Daniel Chiva Sanz: The School of Patience (Part I and II)

About The School of Patience

The School of Patience provides a new perspective on fundamental left-hand technique. The ultimate goal is to solidify the hand structure, focusing on the orchestral register of the instrument.

The first part includes exercises that cover the basic motions of the hand, including horizontal, vertical, V-shaped, and pivoting motions. There are many reasons to practice scales, and many great books have already been published. Books like Eugene Levinson's “The School of Agility” or Jean-Marc Rollez’s second part of his method book have been my practice companions for years.

So, why spend countless hours writing a new scale book?

My answer is that there is no scale book that addresses the technical concepts I sought to develop. Most scale books focus on the fingering aspects of learning scales. However, this book focuses on solidifying hand structure.

"The School of Patience: Part 2" applies the concepts from Part 1 to scales, creating a series of exercises for each scale.

The goal is not merely to learn the scales or certain fingerings but to work on hand structure across every part of the instrument. This book includes thumb position
exercises but primarily focuses on the lower register of the instrument. By incorporating "The School of Patience" into your practice routine, you will establish a healthy habit of working on your fundamental technique.

These technical concepts are universal to all bass players so that all bassists can benefit from them. Together with the book, I have created recordings for each one of the exercises that include drones and metronome, as well as a set of playlists that combine a selection of each section of Part One and a selection of a scale from Part 2.

But if you are as obsessed with playing scales as I am, you might want to play the complete set of exercises for each scale. 

I hope this book is as helpful for you as it has been for me.

This book is delivered as an E-Book in PDF Format.

The Playlist

Find Daniel's helpful playlist here.

About Daniel Chiva Sanz

Daniel Chiva Sanz is a double bassist and composer from Ludiente (Spain). He is dedicated to orchestral playing, with experience in ensembles from early music to contemporary, and is highly interested in solo playing, focusing on new repertoire for unaccompanied double bass.

Daniel's compositions have been published by Recital Music (UK) and ProBass (Germany) and have been performed in more than 5 countries. He has orchestrated and performed the almost forgotten Concerto No.2 Op. 25 by Th. A. Findeisen.