Good Habits to Apply From the Start

[Alex Hodge]

Hey all,

Long-time reader, first-time poster here. I'm Alex and I'm from Nashville where I studied electric and upright bass with Roy Vogt for about a year and composition/arranging with Tyler Mire for about 9 months. I've been a bass owner since fifth grade but didn't actually play it much until my senior year of high school when my friend got me a regular gig at a pizza place. I just got done with my first week at the University of North Texas' jazz studies program and it has been an absolute blast so far. However, it's been very difficult due to my lack of experience, but that's to be expected at a place like this. I think I'm in a position to make sure I don't develop any bad habits, and I'm trying to practice from four to seven hours a day (not just scales, ear training as well) to keep up with my peers. I wanted to ask you guys, what can I do to avoid developing bad habits that veteran bass players have trouble getting rid of, and what can I do to get the most out of my practice sessions? I'm excited to be around so many amazing musicians and I want to make sure I can hang with them a few years down the road.

 

[1stnamebassist]

I don't believe their is really a right way or wrong way to play. The only thing that even really bums me out is watching someone play with flying fingers. By that I mean when I studied many years ago I was taught the one finger per fret method, and to always keep my fingers that weren't playing on the string behind whatever finger
is anchoring the note. Seems like a bit of wasted motion and energy. Besides that I haven't got much! The bass guitar is a fairly young instrument and lots of folks come up with interesting ways of playing it. I believe locking yourself into one method may be stifling to creativity.

 

[TKenrick]

I don't believe their is really a right way or wrong way to play.

I'm not entirely sure that I agree with this in absolute terms - whilst we're all still figuring out the best way(s) to play the bass as it's such a young instrument there are some technical things that I've seen that don't serve players well and often end up causing physical (not to mention musical) problems.

The only thing that even really bums me out is watching someone play with flying fingers. By that I mean when I studied many years ago I was taught the one finger per fret method, and to always keep my fingers that weren't playing on the string behind whatever finger is anchoring the note. Seems like a bit of wasted motion and energy.

Minimal fretting hand movement and a high level of finger independence (being able to isolate each finger and move it whilst keeping the others in place) are hugely important concepts to grasp. Whilst one finger per fret is useful in higher positions on the bass, it doesn't make a lot of sense in the first few frets of the instrument, which is where most bass players do the majority of their playing.

I'd advocate borrowing technique from upright bass and using the 3rd finger to support the pinky rather than to fret notes - if you've played upright before then you might already be doing this. [Invalid or Expired Link Removed] goes into more detail on the subject of left hand technique.

This video explains the problem with one finger per fret in lower positions:



I found that working through some double bass method books on electric bass had a hugely positive effect on my technique and made my left hand feel much more secure.

 

[1stnamebassist]

I guess I'm fortunate that I was taught one finger per fret and never had an issue with it. Even in the lowest position, although when I started at fourteen I did have a short scale bass. If I had started with a long scale it probably would have been an issue. Probably helps that I have decent size hands also.

 

[Alex Hodge]

Thanks guys! I appreciate the input, I've got a bit of time to shed for first semester so I'll keep these ideas in mind.

 

[1stnamebassist]

I'm not entirely sure that I agree with this in absolute terms - whilst we're all still figuring out the best way(s) to play the bass as it's such a young instrument there are some technical things that I've seen that don't serve players well and often end up causing physical (not to mention musical) problems.



Minimal fretting hand movement and a high level of finger independence (being able to isolate each finger and move it whilst keeping the others in place) are hugely important concepts to grasp. Whilst one finger per fret is useful in higher positions on the bass, it doesn't make a lot of sense in the first few frets of the instrument, which is where most bass players do the majority of their playing.

I'd advocate borrowing technique from upright bass and using the 3rd finger to support the pinky rather than to fret notes - if you've played upright before then you might already be doing this. [Invalid or Expired Link Removed] goes into more detail on the subject of left hand technique.

This video explains the problem with one finger per fret in lower positions:



I found that working through some double bass method books on electric bass had a hugely positive effect on my technique and made my left hand feel much more secure.

There is s gentlemen who plays with his bass up on his chest and reaches up underneath to play or slap and he is incredible. I believe his name is Quentin but his last name I forget. I met another gentleman who plays a right hand bass upside down left handed. He was fantastic. That's kind of the point I was making. And I have absolutely no problem 1 finger per fret in the lower position but that's me. Some are served better with the double bass method. It's funny but the guy who first taught me on bass was an upright teacher. I was his first student on electric and he advocated one finger per fret ala Mel Bays bass instruction books!

 

[ZenG]

One thing I noticed over time is that I can get really good at banging off riffs and remembering songs.....and playing does get better with constant practise.

However......although the playing and everything else improves it's still easy to get sloppy on fingering.

I have found that setting aside some time and coming up with the most complicated finger exercises and note runs that I can think of pays off....

I tend to slack off and use 3 fingers on the fretting hand ....because it's easy......but there's times I like to use four.

So when I practise fingering exes I always use four .

I dream up all sorts of exercises....both with the fretting hand and in combo with the finger-picking hand (which I practise using four as well).

It's amazing what one can come up with.....and it certainly helps me.....

 

[TKenrick]

There is s gentlemen who plays with his bass up on his chest and reaches up underneath to play or slap and he is incredible. I believe his name is Quentin but his last name I forget. I met another gentleman who plays a right hand bass upside down left handed. He was fantastic. That's kind of the point I was making.

