Gary Willis three finger technique

[henry2513]

Anyone here studying it? I thought I'd start a thread for it. I know there's one for Matt Garrison but Gary's technique is distinctly different than Matts.

I've been working on it for almost the past three months, here's a quick vid with some of the progress I've made:

Gary Willis 3 Finger Technique Exercise - YouTube


I've been using the video's on the Gary Willis site and this:

Gary Willis - Progressive Bassics Pt. 1 - YouTube

for guidance.


What I found helped the most were:

A) Heavier gauge strings
B) Ultra low action and of course the ramp, I don't think you can pull it off without a ramp.
C) Playing very, very lightly
D) Practicing very slowly, 30-40 bpm.

[vibhas_2310]

Hey. I tried it and didn't get it. I know it's not for me. And part of the reason is because I have to ' think ' while using it. I can do standard 2 finger technique and even the 4 finger Matt Garrison technique which in my honest opinion is a very logical technique and they flow naturally. But you look like you're getting the hang of it, great job!!

[nysbob]

What good is playing very lightly when the notes lack punch and definition? When you can translate that into playing standing up with a drum kit, then you've got something.

[gre107]

I studied it years ago and apply it when ever necessary.
Once you get your fingers used to picking this way the best next step is to start playing every thing you know using it pretty much immediately. You will find many challenges at first but you will "get it together" very quickly.

Learn the technique and then apply it. You can do this without the ramp but it is a lot easier with one.

[henry2513]

Originally Posted by nysbob

What good is playing very lightly when the notes lack punch and definition? When you can translate that into playing standing up with a drum kit, then you've got something.

I've actually played this way with a drummer plenty of times, works the same standing or sitting

I let the amp do the heavy lifting, there's no real material difference in my tone vs. what I used to sound like, my goal is not to sound like Geddy Lee, not what I'm after.

Playing lightly and turning the amp way up to compensate for it actually gives you a better signal and fatter tone. It sounds a bit weak there in that video because my 7 month old was asleep and my wife would have punted me into mars if I would have awoken him

Here's what this technique sounds like on the stage:

Tribal Tech Face First - YouTube

Plenty of punch and definition, just need a big rig to do it properly.

[henry2513]

Originally Posted by gre107

I studied it years ago and apply it when ever necessary.
Once you get your fingers used to picking this way the best next step is to start playing every thing you know using it pretty much immediately. You will find many challenges at first but you will "get it together" very quickly.

Learn the technique and then apply it. You can do this without the ramp but it is a lot easier with one.

I'm getting to that part now, it's pretty intuitive when I'm locked down with a drummer playing a groove or walking a bass line but I'm still having trouble with it when I'm soloing, I revert back to two sometimes and won't always incorporate the ring finger.