Relearning RH technique

[FeltTipPen]

Though I bought my first bass in 2002, only in the last 3 years have I really had the time to practice and play more often and more consistently. That being said, I am now seeing the consequences of learning without a teacher (which was not practical during this time). My plan is to take lessons sometime next year, and I am really excited about that!

One thing I am noticing is 1) I don’t always alternate index and middle fingers and 2) sometimes my right hand wants to mimic my fretting hand, so basically my hands are not operating independently.

If anyone could point me to good exercises in the meantime before I take lessons I would appreciate it! And should I relearn the songs I know? I am assuming yes as I figure it would hinder progress.

Please share your experiences relearning as well. Thanks!

 

[Malcolm35]

One thing I am noticing is 1) I don’t always alternate index and middle fingers and 2) sometimes my right hand wants to mimic my fretting hand, so basically my hands are not operating independently.

I confess... I do not always alternate my index and middle fingers. And sometimes (really most of the time) my right hand wants to mimic my fretting hand. As long as I am playing one note at a time and I get to the next notes before the song goes off and leaves me I am not going to beat myself up over this short fall. Moving along.....

 

[lz4005]

Though I bought my first bass in 2002, only in the last 3 years have I really had the time to practice and play more often and more consistently. That being said, I am now seeing the consequences of learning without a teacher (which was not practical during this time). My plan is to take lessons sometime next year, and I am really excited about that!

One thing I am noticing is 1) I don’t always alternate index and middle fingers and 2) sometimes my right hand wants to mimic my fretting hand, so basically my hands are not operating independently.

If anyone could point me to good exercises in the meantime before I take lessons I would appreciate it! And should I relearn the songs I know? I am assuming yes as I figure it would hinder progress.

Please share your experiences relearning as well. Thanks!

Practice alternating your fingers away from the bass.
Just alternate them touching your leg or the table in front of you in playing motion. Do that for 10 minutes. Repeat this 3 or 4 times a day and after a week or so it will become second nature and you'll do it when you play.

I confess... I do not always alternate my index and middle fingers. And sometimes (really most of the time) my right hand wants to mimic my fretting hand. As long as I am playing one note at a time and I get to the next notes before the song goes off and leaves me I am not going to beat myself up over this short fall. Moving along.....

That helps OP improve their technique exactly as much as not posting would have.

 

[fearceol]

 

[caligula]

My 2 cents.
I used to practise right hand picking a lot as I think it's the most important factor that determines my tone and, at the same time, is usually the weak link regarding synchronisation of both hands.
I found that it helps enormously when you do your picking exercises on a regular basis for 7 or at least 6 days a week. It doesn't have to be an hour or so, very often 15 - 20 minutes help a lot, if you do it almost every day. I've had great results with that in the past and I never practised rh picking for more than maybe 25 minutes every day. Constant practise worked wonders for me.
Always alternate when going up!! When going down, you can use raking or keep the alternate method. I use raking and it works great for me.


There are quite a few videos on yt like the one already posted (Scott's bass lessons).
Here, tons of videos.
right hand bass - Google Search

You should also look for Joe Hubbard clips, fantastic player, he's got a few yt videos on picking.

 

[SteveCS]

Just try basic things that force you to switch, and consciously avoid the rake, for example, here we have 'i' on the downbeat in bar 1 and 'm' on the downbeat in bar 2. The descending arpeggii are played 'i-m-i' then 'm-i-m' in alternate measures...

 

[FeltTipPen]

I confess... I do not always alternate my index and middle fingers. And sometimes (really most of the time) my right hand wants to mimic my fretting hand. As long as I am playing one note at a time and I get to the next notes before the song goes off and leaves me I am not going to beat myself up over this short fall. Moving along.....

For me I’m at a place where I can’t catch up to faster runs without learning the proper technique.

Practice alternating your fingers away from the bass.
Just alternate them touching your leg or the table in front of you in playing motion. Do that for 10 minutes. Repeat this 3 or 4 times a day and after a week or so it will become second nature and you'll do it when you play.

Thanks lz4005! Something practical I can try when I don’t have the bass.

Thanks fearceol! Just watched this and it was helpful!

My 2 cents.
I used to practise right hand picking a lot as I think it's the most important factor that determines my tone and, at the same time, is usually the weak link regarding synchronisation of both hands.
I found that it helps enormously when you do your picking exercises on a regular basis for 7 or at least 6 days a week. It doesn't have to be an hour or so, very often 15 - 20 minutes help a lot, if you do it almost every day. I've had great results with that in the past and I never practised rh picking for more than maybe 25 minutes every day. Constant practise worked wonders for me.
Always alternate when going up!! When going down, you can use raking or keep the alternate method. I use raking and it works great for me.


There are quite a few videos on yt like the one already posted (Scott's bass lessons).
Here, tons of videos.
right hand bass - Google Search

You should also look for Joe Hubbard clips, fantastic player, he's got a few yt videos on picking.

This is encouraging! Thanks caligula!

Just try basic things that force you to switch, and consciously avoid the rake, for example, here we have 'i' on the downbeat in bar 1 and 'm' on the downbeat in bar 2. The descending arpeggii are played 'i-m-i' then 'm-i-m' in alternate measures...
View attachment 3524766

Thanks for this too SteveCS! It’ll help me with reading, as basic as my reading is!

 

[SteveCS]

...

Thanks for this too SteveCS! It’ll help me with reading, as basic as my reading is!

No problem. I've extended the idea a little such that on the repeat the whole RH fingering is inverted. First time you start on 'i', second time on 'm'.. Play on two strings with extended fingering then on three strings in position. 5 times a day for a week and your right hand really won't care what the left is doing.

