pinky...?

bassingstripes · #1 01-21-2008, 02:31 PM

yeah, so ive been playing a year and a couple of months now... and im purely self taught. there really hasnt been anyone that lives near me who plays bass or who knows much aout it to teach me. anyway, ive been in a metal band up until recently, and i play with my fingers. i did the index and middle finger alternate pluck thing, and as i got better, i started using my ring finger too for galloping. not really knowing any better, and being a huge dragonforce fan, i started using my pinky as well to attempt to get that steady, 16th note speed. only thing is, i cant seem to get a steady sounding stream of notes. the pinky doesnt have as much "bite" as the other three. sorry for this lengthy post, but my question is, should i abandon the 4 finger (with pinky) approach and go with a more myung-like style? or should i stick with the pinky?

Valerus · #2 01-21-2008, 02:41 PM

Two is sufficient. Learn to build speed and accuracy with just using your index and middle fingers.

Equin · #3 01-21-2008, 02:49 PM

If you want, try incorporating the thumb instead of the pinky, like

thumb-index-middle-ring

or some variation. It might sound a little "seperated", but it sure is easier than using your pinky.

EADG mx · #4 01-21-2008, 02:51 PM

Try using your thumb and RMI. Much better than using the pinky imo.

look up Matthew Garrison

Colonel_Claypoo · #5 01-21-2008, 02:53 PM

exactly, that's what i'm currently working on: thumb, index, middle ring finger.
it's kinda hard to get it to sound the same and not to over-accentuate the thumb pluck. i also wonder how fast i'll learn string skipping with this technique...

jschwalls · #6 01-21-2008, 03:12 PM

one problem may be the position of your hand... if you are not bending all 4 fingers at the 1st joint (closest to knuckle ) the the result will be the same, the pinky is way shorter than the other fingers...so, bending them all at the 1st joint makes them closer to the same length..... many years ago i wanted to "perfect" this 4 finger technique... but gave up realizing that for ME it was not worth the re-training, and the end result would be more of a show piece rather than a useful tool... That was my own judgement of it for ME.

So my advice would be to hold the hand, palm parallel to the strings, bend all 4 fingers at 1st joint (closest to knuckles ) and try that...

JON

kesslari · #7 01-21-2008, 03:23 PM

Pinky is significantly shorter and weaker than other fingers.
I'd work a different combination.
After having tried 3 for about a year, I returned to 2 - more solid, more flexible (for me - I don't have to work out RH fingerings as much) and pretty much as fast. I like my groove more with 2. Some folks do well with 3, and some with 4 (though as stated, most of those use thumb as the 4th)
YMMV