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3 finger technique

IvanBassist

IvanBassist

Commercial User
Jun 8, 2008
3,743
11,118
Hamburg, Germany
www.youtube.com
Disclosures
Content Manager at Darkglass Electronics, Dingwall Guitars Artist
#1
hi everyone, i started to play bass 1 1/2 years ago and i mainly play metal. thrash, heavy that stuff. my point is that i do not want to use a pick because i like the sound of fingers and i can use the thumb, slap or tap.

I've read a lot of posts about 3 finger style of playing and i'm not sure which one should i use. RING > MIDDLE > INDEX > RING? or RING > MIDDLE > INDEX > MIDDLE?

I find RING MIDDLE INDEX RING much more natural, but i don't know any exercises to get it to work.
Please help if you know any.

Thanks for reading, Ivan
 
#3
I don't do it much, but you can get that great galloping triplet feel with ring-middle-index. Going r-m-i-m etc is probably a better technique to learn, you'd just have to get used to it. I've tried to get it down a few times, but I find it fairly difficult, and my natural two finger style ends up being faster.
 
#4
There's no point to rmim, as you're still using your middle finger every second note. There are three main patterns to 3-fingered playing:

R M I R
M I R M
I R M I

It shouldn't be too hard to see the pattern. Really, you should get a constant stream going: R M I R M I R M I R M I etc. etc.
 
#5
I use ring-middle-index-ring... It took me years to get it to be comfortable at speed. You almost have to think in polymeters to get it right. Your right hand is playing in threes but you have to think in fours. Just like the last poster said, R-m-i-r-M-i-r-m-I-r-m-i... It's the one thing I practice constantly away from the bass. On my pocket or any surface around. It drives everyone around me crazy but they can't play 32nd notes with their right hands.
 
#8
I play with three fingers on the right hand. But I never did any exercises. I just tried to do it and it came naturally after some time. Now I can't play as fast with two fingers as used to, but I do very well with three, so no problem. I'd say just try to play the lines you think would be easier to do with three...just do it the way it is confortable for you.
 
#9
For exercises - do your scales but hit each tension twice. This forces you to play a four feel. Do scales where you return to the root between each tension, again each note twice - this will get you into string jumping territory. Repeat X infinity until you get the feel and then work on speeding up.
 
#10
Here is the best way of developing the habit of fingerpicking.

First take a Major scale. Play it up and down a span of 2-3 octaves.
As far as fingers go, play it 10 times with each of the following finger patterns

I M I M I M
M R M R M R
I R I R I R
I M R I M R

The reason for learning all of these 2 finger patterns is in 3 finger picking, all of those two finger patterns will appear.

So you got that with the major scale?
Do it with a melodic minor ascending and natural minor decending

Same finger patterns

Now play another major scale in a different key.

Do the melodic minor/natural minor in another key.

Practice it very slowly with a metronome and slowly build speed. Eventually you'll learn to play with three fingers without even thinking about it.

Once you get it down, why not learn to use that pinky too? It's just sitting there doing nothing, it could be helping with the picking. Efficiency is the key. No matter what you're trying to do, always think of a more efficient way of doing it as well.
Every 15 minutes of doing this, take a 1-2 minute break.
 
#14
I've never understood how someone could play I/M/R naturally and here's why....

Pretend you're a nervous wreck and tap your fingers on your table, desk, whatever you have....which direction did you move? If you are a normal human being and not an alien species....you likely went pinky, ring, middle, index. :)

Same with two finger plucking, I tend to use my middle as my #1...it's just a general rule and shifts depending on what comes next.
 
#16
I practice on surfaces as well. I think the technique is very good for triplets, they're easier to do, and can sound tighter.

A problem I've experienced, when starting out, is my ring finger isn't calloused, so it creates a different attack sound than the middle and index. So it doesn't sound as even as it could but I know that the callous will come with time.
 
#17
Am I the only one who scrictly uses I.M.R?

If I tap on the table it's I.M.R.P! Doing it the other way just feels messed up...

I mean, if you're playing with two fingers, you use I.M.I.M, so why would you reverse that to play with 3 fingers?

I'm pretty sure John Myung uses I.M.R and his 3 finger technique is NUTS.

And I've been practicing 3 fingers quite a lot recently since I'm trying to get it up to speed. The main thing I'm finding is PRACTICE with OPEN EARS -- practice does make perfect after all :)

A problem I've experienced, when starting out, is my ring finger isn't calloused, so it creates a different attack sound than the middle and index. So it doesn't sound as even as it could but I know that the callous will come with time.
Click to expand...

This is what I'm getting too, which kinda sucks. You can always roll off your tone a little till the callouses build up to hide it a little? Just say you've gone off treble for a while and turn up your bass tons ;)

And this problem randomly leads to me turning my amp down and digging in madly with one finger, Geddy Lee style (always fun till my hand starts aching :P). My index finger just sounds AWESOME. So much so, I need to start playing only with my ringer ringer sometimes...maybe help even the sound a bit :/
 
#19
Martin Bormann said:
Here is the best way of developing the habit of fingerpicking.

First take a Major scale. Play it up and down a span of 2-3 octaves.
As far as fingers go, play it 10 times with each of the following finger patterns

I M I M I M
M R M R M R
I R I R I R
I M R I M R

The reason for learning all of these 2 finger patterns is in 3 finger picking, all of those two finger patterns will appear.

So you got that with the major scale?
Do it with a melodic minor ascending and natural minor decending

Same finger patterns

Now play another major scale in a different key.

Do the melodic minor/natural minor in another key.

Practice it very slowly with a metronome and slowly build speed. Eventually you'll learn to play with three fingers without even thinking about it.

Every 15 minutes of doing this, take a 1-2 minute break.
Click to expand...

OMG! this has helped me a lot O_o i can see a big difference now :D
 
#20
nysbob said:
I guess we're just wired different. It could be genetic thing - like the ability to curl your tongue.
Click to expand...

I can do it. Does it make me the more awesome man? ;)

I suffer from some mild form of dyslexia -- I wonder if that has anything to do with it. I'm very similar to my dad in lots of ways -- I'll have to ask him to tap his fingers on the desk without thinking too much about it and see what order he taps in :)
 

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