This is a short and simple Etude in F Minor that will help with many aspects of your bass technique. I’ll be breaking down technique in both the picking and fretting hands as we work through the line in simple steps. The exercise is taken from the upcoming Bass Technique Builder course from Talkingbass.
Etude in F Minor
Digging this!
Hi Mark
Etude in F Minor.
great exercise – love it.
My question: one passage in this etude sounds like a diminished arpeggio in my ears (probably because my bass teacher taught me the other day…) and I found (as a beginner) that the Dflat in the second part (you indicate the 6th fret on the G-string) that the 11th fret on the D-String is easier for me. Would that be ok for you, too?
Thanks for your comment.
kindest regards
The second part of the line is dominant 7 arpeggio and you are right to recognise the upper section as a diminished chord. However, in that sense, it’s actually a 7b9 chord. Diminished chords are often used to imply that 7b9 tonality because that’s what you get when you take out the root note (play from the 3rd).
Also, yes you could play that Db at the 11th fret of the D string but I placed it on the G string to provide a particular movement and hurdle. I do that a lot in the technique course. There a many ways to play any one line. I’ve written them out with a view to providing specific technical problems. So I’d advise you to try both. I personally like experimenting with many different fingerings for any one line and sometimes practicing them in unnatural ways so I’ll be prepared for any eventuality when improvising.
Thank you Mark _ ;ove these exercises – challenging and satisfying!
Let me see if I understand what’s going on with the right hand in the first bar. I start with the index finger and strictly alternate until I rake when moving from the D string to the A string at C to Ab with 1st finger. If that’s correct, why?