If you’ve ever noticed that your intonation sometimes just sounds off, the culprit is most likely your finger spacing.
As we move up and down the fingerboard, the spacing of our fingers has to adjust, getting smaller as we go higher and larger as we come back down.
Today’s exercise is called Sisyphus Was a Bass Player, and I wrote it to help you practice and refine these quite subtle adjustments we have to make up and down the board. You can find it in my free intonation exercise packet.
What the Exercise Is
Sisyphus Was a Bass Player is a step ladder: it’s a series of four-note patterns that gradually walk up the scale. The whole point is to force you to make those small finger spacing adjustments with each shift, consciously and repeatedly.
What Changes as You Go Higher
Let’s look at a couple of specific intervals:
- A to B (1–4) in first position: When you take that exact spacing and move it up to D–E at the heel, the spacing is too wide, meaning the E will be sharp. To play in tune, the spacing needs to be a little smaller.
- G# to A (1–2) at the top of the scale: If you take that same spacing down to C#–D, the D will be flat. This spacing needs to be a little wider.
The spacing that works perfectly in one position won’t work in another.
Think of Your First Finger as the Anchor
Here’s the framing that helps me: your first finger is your anchor. It’s the one you’re shifting to each time (in this exercise, at least), and it sets the foundation for the whole position. From there, it’s your 2nd or 4th finger that needs to adjust each time to make sure the interval is in tune.
It’s gradual, small adjustments that need to be made as we move up and down the fingerboard, which is why it’s so tricky. But, you can learn how to make them just like you’ve learned everything else on the instrument, and this exercise is a great place to start.
What to Watch For When You Practice
Use a tuner or drone as you work through this, and pay attention to your tendencies. Does your 4th finger tend to land a little high? Is your 1–2 spacing consistently too narrow?
These tendencies are useful information. Once you know what yours are, you can actually address them, which is how you fix things in the long term.
Want More Exercises Like This?
You can find Sisyphus Was a Bass Player along with several other intonation exercises in my free Intonation Exercise Packet.
For more of Lauren’s insights, visit her Technique Tuesday series and sign up for the Double Bass HQ newsletter to have the series delivered to your inbox each week.
