String Pedagogy Notebook

Bass Left Hand Position

Bassists have a special left hand position that differs slightly from the cello in that the first finger must extend backwards slightly to provide correct finger spacing. Bassists do not use their third or fourth finger alone until they reach higher positions because the distance between the pitches is too large. Instead, third and fourth finger work together.

If you place your left hand in position and then bend your third finger into your palm (lower image at left), you can clearly see that the space between 1 and 2 is smaller than the distance between 2 and 4, unless you adjust your first finger.

Here is a game to play with students to demonstrate bass left hand position.
1) Place your left thumb (gently) into your left ear.
2) Place your 2nd finger on the tip of your nose.
3) Place your 1st finger in between your eyebrows.
4) Place your 3rd finger above upper lip, just under the nose.
5) Place your 4th finger just under lower lip, above chin.
6) Take hand away from face without moving fingers and voila! A perfect bass players’ had position.

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