What does simandl fingerings mean in music?

Left hand & fingerboard

Simandl fingerings

Also: Simandl method, 1-2-4 fingering

Simandl fingerings are the standard orchestral double bass system, using the first, second, and fourth fingers in the lower positions because the hand spans only a whole step there.

Franz Simandl's New Method for the Double Bass codified the approach in the nineteenth century, and it remains the default in orchestral training. Below thumb position the hand covers roughly a whole step, so assigning one finger per half step means three fingers, not four: the third finger reinforces the fourth rather than stopping its own note.

The consequence is that bassists shift constantly where a cellist would extend. A one-octave scale that a cellist plays with two shifts may take a bassist five or six. This is why bass method books devote so much attention to position changes so early, and why a bassist's intonation depends more on shift accuracy than on finger placement within a position.

The main alternative, the Rabbath method, organises the fingerboard into six pivoting positions and is more common in solo playing.

Position: A position is a fixed placement of the left hand on the fingerboard, numbered by which note the first finger falls on, so that a set of pitches is reachable without moving the hand.
Shifting: Shifting is moving the left hand to a new position on the fingerboard, and it is the technique that gives a string player access to the instrument's full range.
Thumb position: Thumb position is a cello and double bass technique in which the left thumb leaves the back of the neck and presses down on the string itself, acting as a movable nut.
Double bass tuning: The double bass is tuned in perfect fourths, E1, A1, D2, G2, unlike the rest of the string family, which is tuned in perfect fifths.

Try a short guided practice session

Read a note, try a short exercise and check your understanding. No account or microphone needed. If you want to save progress afterwards, a free account adds five instrument lessons and five theory lessons. No card.

Try a free guided session Already decided? Create a free account

All 106 terms

Related terms

Position

A position is a fixed placement of the left hand on the fingerboard, numbered by which note the first finger falls on, so that a set of pitches is reachable without moving the hand.

Shifting

Shifting is moving the left hand to a new position on the fingerboard, and it is the technique that gives a string player access to the instrument's full range.

Thumb position

Thumb position is a cello and double bass technique in which the left thumb leaves the back of the neck and presses down on the string itself, acting as a movable nut.

Double bass tuning

The double bass is tuned in perfect fourths, E1, A1, D2, G2, unlike the rest of the string family, which is tuned in perfect fifths.