Right hand index and middle finger

[icarus88]

Is it important to bring the right hand index finger and middle finger to the same level in terms of speed?( My middle finger is too long)Does having a slightly curved middle finger compared to the index finger prevent speed? Is this an anatomical obstacle?

 

[Lee Moses]

You want both fingers to be curved. And yes, the middle finger will probably be curved a little more.

 

[MattZilla]

Every variable will impart a different string voicing response which will go through your pickup, through your tone processing, and out the speaker into the mix of whatever ensemble your bass guitar is part of.

Some people (professionals and amateurs) only use one finger in one fixed distance from the bridge because it yields them a consistent voicing. Others use all five fingers in all the pluckable/strikeable areas to get as much voicing variation as possible, often being mindful of where they’re playing in relation to the fretted string length and its nodes & antinodes instead of just the distance from the bridge or being over/near one pickup or another.

Do what you feel is important for the songs you’re playing.

The one thing that’s important for all musicians is having good spinal posture, core strength, and strong reverse-from-primary-action muscles (if you mostly pluck- work your flicking muscles to not chronic fatigue your way into being claw handed).

 

[icarus88]

You want both fingers to be curved. And yes, the middle finger will probably be curved a little more.

I wonder if this situation prevents the speed

 

[dune]

I wonder if this situation prevents the speed

I seriously doubt it, as most everyone is going to be playing with at least one of their fingers somewhat curved, including the fastest players in the world.

 

[icarus88]

I seriously doubt it, as most everyone is going to be playing with at least one of their fingers somewhat curved, including the fastest players in the world.

When I look at the fingers of the fastest players in the world, the difference in length between their index and middle fingers is generally very small, meaning they do not have to curl their middle fingers extra, I could be wrong too.

 

[Lee Moses]

I wonder if this situation prevents the speed

What makes you say that? Jaco, Jeff Berlin, Stanley Clarke, pretty much all the greats play that way.

 

[pepj]

I favour two fingers on everything and have worked hard on it. On recordings, you might be asked to do single finger for so called consistency. Not a fan of that myself...

 

[icarus88]

What makes you say that? Jaco, Jeff Berlin, Stanley Clarke, pretty much all the greats play that way.

For example at extreme speed, 16th notes in 170 bpm

 

[matthewbrown]

We electric bass guitarists use what classical guitarists call "apoyando" in the right hand most of the time. There's a thread on it here. I used to suggest that students angle their wrists so that the index and middle fingers (i,m) had an equal amount of flesh on the string, to assure an even attack. The problem with this is that it will likely put your wrist at an angle from your arm, as the pic of Jeff Berlin shows. This can lead to issues like carpal tunnel. Thankfully I've avoided that in my 40-year bass guitar journey so far. Whatever you do, I would recommend avoiding extremes!

Nowadays I take a more varied approach, and when playing i-m, I bend my middle finger more to get the two fingers to match. I also spend quite a lot of time just using my index finger (or both together, URB style). A great deal depends on where along the strings the right hand is attacking -- bridge, neck, or someplace in between. And a lot depends on whether you are crossing strings during a passage, and in what direction.

I also recommend that you let your volume knob be your friend and use a compressor. Avoid playing too hard, especially near the bridge, where the strings have the least flexibility.

 

[Wasnex]

I wonder if this situation prevents the speed

My middle finger is about 12mm longer than index finger.


I originally played with relatively straight fingers and anchored thumb. Now I primarily use arched fingers and floating them. I haven't lost any speed and I feel arched gives me a punchier sound, more focused tone, and also allows a wider range of attacks.

 

[icarus88]

Biz elektrik bas gitaristler, klasik gitaristlerin çoğunlukla sağ elde "apoyando" adını verdiği şeyi kullanırız. Burada bununla ilgili bir konu var. Öğrencilere, eşit bir saldırı sağlamak için, işaret ve orta parmakların (i, m) telde eşit miktarda ete sahip olması için bileklerini açmalarını önerirdim. Bununla ilgili sorun, Jeff Berlin'in fotoğrafında gösterildiği gibi, bileğinizi kolunuzdan açılı hale getirme olasılığıdır. Bu, karpal tünel sendromu gibi sorunlara yol açabilir. Neyse ki, 40 yıllık bas gitar yolculuğumda bundan kaçındım. Ne yaparsanız yapın, aşırılıklardan kaçınmanızı öneririm!

