Creative fingering

The ongoing quest for new and personal solutions

Professor of double bass at the Lucerne School of Music, Switzerland, and the Royal Conservatoire of Ghent, Belgium

SABINE DEKNUDT

BORN

Kortrijk, Belgium

STUDIED WITH

Rinat Ibragimov, Božo Paradžik, Frank Coppieters

TEACHES

ages 18–30

Over recent years I have played a lot of new music, especially by my composer brother Erik. He likes to challenge me and his music has encouraged me to think even more deeply about effective and expressive fingering.

When I return to standard bass repertoire, I find that many of the solutions I have devised for his music are useful in this context too. Historically the bass has not habitually been considered a solo instrument, partly because of its register and partly because the distances we have to cover are huge. So, do we go for big shifts on one string as has been customary, or do we play higher up the fingerboard where the distances between the fingers are smaller?

When students first play to me, they have often chosen to shift large distances. As a consequence, their intonation is unreliable, and there are audible glissandos and portamentos within the shifts that get in the way of the musical line. I find that they also choose slower tempos to facilitate their shifting. If this is the case, I encourage them to reconsider their fingering choices to include as few shifts as possible, depending on the music and the context.

THE MINDSET

• Approach each string as an equal in terms of tone quality and ease of playing (with suitable bow technique this isn’t a problem)

• Treat each left-hand finger as equal in terms of tone, colour and agility (in high positions this includes the thumb but not the little finger, which isn’t usually used except as a support for the third finger). Use the thumb as an expressive finger (and one that uses vibrato).

• Be open-minded about your finger position (curved or flatter on the finger pad) because both are useful in certain contexts Consider playing higher on a lower string to avoid shifting Think about the total distance you have to cover within a passage, then make sure that your fingering helps you cover it as gradually as possible (this will often mean using higher positions on lower strings where the distances are smaller)

GUIDING PRINCIPLES

THE SET-UP

• It is very important to play with the ideal string length for your hands (if it is too small the distances between notes in high positions become too tiny). Experiment with different basses to find what is right for you.

• I favour strings with very low tension that aren’t too thick, with a direct sound (I use hand-made silk-core strings made by Gerold Genssler, or Pirastro Perpetual – something between jazz and classical strings). These allow me to play much faster and to use less effort in high positions.

• I don’t see the double bass as a transposing instrument. If I tune my bass other than in 4ths (for 20th-century music) I don’t think in positions; instead, I think in intervals and scale patterns and read in real pitches, which means it is easier to change between tunings. I like where possible to have the interval of a 5th between my two bottom strings, as this helps the resonance of the instrument.

• Support your playing in high positions by learning to play in a resonant way with less bow speed (allowing you to find a more direct sound on lower strings). To do this you don’t need to play nearer the bridge necessarily.

SHIFTING

• Avoid unnecessary shifts; where possible use crab technique as advocated by François Rabbath

• If you have to shift, try to do so while you play open strings or harmonics wherever possible, so that you don’t hear a portamento. Use approximately double the bow weight and reduce the bow speed to disguise the different sonority of the harmonics; it isn’t necessary for the contact point to get nearer the bridge.

• Avoid one shift coming directly after another Support the shifting finger where appropriate with the preceding finger (for example, if you shift on the first finger support it with the thumb). In certain contexts, you might want to use more or fewer fingers as support.

• When you shift on the third finger to a higher position, it is sometimes useful to place your little finger on top to support it, rather than use the second finger (this can free up the vibrato)

THUMB POSITION

• In thumb position I like to start with the three positions devised by Francesco Petracchi (chromatic, semi-chromatic and diatonic position, see Further Materials on page 77), then to use many others as standard, including those that extend the hand further than a 4th. This way, many shifts can be avoided.

• Favour the chromatic position where the context allows, especially in fast passages, as it is the most natural position and the easiest on the hand.

• In fast passages, only use the diatonic position as a returning position in the diatonic scale

• In thumb position, crab technique is particularly useful because this way it is possible to cover an octave without shifting. To get a feel, please view bitly.ws/3eBs4

EXERCISES

• Practise scales both with curved and flat fingers so that you are familiar with both

• Choose a scale and work out different fingerings for different tempos (the faster the scale the less distance you should cover). See exercises 1 and 2 (fingerings for a double bass with standard tuning in 4ths – G, D, A, E). Make sure that you are familiar with the position of all the harmonics on your strings.

REPERTOIRE

The idea behind this fingering of bars 5–12 of the Bottesini Concerto no.2 (example 1) is to avoid difficult shifts and unnatural hand positions, only shifting where there is most time and where it is musically the best option.

I choose to play bars 21–40 of the Koussevitzky Concerto on one string avoiding audible shifts by using crab technique, harmonics or the thumb. Only in bar 37 (example 2) do I choose a portamento effect in the B to E shift, for musical reasons.

IN YOUR PRACTICE

• Singing is always a good place to start. Find the musical line and this will guide you to make decisions about fingering.

• Practise your scales and arpeggios in two ways; entirely with curved fingers, then entirely with flat fingers. You need to be flexible so that you can use what is appropriate for the context.

• Agility of the left hand and its coordination with the right hand are really important and should be constant

• Keep thinking and looking for what you can do to improve. Good listening skills are essential, as they will guide you and often inspire you to further experimentation.

TIPS FOR TE ACHERS

• Check that your student has the appropriate size bass (strung with strings that aren’t too high in tension)

• Encourage students to sing their music (if they are shy, they can do this in the practice room)

• Ask them to work out their own fingerings, then discuss the pros and cons with them (focusing on what impact the fingering has on the sound)

• Teaching agility in the left hand is important, so that students have all options available to them (include thumb vibrato, which some students have never considered)

• Finding good fingering solutions comes with time; help students build their experience

• If students practise a fingering over and over again and it is still lacking, stop, reconsider the basics and decide whether you need to search for an alternative

INTERVIEW BY NAOMI YANDELL

FURTHER MATERIALS