Same fret, different string? Left hand help!

[Sound Fancier]

Hello, I am hoping to get some insight on left hand technique when playing different strings on the same fret. Specifically, when playing, say, a C on the A string with a pickup note G on the E string. Or, when moving between the root, the fifth and the octave. Hopefully my transcriptions will make this clear. These are from "She'll Come Back to Me" by Cake.

Exhibit A:

   1 (2) e & a 3 (4) e &  1
G:--------------------------
D:---------5---5-----5------
A:-------5---5---------5----
E:-3----------------------3-

This is the beginning of the verse. I have been falling into a (bad?) habit of fretting the fifth fret notes here with my pinky, bridging both strings. Should I be using individual fingers for this? i.e. index on low G, ring on D, and pinky on high G?

Exhibit B:

   1 (2) e & a 3 e & (4) e & 1
G:-----------------------------
D:-----------------------------
A:-3-------3-4-5---5-----5-----
E:-------3-------5---------5-3-

Here the G and A are like pickup notes. Again, should these be playing with separate fingers, or 'bridged' with the index?

Thanks for your help!
Dan

 

[TheMutt]

Generally speaking, bridging is a bad habit to get into as it may hinder your movement later for harder positions. Additionally, your finger tips have more direct force onto the string than the upper portion of your fingers, which might not completely fret the string. It's a pain (I have a bad habit of doing this, as well as some annoying right hand technique quirks) but you should unlearn this habit now before it becomes something that is ingrained in you and harder to break.

 

[Scottgun]

What TheMutt said. In this case, using different fingers would be better. That won't always be the case and sometimes bridging will be the better option, but using different fingers should be default in a manner of speaking.

 

[drunkenrobot]

When playing root, 5th, octave, I usually make my hand into a power chord shape, unless I'm going to a note that is further up the neck than the octave (in which case I play the root and then bridge the 5th and octave with my index finger so my other fingers are free to play around up the neck).

Index: Root
Middle: -
Ring: 5th
Little finger: octave

Makes playing Concerning Hobbits by Howard Shore a breeze

 

[acid bass]

I bridge all the time and it doesn't hinder my playing. I do switch back & forth depending on the situation, but if I was playing the passages you tabbed out I wouldn't use individual fingers. I guess it's an individual thing, do whatever you find easiest.

 

[Scottgun]

I bridge all the time and it doesn't hinder my playing. I do switch back & forth depending on the situation, but if I was playing the passages you tabbed out I wouldn't use individual fingers. I guess it's an individual thing, do whatever you find easiest.

Fair enough, and I should modify what I said. With an easy passage like Pink Floyd's "Money":

G:------4--------------------
D:---------4---------------
A:-2----------2--------2----
E:---------------2--5-------

I always bridge the high B and F# with the pinky.

With a fast or difficult passage, then necessity will usually force which one is the better choice. The reason I use individual fingers as default on easy passages is because I feel more in control of the sound such as using the very tips of my fingers on the fret for a sharp attack vs. using the fat of the finger for a more rounded sound.

 

[jbl71004]

No matter how hard I try/practice, I still can't bridge with my pinkie .

 

[Sound Fancier]

Thanks for the insights, guys. I'll probably end up with a hybrid style like mentioned above, playing higher fifth and octave with separate fingers and the lower fifth bridged. Otherwise, I would be fretting the root with my middle finger and that doesn't feel right at all. Of course, it all depends on position and speed.

Anyone else want to share their technique?

 

[Fergie Fulton]

In these situations it is for you to decide on the result of the technique. Using the finger tips is not the only way to play as you have found out. When you get to a certain speed of playing tone is not an issue but playing the notes is. This is not just a fretting hand issue but a plucking hand one. Sometimes raking and barring get used to create the sound or imply the sound.
In normal play at normal speeds both hands can cope with individual fingerings, this is because we encounter these fingerings in many different ways and in different genres, so we take for granted the fact we can do them. Because a player never really practices alternate fingerings they have problems when they have to be used, so the fall back on dominant habits and adapt them for use. This is perfectly normal and if achieves the desired result is then legitimate use, not a bad habit. As said it will become a bad habit if you keep falling back on it rather than developing.

I have a warm up exercise i use and teach as an alternate fingering exercise, i has nothing really to do with music, to start with, but just on letting the fingers find shapes and alternate fingerings. I say to start with, but it does become music to some as they write a few songs just on fingering patterns, because some of he patterns they create sound great.
follow the link for more info, its fun and it helps with developing fingers.

Link Removed

 

[Chris K]

On top of what Fergie and others said, there's the issue of fretless plus narrow string spacing. On my fretless 5er I have narrow string spacing so I just can't finger notes at the same 'fret' with two fingers and still be in tune. The advantage of bridging is that I do not have to turn my wrist to reach the notes which would no doubt slow me down.

 

[Fergie Fulton]

The advantage of bridging is that I do not have to turn my wrist to reach the notes which would no doubt slow me down.

Exactly the point and reason to use it.
It is a technique used by many guitarists for a number of reasons to help them play what they want to play.
Of course set up, string weights, neck size, hand size, etc.. all play a part in it so make decisions based on what you can do with the instrument you have.
Don't be afraid to change your set up or get another bass that is better suited to make the task easier.

I have said before and will say it again that in the 70s i listened to Stanley Clarke and struggled with some of his playing skills.
I lived in an era where you listened to LPs and you either saw a player live or caught a bit of them on TV if you were lucky, and in the UK back then that was rare to see music away from the mainstream. No youtube, or ready media access like we have now.
When i did see him on TV and saw the Amblec basses he used and listen to him talk about them and why he used them, i became obvious why my precision with its heavy flatwounds was never going to work..so i stopped then and there.
I picked up a Westone Thunder 1A a year or so later and went back to the Clarke stuff and that was so much easier as the bass was better suited for me to replicate what i was hearing.

As many have said and will say "its your call", if it works then develop and use it.

 

[kr0n]

Fair enough, and I should modify what I said. With an easy passage like Pink Floyd's "Money":

G:------4--------------------
D:---------4---------------
A:-2----------2--------2----
E:---------------2--5-------

I always bridge the high B and F# with the pinky.

With a fast or difficult passage, then necessity will usually force which one is the better choice. The reason I use individual fingers as default on easy passages is because I feel more in control of the sound such as using the very tips of my fingers on the fret for a sharp attack vs. using the fat of the finger for a more rounded sound.

I do the high B with pinky, F# with ring finger and low B with index. That's the power chord shape I guess.