There are lots of players who are absolute monsters but have an unorthodox approach to the instrument, and I have nothing against that at all - that's how bass playing evolves. Jimmy Haslip plays upside down and does incredible things, and Michael Manring has adopted a variety of ideas that are definitely not 'traditional' - however both of these guys have immaculate technique that sticks to certain conventions. I took it from the Alex's original post that he was asking about bad habits in technique (or other areas) to avoid rather than pursuing a slightly more groundbreaking approach to bass playing.

Part of the issue is that for every 'rule' there are notable exceptions. The world is full of bass players who use 1 finger per fret exclusively and are much more accomplished than I am. My suggestion of looking into an alternative is based on personal experiences as a player and teacher - I started out using a strictly 1 finger per fret approach but found that the upright-like approach made much more sense from a physical point of view. Don't get me wrong, 1 finger per fret is extremely useful in certain situations, but it's essentially a guitar concept that doesn't make a massive amount of sense to me in the lower registers of a bass, regardless of hand size.

Anyway, each to their own. What works for some might not work for others.

 

[mambo4]

There are 3 you tube vids I consider the 'holy trinity' of safe bass technique
linked in this post

 

[Camaro]

String-muting is paramount.

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Also;

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[Lanky Tunes]

I would say that the most important habits are not really about what you practice (that matters immensely, but it is secondary, assuming you are not just following some uber-******** approach), but how you treat practice.

Focus on:

- Quality over quantity.

You do need a certain amount of quantity (I don't buy the 10,000 hours thing, but the hours matter.), it is easy to simply fill the time you have, rather than making sure you are being productive. Make sure you are constantly reviewing how you can put in better practice sessions rather than longer or more practice sessions.

A lot of this is measuring the return on investment you expect on the content you are dealing with and trying to find things that accomplish more than one goal at a time.

- Confusing practice with other things.

I know this is semantics, but semantics matter when you want to be very specific.

I think of the parts of a bassists playing as divided up into parts, and while there is certainly overlap, developing separate mindsets enables you to get more from them each part. I think of it as a sliding scale with performing being on one end and having the mindset that is the most artistic and practice on the other end having the most analytical mindset. In the middle somewhere is writing, rehearsing, ect.

What I mean by that is that practice should be filled with things that may not give a heck of a lot of immediate satisfaction, but which pay off later with increased performance.

It is much like lifting weight (when done properly): The GOAL isn't to necessarily enjoy the process, but to look at it simply a s a means to an end. Depending upon your own personality, either weight lifting or practicing may be fun for you, but the fun doesn't have ANY relationship to the results.....unless, of course it is so much not fun to you that you quit.

 

[dreamadream99]

One finger per fret.
lay 'em down on the way up; peel 'em off on the way down.
keep fingers close to strings when not pressing them.
Only thing touching the bass on your fretting hand is thumb and fingers.

 

[carl h.]

Remember to put the bass down and walk completely away from it for a while. Go for a run/ride, hit the gym, read a book. You must maintain your whole physical and mental self - neglect these at your peril. Fastest way to hurt yourself is to spend too much time at anything.

Learn to balance your musical goals with life goals. Do you want to be the guy who can play anything at the age of 50, but can't walk upright or talk about anything else?

 

[rtav]

Keep that fretting hand thumb in the middle of the back of the neck as much as possible (but I do some wraparound stuff when necessary); also, check out the comments on TB about floating thumb or movable anchor and make use of their advice. There is a LOT of good advice here.

My .02

 

[JTE]

1. SING everything you learn. You simply MUST have the sound of what you're learning fixed in your head, otherwise it's all just wiggling the fingers.
2. Learn the melodies and the harmony, not just the bass part. Be able to hum the melody while playing the bass line
3. Don't let the philistines who preach that the bass is simply a drum hinder your musical growth. The bass has two EQUALLY IMPORTANT functions. One of them is to tie the harmonic/melodic parts of the music to the purely rhythmic parts. But we are also, and in many ways this is MORE important, responsible for defining the harmony. That means not only defining what the current chord is, but also what's coming next and how this chord relates to the one before it and the one after it. Never eschew one function in favor of the other.
4. LISTEN to all the instruments (and voices ARE instruments) in every musical endeavor you approach.

John

 

[Jon Moody]

LISTEN to all the instruments (and voices ARE instruments) in every musical endeavor you approach.

This. This. This.

I was on the stage at Cedar Point (theme park), playing 6 shows a day, 6 days a week and it was there that I finally - FINALLY - understood this. From then on, I've made the largest strides in playing and improving.

 

[Kim Jong Funk]

1. SING everything you learn. You simply MUST have the sound of what you're learning fixed in your head, otherwise it's all just wiggling the fingers.
2. Learn the melodies and the harmony, not just the bass part. Be able to hum the melody while playing the bass line
3. Don't let the philistines who preach that the bass is simply a drum hinder your musical growth. The bass has two EQUALLY IMPORTANT functions. One of them is to tie the harmonic/melodic parts of the music to the purely rhythmic parts. But we are also, and in many ways this is MORE important, responsible for defining the harmony. That means not only defining what the current chord is, but also what's coming next and how this chord relates to the one before it and the one after it. Never eschew one function in favor of the other.
4. LISTEN to all the instruments (and voices ARE instruments) in every musical endeavor you approach.

John

I'm going to just copy this again so that you understand that EVERYTHING he wrote is spot on.