A critique?

[Jainarayan]

I don’t know if it’s allowed to post a short video, I checked the rules and didn’t see anything yes or no. If it’s not ok, no hard feelings if it’s removed.

The video (2:38) is me asking for a critique of the sound. As I said in the video this is only about my 3rd time handling the bass, it’s new. I have very rudimentary knowledge of it. I play rhythm guitar so chords, R 3 5 , etc. are not alien to me. I had a bass years ago but didn’t get very far. This time will be different.

Btw it’s not plugged in. I play in the living room/dining room, didn’t think I needed an amp, though I’m leaning towards a small amp.

Btw btw I’m not nervous, I do stutter.

So here goes.

 

[flojob]

Hi J! I bet you're going to do great, and hopefully it'll keep being a pursuit of fun and ambition for you.
I think you're right about you're plucking hand...I think it's your fingernails too. They're curved the way that I see classical guitar players plucking strings. Ideally you should use the pads of your fingers. It won't be as loud, but the tone may be closer to what you're looking for.
Another thing I noticed was your fretting hand...the fingers that you aren't using are lifting way up in the air. I know it's just because you started playing bass, but it's something to think about. Keeping them closer to the frets will help you stay relaxed and give less fatigue, and keep you in better playing position on the neck. There's videos out there that address both of these things, and I bet a lot of it will go away as you play more

 

[Jainarayan]

All that’s just what I wanted know (and hear) thanks. And very encouraging. I fully intend to “own” this and my guitar playing.

 

[Papageno]

Since you're asking. I see lots of issues with your technique:

Right hand:
- get rid of the nails (as much as possible).
- play with the pads of your fingers
- use rest strokes
- you need to mute the unplayed strings. Floating thumb is one the effective ways of achieving this.

Left hand:
- lower your thumb (it should not raise above the neck)
- use consistent fingerings: you can chose 1-2-3-4, or Simandl 1-2-4 (especially in the lower part of the neck); best is probably to learn both.
- use your pinky (a better posture will make this easier)
- stop those flying fingers.

If you can afford it, try to get a teacher to put you on track with the fundamentals: posture, right hand, left hand technique. If not, there are lots of valuable resources on youtube.

If you are motivated and persistent, you will be successful. TB is the right place to get lots of information and feed back.

 

[Jainarayan]

Thanks for the feedback, exactly what I wanted to hear. I’m going to print out both these posts so they don’t fade away. I figured most of those things would be issues, I could feel it, and playing bass is not playing guitar. But I just didn’t know exactly was wrong. The “ stop those flying fingers “ kinda made me laugh because my guitar teacher used to yell at me about that. I broke the habit on the guitar, so I got work to do here. Yep, I am thinking about lessons.

I fell in with a guitar shop owner who's very personal. I’ve already spent about 2 hours in the shop just talking with him about playing. I didn’t buy the bass from him but he said to bring it in and he’ll do what needs to be done, probably gratis because I just bought an acoustic 6-string from him. I developed bad habits when I first learned guitar, and it took me a long time to break them. I don’t want a repeat.