Are you supposed to press down with the 1st-3rd finger when fretting with the 4th?

[Daftom]

And 1st-2nd when fretting with the 3rd?

I never did. Am I supposed to?

[wemmick]

I was taught to -- it helps strengthen the force of your fourth finger since it is typically the weakest one. Also, if you're playing a series of descending notes, you're doing one motion to just lift the fourth finger rather than lifting one finger while simultaneously pressing another down.

No one will arrest you if you don't though.

[dopejohnpaul]

+1 wemmick
The fourth finger was a nuisance to strengthen to the level of my other fingers, but using the technique you mention above helped out tremendously and increased my playing skill exponentially in time.

[byronkowalski]

Originally Posted by wemmick

No one will arrest you if you don't though.

I know some people that might try

[JimK]

IMO, better technique = economy of motion; so you want all the fingers on/close to the neck as possible.
Less energy expended than the guy with the flailing fingers (been there, done that)...& yeah, I know many of the greats had what may be considered improper technique.

[Huge]

I only do if the next note uses one of the other fingers. Otherwise, no.

[Edgar664]

I used to study cello some years ago and my teacher told me that is the proper technique to play to get better intonation, acurracy and strength. First I hated it but now I fell it really helps me with my playing.

[prd004]

I use that technique, but mostly as an excercise for stretching and building hand strength.

When playing I want my other fingers free/ready to move to the next note, I'm always trying to think one note ahead.

[bassandbeyond]

I wouldn't recommend pressing hard enough to "fret" with the first three fingers while playing a note with the pinky, unless you're about to do some kind of pull off. That's wasted energy, IMO.

Having said that, I also don't recommend that you lift the first three fingers off the strings completely, unless you're making a position shift. They should function as mutes to prevent the open strings from ringing.

[BassNoob1]

Whatever feels best to you. There is no right or wrong way to play the bass, just better or worse ways. Try it out and see if you like it. If not, switch back to the way you do it. If you like it, more power to you!

[varunkapahi]

its a good way to practice chromatic exercises, that ways your whole hand wont be shifting for every note you fret in the same position but i never do this in real playing

[slaps76]

I don't think I really do. But my pinky is way stronger than my 3rd...bad habit formed when I started.

[anonymous122511]

Originally Posted by varunkapahi

its a good way to practice chromatic exercises

Practicing chromatic scales and patterns will solve all kinds of problems from how you hear things to the co-ordination between yer left and right hands. OP, it'll solve the problem you're asking about too.

Hint: while you're practicing this observe any tension building up from your neck right down your arm and into your hand. Go slow.

[subexpression]

I guess it depends on the application.
Playing for extended amounts of time on a single string is different than cross-string fingering.

When I'm playing on a single string, I usually keep 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th fingers ready...inline...and maybe the 1st is dampening underneath the others:

G |---------|
D |---------|
A |---------|
E |-2-3-4-5-|

The 1st, 2nd, and 3rd fingers are still lightly pressed down if I just used them.

But, for cross-string fingering, there's sometimes no option to "double up" underneath the fretted note:

G |---------|---------|
D |-----2---|---------|
A |---4---4-|---------|
E |-5-------|-5-------|

Notice, the 4th finger is all alone on the E string.

For economical reasons, there's a benefit to keeping your fingers low to the fretboard or even touching the strings. The less exaggerated your finger motion, the more accurate you can be.

So, when you're playing a note with your 4th finger or any finger for that matter, you should avoid letting your other fingers "kick" up and fan out like they're on vacation. I know, that's probably not what you do, but I've seen many players do it.