How do I finger this?

[Marston]

I'm 100% self taught, so please be understanding.

What would be the most proper way of playing this? (starts at 1:08)



Here's a tab I made:

G|--13-12-11-10-9---------------------------
D|----------------13-12-11-10-9-10-11----10-
A|------------------------------------------
E|------------------------------------------

Somebody please give me a "1234" fingering breakdown.

 

[FatStringer52]

Personally, I would approach this one of two ways. Both begin with the 4th finger on the 13th fret of the G-string [doh! lol]

1st fingering: Play the Ab (G-string/13th fret) with the pinky, and position shift down 1 fret and complete the notes on the G-string with fingers 4-3-2-1. So the notes on the G-string would be played with fingers 4-4-3-2-1. Then use the pinky once again to grab the Eb (D-String/13th fret). And do the same thing you did on the G-string; grab the Eb with the pinky, shift down one fret and complete the notes on the D-string, 4-4-3-2-1. Finally, just use 1-2-3-2 to complete the line.

2nd fingering:Exactly the same as the first example, except, in this fingering, use the index finger (1) to do the shifts, i.e., the fingering for the notes on the G-string would be 4-3-2-1-1.

At the tempo of that specific passage you've really got the time to do almost anything that you want. Context, where you're coming from and where you are going to, will really dictate how to play the line.

 

[Bob_Ross]

2nd fingering:Exactly the same as the first example, except, in this fingering, use the index finger (1) to do the shifts, i.e., the fingering for the notes on the G-string would be 4-3-2-1-1.

^^^this was what my fingers intuitively did when I sat down to play that passage.

 

[FatStringer52]

^^^this was what my fingers intuitively did when I sat down to play that passage.

Yeah, I tend to favor shifting with my index finger also when I can get away with it . . .

 

[JonathanPDX]

^^^this was what my fingers intuitively did when I sat down to play that passage.

I agree. Just to add a couple thoughts on shifting, you can think of making the shift at the front end of a passage so you line up with where it ends, or at the end of the passage when you run out of fingers/frets and are forced to move.

There's also a whole world to explore in practicing one-finger bebop runs a la George Benson. In that situation you might play a chromatic passage like this with just one finger (most likely 1st or 4th) in order to lead straight into another passage in a different position.