Bent fingers or straighter fingers?

[vindibona1]

I see a lot of guys, like some of those incredible gospel players, (i.e. Andrew Gouche, I think) who, when plucking have their fingers almost straight, extended from where they attach at the hand with relatively little bend in them. They are lightning fast and it seems to work for them. I see some classical guys like that too.

Naturally, my fingers seem to want to approach plucking differently. My wrist is straight and relaxed. My fingers, coming out of the base of my hand have a slight angle (not quite 45°) and my fingers at the 2nd joint form a similar angle. In generally most of the motion in plucking comes from the 2nd knuckle rather than from movement at the base of the hand. It's comfortable and relatively stress-free.

In other words, I see guys play with "straighter" fingers than I do and more power from the base of the hand, where my plucking action comes mostly from the tip of the finger to the 2nd joint. Am I giving up anything by not emulating a straighter finger?

 

[AboutSweetSue]

One straight, one bent at a 25 degree angle. No more, no less.

 

[Groove Doctor]

It’s an individual thing. Stick with what works best for you.

 

[AboutSweetSue]

^^^Incorrect. A 25 degree angle on the middle finger is best. It’s longer that the pointer. This makes sense. Look at Grooves middle finger....tell me that thing isn’t 25 degrees.

 

[Vinny_G]

Am I giving up anything by not emulating a straighter finger?

I don't think so, but you should try to find out if it works for you.

Extended fingers have less strength, so this requires a different setup. These players must have a very low action and they must play their bass like a piano, they just have to touch the strings to make a sound. I see only advantages to bending the fingers. In my experience, you have more strength, more dexterity, more dynamics and a cleaner articulation. But in the end, what works for you is okay.

 

[Nashrakh]

^^^Incorrect. A 25 degree angle on the middle finger is best. It’s longer that the pointer. This makes sense. Look at Grooves middle finger....tell me that thing isn’t 25 degrees.

This would assume that all human index and middle fingers have sizes proportional to each other so the 25 degrees work out.

That said you still haven't given a logically solid reason why your suggestion is "the best". Why not bend both fingers so the 25 degree issue becomes irrelevant?

 

[SteveCS]

IMHO there is no right or wrong answer. Different finger attitudes, stiffnesses, velocities and straightness all yield different tones and attacks, and most, if not all, are useful. The point of practice is to gain control over them all such that the outcome in performance is determined by us, not random variation. The right approach is the one that gives the right result for the note in hand, and may be different for the next note.
YMMV

 

[AboutSweetSue]

This would assume that all human index and middle fingers have sizes proportional to each other so the 25 degrees work out.

That said you still haven't given a logically solid reason why your suggestion is "the best". Why not bend both fingers so the 25 degree issue becomes irrelevant?

I really don’t care how you bend your fingers. The proposition that there is a right way is so absurd that this discussion is pointless....which is what I was pointing out in a 25 degree angled way. As you pointed out, the variables are too great to pinpoint one certain position.

 

[Watchootognbout]

Do I?
That depends on how I'm playing a passage.

There isn't one position for eveything.

 

[Engle]

Take a look at Geddy Lee’s right hand

 

[Dana R Gregory]

I was taught to bend at the first knuckle on the finger, not the base. This gives much better control when playing fast. It works for me.

 

[Thumpin6string]

I'll go with bent, but I don't have a choice.

Getting old sucks!

 

[Wasnex]

I see a lot of guys, like some of those incredible gospel players, (i.e. Andrew Gouche, I think) who, when plucking have their fingers almost straight, extended from where they attach at the hand with relatively little bend in them. They are lightning fast and it seems to work for them. I see some classical guys like that too.

Naturally, my fingers seem to want to approach plucking differently. My wrist is straight and relaxed. My fingers, coming out of the base of my hand have a slight angle (not quite 45°) and my fingers at the 2nd joint form a similar angle. In generally most of the motion in plucking comes from the 2nd knuckle rather than from movement at the base of the hand. It's comfortable and relatively stress-free.

In other words, I see guys play with "straighter" fingers than I do and more power from the base of the hand, where my plucking action comes mostly from the tip of the finger to the 2nd joint. Am I giving up anything by not emulating a straighter finger?

I started out playing with straight fingers. I brought this technique with me when I transitioned from string bass. I actually used a straight finger and a bent finger technique on string bass.

Early in my career I noticed one of my guitar player friends used bent fingers when he played bass. I tried it and found it very uncomfortable, so I didn't pursue it.

