In this video lesson I show you how to control your left hand to play with better intonation and comfort. I see a lot of double bassists raising their unused fingers away whilst playing a note. I’ve heard friends of mine call this the ‘pinky salute’ or ‘flying fingers’!

Pushing in two directions like this introduces unnecessary tension to your hand and can make it harder to play in tunethan having your fingers are equally spaced and relaxed. Removing this extra motion will help you develop effortless left hand technique so you can concentrate on playing music, not your intonation.

I hope you enjoy the video lesson and If you have any tips on how to improve your left hand technique on the double bass please leave a comment below. It’s always great to hear your thoughts, questions, feedback or lesson requests. 

Best of luck with your practice, Cheers Geoff

If you enjoyed this lesson please check out Beginner's Double Bass: A step-by-step method to get started with the upright bass. 43 video lessons, 5+ hrs.