It's called a deluxe finger replant. I use it when it feels appropriate.
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Is switching fingers on a note considered bad technique?
- Thread starter DuckSoup
- Start date
That is simply a way to shift left hand positions "on the sly." Sometimes that can help with a succession of lines that are each played in different left hand positions, while you are required to play on a fret uninterrupted in between the musical lines (i.e. making a typical left hand shift too choppy to suit the phrase).
It helps when you need to use the finger at one extreme of the hand (i.e. either the first or fourth fingers) to land on a note at the end of a phrase, then you need to play a rhythmic pattern on that fret for a while with no rests to speak of, and then you need to start the next phrase with the farthest away finger on that same fret. E.g. If you landed on the note with your first finger, and you need to play that note uninterrupted for a bit, but then the next phrase requires your fourth finger to be holding that note, not your first finger. You sneak your fourth finger in to replace the first finger while that interim note that you're riding is being held.
It can be one totally seamlessly; it need not be choppy. In fact, the only reason why it would be done instead of a typical left hand shift would be to sound more seamless than a typical left hand shift.
So, IMO, it's just another shifting technique to put in your bag. It's rarely used IME, but there's nothing wrong with it IMO.
It helps when you need to use the finger at one extreme of the hand (i.e. either the first or fourth fingers) to land on a note at the end of a phrase, then you need to play a rhythmic pattern on that fret for a while with no rests to speak of, and then you need to start the next phrase with the farthest away finger on that same fret. E.g. If you landed on the note with your first finger, and you need to play that note uninterrupted for a bit, but then the next phrase requires your fourth finger to be holding that note, not your first finger. You sneak your fourth finger in to replace the first finger while that interim note that you're riding is being held.
It can be one totally seamlessly; it need not be choppy. In fact, the only reason why it would be done instead of a typical left hand shift would be to sound more seamless than a typical left hand shift.
So, IMO, it's just another shifting technique to put in your bag. It's rarely used IME, but there's nothing wrong with it IMO.
You said that while the note is ringing you change the finger that is pressing the fret.
But if you change the finger you actually interrupt the ringing...
But if you change the finger you actually interrupt the ringing...
Probably NOT a good habit to get into if you are holding a note to let it ring out. I do re-position my hand on the D in the song Gold Dust Woman from my index finger to my third (ring) finger, but do that when I pluck the note, not when it's ringing out.
If you make the change as you are hitting the octave G, that should be fine. If you stop letting the note ring out when it should be ringing out, then that is not a good thing at all.
The point is that you don't interrupt the sustain. What is required is a light touch and no tension in the wrist, hand or fingers. Vice grip and a bent wrist will need fixing first...
I don’t really think of what fingers to use so is it wrong....maybe? The truth is nobody cares as long as you play the proper notes with good groove and meter it’s all good. I don’t care what my technique is like and I’m sure it’s pretty bad, but it works.
Admittedly, I don't often think about how my fingers are working. I just go for it and let my fingers figure it out along the way. I probably play the same riff several different ways within a song.
What's that technique called......?
What's that technique called......?
Not if you press with the second finger before lifting the first. As long as one finger is pressing down the string is still on the fret.
Pressing the fret back away doesnt produce the same vibration, you dampen the sound and make fret buzz.
Even if the change is quick there is a difference...
I don't know what you mean by "pressing the fret back away", but the way I do it there is no dampening, no buzz, and no detectable difference in tone at all. That's because the string never loses contact with the fret.
I wouldn’t call it great technique, but if you can get the notes out.. who am I to say anything about it.
No probs, that is he cool thing about a forum...we learn things we did not know existed, but maybe on a bass forum you may find bass related techniques easier to understand than classical guitar ones, or if you studied a second instrument, like piano, you would have been taught the value of finger substitution.
But since you may have had that day off, here is a quick link to what it is about
Finger substitution - Wikipedia
Could someone give an example which demonstrates the necessity of this substitution technique? I have been playing for over 30 years and never used it or saw it in a method or something (besides some cello intonation exercises). So I am curious on practical examples.
I do it a bunch and as long as it is seamless, then who cares! If you can make it work, then that's just part of your technique...
I do this when the song call for it. It's utterly seamless and provides for a smoother transition to the next note.
It's not "bad" technique, it's "carefully considered" technique.
It's not "bad" technique, it's "carefully considered" technique.