Günümüzde daha çeşitli bir yaklaşım benimsiyorum ve im çalarken, iki parmağın eşleşmesi için orta parmağımı daha fazla büküyorum. Ayrıca sadece işaret parmağımı (veya ikisini birlikte, URB stili) kullanarak oldukça fazla zaman harcıyorum. Çok şey, sağ elin tellerin hangi tarafına saldırdığına bağlıdır - köprü, sap veya ikisinin arasında bir yer. Ve çok şey, bir pasaj sırasında telleri çaprazlayıp çaprazlamadığınıza ve hangi yönde olduğunuza bağlıdır.

Ayrıca ses düğmenizin sizin dostunuz olmasına izin vermenizi ve bir kompresör kullanmanızı öneririm. Özellikle tellerin en az esnekliğe sahip olduğu köprüye yakın yerlerde çok sert çalmaktan kaçının.

I was just wondering if I need to bring the fingers to the same level (by slightly bending the wrist) to get faster, my target is 16th notes at 170 bpm

 

[Jay2U]

Just curve the fingers. Don't stress them. Eventually you'll develop effortless skills.

 

[Drop1]

You can bend one finger more or change the angle of the wrist. Or both.

There no way around it. If you want to be fast and don't have a freakishly fast index, you'll have to learn 2 fingers or use a pick. It sucks at first, but it gets easier.

At first, I was actually faster with just the index, but found there was some stuff I just couldn't play using 1 finger. Now Im WAY faster with 2 fingers. Literally twice as fast.

I played metal with a pick for a long time. My fingers are starting to catch up to pick speeds. Pretty cool cause just a couple months ago, 2 fingers was almost impossible for me.

I made up some exercises to help.

I'd play scales with alternating fingers. Then plucking twice per note, then 3 times per note, then 4 times per note, then 5 times, always alternating fingers.

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And so on with all the diffenet mode scales and a few others. I played them up and down and in different positions. That was probably the best thing for me. The first day was awful but progress came fast after.

 

[icarus88]

My position is as follows

 

[icarus88]

Bir parmağınızı daha fazla bükebilir veya bileğinizin açısını değiştirebilirsiniz. Ya da her ikisini birden yapabilirsiniz.

Başka yolu yok. Hızlı olmak istiyorsanız ve acayip hızlı bir işaret parmağınız yoksa, 2 parmağınızı öğrenmeniz veya pena kullanmanız gerekecek. İlk başta can sıkıcı ama sonradan kolaylaşıyor.

İlk başlarda sadece işaret parmağıyla daha hızlıydım ama 1 parmağımı kullanarak çalamadığım bazı şeyler olduğunu fark ettim. Şimdi 2 parmağımla ÇOK daha hızlıyım. Kelimenin tam anlamıyla iki katı daha hızlıyım.

Uzun zamandır pena ile metal çalıyorum. Parmaklarım pena hızlarına yetişmeye başlıyor. Oldukça harika çünkü sadece birkaç ay önce, 2 parmak benim için neredeyse imkansızdı.

Yardımcı olması için bazı egzersizler hazırladım.

Parmaklarımı değiştirerek gamları çalardım. Sonra nota başına iki kez, sonra nota başına 3 kez, sonra nota başına 4 kez, sonra da her zaman parmaklarımı değiştirerek 5 kez çalardım.

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Çok üzgünüm

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Ve tüm farklı mod gamları ve birkaç başkasıyla devam etti. Onları yukarı aşağı ve farklı pozisyonlarda çaldım. Bu muhtemelen benim için en iyi şeydi. İlk gün berbattı ama sonrasında ilerleme hızla geldi.

Very nice approach , congratulations

 

[mrjim123]

Don't overthink it. Just play, and I believe you will narurally gravitate towards maximum speed and comfort. And I believe most people's middle finger is longer than the index. Mine is

 

[matthewbrown]

I was just wondering if I need to bring the fingers to the same level (by slightly bending the wrist) to get faster, my target is 16th notes at 170 bpm

You can, but don't bend your wrist a lot. If there is too much tension in the hand or forearm, it slows you down and leads to injuries.

 

[micguy]

I angle my wrist when I want to use both fingers on the same string. When I'm playing octaves (2 strings apart form each other) the index finger covers the lower string, the longer middle finger covers the higher string (which is further away). In that scenario, the wrist angle pretty much goes away. All of this is not stuff that you have to work on once you've got it - it automatically happens once you've practiced it enough.

 

[icarus88]

You can, but don't bend your wrist a lot. If there is too much tension in the hand or forearm, it slows you down and leads to injuries.

I just don't want to go with the wrong technique, because how it starts goes the same way, I need to know every detail