3 fingers... RMI or RMIM???

[S.O.L.]

Which is the better technique?

I've heard some people say that RMIM is inferior because your middle finger works twice as hard and therefore limits your speed.

I've practiced both a bit, but I would like to know the general consensus before deciding which of the two to proceed in practicing.

Any insight appreciated.

[crazyguy832]

WOW! This is coming up a lot!

You've already answered it, actually. RMI is superior to RMIM for the simple reason that your middle finger is still playing as much as regular two-fingered playing.

You have to spend a bit of time eliminating the "gallop," but it's worth it in the end.

RMIM can be faster than regular two-fingered playing for short periods of time. But, for any sort of sustained playing, RMI is superior.

[tplyons]

Use what works for you. Billy Sheehan swears by RMIM, others swear by RMI. Use what works for you.

[jollygiantchris]

I've been trying to incorporate 3 fingered technique for ages and I am just starting to get ok at it. What I've doing to make it work for me is RMI for triplet's or riffs based off of 3 (or any straight rooting in 3/4) and anything in 4s I do RMIM. Call me crazy but it just seems to be easier to incorporate for me.

Neither method is incorrect whats important is making it work for you and incorporating it into your playing.

[jtallent]

Originally Posted by jollygiantchris

I've been trying to incorporate 3 fingered technique for ages and I am just starting to get ok at it ...
Neither method is incorrect whats important is making it work for you and incorporating it into your playing.

Same boat here ... I've tried both and have sort of settled on RMI but I don't think there really is one "right" way. There are too many great players using both techniques very successfully, I think the key is you'll find what seems to be the most comfortable and then you'll hone in on that technique.

[Nick Kay]

Different patterns for different situations and different players. Personally, I have a lot of trouble disconnecting the gallop from RMI, so I went RMIM for about a year, then decided that the benefits weren't worth the uncomfortable (for me) technique. So now I use regular two-finger for most things and RMI for runs divisible by three and weird stuff that I can't hit on time with two-finger.

HOWEVER, don't allow yourself to be stuck in one pattern. I rake all the time when I'm jumping to lower strings. I'll fudge up alternating patterns on purpose for accents. In a song I wrote recently, there's a fast septuplet run that I play R-M-I-M-I-M-R because it lines up better with what my left hand is doing. You'll flow and groove a lot better if you don't force yourself to play just one way.

[Alvaro Martín Gómez A.]

Originally Posted by tplyons

Use what works for you. Billy Sheehan swears by RMIM, others swear by RMI. Use what works for you.

Hmm... Billy Sheehan uses RMI. On the other hand, Steve Bailey is a great example of the RMIM approach.

[ric1312]

So, how do you break yourself of the gallop with RMI? And does anyone use all four fingers? If so how?

[Wootsticks]

Practicing slowly is how to break out of gallop. Set the metronome on like, 100, and pluck once each quarter note. If it's still not even, do it even slower.

[funkydanbass]

I would suggest mastering IMR as well as RMI... Most fingerstlye guitarists can play both ways. I'd also suggest practicing leading with any finger ie: MRI or RIM etc...

To break the gallop you could practive straight 8th or 16th note patterns focusing on accenting downbeats whilst contiuosly alternating the 3 fingers...

[kdash]

personally i'd go for RMI, but as mentioned, there is no best method, to each his own. just use what works for you.

Abraham Laboriel came from a classical guitar background, and he incorporated the RMI into his bass playing.

for 4 fingers, i think LRMI should be ok.

[bassist 4 life]

Originally Posted by tplyons

Use what works for you. Billy Sheehan swears by RMIM, others swear by RMI. Use what works for you.

billy uses RMI

it goes like this, it has a 4 finger feel

R-M-I-R M-I-R-M I-R-M-I
1-2-3-4 1-2-3-4 1-2-3-4

1 starts on a different finger everytime, its much easier and convenient to do than going R-M-I-R-M-I

[nysbob]

Originally Posted by ric1312

So, how do you break yourself of the gallop with RMI? And does anyone use all four fingers? If so how?

I could never assimilate the pinky due to its length.
I listed some exercises in the other 3 finger thread that will help with the gallop. Essentially you do standard scale and skip exercises, but play each note twice. It will force you into a 4 feel.

[Martin Bormann]

Originally Posted by tplyons

Use what works for you. Billy Sheehan swears by RMIM, others swear by RMI. Use what works for you.

I don't believe Sheehan uses RMI at least he didn't last time I saw him play. It's irrelevant anyways.

Point of practicing isn't to find "what works for you," it's to practice proper form enough so it becomes second nature. the RMI pattern is more efficient because it relieves the load on the two fingers by incorporating a third. If you're going to do RMIM, you might as well just use a two finger technique.

You'll find there are a lot of people in popular music who has **** technique. Basically in the short term it's easier to do a RMIM pattern than and RMI pattern, but in the long term, your finger speed and accuracy will always be handicapped by it and thus you will have to work harder than you have to and you'll be limited in what you can do.

Trust me, give it 6 months, if you're not well past where you were doing the RMIM, go back to it. But also one thing, a lot of people do (and I caught myself doing it at first too) is they will go decending PRM and ascending IMR. Which is fine except for you run in to the same problem as the RMIM. you're going to get forced in to having to move one of the fingers faster in to position to strike the string. So you should maintain the same finger picking sequence ascending and decending.

[Askia]

Ok, Billy uses RMI. Case closed.
What is difficult, to make each finger sound the same, and practice to give accent, as it was written previously, if you play sixteenth, you should give accent on the 1, or 1-3, and it will be always a different finger. With some practice it works.
What nobody mentioned yet, is the octave movements. I think this technic becomes interesting at that point, I think maybe 2 finger is easier for such. But of curse I'm doing it with 3, keeping the RMI order. I practiced a lot, when I started to play with 3.

[BassplayerBrian]

A question I have about this (even though this way seems to be not nearly as common) is
T(thumb)IM TIM etc. how well does that work out in the long run vs. IMR or RMI I find with the thumb feels a lot more natural to me but will it handicap my playing in the long run?

[AllenBass7]

IMIMIMIMIMIMIMIMIMIMIMIMIMIMIMIMIMIMIMIMIMIMIMIMIM IMIMIMIMIMIMIMIM

that's all you need

[Erick Lam]

Ever thought of not following any pattern? It's liberating!

[nysbob]

Originally Posted by AllenBass7

IMIMIMIMIMIMIMIMIMIMIMIMIMIMIMIMIMIMIMIMIMIMIMIMIM IMIMIMIMIMIMIMIM

that's all you need

No, that's all YOU need.

As for varying things up - obviously! There are some tunes that for some reason feel right to me using one finger, or just RMRM, which admittedly looks a little odd. The only time I am strict about RMI is when playing a particularly fast passage or groove. One of the real benefits of getting comfy on three fingers is if one of them starts hurting for some reason, you've still got two to fall back on.

[ric1312]

Originally Posted by AllenBass7

IMIMIMIMIMIMIMIMIMIMIMIMIMIMIMIMIMIMIMIMIMIMIMIMIM IMIMIMIMIMIMIMIM

that's all you need

I find MI to be much more natural. It's how my hand naturally moves. Try doing quick triplets, or even just moderate tempo ones for a long time MI or IM quickly tires your hand.