Jacos Pastorius Right hand technique....

[cire113]

Jaco plays extremely fast and it seems all the videos that ive seen him playing he is almost always playing with his finger tips... it looks like his actually finger joints dont move like its all in his finger tips...

does anyone know what im talking about?

There is minimal movement

[chicagodoubler]

You nailed it! Extraneous movement impedes speed.

If you want to develop real functional speed you have to take out all the funny business.

The best way to do this is to practice very slow in front of a good teacher who can show you how to make your playing as efficient as possible.

This is closely related to the phenomenon of "wow, he makes it look so easy." When you refine your technique, it actually is easy to play!

[JTE]

Jaco also played very close to the bridge when he was going for speed. The strings have a much smaller arc there, and so the fingers don't have to move as far to catch the strings. Economy of motion is where speed is.

jte

[Asher S]

Another important point, that I've seen live in action by 3 very well known jazz bassists (Bromberg, McBride, Haslip): a VERY light touch seems to go a long way to (a) increase agility (ie speed), (b) improve tone, and (c) reduce string buzz (true on fretted OR fretless).

I'm a recent convert to the floating thumb technique that has improved all 3 of the above points for me.

[Allen_VA]

Originally Posted by Asher S

Another important point, that I've seen live in action by 3 very well known jazz bassists (Bromberg, McBride, Haslip): a VERY light touch seems to go a long way to (a) increase agility (ie speed), (b) improve tone, and (c) reduce string buzz (true on fretted OR fretless).

I'm a recent convert to the floating thumb technique that has improved all 3 of the above points for me.

Would you mind elaborating on the 'floating thumb' technique? I am also finding myself up against a "speed wall" and I'm looking for right-hand technique ideas to break through that.

[Asher S]

Originally Posted by Allen_VA

Would you mind elaborating on the 'floating thumb' technique? I am also finding myself up against a "speed wall" and I'm looking for right-hand technique ideas to break through that.

Sure thing- there's a sticky in this forum:

floating thumb techniqe

But the best video I saw was here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PPVMBPmrblU

I just started learning this technique last week, at the age of 42 and now it's totally instinctive. Plus my right hand joint pain is GONE, my tone is better, my low-set strings don't buzz, and my agility is much improved...

[chicagodoubler]

Todd's idea is gnarly for 6 or more strings, but since this is a Jaco thread... on his instructional vid he talks about dropping his thumb to the e string to avoid rumble.

Even on a 5 string you don't necessarily have to "float" the thumb to the other strings to cover all the muting.

Watch the Jaco vid closely and you'll see what I'm talkin about.

[tegnoto89]

Watch the Jaco vid closely and you'll see what I'm talkin about.
Reply With Quote

Is this the one in segments on youtube?

[chicagodoubler]

Just buy it! Worth every penny.

Jaco's RH technique was incredibly uniform- the mark of someone who put in hours and hours in the shed refining every little nuance...

You should be able to see him drop his thumb to the E string any time he crosses over to extensive playing on D and G.

Billy Sheehan talks about the same thing in his instructional vid.


IME, floating thumb is awesome but not a necessity for muting a 4 or 5, cuz I got enough fingers to cover 4 or 5...

[needmoney]

Originally Posted by chicagodoubler

IME, floating thumb is awesome but not a necessity for muting a 4 or 5, cuz I got enough fingers to cover 4 or 5...

Not a necessity for muting, definitely. But it's other benefit is it keeps your wrist straight.