Trouble with descending triplets

[abarson]

Be gentle, I'm still a member of the Mediocre Players club.
Got a bunch of songs to learn and one thing they have in common is quick descending triplets (8th, 5th, root most common). I'm having difficulty playing them to speed and cleanly. Any tips are welcome.

Example: Get Down Tonight by KC ans the Sunshine Band, starting at the 9th measure.
Get Down Tonight Bass Tab by KC And The Sunshine Band | Songsterr Tabs with Rhythm

 

[Docduval]

I’d fret those with my pinky and ring finger, almost like how you would do a barre chord on guitar. Put em down flat on the strings, not with just the tip. With right hand I’d rake or use my thumb, index and middle finger.

 

[DrBnz]

Yep.... I'd rake it - for sure.

 

[abarson]

I’d fret those with my pinky and ring finger, almost like how you would do a barre chord on guitar. Put em down flat on the strings, not with just the tip. With right hand I’d rake or use my thumb, index and middle finger.

I'll try it flat with the left hand.
Until now, raking with the right hand just becomes a smear.

 

[Docduval]

I'll try it flat with the left hand.
Until now, raking with the right hand just becomes a smear.

Yeah, it’s tricky. If you don’t mute the already raked strings it becomes a mess.

 

[JamesGrant]

I’d use index and middle finger, alternating. If it’s a ‘jump’ away then I’d use ring or pinky on the first not of the sequence if time is tight.

Metronome, start very slow (70bpm) add 5 bpm every 5 perfect repetitions. Deduct 5 bpm if you make a mistake. 20mins a day and you’ll have it at tempo in a week - clean.

Good luck!!

 

[mambo4]

+1 to rake , basically muting with a flat left hand. Only the root needs to ring super clearly, 8 and 5 can be somewhat percussive.
If immediately followed by another note even teh root can be muffled.

In fact I'd practice with the triplet notes a little too muted, an pursue percussive rhythmic accuracy first.

 

[atquinn]

I always play those with one finger per string on the left hand. So in the case of measure 9 in the tab, it would be pinky finger on the D, ringer finger on the A and index finger on the E. Then I would rake with the right hand. Because the index finger is lightly touching the other 3 strings, they are automatically muted as the notes are released by the left hand fingers. You basically roll off them as you rake the next string. So muting is pretty automatic.

 

[allanhearn]

Raking technique. There's a few different options pluck the first and rake the 2-3. Rake the 1-2 and pluck the 3. Rake all three. Depending on where you want the emphasis to be.

 

[abarson]

I always play those with one finger per string on the left hand. So in the case of measure 9 in the tab, it would be pinky finger on the D, ringer finger on the A and index finger on the E. Then I would rake with the right hand. Because the index finger is lightly touching the other 3 strings, they are automatically muted as the notes are released by the left hand fingers. You basically roll off them as you rake the next string. So muting is pretty automatic.

So the middle finger floats? I’ll give it a try.

 

[Jazzdogg]

Be gentle, I'm still a member of the Mediocre Players club.
Got a bunch of songs to learn and one thing they have in common is quick descending triplets (8th, 5th, root most common). I'm having difficulty playing them to speed and cleanly. Any tips are welcome.

Example: Get Down Tonight by KC ans the Sunshine Band, starting at the 9th measure.
Get Down Tonight Bass Tab by KC And The Sunshine Band | Songsterr Tabs with Rhythm

I often play raked descending triplets to punctuate walking jazz bass lines. The raking technique remains largely the same, whether it's The Sunshine Band or mainstream jazz. I learned to play a 12-bar walking lines first, and when KC and the band came along, it took no effort to include triplets because my hands had already learned the technique. You might benefit from playing triplets in other song forms. Good luck in your quest.

 

[dbsfgyd1]

Be gentle, I'm still a member of the Mediocre Players club.
Got a bunch of songs to learn and one thing they have in common is quick descending triplets (8th, 5th, root most common). I'm having difficulty playing them to speed and cleanly. Any tips are welcome.

Example: Get Down Tonight by KC ans the Sunshine Band, starting at the 9th measure.
Get Down Tonight Bass Tab by KC And The Sunshine Band | Songsterr Tabs with Rhythm

I’m not so sure measure 9 & 11 are triplets. I reviewed a standard notation chart and I’m not seeing any triplets in the entire song . To clarify nomenclature, a triplet is 3 beats in the space of 2 beats. I hope this helps.

 

[abarson]

I might not be using the correct term. 3 notes in quick succession in a descending pattern. Starts on beat one.

 

[wompwomp]

tried it out. I prefer thumb and forefinger technique on BG and i'd actually alternate here, thumb for the octave index for the fifth and thumb for the root. if I were using two finger tech i'd rake. if I were using a pick i'd alternate up down up same as my tnf technique which it basically is. but I like the articulation and attack of thumb and forefinger precisely for faster stuff like this. like I might do 8-5-1 as alternating and then settle into two finger style for the rest of the measure etc....

for the left hand I sort of prefer barring the octave and fifth with the third finger flat and rolling into the root. the whole thing is a musical unit as OP points out but I wouldn't just rely on one technique simply b/c it's going to be used to different effect in different tunes, this is a pretty good idea for a thread.

 

[atquinn]

So the middle finger floats? I’ll give it a try.

Yes, the middle finger floats. I started out playing guitar and with a bar chord the middle finger would be playing the third. So when I donated 3 string power chord shape, I always do it index, ring finger, pinky.