Middle finger of my left hand...

[bassflaps]

Hey everyone, I just had a quick question about my fretting hand technique. When I'm playing, the middle finger of my left hand tends to float higher above the strings than the rest of my fingers (they stay close to the strings normally), no matter how much I try to keep it down. I didn't think this was a problem at first, but I have noticed recently that I slam the middle finger down too hard when fretting and it sometimes makes a loud, percussive noise. Can anyone recommend some practices that will help me with this problem? Thanks in advance!

edit: after taking a quick look at my technique again, I noticed my pinky tends to float too. So, techniques that improve finger independence would be ideal (I think...).

edit again: I just checked the stickes, and the spider technique seems to be just what I'm looking for. Can anyone recommend anything else?

[Orangeclawhamme]

Don't feel too bad. I can't keep my index finger from flying all over the place when I'm not fretting with it.

[bassflaps]

Originally Posted by Orangeclawhamme

Don't feel too bad. I can't keep my index finger from flying all over the place when I'm not fretting with it.

How do you prevent the percussive sound from fretting too hard? Did you teach yourself to just not slam your finger down?

[elpelotero]

you're playing with too much tension in your arm and hand. Relax the arm and hand completely, so that they're limp, then slowly bring it up to the bass. Now play a chromatic scale slowly. You should be able to keep your fingers loose and close to the fretboard. Try to keep your muscles as tense-free as possible.

[bassflaps]

Originally Posted by elpelotero

you're playing with too much tension in your arm and hand. Relax the arm and hand completely, so that they're limp, then slowly bring it up to the bass. Now play a chromatic scale slowly. You should be able to keep your fingers loose and close to the fretboard. Try to keep your muscles as tense-free as possible.

You're absolutely right, I've never noticed how tense my hand was before. It's going to take some getting used to, but I'll loosen my grip.

Thanks guys