Bass Gym: Build Left-Hand Dexterity with the “Marvelous Stretch”

As you become a more experienced (and, let’s face it, older and lazier) player, your approach to bass playing changes. You are suddenly focused on being more effective and relaxed, and you are more laid back than you were when you were younger.

I changed my attitude a lot, especially with my left-hand fingerings. 95% of the time, I use a combination of the index and pinky fingers, which gives me a comfortable spread over three frets. If I need to show off my skills or the bass line is busy, I use the popular 1-2-3-4 system (one finger per fret).

The most important thing is to keep your wrists as straight and comfortable as possible. That is why I try to be as effective as possible in the way I move my left hand. This helps me to play smoothly, especially when moving horizontally around the neck, and enables me to play for longer without getting tired.

However, this is not the case here, as “Marvellous Stretch” honors its name and will make your left hand perform some fret gymnastics. It’s good to have a proper challenge from time to time, right?

The tone material is the G major scale: G, A, B, C, D, E, F♯, G.

We’ll play many variations of double stops and three-note chords in arpeggiated versions, so I’ll use my thumb and index finger to pluck, which makes things easier for the right hand, at least.

Have fun and enjoy the beautiful combinations of overstretched intervals, such as sixths, sevenths and tenths.

Download the transcription and follow along with the video below.