Viennese Bass Method - Lesson 9.

Lesson 9. - Thumb Position: Higher Registers

This lesson will cover the thumb position register spanning from the octave harmonic to the second octave harmonic, however only on the regular pitches - not the harmonics. Since the harmonics are used abundantly in the upper positions too, their use will be presented in the subsequent lessons.

The range of regular pitches in the solo repertoire spans the entire modern fingerboard and reaches to the second octave harmonic on the first string, similarly to the modern use. The second string is used only periodically in that range, while the third and fourth strings are not used above the octave harmonic position. The Exercise 62 presents the range on the first string and Exercise 63 on the first and second strings, while the pitches remain the same in both exercises.

However, since the original preserved fingerboards are noticeably shorter than the modern ones, a fair question may be asked of how was than the solo music performed on such a short fingerboards? The answer is not clear, yet the period solo music clearly points to the possibility that the soloists were using longer fingerboards that were similar to our own. The period excerpts presented in this lesson can not be performed with the harmonics substitutes, thus the only other option was for pitches to be pressed aside on the string, as in the Italian Romantic technique. Whether this was really the case is yet to be determined.

The Exercise 62 will demonstrate the regular pitch range on the first string and the Exercise 63 on the first and second strings respectively. Although the fingerings that include the first and second string do not appear so often, some fingering solutions may still be useful for the advanced solo music. Otherwise the Exercises 62 and 63 contain the same music, only the fingerings differ.

In this lesson we will also reintroduce the period "Ottava" markings that are unavoidable every time an increased number of ledger lines is encountered in higher positions, along with a "Loco" sign that simply denotes the place where the "Ottava" range stops. You are advised to approach these exercises with patience in slow pace first, before attempting to reach the real tempos.

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Posted:          October 12, 2009