alternate or drag?

[thanks2u]

I'm still pretty much a beginner. I do know it's proper to alternate plucking fingers when walking up from the E string toward the A, D, or G strings, but I seem to recollect hearing somewhere that I should be practicing the strictly alternating pattern of fingers (one and two) when I move back down toward the E string. I've also heard about dragging the same finger when moving up from G toward E. Dragging seems more efficient but I'm wondering if it could somehow develop into poor technique? So, alternate, drag or "it depends"? (or am I sweating the small stuff?)

[queevil]

I drag it. Some bassists call it raking the string. When you're playing a slow passage you probably won't notice a difference between the two techniques but when you play something that's faster or more intricate you will. Raking sounds more fluid and natural. You're right, it is more efficient or at least it seems that way. I've read and seen many tutorials from other bass players who prefer this method. Jaco talks about this technique breifly in Modern Electric Bass. You can find it on YouTube.

[5string5fingers]

The only time I drag is going down(towards E). It's just alot faster and easier for me to use one finger and fluidly move it across all the strings,rather than making sure i alternate even going down. Constantly alternating, including going down, actually slows me down. I do alternate going up the strings,but down is almost always raking. I wouldn't sweat it too much. I think it's more important to play what allows you to progress faster and better,and what is most comfortable to you,rather than playing like a machine and perfect.

[JimmyM]

If alternating slows you down, then you just haven't practiced it enough. I think the main reason why people rake is because it's easier in the initial stages. If the stuff you're playing isn't too hard and doesn't involve a lot of string skipping, raking is fine. You start getting into stuff that has a lot of 16th notes in a row very fast and you'll appreciate alternating a whole lot more.

[EricF]

I'm a dragger, but I'm not playing much that requires a lot of fast notes. For me, it's simply more efficient.

[thanks2u]

thanks, that was great. I appreciate all the input. (it was my first post and all very encouraging!)

[Kevinmach]

I think the main reason why people rake is because it's easier in the initial stages

Though this makes perfect sense on paper, I seem to struggle with dragging a bit. There are definitely phrases where it seems it indeed *would* be more appropriate and easier, but I can never get it down as good. I guess I need to work on technique more.

Typically when you drag, you are usually also barring with the left hand, or at least have your fingers in position on the notes, both before and after they're played (being that it's usually used in faster passages). Because of this, I tend to end up with strings that are still ringing after the note is played because I haven't removed my finger (and muting while raking seems pretty difficult). As been said, it's probably not that noticeable when played at a fast tempo, but I seem to get a strumming sound more akin to a guitar more than the punchy sound of a bass. Guess I need to work on it.

On a side, note- is raking the defining technique of flamenco? Or am I not understanding what flamenco is?

[Rudreax]

In a lot of flamenco you would use the other side of your fingers (the nail side) to strike the strings of a guitar. Since you need to strike the strings, I'd imagine they always alternate.

[HaVIC5]

Originally Posted by JimmyM

If alternating slows you down, then you just haven't practiced it enough. I think the main reason why people rake is because it's easier in the initial stages. If the stuff you're playing isn't too hard and doesn't involve a lot of string skipping, raking is fine. You start getting into stuff that has a lot of 16th notes in a row very fast and you'll appreciate alternating a whole lot more.

While JimmyM is one I love to disagree with in terms of some issues of technique, I have been swayed to his side on this issue, and I endorse this standpoint if only for a pedagogical reason versus a practical one. Strictly alternating gives the most defined "system" to right hand technique that, once internalized, will automatically provide a logical approach to playing a passage without any thought or analysis. Sticking through and focusing in on what the right hand is doing is the main benefit, because often beginners/intermediates put little to no thought into what their right hand is doing. It isn't necessarily a problem with raking, plenty of pros with blindingly fast technique do it such as Jeff Berlin, Joe Santerre, Bunny Brunell, Gary Willis, etc, but it is a problem with just letting the right hand do whatever it wants. Strictly alternating gives a very simple, powerful way to approach the right hand.

Accepting strict alternation as dogma, however, has its disadvantages. One thing I noticed as I was mastering strict alternation on both two-fingered and three-fingered technique is that it forces you into a way of playing where you're articulating every single note you're playing. This is cool if you're playing some styles of music, like sixteenth note basslines in metal, rock, funk, etc, but playing anything melodically you tend to sound like a person stuttering over themselves by "hyperarticulating" everything you play. A huge part of mixed articulation and legato technique relies on raking and breaking the alternation for the sake of articulating with the left hand versus the right. If you ever watch Jeff Berlin play, you know what I'm talking about - he's the master of this style on bass. If you do it right, your right hand will barely move at all - you could probably get away with just playing with one finger if you were practiced enough.

Both have their place. The main thing is to not simply accept your right hand technique for what it is if you've never worked on it. Gary Willis (who has an unbelievably developed right hand approach) makes a good point when he says so much of our focus goes into what our left hand is doing - scales, arpeggios, progressions, etc, that we forget the right hand. Classical upright bass players divide their time equally between bow work and finger work when they're in the shed, so why shouldn't we do the same on our bass?

[fdeck]

I rake. The "logic" is completely internalized from years of doing it. If you give me a passage, chances are I will pluck it the same way twice on successive gigs without thinking about it.

My fingers have the habit that when I pluck with one, the other one is already reaching back up. If I attempted a strict alternating technique, the "up" finger would be in the wrong place for plucking the note on the "down" string.

Instead, when I pluck a note, each of my fingers is ready to pluck its appropriate string. For instance when I pluck the D string with my second finger, my first finger is now "up" and my second finger is "down." My first finger is ready to pluck either the G or D string, and my second finger is ready to plug the A string. So I look at "raking" as the approach that puts your fingers where they belong for the next note.

Whew, was that intelligible at all?

With that said, I think the most important thing is to choose a system and master it.