Talk:Thumb position

Other Bass Instruments Section

There isn't a single citation here. I would vote to strike this whole section unless someone actually sites the claims made. Statement 1 links to certain bass players but doesn't provide evidence. Statement 2 is simply a claim that some musicians play both upright and electric bass, which has nothing to do with the topic at hand. Statement 3 is a very tenuous claim at best and needs to be backed up, as it flies in the face of conventional wisdom and technique. Lunchworthy (talk) 09:21, 8 March 2019 (UTC)

Cello thumb position "starts on A?"

Diff Without further explanation (and a cited source) it does not make sense to say that cello thumb position "starts on A." How may a position be said to "start on" any particular note? There are a number of different thumb positions; which one "starts on A?" __ Just plain Bill (talk) 18:56, 5 April 2011 (UTC)

What is the normal range [of the instrument]./? Hyacinth (talk) 02:35, 6 April 2011 (UTC) [05:56, 6 April 2011 (UTC)]

For that, someone needs to find a source. I play a couple of thumb positions that "start" (I presume that means the lowest note reachable in that position) up to an octave below the A4 shown in the image. Very likely a more accomplished player will reach different ranges. __ Just plain Bill (talk) 02:52, 6 April 2011 (UTC)

(I see you edited your question after I replied.) The normal range of the instrument is given here. Did you mean "what is the normal range of neck position notes?" In normal tuning, that goes from the open C2 to fourth-finger A4, in fourth position on the A string. There is plenty of overlap between notes available in neck positions and in thumb positions.

Thumb positions are not limited to a single string; usually the thumb acts as a mini capo across two strings. There is nothing to keep a cellist from stopping G2 and D3 with the thumb on the C and G strings, for example.

Your continuing to defend a drive-by edit from an anonymous IP is puzzling behavior. The assertion that "thumb position starts on A" is not even wrong; it is meaningless. Please find a source before adding it again. __ Just plain Bill (talk) 12:54, 6 April 2011 (UTC)

Why are you engaged in discussion if the statement - rather than uncited, unclarified, misunderstood, or even very poorly written - is and can only be meaningless and nothing else?— Preceding unsigned comment added by Hyacinth (talk • contribs)

Because without clarification, and plenty of it, the statement is meaningless. The "is and can only be... and nothing else" is your own extrapolation, and not what I said.

Even though in one system of cello pedagogy, the thumb position "is introduced on the second or half-string harmonic," it still does not "start in A," since the thumb also may stop the D string. There is at least one method which introduces thumb position in D major, on the D and A strings at the second harmonic. Thumb position has also been introduced at the 1/3 string harmonic, with the thumb on A3 and E4 on the D and A strings.

By the way, in seventh position the player's thumb is not actually on the neck, but touching the the side of the fingerboard, particularly if they have small hands, Since cello players typically do not maintain such a rigid left hand position frame as violinists, that statement about "D is difficult if impossible to reach... without removing one's thumb from the neck" is one of those things that may be found in a book, but does not necessarily apply in practical cello playing. Sacrificing intonation for some dogmatic thumb placement is simply not done.

With all that said, thanks for digging out the reference. I can live with the article for a while in its present state. __ Just plain Bill (talk) 02:19, 7 April 2011 (UTC)