle memory for that move, it becomes no harder than being instinctive, and you do it without thinking. This does not happen in 2-3 minutes, sometimes not even in 2-3 days or more, but it does come.

Practice, practice, practice!

 

[Glenn]

Hi Panya,
What method are you using to play the Am7?
You can use the A on the 1st row or the A on the second row. If you use the 2nd row then you play the C major with the little finger but you are close to the B with your index finger. This is what I call rotating my wrist. It's a useful trick to learn.

 

[JerryPH]

If you use the 2nd row then you play the C major with the little finger but you are close to the B with your index finger. This is what I call rotating my wrist. Its a useful trick to learn.

Oh, I have to share this... I did that once, and it was the first time I ever felt a yard stick smack over my knuckles by an earlier teacher... haha!

Good technique indeed! Of course it all depends on the following notes to make sure one did not end up in knots. Id use it if it felt more comfortable than the alternates.

 

[Panya37]

Aha! Glenn, you have hit the Jackpot! How could I be so dim!? Yes, it is quite a lot easier to use the second-row A. Mind you, now I face the new challenge of jumping from Cmaj7 (that's another story....) to (the new fingering of) Bm7 - which preceeds the Am7 - before finishing with a masterly wrist rotation onto B7. Practice, practice, practice indeed.

The other suggestions for simplifying the chord were certainly helpful as a last resort, but I must say I am enjoying being stretched (literally....) by the more complex and interesting bass lines Ian Lowthian gives most of his arrangements of traditional tunes.

 

[Panya37]

Just a follow-up note: great progress today! The 'new' fingering is so much easier, I've nearly cracked it. The option of using the second-row alternative may (or may not) have dawned upon me over time but thanks again for sharing your hard-earned experience. The impossible now definitely seems possible. {}

 

[Glenn]

Stradella bass fingering is indeed a real puzzle but once you get used to techniques like this it soon becomes second nature. In my case I use a 3x3 bass layout so I even have more options to fry my brain.

 

[Happy girl]

What is a 3x3 bass layout ?

 

[Glenn]

We've had this question before I believe. It is when the dim row is removed and the first row is a minor 3rd, second row a 3rd and third row the tonic as usual. Thus for the C column I have Eb, E, C, C major, Cmin, C7. .... etc....