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"Flying Fingers" Problem

T

tay

May 31, 2013
10
0
#1
Hello all,

I'm having a problem problem in which I need help with. I'm having this "flying fingers" problem which I feel will limit my playing in the long run. My problem is that when I move from fret to fret, my fingers are flying in the air, away from the fretboard. I can't seem to keep my fingers close to the fretboard and its kind of frustrating because I know it's not a good thing. I am working on scales very, very slowly, but it doesn't seem to help. Does anyone have any tips that can help me with this? I kind of don't want to move on until I have this under control.
 
#2
Well, I've been playing bass for 32 years and I play this way too. I use hammer-ons, pull-offs and slides in a large number of situations. One can argue that economy of motion is the "best" way to do things, and one could argue that developing one's own style is "better."

If your technique is hindering your ability to play fluidly and/or without injury, then you need to fix it. If not, then vive la difference, as they say in Mozambique.

I was watching the Who at the Isle of Wight, 1970 on Palladium the other day, and Entwistle was hammering his fingerings; all this on a slab P that had low action to begin with, if I am not mistaken.
 
#6
FretlessMainly said:
Well, I've been playing bass for 32 years and I play this way too. I use hammer-ons, pull-offs and slides in a large number of situations. One can argue that economy of motion is the "best" way to do things, and one could argue that developing one's own style is "better."

If your technique is hindering your ability to play fluidly and/or without injury, then you need to fix it. If not, then vive la difference, as they say in Mozambique.

I was watching the Who at the Isle of Wight, 1970 on Palladium the other day, and Entwistle was hammering his fingerings; all this on a slab P that had low action to begin with, if I am not mistaken.
Click to expand...

Well at the moment, I'm learning scales and the few that I have learned, I can play smoothly without hurting my arms/wrists. I was just concerned that it may not be a wise habit to keep as I'm learning.
 
#7
I have flying fingers as well, but I think as long as the notes are coming out clear, on time, without pain then you are ok. I have never had pain in my fretting hand, ever and I've been playing pretty fast arpeggios for years.

I think the reason it flies is because bassists usually fret their fingers with the fingers lying flat on the fretboard, instead of the fingers in a curve like many guitarists do. Playing with flat fingers on the picking hand might be uneven or even bad technique, but that's because those fingers use a lot more power in to pluck the strings whereas the fretting hand is much more fluid, with much less resistance.
 
#10
Koji_Sunioj said:
I have flying fingers as well, but I think as long as the notes are coming out clear, on time, without pain then you are ok. I have never had pain in my fretting hand, ever and I've been playing pretty fast arpeggios for years.

I think the reason it flies is because bassists usually fret their fingers with the fingers lying flat on the fretboard, instead of the fingers in a curve like many guitarists do. Playing with flat fingers on the picking hand might be uneven or even bad technique, but that's because those fingers use a lot more power in to pluck the strings whereas the fretting hand is much more fluid, with much less resistance.
Click to expand...

The reason I'm worrying is because down the line I want to play a bit faster, and it seems that if my fingers are so far away from the fretboard, I won't be able to achieve that.
 
#11
tay said:
The reason I'm worrying is because down the line I want to play a bit faster, and it seems that if my fingers are so far away from the fretboard, I won't be able to achieve that.
Click to expand...

I think by the time you get there your hands and forearm muscles will be conditioned to the point where it won't be as big of a problem.

You can try curling your hand a bit more when playing but I'm not sure how practical that would be given the wider neck of a bass, which furthermore I can't say if it works better since I never tried changing my own technique to such.

I think it might even be unavoidable for some to let their fingers fly because playing fast especially on the lower register of the fretboard requires a lot more of a stretch to reach some of those notes and certain hand/scalar positions. In that sense, stretching is something that your body will adjust to in terms of muscle/tendon/ligament dexterity in which point it the 'flying' aspect will become more controlled.
 
#12
Play slowly and when a finger flies away gently and calmly bring it back to where you want it to be. Someone showed me this when I was 15 or 16 and I will be forever grateful.

It just takes perserverence. I've never seen anyone who can't control their fingers if they work at it.
 
#13
jallenbass said:
Play slowly and when a finger flies away gently and calmly bring it back to where you want it to be. Someone showed me this when I was 15 or 16 and I will be forever grateful.

It just takes perserverence. I've never seen anyone who can't control their fingers if they work at it.
Click to expand...
I agree with this. Progress may be frustratingly slow, but just let it happen. Calm (relaxed) persistence is the key. Don't judge yourself for where you are now, but praise yourself for being calm and persistent, and then make note as you make progress. Slowly but surely.
 

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