4 Finger Plucking Technique (w/o thumb)

[contakt321]

After learning a ton from this forum while browsing all weekend - I was really inspired by the talk, sound and videos from the technical death metal thread - particular in the 4 finger plucking technique. I have a few questions that I hope you folks can help me with.

1. How many folks on here pluck with all 4 fingers?

2. Do you go Pinky, Ring, Middle, Pointer or Pointer, Middle, Ring, Pinky?

3. How did you ease your way into this technique?

4. Do you now always play with 4 fingers or is it only for fast parts?

Thanks in advance!!!

[Poop-Loops]

Just a heads up: most people can't get their pinky strong enough to do any plucking. If it doesn't come after a while, I'd just give up. You can be plenty fast with three or even two fingers.

[Mr M]

Originally Posted by contakt321

After learning a ton from this forum while browsing all weekend - I was really inspired by the talk, sound and videos from the technical death metal thread - particular in the 4 finger plucking technique. I have a few questions that I hope you folks can help me with.

1. How many folks on here pluck with all 4 fingers?

2. Do you go Pinky, Ring, Middle, Pointer or Pointer, Middle, Ring, Pinky?

3. How did you ease your way into this technique?

4. Do you now always play with 4 fingers or is it only for fast parts?

Thanks in advance!!!

First I've never played any kind of death metal.
I play with 4 fingers for now a long time
I go with index, middle, ring, pinky. I thought it would be better to play the first note with index so I began to play this way. There is no rule though.
First to play with 4 fingers was difficult but now it became automatic.
I use 4 fingers most of the time, not only in the fast pieces that I play. There was a long thread that I posted a while ago in Technique forum where I explained how I play in different parts (string skipping etc.) maybe you'd like to check it..

[HollowBassman]

Originally Posted by contakt321

After learning a ton from this forum while browsing all weekend - I was really inspired by the talk, sound and videos from the technical death metal thread - particular in the 4 finger plucking technique. I have a few questions that I hope you folks can help me with.

1. How many folks on here pluck with all 4 fingers?

2. Do you go Pinky, Ring, Middle, Pointer or Pointer, Middle, Ring, Pinky?

3. How did you ease your way into this technique?

4. Do you now always play with 4 fingers or is it only for fast parts?

Thanks in advance!!!

1. I pluck with all four fingers

2. No, I have no set pattern.

3. I just didn't give up on it. Now it is more natural than walking(on legs).

4. I always play with 4 fingers. I don't think about doing it, it's just how I do it.


Note: when learning, if your pinky cramps up, give it a rest. I know this seems like common sense, but alot of people have to be told.

[Rattlehead]

After playing bass for one and a half years I read on the internet about using 3-4 fingers and decided I'd switch to 4 because I figured that should give me the most speed.

I used to play i-m-r-p. Only problem is that I would play using what many people call type-writer style: you sort of wind up your finger for the blow (by lifting it above the string more than you need) and the really dig into the string. The result is a twangy sound of the string hitting the fret.

A few years later I decided I liked the sound but I want to be able to play without it most of the time. So I practiced plucking with more of an upwards motion and not lifting my fingers high above the string. I could do this very well on high strings (16ths at 200 bpm is not really a problem) but on low strings, especially the B string, I could hardly get clean sounding 16ths at 100 bpm!!! I'd always pluck too hard and get the "clack" of string on fret, or not hard enough ...

So I got really frustrated and decided to re-start my right hand technique from scratch. That's what I've been doing the past 2 months. I now use m-i-r-p, and have incorporated alot of other difficult/unique things into my playing.
That's right m-i-r-p. I'll explain if anyone is interested. Given all the threads popping up about 3-4 finger techniques, I plan on posting a very LONG thread about all of my exeriences with the technique and everything I've learned so far, but I'm going to wait until I can answer whether the m-i-r-p thing is a bad idea or not (I sure hope not!).

If you're in a band, its going to be much harder to learn this technique, as every time you jam you're going to want to revert to the old technique. This, to me, is a huge problem every time I start working on a new technique.

Anyway, I would play with a metronome and pluck out open strings with my bass, sometimes watching TV, but this is both hard to do and a bad idea: as boring as this is you should pay as close attention to your playing as possible to get even sounding plucks out of each finger.

Quite honestly I didn't find the pinky to be any harder than the ring finger. And I have small hands. If you go strait from 2 finger pluck to 4 fingers, you don't have to waste time practicing the intermediate stage or learning 3 fingers. If the pinky is giving you problems though, maybe the 3 finger method is the way for you.


And the last point: I say, always play with 4 fingers. If you can't get a consistent and even sound for slow part with 4 fingers, what makes you think you can do it for faster stuff. Plus there's the added bonus of always training all 4 fingers equally if you're always using all 4.

Cheers.

[HaVIC5]

And the last point: I say, always play with 4 fingers. If you can't get a consistent and even sound for slow part with 4 fingers, what makes you think you can do it for faster stuff. Plus there's the added bonus of always training all 4 fingers equally if you're always using all 4.