 

[FeltTipPen]

Play on two strings with extended fingering then on three strings in position.

Sorry Steve, could you clarify this instruction, as in “extended fingering” and “in position”?

5 times a day for a week and your right hand really won't care what the left is doing.
View attachment 3525507

Also it was good for me to check out YouTube on the 5/4 time signature.
I am really encouraged by this and looking forward to the progress! Thanks for this SteveCS!

 

[SteveCS]

Sorry Steve, could you clarify this instruction, as in “extended fingering” and “in position”?



Also it was good for me to check out YouTube on the 5/4 time signature.
I am really encouraged by this and looking forward to the progress! Thanks for this SteveCS!

It's about the left hand. Take the first measure.
Playing in position would like a one-finger-per-fret method, so start with the C on the A string 3rd fret stopped by your middle finger. Play D with your LH pinky on A then E with LH Index on D, etc.

Extended fingering will depend on the size and flexibility of your hands and what you feel comfortable with. The point is to play notes that are just out of position without shifting or to use the extension as preparation for a shift so that you move around on the neck on the less important notes rather than trying to shift and hit the downbeat at the same time.
Where you actually extend and shift is up to you and will be driven by where the music is going... but for me in the given exercise might be something like this:
Start by playing the C with my LH Index finger at the 3rd fret on the A string.
Stay on the A string for the D with LH Middle finger at the 5th fret. Note the 2-fret span between Index and Middle. This the the extension. To make it fluent, I allow my Index finger to come away from the string and allow my thumb to act as a pivot on the back of the neck as my hand moves up to play the E with LH Pinky at 7th fret.
Now shift the thumb up to play F with Ring at 8th fret on the A string followed by G with Pinky on A at 10th fret. Actually, this is too difficult to describe in words. Heres the whole thing with TAB. The first 6 measures are in position, the second 6 with the extensions and shifts. See how the 12th bar gets you back down to start again in position on with C on the A string...

 

[Wasnex]

For me I’m at a place where I can’t catch up to faster runs without learning the proper technique.

Perhaps the way to overcome this is to slow down as much as necessary, so that you can play the line properly. Practice slowly until it becomes automatic; then slowly increase the tempo as you develop more skill. I know it's frustrating and boring, but this a good way to build proper technique.

As a seasoned pro, I was often required to learn music that was too technical to play without practice, and I used the same approach. Slow down, figure out the most efficient finger pattern, play it in until it becomes automatic. Sometimes it took multiple practice sessions to nail parts, and sometimes I didn't get all the way there in time for the gig.

Sometimes when you can't master a part it is due to a mental block. Basically you try so hard that you tie some of your automated playing processes into knots. When you are become blocked, IMHO the best thing to do is typically put down the problem and work on something else.

I find that I can learn a lot of challenging material fairly quickly if I cycle through it repeatedly. Start slow and work the tempo up as fast as you can. Then, when you start to get frustrated, move on and work on another challenging line using the same approach. Try to cycle through at least three different challenging lines. Each you start, drop the tempo and then slowly work it up towards the desired temp. By varying your mental process with different challenges, I believe you are less likely to get stuck.

If have you have ten challenging lines to master, choose five and rotate through them. As some of the lines become easy, kick them out of the rotation and bring new lines into the rotation. If you start getting overly tired or frustrated, take a break and do something entirely different.

I often kept a copy of any music I couldn't master before the gig occurred, so I could review it later. Surprisingly, most of the time I was able to play the part down with little, if any additional practice. I just needed to set it aside and not think about it for a long enough time to become completely unstuck.

 

[FeltTipPen]

Wasnex, I liked everything you suggested, slowing down, then increasing speed. No longer is getting by without taking my time worth it. I’ve already started slowing down on tougher passages and being patient.

I also like cycling through repeatedly and rotating challenging lines.

Thank you, it’s really helpful!

 

[FeltTipPen]

SteveCS, thank you for the explanation and the time you took in sending the exercise!

I was already starting to work on it this morning and afternoon.

I’m on the first measure, starting on the second one. There’s much for me to do, in a good way though!

I’m seeing that I have to be proper in my left hand technique as well.

With that and to make sure I’m not continuing anything negative, in the first measure, does it matter which finger (middle or index) of the left hand I use to land on the final C?

Thank you!

 

[SteveCS]

...

I’m on the first measure, starting on the second one. There’s much for me to do, in a good way though!

I’m seeing that I have to be proper in my left hand technique as well.

With that and to make sure I’m not continuing anything negative, in the first measure, does it matter which finger (middle or index) of the left hand I use to land on the final C?

Thank you!

It should be middle (2). as your index (1) needs to stay on the preceding E on the D string second fret for the full note value. You then start measure 2 with pinky. The first 6 measures are all played in one position, so no shifts.

 

[FeltTipPen]

It should be middle (2). as your index (1) needs to stay on the preceding E on the D string second fret for the full note value. You then start measure 2 with pinky. The first 6 measures are all played in one position, so no shifts.

Good, that is how I was working on it.

Really, many thanks for the time and help!

 

[FeltTipPen]

It's been about a month since I posted and I'm happy with the progress I am making.

SteveCS, I've got the first 6 measures down

It has also been a really good exercise in reading and identifying notes on the fingerboard, which is another goal of mine since I play by ear.

I am taking my time and slowing down on faster passages. Having patience has been key for me. I'm starting to see that I am alternating my RH automatically on songs I go back to

Thanks for the help to SteveCS and the rest!