update on right hand four finger techique

[adube810]

slow down... try playing perfectly with 3 fingers first.

..get a good sense of time (which takes a lifetime imho)

[RockGoddess]

Scales and rhythm practice are always good in these cases, but there's something to be said for 'monkey see, monkey do' otherwise known as the suzuki method. the faster-paced the music is, truth be told it is harder and harder to hear all 3 or 4 fingers hitting the bass - ESPECIALLY if you are listening to a live performance when the sound can get muddy. I find for practicing 3 finger triplets n such, playing along to some Iron Maiden (tho Harris does say he uses two) you can practice with three. Plug in ur ipod to ur amp, use headphones so you can hear the ipod and headphones and play along to stuff using triplets on a track, then alternate with triplets w/o. track. I find that after a while you get a sense of that rhythm be it 3 or 4 finger form. The key is when your rhythm is off and you begin to say to yourself 'i can't do this', SLOW IT DOWN. you'll find yourself speeding up without effort, using 3 and 4 fingers without effort.
But, rule #1: "Play from your f#$king heart." ~ Bill Hicks

[chicagodoubler]

I dunno about you guys, but I've tried every finger combination available and I still struggle to play James Jamerson's line on Darlin' Dear, and that bad mofo just used index...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Od79N4w7nqo


Just to be the devil's advocate here for a second.



After literally thousands of gigs in every setting you can pay a schmuck for, I've only needed more than two once in a blue moon. Thumb-1-2 is cool, and yes, 1-3-2 on that disco groove. Easier with a pick, though.

[Gawd]

the most comfortable one I've found is garrisons T-1-2-3, I've found that I can go really fast with it, I just need to work on getting more control over the motion.

[beelzelboss]

I personally use 3-2-1 a lot. and i actually used it for speed because i like to play a lot of metal that uses a lot of triplets and playing the long "speed" lines with just two fingers killed my hand before two songs were even over. I switched to three because my hand gets fatigued way way way slower while being able to play at the same speed as two. Also being able to jump from my low b to G in those break downs is awesome.
the thing that got me really good at being able to do it quickly, just turn on a metranome and count in half notes and do it at a slower tempo (think of an andante to start) and just do half notes one with each finger. 3-2-1 or in your case 4-3-2-1. then keep speeding it up till it sounds how you want it to sound.
To help me get over one string per finger is that i would do

The bottom line is what your fingering or "plucking hand" should be doing ... this is for mastering the three finger, i would have to find a different one for four

G----------------------------1-2-3-4-4-3-2-1----------------------------
D-------------------1-2-3-4-------------------4-3-2-1-------------------
A----------1-2-3-4--------------------------------------4-3-2-1---------
E 1-2-3-4---------------------------------------------------------4-3-2-1
R M I R M I R M I R M I R M I R M I R M I R M I R M I R M I R M It looks kinda messy, but i think you get the idea. you just don't want to keep restarting at the start of a new string. This took me literally 3 months of daily practice to get down and i still have to think about it some times.
I've also noticed that i play a lot more of just two fingers on my four string compared to my 5 i play with three. Just thought i would put that in there

[Mcblahflooper]

Personally, I have learned that the best obvious way is 4 fingers. I started to use 3 fingers i tried 4 & it unretardified my pinky, I can play faster. Just make sure that your fingers share, you'll get much faster. And what the hell mate, not proper? Lol not proper is a pick

[Mcblahflooper]

Okay, but the original post was about speed, and like I said, 4= faster, it's common sense. Two fingers aren't hogging a whole guitar, you just let them share strings. For example, what do you want in your fridge, Astronaut Food with good nutrients & ONLY what's necessary (and a little less)or a fridge full of tasti stuff? You want extra, so that you don't need to worry and can live life as a true American