Starting Out
For the first few years I played bass, everything was plucked with one & two fingers. It served me well, and certainly strengthened my 1st and 2nd fingers (index & middle).
Every once in a while I would add my 3rd (ring) finger for string skipping and galloping triplets.
Neglected Fingers
But then, I wanted to develop the rest of my fingers. It seemed like such a waste having 2 extra fingers and never using them. I thought, "What would it be like if I neglected my fretting hand like I do my plucking hand?" It was unthinkable.
So, I set off on a very rewarding journey to develop finger strength, stamina, and muscle memory with these forgotten fingers...the 3rd & 4th (ring & little finger).
I quickly realized that I had to slowly incorporate them into my playing. I couldn't simply mix them both in simultaneously. I had to work on one at a time. And then over time, I would integrate them both.
The development of these exercises came out of my own recognized weaknesses. Now, I run through them every day as a means of warming up.
For those of you 2-finger players, this set of exercises is specifically designed to gain mastery of your 3rd (ring) finger.
Numbers Instead Of Names
Instead of calling them "index", "middle" and "ring", I'll use the numbering system which is found in many instructional books:
1 = Index Finger
2 = Middle Finger
3 = Ring Finger
4 = Little Finger (Pinky)
For the sake of these exercises, the 4th (little) finger
won't be used.
After you gain full control over your 3rd finger, then begin to incorporate the 4th.
I suggest using a metronome set to a slow tempo...around 60 to 70BPM.
Gradually increase the speed as you gain more dexterity and can execute the patterns flawlessly.
Drumming Your Fingers
Naturally, when you sit at a table and begin tapping your fingers, the natural order is 3rd, 2nd, 1st. I suppose it's because of the way our tendons are attached to our forearm muscles...and probably our skeletal structure. It seems to be easier (for me at least) to "drum" my fingers in this order and make them gallop.
Triplets
Play each triplet exercise starting with the 3rd finger: 321, 321, 321, etc.
Then, start with the 2nd finger: 213, 213, 213, etc.
Lastly, start with the 1st finger: 132, 132, 132, etc.
Accent first note of each grouping to emphasize the triplets.
Excerpt from Iron Maiden's "Phantom Of The Opera"
G ||--------------|--------------|--------------|---------||
D ||--------------|--------------|--------------|---------||
A ||-7-7-7-10-7-7-|-7-7-7-10-7-7-|-7-7-7-10-7-7-|-5--5--5-||
E ||--------------|--------------|--------------|---------||
E Minor Pentatonic
G ||-------|-------|-----7-|-------||
D ||-------|-----7-|-5-5---|-----7-||
A ||-----7-|-5-5---|-------|-5-5---||
E ||-5-5---|-------|-------|-------||
E Minor Pentatonic
G ||-------|-------|-4-4---|-------||
D ||-------|-5-5---|-----7-|-5-5---||
A ||-5-5---|-----7-|-------|-----7-||
E ||-----7-|-------|-------|-------||
Diatonic Arpeggios in A Major
G ||-------2-----|-------4-----|-------6-----|--------7-----|
D ||-----2---2---|-----4---4---|-----6---6---|------7---7---|
A ||---4-------4-|---5-------5-|---7-------7-|----9-------9-|
E ||-5-----------|-7-----------|-9-----------|-10-----------|
G |---------9------|----------11-------|
D |-------9---9----|-------11----11----|
A |----11-------11-|----12----------12-|
E |-12-------------|-14----------------|
G |----------13-------|----------14-------||
D |-------12----12----|-------14----14----||
A |----14----------14-|----16----------16-||
E |-16----------------|-17----------------||
Quadruplets
Play each quadruplet exercise starting with the 3rd finger: 3213, 2132, 1321, etc.
Then, start with the 2nd finger: 2132, 1321, 3213, etc.
Lastly, start with the 1st finger: 1321, 3213, 2132, etc.
Accent first note of each grouping to emphasize the quadruplets.
Single String Quadruplets
G ||---------|---------|-------------|---------||
D ||---------|---------|-------------|---------||
A ||-7-7-7-7-|-9-9-9-9-|-10-10-10-10-|-9-9-9-9-||
E ||---------|---------|-------------|---------||
Adjacent String Duplets
G ||---------|---------|---------|---------||
D ||---------|---------|---------|---------||
A ||-4-4-----|-2-2-----|-5-5-----|-4-4-----||
E ||-----2-2-|-----2-2-|-----2-2-|-----2-2-||
String Skipping Duplets
G ||---------|---------|-3-3-----|---------||
D ||---------|-4-4-----|---------|-4-4-----||
A ||-4-4-----|---------|---------|---------||
E ||-----2-2-|-----2-2-|-----2-2-|-----2-2-||
E Minor Pentatonic
G ||---------|-----4-7-|-4-------|-----||
D ||---------|-5-7-----|---7-5---|-----||
A ||-----5-7-|---------|-------7-|-5---||
E ||-5-7-----|---------|---------|---7-||
Diatonic Arpeggios in A Major
G ||-------2-|-4-------|-------6-|-7--------|
D ||-----2---|---4-----|-----6---|---7------|
A ||---4-----|-----5---|---7-----|-----9----|
E ||-5-------|-------7-|-9-------|-------10-|
G |---------9-|-11----------|----------13-|-14----------||
D |-------9---|----11-------|-------12----|----14-------||
A |----11-----|-------12----|----14-------|-------16----||
E |-12--------|----------14-|-16----------|----------17-||
