ok...i find it pretty hard to do cross string fingerpicking at a constant tempo in faster tunes...by this I mean on tunes like Zeppelin's "Wanton Song" or RHCP's "Right on time)...I generally use three fingers...is there any way (besides practicing) that I could enhance my ability? should i change my style???
You know, things like these are incredibly difficult to comment without seeing you play. How could I suggest a change in style when I don't know your style? Do you have a (good) bass player you ask in your neighbourhood, I mean between four eyes? Or a teacher?
^ use that. if you use your thumb on the top string of the octave and your index on the bottom string of the octave, you should find it easier to go back and forth between the octaves
yah...sorry about that...i'll talk to my teacher (who is also a classically trained guitarist) so he'll hopefully help me out...
that has worked for me fine and dandy for a while...but only for single octaves...if you took a listen to the tunes i suggested above you'll see it's pretty hard to do...
Your .sig file mis-quotes that song... "Now I lay me down to sleep I pray the funk will make me freaky If I should die before I waked Allow me Lord to rock out naked"
This is covered in Funk Fusion Bass, by Jon Liebman. It suggests that you start out doing chromatics, When you get to G#/Ab cross to the A string, maintain proper alteration between picking fingers (1-2-1-2 etc) when you cross. When you reach C (5th fret G string) continue on up the entire length of the fretboard and then work your way back down. Practice this in 1/4, 1/8 and 1/16 note fashions, steadily increasing in speed as you get more proficient at it. Once you get this under your belt give me a hollar and ill explain best I can another exercise that he suggests to work on string crossing techniques. Or you can take $20 and go out and buy Funk Fusion Bass by Jon Liebman yourself. Its one of the best gifts Ive ever recieved.
