Do fingers matter?

[upthehammers]

Would someone happen to have any advice on finger techniques. I don't really use picks, I actually use all my fingers except my thumb, does it matter which fingers i use ? Would learning how to use the thumb improve my playing? What about picks? Please help, I have a whole lot to about playing and the bass in general.

[Cristo]

Different people use all sorts of techniques. You will have to discover through practice and experience what works best for the music you want to create.

Typically the most used fingerstyle technique is alternating the index and middle fingers, using upstrokes. This is probably the most universally applicable method, but by no means is it the only one.

Some people just use one finger, some use downstrokes as well, some strum, or pick with the thumb, or throw in the others.

And of course, others use picks.

You might find some utility in learning to pick with your thumb (assuming you mean that and not thumb slapping.) Probably you will not find it useful enough to be the only thing you do, although I'm sure some people have managed to do that.


Many people use some combination of all of these.

[Sippy]

Yea.. also try to work with 3 fingers. If you can coordinate 3 fingers rather than two. it will make you're fast riffs a lot easier.

[Bruce Lindfield]

I just wanted to say :

Bobby Zamora !!

What a great player!!

[Kronos]

There's a video that Victor Wooten put out about bass technique. He goes through plenty of right hand exercises and ways of improving right hand coordination.

[stedtale]

I think on www.garywillis.com he goes thru some three finger technique.