Fingerstyle Weird

[MammaryVest]

I am about a 50/50 fingerstlye/pick player, but I came to a realization yesterday. The physical act of playing fingerstyle is wierd looking. Does anyone else, when they look in the mirror while playing just get the feeling that their right hand is really weird looking? Plus, I don't know why when the electric bass was invented, the first person ever to play it figured that the most practical way to strike the string was what we now know as "fingerstyle". If I had never ever heard or seen a bass guitar before, and someone told me to play it, that would feel so unnatural to me. That being said, I'll never stop using fingerstyle, just had to get that off my chest.

[Descent2Cocytus]

i before e!, jk, but yeah, it is kinda wierd.

[Depth_Charge]

Originally Posted by MammaryVest

I am about a 50/50 fingerstlye/pick player, but I came to a realization yesterday. The physical act of playing fingerstyle is wierd looking. Does anyone else, when they look in the mirror while playing just get the feeling that their right hand is really weird looking? Plus, I don't know why when the electric bass was invented, the first person ever to play it figured that the most practical way to strike the string was what we now know as "fingerstyle". If I had never ever heard or seen a bass guitar before, and someone told me to play it, that would feel so unnatural to me. That being said, I'll never stop using fingerstyle, just had to get that off my chest.

I think it's just you

The electric bass evolved from the double bass, which is played with a bow or fingerstyle. I'm just guessing here, but I think a lot of early electric bass players defining the way the EB was being played at the time would have cut their teeth on double bass. Thus adapting skills they already had to a new instrument.

Oh, and IMO, playing an electric bass with a bow vertically would look a lot more ridiculous than your right hand strumming strings, and only a little less than using a pick looks on bass

[MADChuudoku]

Originally Posted by Descent2Cocytus

i before e!, jk, but yeah, it is kinda wierd.

'weird' is an exception to that rule.

[NickyBass]

Fingerstyle is all about economy of motion. (Well, all styles are.) If you just relax your right hand and play with simple movements it shouldn't look weird.

When Leo Fender came up with his plans, he thought that bassists would pluck down with their thumb. This is why the finger rest was below the g string on older Fenders.

[Kasper007]

Originally Posted by MammaryVest

Plus, I don't know why when the electric bass was invented, the first person ever to play it figured that the most practical way to strike the string was what we now know as "fingerstyle".

Shame on you...





You should learn a little more about the history of the electric bass then.

And the original Precision had a thumbrest under the strings, because they assumed that it would be played anchoring (sp?) your fingers under/on it and striking the strings with your thumb.


EDIT: NickyBass beat me to it

[BullHorn]

Hahaha, I tried to imagine playing bass with a bow. Good one.

Girls think it looks cool when I play fingerstyle. At least my fingers can do something other guy's fingers can't.

[MammaryVest]

It looks like Leo agrees with me, figuring that bassists would play down with their thumb, much more like a pick than like fingers.