This is the route to take, IMO, if you're serious about training in a new right hand technique, especially 4 finger w/o thumb. When I was shedding on 4 finger technique a while back, this is what I did, and as mind-numbing as it was, focusing on playing correct fingering and getting even tone helped the process along a lot faster than otherwise.

I stopped playing with four finger technique for several reasons, though. The first is that because the pinky is so short, your hand is forced into a rather odd angle when playing, which forces you to relearn how to get a decent tone because your index finger (or at least mine) begins to play on a different part of the finger tip. The second reason was because no matter how hard I tried, when I was playing fast my pinky was flailing all over the place, and I couldn't train it to move in the same fashion as my other fingers. Keeping a strict regimine of p-r-m-i was also really difficult, and raking seemed to muck everything up. So I switched back to two finger, and never looked back. Eventually I'd like to try to develop a three finger technique, but until I see a reason to, I'm sticking with the tried and true.

M-I-R-P? Interesting combination, I guess I can sort of see the logic behind that. Good luck with it.

[Rattlehead]

Originally Posted by HaVIC5

I stopped playing with four finger technique for several reasons, though. The first is that because the pinky is so short, your hand is forced into a rather odd angle when playing, which forces you to relearn how to get a decent tone because your index finger (or at least mine) begins to play on a different part of the finger tip. The second reason was because no matter how hard I tried, when I was playing fast my pinky was flailing all over the place, and I couldn't train it to move in the same fashion as my other fingers. Keeping a strict regimine of p-r-m-i was also really difficult, and raking seemed to muck everything up. So I switched back to two finger, and never looked back. Eventually I'd like to try to develop a three finger technique, but until I see a reason to, I'm sticking with the tried and true.

All the power to you! As has been said whatever you think works best for you. I've heard enough 2 finger players wail to know that there probably is no advantage in terms of speed for 4 fingers at all (I think this is the reason most people switch to 3 or 4). I just hope that if I do decide that 2 fingers is the way for me, it does take me much longer to figure it out.

Anyway I curve my fingers alot when I play so I don't need to angle my hand very much to reach with the pinky. Strangely some days the most troublesome finger with this technique is the middle finger .... maybe because it is the longest?

[HaVIC5]

A lot of it has to do with my playing style. I'm not huge into running scales, or playing fast on one string for a long time. Playing with 4 fingers w/o the thumb isn't conducive at all to multiple string skipping, and is mainly useful for playing on one or two strings fast. I definitely could play faster that way, but I really had no use for it.

[HollowBassman]

Originally Posted by HaVIC5

A lot of it has to do with my playing style. I'm not huge into running scales, or playing fast on one string for a long time. Playing with 4 fingers w/o the thumb isn't conducive at all to multiple string skipping, and is mainly useful for playing on one or two strings fast. I definitely could play faster that way, but I really had no use for it.

I would like to point out that this is not true for eveyone!

As I said earlier, I always play with four fingers and I skip strings constantly.

[HaVIC5]

Originally Posted by HollowBassman

I would like to point out that this is not true for eveyone!

As I said earlier, I always play with four fingers and I skip strings constantly.

Well, whats your approach? Do you do p-r-m-i, or what? Or do you take a more Gary Willis approach to it?

[HollowBassman]

I don't know what Gary Willis' approach is. I don't follow any set pattern; but when doing arpeggios I often(but not always) tend to use one finger per string. I think the difficulty that most people encounter is because of where their bass is positioned. If you keep your bass slung low, it will be hard to skip strings. However, I don't play very high either!(see profile for example)

Keep in mind though, what works for some doesn't for others.
I suggest sticking with what you're comfortable with.

[contakt321]

Thank you everyone for chiming in. Have you guys watched Erland's videos (in the technical death metal thread)? So amazing!

[Rattlehead]

Originally Posted by HaVIC5

A lot of it has to do with my playing style. I'm not huge into running scales, or playing fast on one string for a long time. Playing with 4 fingers w/o the thumb isn't conducive at all to multiple string skipping, and is mainly useful for playing on one or two strings fast. I definitely could play faster that way, but I really had no use for it.

I don't really think there is any speed advantage with multiple fingers, and if there is it is minor. The main advantages are endurance (or that's what I'm hoping), and, surprisingly consistency. Well actually that remains to be seen. But it seems to me that most people using 2 fingers lose power on their plucks when playing at speed, because each finger has very little time to prepare for the next pluck, whereas with many fingers each still has the time to be put in "plucking position" before each pluck, even at speed. Just my thoughts though.

And I don't see how it is any worse for multiple string skipping than 2 fingers ...
The only instance I can see 2 fingers being easier is if you are doing strait root - octave - root - octave stuff because with two fingers you just use one finger for the roots and the other for the octaves. It all goes to **** when you want to play something like:
root - octave - octave - root - octave - octave
OR
root - root - octave - root - root - octave
OR
root - root - octave - octave - root - root - octave - octave

With those you have to bring your fingers up anyway, just like with 4 fingers.

[Erlend]

I go by 4-3-2-1 4-3-2-1 , just keeping it simple.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DIcWeIP1qVM