Years later, my organization hired a young bass player who I would consider a prodigy. He used bent fingers and I noticed he had incredible tone and the ability to really shape the sounds of the notes in an expressive manner. I had been exploring floating thumb, slap, and using index, middle, ring finger for plucking by this time, so bending my fingers no longer felt so awkward.

I have transitioned primarily to using bent fingers now. I think my tone is punchier and I have more control and the ability to produce a wider range of sounds. With straight fingers I thought my tone was smoother.

I don't necessarily agree that straight fingers have less strength. I have always played with a light touch, even now that I use bent fingers. Transitioning to bent fingers involved building up different muscles in my hand. So from my perspective it felt like using bent fingers required more strength.

Depending on the type of note patterns I am playing, I may still revert to fixed thumb and straight fingers. I agree with the others who have said there is no one best way. IMHO there are things you can do better with straight fingers, and there are things you can do better with curved fingers.

 

[bbh]

When I’m doing eighth notes that need to sound the same, I’ll cock picking hand at an angle that makes the middle finger closer in length to the first finger. Otherwise, I pay no attention to it.

 

[nilorius]

straighter

 

[Chrisk-K]

Pi/7 is the best tone angle.

 

[Bassist4Eris]

I've never really given it much thought, but I just checked, and I play with my fingers bent.

One thing I've noticed about Andrew Gouche is, as great as he is, his ergonomics leave a lot to be desired. Look at the bend in that wrist. If that's what allows him to play with straighter fingers, I'd say it's not worth it.

 

[Nephilymbass]

I see a lot of guys, like some of those incredible gospel players, (i.e. Andrew Gouche, I think) who, when plucking have their fingers almost straight, extended from where they attach at the hand with relatively little bend in them. They are lightning fast and it seems to work for them. I see some classical guys like that too.

Naturally, my fingers seem to want to approach plucking differently. My wrist is straight and relaxed. My fingers, coming out of the base of my hand have a slight angle (not quite 45°) and my fingers at the 2nd joint form a similar angle. In generally most of the motion in plucking comes from the 2nd knuckle rather than from movement at the base of the hand. It's comfortable and relatively stress-free.

In other words, I see guys play with "straighter" fingers than I do and more power from the base of the hand, where my plucking action comes mostly from the tip of the finger to the 2nd joint. Am I giving up anything by not emulating a straighter finger?

I do both depending on the part.

Really my main right hand technique gripe/thing is I can’t stand to see players playing finger-style with their wrist bent like 90 degrees. The muscles that move our fingers are in our forearm not our hands. Having the wrist bent all to hell takes away a lot of the strength in your hand and makes you work a lot harder than you need to.

 

[Tazziedevil]

I see a lot of guys, like some of those incredible gospel players, (i.e. Andrew Gouche, I think) who, when plucking have their fingers almost straight, extended from where they attach at the hand with relatively little bend in them. They are lightning fast and it seems to work for them. I see some classical guys like that too.

Naturally, my fingers seem to want to approach plucking differently. My wrist is straight and relaxed. My fingers, coming out of the base of my hand have a slight angle (not quite 45°) and my fingers at the 2nd joint form a similar angle. In generally most of the motion in plucking comes from the 2nd knuckle rather than from movement at the base of the hand. It's comfortable and relatively stress-free.

In other words, I see guys play with "straighter" fingers than I do and more power from the base of the hand, where my plucking action comes mostly from the tip of the finger to the 2nd joint. Am I giving up anything by not emulating a straighter finger?

ive never thought too much about it, but I would think a slight bend in the fingers would put less stress on the wrist and enable more powerful plucking with less effort...

 

[James Collins]

Straight wrist police are on the scene. I think the key is really to just have a relaxed hand in whatever position.

I do both depending on the part. View attachment 3622402

Really my main right hand technique gripe/thing is I can’t stand to see players playing finger-style with their wrist bent like 90 degrees. The muscles that move our fingers are in our forearm not our hands. Having the wrist bent all to hell takes away a lot of the strength in your hand and makes you work a lot harder than you need to.

Muscles that move our fingers are in the palm and forearms. The muscles in the palm move a bit more independently than the forearm ones, but you can get by either way. When you bend your first knuckle (mcp) you are using your lumbricals in your palm. When you bend the other joints (pip and dip) you use your flexors in the forearm. The reverse is true for extending the fingers. The mcp is extended by muscles in the forearm and the pip and dip joints are extended by your interosseous muscles in the palm...allegedly.

The shared muscles in the forearm is the biggest reason you need to relax all your fingers when playing. If day you hold your ring and small finger maximally extended because you only play index and middle fingers, you can't fully flex your index and middle fingers...no or little flexion at the dip joint in particular.