Flat fretting fingers a good thing?

[Jazzdogg]

Guitar: flat fingers quite a bit
Bass: Well ... there's a reason (I believe) two of my fingertips were crushed off, twenty-some years ago (To make me appreciate 'em, in case that wasn't clear).

My technique changed remarkably in the year following a band saw injury to my left hand; some of that changed technique lives on more than 20 years later..

 

[chris_b]

Without getting my bass out of the case I couldn't tell you how I fret the notes. My guess is I'll use a range of different techniques as and when.

Getting the notes out isn't the problem. Getting my brain to think of them in the first place is where I usually struggle.

 

[billiam5billion]

Stopped the video the moment he said that piano players are limited in their expressiveness. To completely disregard touch and pedals is amazingly dismissive. To quote Vonnegut, "Love yourself, and make your instrument sing about it."

 

[LindaLoveBass]

I probably play with my fingers quite flat. I have short fingers and have been playing that way since I started back in 92. In fact I'd rather be able to flatten my fingers even more for muting with I slap on my 5 string. On a four string with 38mm neck I still struggle with certain techniques because of short little fingers - so much easier to slap on my four string though, because I can ghost the notes better. If I'm paying something like Iron Maiden or Megadeth kind of basslines then whether I'm playing flat or on the tips probably varies every five seconds depending on what strings and notes I'm reaching for next. Not really a conscious thing for me.

 

[bwildt]

I mostly tend toward flat fingering, but it is no longer a choice. Arthritis is catching up with me and I can't curl my fingers tightly closed like I used to. It doesn't bother my bass playing, but my guitar technique is starting to suffer.

 

[slagbass]

No idea, have never even given a thought as to whether I use flat or arched fingers, never even occurred to me that there were 2 ways you can fret a note

Before I read this thread, that would have been my answer. After seeing the videos and descriptions, I think I'm pretty much in the "flat" camp. I wonder if that is why I've always felt more comfortable on lower radius (ie. more curved) fretboards?

 

[Rick Penrose]

Michael Manring is good to watch to see a buffet of techniques and hand positions. Really something to see, yet Michael himself will say he has only scratched the surface of what is possible. There is no one right way to play.

 

[Watchootognbout]

If you want to make all your notes staccato,then "flat finger"your fretting hand.
If you want legato,then arch your fretting hand fingers.

 

[StereoPlayer]

Tal Wilkenfeld plays flat fingered. No pic, because for some reason TB can't handle it….

 

[icarus88]

Finger as flat as possible but still use the tips when needed. Guitar is different, you would use your tips mostly only on guitar.

sorry for bringing back an old topic, i also use flat fingers all the time for muting the lower strings, i don't know if i'm doing it wrong, but it doesn't always work

 

[chris_b]

The amount of movement and speed involved in the line and the number of strings used might influence how I fret the notes but I was just checking. . . . 99% of the time I'm playing with flat fingers.

 

[Ritter667]

Depends on what I play, and where on the fretboard I play.

Not really something I thought or think about, it just happens, depending.