Right hand string-skipping exercises

Toronto Bassist · #1 05-24-2009, 04:20 PM

String-skipping is a weak area of mine and is something I'd like to improve...can anyone suggest any exercises? I'm mostly interested in it because of the sixteenth note fingerstyle funk playing by Rocco Prestia, Jaco, Paul Jackson, and the like. There's some string skipping exercises in Rufus Reid's book, but they feel a bit too...mechanical, I guess. Would something like this help maybe?

TOOL460002 · #2 05-24-2009, 06:50 PM

as far as the right hand goes, i know rocco just uses two fingers, nothing special. i cannot comment on the other two (am i a bad bassist if i dont know a thing about jaco?). i think using three or more fingers is the fastest way to go, though not the only method. im learning it and loving it. hopefully that had some useful information.

christoph h. · #3 05-25-2009, 03:40 AM

I own the book and it's definitely cool. But one of the main ideas behind it is that "exercises" aren't really that great. Instead, play something musical that emphasizes the "problem". That's why the author came up with different fingerfunk lines each "featuring" certain technical difficulties.

So the most direct solution to your problem would be to actually practice lines (or excerpts) by jaco, rocco and paul jackson. Learn to play them along with the recording until it sounds like only one bas is playing (record yourself!).

JimmyM · #4 05-25-2009, 08:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Toronto Bassist

String-skipping is a weak area of mine and is something I'd like to improve...can anyone suggest any exercises? I'm mostly interested in it because of the sixteenth note fingerstyle funk playing by Rocco Prestia, Jaco, Paul Jackson, and the like. There's some string skipping exercises in Rufus Reid's book, but they feel a bit too...mechanical, I guess.

Isn't that the entire point of mechanically-related exercises? To work on the mechanical side? Exercises aren't necessarily supposed to sound like music. I suggest opening Rufus' book back up and giving it another chance.

RDUB · #5 05-25-2009, 10:09 AM

Why not start out with Rufus to iron out the mechanical, and then try to play a real life example, say something of Rocco's slowed down a bit, and work it up to speed?

PJSShearer · #6 05-25-2009, 01:09 PM

String Skipping? - can someone enlighten me as to what this is?

Alun · #7 05-25-2009, 01:29 PM

Basically, playing no adjacent strings - so jumping from the E to D or A to G ( or E to G, or any other non adjacent strings).

I would recommend using octaves eg 8th fret on the E string and 10th on the D string, and using combinations of 1, 2 and 3 notes per string. If you're playing fingerstyle, make sure you can start with either finger so that you don't trip up if you start on the "wrong" finger.

Once you're happy playing 1, 2 or 3 notes per string, do the same on the A and G strings and then on the E and G strings for a real work out. If you're using a 4+ string bass, try the other combinations too ( low B and high C is a real workout on 6 string!).

Why only 1, 2 and 3 notes? Basically because that will cover the mechanics as any higher number of notes can be broken down into 1, 2 or 3 note groups.

Hope that helps.
Cheers
Alun

PJSShearer · #8 05-25-2009, 01:41 PM

Isn't that what we used to call "disco octaves" which I spent a large part of the early 1980s banging out night after night? :-)

Alun · #9 05-25-2009, 03:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PJSShearer

Isn't that what we used to call "disco octaves" which I spent a large part of the early 1980s banging out night after night? :-)

Yup

Anonymatt · #10 05-31-2009, 12:19 AM

Lots of stuff that would get played with popping and slapping is difficult to play if you're doing normal fingerstyle. You know, playing things written thumb-hammer-pop over an octave but fingerstyle? Get it? Or play something like "Higher Ground" with no slapping.

Jaco's "Teen Town" opens with that great string-skipping lick!

Also, work ear training into the equation by writing different kinds of licks that work off of string-skipping intervals like the maj6 or whatever.

That's my current plan of attack on my problem, anyway.

Ganky · #11 05-31-2009, 05:54 AM

Play Right on Time by Chilis. Thread solved.

Erick Lam · #12 05-31-2009, 09:25 AM

River People by Jaco.

Winterpegbass · #13 06-01-2009, 10:18 AM

River people by Jaco
Do you think I'm sexy by Rod Stewart
Lots of Jamiroquai

TOOL460002 · #14 06-01-2009, 08:24 PM

or: "dance dance dance" by chic (totally forgot about them, and thats how i got into the disco octave game).

they have other stuff with cool, fast octaves, and i think half of the song titles have the word "dance" in them, but the bass player rips. if i recall, hes dead or something.

kb9wyz · #15 06-02-2009, 06:38 PM

When I'm not using my Rufus book, I just kind of mess around and try to make something more musical while practicing my skipping technique.

jrklmx(Andrew) · #16 06-02-2009, 08:02 PM

Good Times Bad Times-Led Zep
is a good rock song for left hand technique dexterity and right hand technique.
You can also try playing octaves that loop into each other.
Aa F#f# Gg G#g#

raymondl3 · #17 06-06-2009, 06:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by christoph h.

I own the book and it's definitely cool. But one of the main ideas behind it is that "exercises" aren't really that great. Instead, play something musical that emphasizes the "problem". That's why the author came up with different fingerfunk lines each "featuring" certain technical difficulties.

So the most direct solution to your problem would be to actually practice lines (or excerpts) by jaco, rocco and paul jackson. Learn to play them along with the recording until it sounds like only one bas is playing (record yourself!).

Couldn't agree more!

MistaMarko · #18 06-09-2009, 03:10 PM

Used this for months. Noticed a VAST improvement:

--5--------5--------5--------5-------5-------5-------------|
----8-7-8---8-7-8----7-6-7---7-6-7---6-5-6---6-5-6------- |
------------------------------------------------------------|
------------------------------------------------------------|

--5--------5--------5--------5-------5-------5-------------|
------------------------------------------------------------|
----8-7-8---8-7-8----7-6-7---7-6-7---6-5-6---6-5-6------- |
------------------------------------------------------------|

Keep moving it down a string. You start out skipping from G to D, then from G to A, then from G to E.

On my 7-String bass I'm skipping 5 strings, so the more strings you may or may not have, help. G to E on a 4 is quite a feat already though. If you can get this fast, it should be cake. Oh, and use a metronome for this.

Mark