Pick-Style, fast 16th note chops help!

[HaikuMarko]

So,

Here is my situation.

I have a few gigs with a band I'm currently with, I'm very happy to be in the band, we got material and such, however, we'll be playing our first gigs in some cafes, clubs and bars that need cover songs.

We will be covering some Clash, some Green Day and some Paramore

now, the songs that will be planned to cover will require a pick to get an accurate representation of the tone. Now, I'm not a big fan of pick-style playing, and don't have much experience.

I believed it was easy playing Green Day's "Long View" bass line, but on a pick I find myself making messy timing and tone mistakes (no constant and nice tone) my up-and-down technique is off in timing and i find myself frustrated practicing even scales... I get a really muddy and way tooo treblely sound!

any help on practice chops? appropriate technique styles to get this pick style playing good!

Cheers

[rhapbus]

If your sound is too trebly, move towards the neck a bit, too muddy, move away from the neck and towards the bridge.

I personally hold the pick with 2 fingers, index and middle, mute the E and A strings with the side of my hand, and D and G with my ring and pinky finger.

as for timing, it takes practice. Just play the songs over and over and over and over and eventually you'll get it down.

[Dogbertday]

keep your right hand subdividing the whole time... for instance on longview play most notes with a downstroke and play any upbeats upstroke... this should keep things a little more consistant... the same thing on any other song works too

the other option is to crank a little treble and play with your fingers... I've done that a lot even though I'm very comfortable with a pick (started with a pick)... most people wont be able to tell the difference anyway.

[countrybassist]

I've learned to be just as good with my fingers as I am with a pick. You should work on this too. ALthough I use primarily my fingers, there are times when a pick is needed.

[HaikuMarko]

Originally Posted by countrybassist

I've learned to be just as good with my fingers as I am with a pick. You should work on this too. ALthough I use primarily my fingers, there are times when a pick is needed.

I use my fingers extremely well, (thanks to Jazz band stuff)

I think I need to use a pick mainly for the "stage presence" of the shows, after all... it is a an alternative rock band and it will definitely help my "look"

P.S. no I will not put my bass down to my ankles, that is just not healthy for your back, and other body parts

[lousybassplayer]

Wrist exercises are key for me. Timing the upstroke vs downstroke is tricky, but also important. One thing that always helped me was play with a very small pick when practicing. There always seemed to me to be a sweet spot on the pick where just enough surface area contacted the string. Using a smaller pick helped me locate it and it became muscle memory. You have to try to avoid the edge of the pick as much as you can or you get that squeeking instead of the punch and attack. PLay scales and arpeggios smooth and slow with down, down/up up, and down/up slowly building speed. I play quarters, then triplets, then 8ths and then 16ths on each note through the given scale or arpeggio. Do this with a metronome and keep the BPMs below a 100 at first and focus on smoothly picking the notes. Adapting any fingering exercises you do to work your left/right hand coordination to picking will help.

[JimmyM]

www.carolkaye.com

Study her pick technique. She describes it in her "Player's Points" section though you'll have to poke around for it. It isn't the coolest looking thing, but it works and works great, and will keep you pain free forever.