Im so confused!!!!

[Gram]

Alright my problem is that I want to play metal but first of all I need to know if you play faster with fingers or a pick. I Also need a begginers website to slap. now when I try to do fingers if I try to hit it so its loud I get a very unwanted and nasty tone so I know im doing something wrong!

- No nasty remarks from TB veterans would be appreciated.

[xonebass]

As for playing metal (or any other style for that matter), the answer to whether or not playing with a pick or your fingers faster is pretty easy.

It depends. It depends on who's holding the bass and it's pretty much up in the air. A lot of excellent metal bassists such as Steve Harris (of Iron Maiden), John Myung (Dream Theater) and many others play with fingers only. Others such as Mike LePond of Symphony X, and Geddy Lee of Rush use both finger style and a pick (occasionally). Off the top of my head I can't really think of any metal bassists who use pick exclusively but I'm sure someone on the forum will correct me there.

The main thing to keep in mind ultimately is the skill of the bassist. Technique is only technique. If your asking whether you should learn one of the other my answer would be to learn both.

I'm a little confused as to your second question. Correct me if I'm wrong, but what slapping do you need to do in a metal band? Needless to say a good introductory primer to slap technique is the Warwick lessons website (no I don't work for them). They have video and other instruction there on slap and tap techniques.

As far as your difficulty of using fingers it sounds like you need to work your finger strength. Naturally everyone who uses multiple fingers in their finger technique (which you should) will need to work the strength of their non-index finger(s). My recommendation is to take the fingers of your right hand (assuming your right handed) and strum the E string in the open position struming the notes slowly and consistently. Start slow and build up speed until you are comforatable - expect that this will take some time. Good luck.