Middle finger attacking much harder than index

[hall1k]

Is there anything I can do to work on this? Its only really apparent when playing the usual groups of 8 or so root notes. The problem I guess is that my middle finger seems to hit the string a bit harder than my index finger, causing the beat to "pulse" a bit. I've been playing for about a year, and this has only started happening recently. When I was starting out both fingers were pretty much even, but now theyre out of whack.

[kr0n]

Slow down, curl the middle finger a bit more and/or turn your plucking hand a bit to the left so they'll be even. Just try to find the tone.

[phatbass]

Practice SLOWLY.

When I was starting I had to really bust my stones to get my 2 finger plucking as even as a plectrum player, particularly on eighth root notes. The "secret" is to play as slow as you need to get the notes even.

Eventually the speed will come.

[phaze1todd]

Cheap metronome and Josquin des Pres's Bass Fitness.

Start slow and listen closely to your playing.

This will improve both right and left hand technique.

[Fergie Fulton]

Don't make this an issue. It is natural to have fingers of different strengths, that is what will give you "your feel". In most it takes a year -three to show, so don't waste time and energy trying to "smooth" this out. Work with it rather than against it, i would hazzard a guess (50/50 lol) that the middle is your dominant finger when playing, so you start with it when you finger? Don't waste time making this an issue....it is not.

[Yenko]

Originally Posted by phaze1todd

Cheap metronome and Josquin des Pres's Bass Fitness.

Start slow and listen closely to your playing.

This will improve both right and left hand technique.

+1

Bass Fitness is a great book for developing technique.

I sort of disagree with Fergie, though. I think you should definitely pay attention to it, but evening it out probably won't require that you spend time on exercises geared specifically toward that. The most important thing is to listen to yourself when you play/practice, and try to make what you're playing sound as good as you want it to sound. Once you get the sequence of notes down for a particular tune, start focusing on other factors, such as rhythm, attack, dynamic level, etc. Play through the song many times, working to make it sound better each time through. Just my $.02.

[Sonicfrog]

Two possible tricks or work-arounds.

What level is your bass strap set at? A low / hang-dog setting, because of the angle you hold the bass in your fret hand, will create a natural angle where the two fingers hit the strings in a more even fashion. I don't play with the bass that low. One drawback is that you can't easily use the other two fingers on your hand to pick notes.

Another solution is to learn to use your fourth finger to alternate notes. Those two fingers are closer in length and will naturally create a more even tone between the two. It also frees you to use your middle finger to either deaden another string... or, better yet, flip some jerk off while you're playing , as he commented earlier that you suck because you're not playing any Rush songs in your set!!!

[Fergie Fulton]

Finger lengths in the plucking hand are a mis-leading concepts in techniques of finger picking.
By design when everyone curls their fingers, the knuckles pull back and even the finger tips....try it and see.
Talk of wrist angles and, heights etc. are red herrings. New players don't realise it takes years and years to get a finger technique and it is always improving.
Yes some need some extra help in certain situations, but as a rule it is impatience that give players the idea that they have a problem, when they don't.

[rythmicillusion]

Currently having the same sort of issue. Here are some of my observations;

*With both fingers fully extended, the first finger is almost exactly 1/2" shorter.

*The dynamic issues have been resolved, mostly.

*Getting the timbre exactly the same between the first and second fingers has been the real battle.

*The first finger usually creates a "brighter sound" with somewhat obvious overtones, while the second finger is more "punchy" and slightly more muted.

*I tend to enjoy the second finger's tone more.

*Beyond experimenting with different arm, wrist, and finger angles, I have noticed that the tip of each finger is different in both shape AND texture. The second finger appears to have a larger callused area (tip of the fingertip + fingerprint area) and is more round compared to the first finger (tip of the fingertip only)

*The methods of attack for each finger vary a bit. The first finger moves much more from the knuckle in the middle of the finger, while the second finger is using the knuckle at the metacarpals. Also, the second finger goes "deeper" into the string.

[Lesfunk]

Practice and listen to yourself

[Hiromakuta]

Originally Posted by rythmicillusion

Currently having the same sort of issue. Here are some of my observations;

*With both fingers fully extended, the first finger is almost exactly 1/2" shorter.

*The dynamic issues have been resolved, mostly.

*Getting the timbre exactly the same between the first and second fingers has been the real battle.

*The first finger usually creates a "brighter sound" with somewhat obvious overtones, while the second finger is more "punchy" and slightly more muted.

*I tend to enjoy the second finger's tone more.

*Beyond experimenting with different arm, wrist, and finger angles, I have noticed that the tip of each finger is different in both shape AND texture. The second finger appears to have a larger callused area (tip of the fingertip + fingerprint area) and is more round compared to the first finger (tip of the fingertip only)

*The methods of attack for each finger vary a bit. The first finger moves much more from the knuckle in the middle of the finger, while the second finger is using the knuckle at the metacarpals. Also, the second finger goes "deeper" into the string.

Those observations happen to be the same as mine. I've always thought the particular nature of the difference of the timbre in my index and middle fingers was exclusive to me.

[jaywa]

I know what you're saying... very easy to get a little bit of "pulse" or even "swing" in there when alternating index and middle fingers, which is sometimes exactly what you want and other times very much "wrong" for the song.

Sometimes when the song just calls for really driving, steady 1/8 notes I'll just abandon the alternating index/middle technique and play all notes with my index finger... upstrokes only. That seems to smooth out the attack. If you watch Geddy Lee's right-hand technique, he does this a lot. Of course after a certain tempo it's physically impossible to articulate all the notes with just one finger, that but none of the stuff I play gets that fast.