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Finger style problems still..
- Thread starter gai113
- Start date
As it has been posted several times on here, roll them fingertips! Speed will come with practice. Alternate fingers on your plucking hand. On the first fret hit the string with your index finger. On the second fret, hit the string with your middle finger. 3rd fret, hit with your index finger, so on and so forth. Start slow and the speed will come. Its helped me 
There are two kinds of fingerpicking---free stroke and rest stroke. Most bass playing is done rest stroke. That is, when you pick a string, your finger then rests on the next string behind it. For finger angle, try hanging your hand over the edge of the bass with the bend of your wrist right at the edge. Don't hang your arm over the edge unless you need just a tad to reach the G-string. Your fingers would be at about a 45° angle to the body of your bass. Relax, get floppy, to help get into the groove.
You will also get more punch in your notes using rest stroke. Try it, if you don't already do it. Take a one-measure phrase and repeat it over and over until you start to feel something. Anything at all. The longer you go, the more you will discover. That's what I did for practice tonight, groove. No string of notes is any good without the feeling. You can get the feeling best by playing the most simple thing. The first thing that comes off your fingertips will do just fine. Then, groove it.
You will also get more punch in your notes using rest stroke. Try it, if you don't already do it. Take a one-measure phrase and repeat it over and over until you start to feel something. Anything at all. The longer you go, the more you will discover. That's what I did for practice tonight, groove. No string of notes is any good without the feeling. You can get the feeling best by playing the most simple thing. The first thing that comes off your fingertips will do just fine. Then, groove it.
Interesting take on this as I have this one bass (only one) that when my finger hits the string behind it as mentioned above I get clicking sounds. I thought it was the bass and the action, and I posted in the setup forum but I have now isolated it to this cause. I'm considering changing strings because it is annoying and only happens with this one bass (I have 7). Has this ever happened to anyone else? The only thing I've found (so far) that alleviates it is to play extremely light which is hard to do consistently.
Are you talking like a hum type sound or just a muffled ghost note...ghost note is good and encouraged if used effectively and in a funky context can add greatly to feel.
If it's making a hum type sound, it might be your pick-ups. Active PU's sometimes are too hot and will do this. I know nothing about PU's, sheilding, wiring pots, etc. I plug in and play, but you might wanna look into that.
Try lowering the PUs. Sounds odd.
As for the OP... All I can say without seeing your style is that light touch ON BOTH HANDS is required for a nice, even, round tone.
Try this. Put your fretting hand index finger on 5th fret A string (D) and middle finger on 6th fret E string (A#).
Don't push them down yet, just keep the fingers on the strings. This is your starting position.
Put your plucking hand thumb ON the PU, like, not above it anchored. Just hovering on top of the PU, same side as the strings, perpendicular to the face of the bass. Idea with your thumb is to move back and forth between the area above the E string and resting ON the E string. Just for like 1cm or 1/4 inch whatever.
As for the pluckin' fingers, when you pluck A or E string, they should snap back to your thumb. Just roll 'em over the string and keep your LAST (first if you start counting from the fingernail) knuckle loose so it bends ever so slightly and snaps of the top of the string to your thumb.
Your objective here is control your fingers completely.
So on to the practice. Keep your fretting hand fingers ON THE STRINGS all the time. This means that when you lift off from the note you still keep the finger on it to mute it and you have to curve it a bit so the A string can vibrate freely behind it. It also means you have to keep your hand fairly relaxed so they won't fly everywhere.
So fret the E string on 6th fret, keep a beat with your leg/metronome slooooow tempo and watch your hands! Play 4 quarter notes while alternating your plucking finger and snapping to your thumb and for the next bar do the 5th on A string for 4 quarter note. For now don't get frustrated if it's not RIGHT on the beat, just concentrate on getting it fluent and relaxed.
This way you mute the A string with your fretting hand and E string with both the thumb and the fretting finger. In fact, you could play the same thing whilst pressing the 6th on E the whole time and it will be automatically muted with your plucking hand thumb.
If you wonder what your hands should look like when playing do this.
Put BOTH your hands in front of you palm facing the ceiling. Now turn your plucking hand elbow upwards towards the ceiling so your palm falls a bit and looks relaxed. See that space between the thumb and index finger? Insert strings there and keep the hand as it is.
Fretting hand? Still got it palm upwards? Pull it back to your body where the neck of the bass lies and insert the neck between the thumb and the fingers. As relaxed as you can.
If this helps, good! If not, find a teacher who can actually see what you do and can give you exercises to get your fingers goin'!
The only time that I get a click is when I'm playing a note on say the A string and then play a note on the D string. If my left hand finger is still down on the A string as I'm plucking the D string I'll get a click.
I am having pretty much the same issues as the OP even after a year. I have been teaching myself too many bad habits that I finally decided to put out some ad's for a professional Bass teacher and not even make cost of 3 weekly lessons an issue. I just want to be proficient at playing and play well and if I have to take lessons for the next few years then so be it. I have plenty of time for practice and spend a few hours daily doing scales, runs and playing along to music.
The one bit of musical instruction I got at the beginning was from a GUITARIST trying to teach me Bass technique. That was a huge mistake
The one bit of musical instruction I got at the beginning was from a GUITARIST trying to teach me Bass technique. That was a huge mistake
This may not be textbook advice but I found that if I'm looking for alternate plucking speed, I angle my index and middle fingers slightly toward the bridge while firmly planting my thumb on a pick up. Instead of positioning my fingers perfectly perpendicular with the strings, I gain better fluency of motion with both finger tips at the same level instead of battling the fact that the middle finger is longer than the index finger. I hope this makes sense. Being that we are all anatomically different, you will find all of the little tricks that will work for you for as long as you keep up the good fight.
I've played for 24 years, always pizzicato, and I still work on my technique daily. It's a labor of love, but it'll pay off in time. if you're going to a bass camp, they'll set you straight. teachers can definetely help point you in the right direction. good luck. B.
I started just the opposite way. I went with the pick about 2 years ago and I feel as though I'm finally starting to come around. I still have work to do on muting. Finger style came pretty natural for me early on. I often wonder if being left handed while playing righty on the Bass has anything to do with it. Go figure huh?!
Berry Oakley might disagree with you. But since he died, I will. Actually he used finger picks, so I guess technically you could say he used his fingers. Kinda a hybid.
What I do is slightly curve my fingers so that the tips are in between pointing at the floor and pointing at the pickups (in a way, it's a relaxed natural curve, not something you really need to think about), then I "brush" the string I want to play and then finish the note by resting it on the next string (unless you're playing a note on the last string). I even "thump" the muted string for extra sound. Example: you're playing a note on the G string and you land and "thump" the muted D string. You'll be surprised at how much the "thump" adds to your playing, and it will help you with your fingering.
when i'm not super sloppy i kind of waltz my third finger or thumb around to do some muting, however if i'm playing really fast or loud my technique loosens up a bit
it's not something i learned to do it just comes from practicing and trying to be precise around the house unplugged
it's not something i learned to do it just comes from practicing and trying to be precise around the house unplugged
