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Bill Bentgen's Double Bass Scales Bill Bentgen © Bill Bentgen

Description.

• The scales cover 3 octaves.

• Each scale is preceded by a one-measure dominant 7th or diminished 7th chord leading into the scale.

• Each scale is played 5 times. Repeating the scale is more beneficial than playing it only once.

• The scales are played as two groups of four eighth notes. This way you can make the second half of the scale mirror the first half of the scale for major scales, and you can compare the half-tone placement in the two halves of the scale when playing the minor scales.

• The tempos range from  80 bpm to 160.bpm.

• There are also scales with dotted rhythms to practice hooked bowing and bow recovery.

• Scales meant to start on a low 5th string are labeled.

• Organize the scales into playlists using tempos and type of scale.

• There are currently 2,240 individual tracks.

Getting the podcast.

• Subscribe to the podcast with iTunes or whatever program you use to collect podcasts

• If you don't have a 5-string bass, delete the podcasts labeled as such before you download all of the files.

• Click on the scales you want or "Download All" if you want them all.

• Set up smart playlists to group the files. As an example, you can use the criteria "Name contains mm=120" to put all of the files with the tempo in one playlist. You can also just drag groups of scales to regular playlists.

• Sort each playlist by title

• Start playing at the top of the playlist and all scales will play through, low to high.

• If you don't want to play the enharmonic scales (although you should), uncheck or delete them.

• Take frequent breaks.

• Spend lots of time on the slower scales before you move to faster tempos.

• Even when you can play the scales at the faster tempos, practice at the slower tempos is beneficial.

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