strength in fretting/plucking fingers (both hands)

[tony82]

Hi everyone

I have a bit of a problem deciding what's a good combination of strength to apply in each fingers (for both hands). Surely there is not only 1 way to go but I can't seem to find the right balance here.

I find that using the minium strength in the fretting fingers helps a lot for fast and smooth transitions from note to note. Likewise for the striking fingers with which I can quickly switch from one string to the other and have a fairly homogenous tone regardless of which finger hits a given string.

However if I do both then I end up with a very shy sound (not surprisingly) and while it's great to play this way, i also feel like i could make my grandma like most metallica tunes as a result.

On the other hand applying a lot of strenght on fingers of both/either hands results in the wanted energy but my play becomes much more approximative and tiring.

Because I like playing some pretty dynamics songs, I run into this dilemna: ease+narcolepsy or energy+struggle.

I also find hard to, say, play soft with fretting fingers but hard with plucking ones, and conversely. Is it something I should work on? Is there some kind of magical combination I'm not aware of?

Any advice would be very welcome!!
Thanks,

Anthony

[fearceol]

Originally Posted by tony82

I find that using the minimum strength in the fretting fingers helps a lot for fast and smooth transitions from note to note. Likewise for the striking fingers with which I can quickly switch from one string to the other and have a fairly homogeneous tone regardless of which finger hits a given string.

You appear to have answered your own question here. IMO, you just need to keep working on it until you achieve your ideal sound.

[tony82]

Hi farceol, thanks for the response.
But do you have any suggestions in order to make it sound a bit more energetic? i kinda have the feeling that fretting hand should always be soft, but if i pluck hard with the right one then the fretting fingers don't hold the note properly anymore..

[Skitch it!]

Use whatever the music needs, light is fluid and consistent, but when you've got to growl you've just got to 'GO FOR IT'

Lower action IME easier growling.

[Big B.]

I try to keep my left hand fingers consistent at all times., adjusting only the right hand for dynamics. You should find the point where the note sounds clearly at any volume with as little pressure as possible. This fights the natural urge to end up with the "grip of death" on the neck when you dig in. Perhaps you should spend some time isolating your hands during practice and really get a feel for each hand.

[tony82]

Originally Posted by Big B.

I try to keep my left hand fingers consistent at all times., adjusting only the right hand for dynamics. You should find the point where the note sounds clearly at any volume with as little pressure as possible. This fights the natural urge to end up with the "grip of death" on the neck when you dig in. Perhaps you should spend some time isolating your hands during practice and really get a feel for each hand.

That's a really useful answer, kind of what I was expecting. That 'grip of death' is a real problem of mine., I guess working on independence of strength in fingers of each hands is the key here.

Thanks!

[Big B.]

They key word there would be independence over strength. Strength is important but independence makes your existing strength more efficient.

The death grip is the one bad habit that came to naturally and it took me a while to really believe what my hands were telling me when I played with a lighter touch. I guess it did'nt jive with the metalhead I was.

[Fergie Fulton]

Originally Posted by tony82

I also find hard to, say, play soft with fretting fingers but hard with plucking ones, and conversely. Is it something I should work on? Is there some kind of magical combination I'm not aware of?

Any advice would be very welcome!!
Thanks,

Anthony

Well look at it from this point of view. The energy you give off is what will excite a crowd. Your movement around stage, how you struggle to pull riffs and songs off and always seem to just succeed. The way you get in and out of situations and recover just in time......well this is all showmanship. You can act or give the impression of digging in and playing with power without actually doing it...consider it like acting.
When you go and see a film or a stage show you buy into the character, you empathise with him so his situation on stage is very believable, playing is much the same thing if you just stand there and make it look smooth and easy the audience will see it as smooth and easy, but make it a show, a battle between you and what is possible on your bass and what you go through for them and they will buy in to it......after all its entertainment as well you know.

[Skitch it!]

Try this as a little tool to note your pressure

http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showth...t=#post9679598

[tony82]

Originally Posted by Fergie Fulton

Well look at it from this point of view. The energy you give off is what will excite a crowd. Your movement around stage, how you struggle to pull riffs and songs off and always seem to just succeed. The way you get in and out of situations and recover just in time......well this is all showmanship. You can act or give the impression of digging in and playing with power without actually doing it...consider it like acting.
When you go and see a film or a stage show you buy into the character, you empathise with him so his situation on stage is very believable, playing is much the same thing if you just stand there and make it look smooth and easy the audience will see it as smooth and easy, but make it a show, a battle between you and what is possible on your bass and what you go through for them and they will buy in to it......after all its entertainment as well you know.

interesting, I guess it's also about acting in a way. but old habits die hard

Originally Posted by Skitch it!

Try this as a little tool to note your pressure

http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showth...t=#post9679598

Thanks, are you referring to the video? or your post?

[Skitch it!]

^ The post ; )

[Billnc]

Slash sells Titanium strings cause he 'hits' them so hard. Show bizness sells strings.

[jordy_on_bass]

Fretting hand death grips = reduced ability in able to fret complex parts. I had a music teacher tell me once that if I dont try to make the strings into flat bar metal and kept my palm 'clean' than I can play basslines which I couldn't play before. He was right

In regards to your hands not co-ordinating, it's the P word that will fix it. I couldn't co-ordinate my arms properly to play a smooth drum beat to save my life, but I am sure that if I practiced, I probably could.

Just my .02

cheers,
Jordan

[mambo4]

Gary Willis also wrote about it his 101 bass tips book.

The exercise is simple:

1.) fret a note, and start plucking ( fret cleanly: on top/just behind the fret)
2.) as you pluck, slowly decrease your left hand pressure
3.) eventually you will ease up too far and the string will buzz/rattle against the fret
4.) as you pluck, slowly increase the pressure until the note rings cleanly again. This is "the minimum pressure required to fret a note"
5.) repeat 2-4 over and over again, paying close attention to how your hand feels at the moment you start/stop buzzing.

The point is to familiarize your brain and left hand muscles with that magic pressure point so that you know how much to relax, when you notice your death grip kicking in.

As mentioned elsewhere, this is an awareness that you must develop as much it is a muscle skill. You must spend some playing time consciously thinking about easing up , and eventually is becomes more of a natural sensitivity than a a conscious effort.

here's Gary himself explaining it.

[Chris K]

Just my 0.02: it's not in the amount of force you use, but in your musical energy. Crisp and accurate play is what it's about. Did you ever try to play very actively at low volume? Once you can do that, the only thing you have to do is turn up your master pot.