3 Finger question

[Munchlax]

Alright so I play in a metal/deathcore band and i mostly play with a pick. Any other kind of music I play fingerstyle,and perfer fingerstyle over pick. My problem is im very comfortable playing with 3 fingers but I cant play fast runs without it sounding like triplets. So my question is whats the best way to practice to fix that. Also any tips for playing those hard breakdowns fingersyle?

[john grey]

Learn Bach. The Preludes or Sonatas. They demand an articulation of tempo, work with a metronome until you are comfortable. Bach solos on Bass demand enormous attention to expression even though they are essentially less complex than many other solo oriented formats.

[AmadeusXeno]

For fast parts when playing finger style I just use 2 fingers. I have the same problem of 3 fingers just sounding like triplits, but with 2 fingers I don't really loose any speen and I am able to keep the playing steady. Working with a metronome will help a lot for increasing your speed.

[jabsys]

3 fingers done I-M-R-I-M-R etc sound like triplets with me as well, I've started doing I-M-R-M-I-M-R-M etc to break the triplet sound with the advantage of putting the 1 beat on the index finger.

[adube810]

watch billy sheehans videos on youtube explaining the technique. if you practice the RMIR MIRM IRMI RMIR pattern slowly with a metronome id say in about 3-6 months you can have it down pretty well. the key is to get used to playing 16th notes with three fingers to fight the natural want to play triplets with 3 fingers

[nysbob]

Originally Posted by jabsys

3 fingers done I-M-R-I-M-R etc sound like triplets with me as well, I've started doing I-M-R-M-I-M-R-M etc to break the triplet sound with the advantage of putting the 1 beat on the index finger.

I don't see any speed advantage to this as the middle finger hits every other note - you might just as well use 2.

I've never seen the Billy Sheehan thing, but from the description above that's what works for me.

[vin*tone]

Originally Posted by Munchlax

Alright so I play in a metal/deathcore band and i mostly play with a pick. Any other kind of music I play fingerstyle,and perfer fingerstyle over pick. My problem is im very comfortable playing with 3 fingers but I cant play fast runs without it sounding like triplets. So my question is whats the best way to practice to fix that. Also any tips for playing those hard breakdowns fingersyle?

It means that one of your fingers has a natural tendency to pluck harder. Work on evenness and emphasising different beats.

Personally, I use 3 fingers but only really when skipping strings. When playing an even run of 16ths I see no reason to use 3. It's no faster than 2.

[nysbob]

Originally Posted by vin*tone

When playing an even run of 16ths I see no reason to use 3. It's no faster than 2.

Speak for yourself there, pardner.

[jschwalls]

PM sent to you.

[zackthompson]

Definitely watch billy sheehan's videos. Someone put his whole advanced technique dvd on youtube. It'll help out a ton

[FlemptonBass]

3 amazingly cliche' words, my friend: practice, practice, practice.

I play fingerstyle exclusively and I'm in a progressive metal band, so I use the 3 finger technique a lot. At first, I had the same problem you did with them all sounding like triplets. I found that it was mainly due to my right hand not being fluid enough.

As for the breakdowns, same thing. My band uses a lot of breakbeat, even in the verses. More often than not, I'll use just my index and middle finger for those, but to each their own. It's all practice and knowing the pattern. A lot of our breakbeat sections would be really hard to use 3 fingers as well.

Stay on the low end everybody,
_Flempton

[KimGT99]

It means that one of your fingers has a natural tendency to pluck harder. Work on evenness and emphasising different beats.

+1
I've got that specific problem. When adding my right ringfinger, it doesn't really sound like triplets (checked with metronome and recording, they're not), but the ringfinger sounds kinda "klok".... So actually I'm doing some efforts to avoid that bad sounding, even when in the bandmix you don't really notice this (but I do..).

[JP Morin]

I have the same problem when plucking w. 3 fingers... Some can play very well but it's very hard to control for me even with a lot of practice... especially in studio...

Now to play faster I'm practicing the flicking technique from Brian Beller from bass player magazine, I know that Geddy Lee also uses that technique on some songs, but a bit slower...

Check his interresting article...
http://www.bassplayer.com/TabId/177/...ArticleId=4965

It's an other interresting option and since you have the habit to play with a pick it should not be too long to learn if you try that way !!

[jabsys]

Originally Posted by nysbob

I don't see any speed advantage to this as the middle finger hits every other note - you might just as well use 2.

Seems to work ok for Steve DiGiorgio who does R-M-I-M and Steve Bailey who does I-M-R-I, I can certainly go faster with 3 fingers like that than I can with 2.

[Fergie Fulton]

They will sound like triplets because you are playing them as triplets, easy answer don't play them as triplets...but how?

Because you use three fingers your your brain assumes 1-2-3-1-2-3-1-2-3 so your fingers play 1-2-3-1-2-3-1-2-3. Change the way you play and feel to counting 1&2&1&2&1&2 etc.

In this simple mind game you do not learn to associate 3s as 3s but as 2s.
1-2-3 is associated as three very distinct syllables using numbers that reinforce the idea of triplets. But 1&2 is still three syllables 1-&-2 using only two numbers, so when counting because the '&' is a link to the numbers we know as being 1-2 we will learn to not work in three but in twos by linking them with the '&'.

Below are examples of a triplet 1-2-3 by counting in threes or 1&2 when assuming them as two. Depending on your three finger style this new thinking will also help educate the plucking hand to be 1&2 a lot easier and faster because your brain is not getting in the way.
It shows better when used in longer bars so here is 12 bars of four in each;

1231/2312/3123/1231/2312/3123/1231/2312/3123/1231/2312/3121/

1&2&/1&2&/1&2&/1&2&/1&2&/1&2&/1&2&/1&2&/1&2&/1&2&/1&2&/1&2&/

As you can plainly now see in counting in threes the 1st beat of each bar changes over three so the 1 is at the start of each new third bar, in effect the 1 is moving around, that strong beat number we associate with being in time is not solid to the ist beat of the bar, so to find it we would take the easy route of 1-2-3-1-2-3 in effect make tripets, two sets of three, to fit any 4/4 based structure.
So for you the above example feels

123123/123123/123123/123123 rather than 1&2&/1&2&/1&2&/1&2& as it wants to be.

I said earlier depending on your three finger style, so a quick pointer on that.
Two basic styles, alternating and following, alternating is index middle ring, middle,index, middle ring, middle etc.
Following is index, middle, ring, index, middle, ring, etc.
Even if you use the same patterns reversed by starting on the ring finger the principal is the same, makes no difference.

What you will notice is for the fingers in the following style the '1' moves from index to middle to ring and back to index.
This you internalise with the 1&2&1&2&1&2& etc very slowly so your fingers learn to put the correct feel of a strong beat on the '1' with the correct finger, rather than the leading finger all the time.
If you play alternating then there is no real problem because the '&' is always on the middle finger, and the '1' is always on the leading finger, so i effect this reinforces the notion of it being staright because the lead finger is always on the '1'.....the same as a two finger alternating style.

There me be some issues with the fretting hand as it may have pattern association problems with fingers being used to pluck, but slow playing or finger exercises will sort this out.
Playing and practicing slow is the key.
You have to allow the brain to understand what it wants the fingers to do and how to count this movement. Once learned (internalised) the thinking will be not getting in the way and you just make it faster or slower to suit.
Please note, three finger is not really faster then two, just more efficient, and more dextrous.

[Locki]

just pull out the old metronome and play with it. Once you get comfortable playing a certain speed move it up 4 points or so and then practice again. I did this about a year ago now and it worked great.