Anyone have Good Right Hand Excersise?

[faulknersj]

I am looking for a killer excersise to ensure that I always alternate my index and middle finger pon my right hand. Any Ideas?

[Bass Dawg]

Yes, but it always ends with a happy ending and may not be the best for bass....... lol

[THORRR]

I don't know about you, but I don't always want to alternate fingers when I'm playing - it depends on the groove and the accents. sometimes yes, sometimes no.

[brammerd]

bunny brunell had some videos on youtube that helped me with my right hand technique

the video's were about modes tho.
I think about 14 lessons

check those out

[Baron Von Vik]

Shake Weight.

[jgroh]

What helped me with my right hand technique was to just grab my bass (unplugged) when Im watching TV (late at night after the kids go to bed) and just keep steady eighth or sixteenth notes going. Making sure I alternate my fingers, I would work maybe 5, 10, or more minutes on each string (usually just EADG to begin), then start alternating strings or run scales. Doing this just as an exercise every day really improved my right hand technique in a short period of time.

[Mr wiggl3s]

G|------------1234-4321
D|--------1234---------4321
A|----1234-----------------4321
E|1234-------------------------4321


Played at 80 or less BPM. Up to an hour at a time depending on how serious you are

[BullHorn]

String skipping is also important, so try the 1-2-3-4 thing but instead of going 1 string up/down, try going 2 or 3 strings.

Do it slowly but with proper technique for best results.

It's not very musical but it works.

[okcrum]

If you like to shed tunes, River People by Weather Report is a good exercise.

[Michael Campbel]

I have a couple I do from my instructor, but one I like that's pretty quick is:

1234 B
1234 E
1234 A
1234 D
1234 G
1234 D
1234 A
1234 E
1234 B
for 1 minute. To a metronome; 8'ths or 16'ths depending on how fast you are now.

Then...
123 B
123 E
...
... for one minute. You would of course alternate here; so it'd be index-middle-index (on B), then middle-index-middle (on E), and so forth.

Then do 2 fingers per string up and down for 1 minute.

The 1 per string up and down for 2 minutes.

I have a kitchen timer set to 5 minutes so I just do a minute per grouping, and 2 minutes for the 1 note per string set.

Every day start with the alternate finger; middle or index; whatever you didn't do yesterday.

[Skitch it!]

Easy to alternate going up the strings (what I consider E-G on a four) harder to alternate reversing that and coming back down (G-E) this is where the rake comes in as a solution, but not always a good one, raking is easy to pick up and can become a very inefficient 'lean on' habit, alternating takes work, but is well worth that work imo practice alternating more coming down more (G-E) that's where it's tricky ime.

[BillW87]

Originally Posted by Michael Campbel

I have a couple I do from my instructor, but one I like that's pretty quick is:

1234 B
1234 E
1234 A
1234 D
1234 G
1234 D
1234 A
1234 E
1234 B
for 1 minute. To a metronome; 8'ths or 16'ths depending on how fast you are now.

Then...
123 B
123 E
...
... for one minute. You would of course alternate here; so it'd be index-middle-index (on B), then middle-index-middle (on E), and so forth.

Then do 2 fingers per string up and down for 1 minute.

The 1 per string up and down for 2 minutes.

I have a kitchen timer set to 5 minutes so I just do a minute per grouping, and 2 minutes for the 1 note per string set.

Every day start with the alternate finger; middle or index; whatever you didn't do yesterday.

+100 for the second exercise that works in threes. Learning to string switch comfortably regardless of which finger struck the last note is important to keep your right hand technique smooth.
Too many right hand exercises out there only work in 2's, 4's, etc. so they get people grooved into the bad habit of only switching strings with a particular finger. Bad habits are hard to break, so always make sure when you practice that you know exactly what habits you're trying to form.

-edit-
I also forgot to mention that it is important to practice accenting different notes in the pattern each exercise when working on right hand technique. Developing good dynamics takes practice too, and it often gets overlooked in practicing. Make sure that you can get the same exact tone regardless of which finger is striking the string, and that you can consciously make individual notes louder and softer without altering the order that you're finger picking in.

[kreider204]

http://www.amazon.com/Bass-Fitness-E...7626047&sr=8-1

Check out the preview pages.

Also, scales.

[unclejane]

Originally Posted by Skitch it!

Easy to alternate going up the strings (what I consider E-G on a four) harder to alternate reversing that and coming back down (G-E) this is where the rake comes in as a solution, but not always a good one, raking is easy to pick up and can become a very inefficient 'lean on' habit, alternating takes work, but is well worth that work imo practice alternating more coming down more (G-E) that's where it's tricky ime.

More strange lack of l0v3 for raking... Where is this coming from?

Raking is a perfectly fine technique; in fact one could argue it has an advantage from an economy-of-motion standpoint.

I.e. watch your right (plucking) hand playing both an ascending and descending pentatonic scale on your bass - note how much less movement is required when coming down when using the hammerstroke technique.

It's also used freely by lots of great players like bunny brunel, billy sheehan and etc.


LS

[Michael Campbel]

Originally Posted by unclejane

More strange lack of l0v3 for raking... Where is this coming from?

... sitting back waiting for Jimmy...

(I'm not defending the anti-rake sentiment; I do it all the time. But I practice both raking and not, too.)

[KingRazor]

I just listen to the sounds my fingers are making and adjust the pattern to fit what I'm going for. This means sometimes I go 121212 sometimes 122122122, all depends on what sound I'm going for. Similar to up/down strumming with a pick.

Not only am I not against raking, but I've talked to more than one player that much better than me and they suggested raking.

[Jedi Of Syrinx]

I never use 1212, I always either use one finger alone (usually for raking), or alternate single finger with a 2121 pattern.. I just find it more natural to use 2121 instead of 1212..

[KingRazor]

Originally Posted by Jedi Of Syrinx

I never use 1212, I always either use one finger alone (usually for raking), or alternate single finger with a 2121 pattern.. I just find it more natural to use 2121 instead of 1212..

My index finger has always been the dominant finger on my hand, so it's much more comfortable for me to lead with it. Also, most of what I play sounds better when lead with the 1. But there are definitely some songs that just don't sound "right" unless I lead with 2.

[P-oddz]

Originally Posted by kreider204

http://www.amazon.com/Bass-Fitness-E...7626047&sr=8-1

Check out the preview pages.

Also, scales.

Good suggestion.
The only thing is, when I first started playing bass, I bought this book too - hoping that it would help. I think I've opened it once . Might be good for some people, but for me, it was kind of a book that told me to just practice.

Technique for me improved by just always practicing. I like the previous nod to sitting in front of the tv and just plucking away.

[DrewinHouston]

When I switched to bass (in 1981) I found playing songs like Wipeout were helpful with alternating fingers and string crossings. I still use it as an exercise today.

Also, scales. Major scales, pentatonic scales, chromatic scales. Up and down, variations, etc.