I played 1234 for the first 23 years and started having wrist and arm pain. In 1996 Carol Kaye switched me to 124 and the pain went away. It also served me well when I switched to DB 3 years ago.
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What's better 1234 or 124 style?
- Thread starter icebolt99
- Start date
Honestly, I've been playing for about 20 years. I wasted 15 of those playing guitar, the last 5 on bass is where I should have been this whole time, oops. Anyways, I gotta be honest. For me it's been 1-2-3 this whole time, I've never been able to get my pinky in the game. I'm not sure if it limits me per se, but it is a lot of work!
And i will add this, if you have nothing musical to say in your playing then it will make no, difference what technique you employ...with the great players it was never about how they played....it was about what they played.
Fergie,
I would like to totally disagree with you or get some explanations about your dichotomous statement.
For me "HOW" means - articulation of your note, phrase, motif, swing, groove, riff, solo, etc...
"WHAT" means notes - just dead notes that you, as the musician, need to revive.
Now, about fingering.
Let's say I need to play F, F#, G# / 1-2-4 frets on the E string.
Are you going to use 124 fingers?
I would.
If I need to play C,D,Eb / 3-5-6 frets (for C minor)on the A string, are you going to use 124 fingers?
I wouldn't.
I would use 1, 3, 4, because it would be very uncomfortable to use 1,2,4 fingering.
What fingers would you use for string crossing:
F/1 fret - on the E string, B/2 fret on A, F/3 fret - D, and B/4 fret - on the G string?
I would use 1,2,3,4.
If I need to play "walking bass" -
D/5 fret - on A, (2 finger)
F#/4 fret, G/5 fret, G#/6 fret, A/7 fret - on D,
I would use 1,2,3,4 fingering.
If I need to play triplets:A,A#,B and A#, B, C on the D string, I would use 1,2,3 and 1,2,3 or when exercising, I would use 1,2,3, and 2,3,4.
If I need to play C, D, Eb on A, and F, F#, G on D,
I would use 1,3,4 and 1,2,3 fingering.
If I need to play triplets: Bb,A,Ab/3,2,1 frets on the G string and F,E,Eb/3,2,1 frets on the D string, I would use 4,2,1 and 4,2,1.
If I need to play the 16th notes
D/5 fret - on A,
G#/6 fret, A/7 fret - on D,
D#/8 fret on G, D/7 fret, Db/6 fret, C/5 fret C#/6 fret on G,
I would use 1,2,3,4,3,2,1,2 fingering.
If I played the 16th notes from "Come with it" - "Rocco" Prestia -
E, E , E, E - on A,
A,A,A#, B - on D,
D, D - on G, and
D,D - on G,
B,B - on D,
I would use 1,1,1,1 for E on A,
1,1,2,3 on D,
1,1, on G, and
1,1 on G,
3,3 on D.
No probs, it is again the symantics of language between taking literal what i say and the intention of what i say.
Articulation is what you want it to be, you can articulate with a pick, with a bow, with any amount of fingers etc, so which one you choose is how you would do it in my view.....why you would make that choice is another matter LoL.
What you play is the note choices within the idea or bass line.
This applies to the other points you ask, if we get into the symantics of lauguage rather than meaning we will be here for ever so i offer this as an explanation.
If i ask you to play a B.... it is a B...... that is what you play.
How you play it is the objective part;
If with a pick the note.... is still B.
If with a bow....the note is still B, if with the forefinger... the note is still B, if with the thumb.....the note is still B, if slaped with a chorus....the note is still a B etc etc.
So how is not the issue, it is the realisation that B is what needs to be played. So for me it is not how it is played as much as what is played...how depends on so many things, where as what is defined.
Sorry for the confusion and hope this helps my point of view on the matter.
Sometimes I'd rather shift my position up or down a fret just so I can keep going 124, if the line and its speed will allow. Even in higher positions I do that. Needless to say my biggest callouses are on my index and pinky fingers. But when the time comes for 1234, well, gotta do it.
I use all my fingers, but when doing octaves i "skip" one finger. It makes no sense to force yourself to use one fingering over the other when playing. Just consider what is more comfortable to you for every bassline and don't work on a fixed standard.
This is very interesting to me. I have seen many good bass players using these methods. Me I don't think about it, at all. I grew up on guitar and bango and played bass later because I played tuba in band and could read bass clef. I have seen myself play on video and I have all kinds of funky stuff going on with my picking hand. I usually am in a 12 mode because that is what the country and bluegrass players I grew up with used. But I slip into 123 some and if a fast passage comes up I sometimes go into full pickin' n grinnin' mode by anchoring my pinky and using T123, although I find that the thumb has a distinct tember which really stands out so I try to avoid this thumb included technique . Unless I'm copping a Reggae tone when I use mostly thumb.
So for me it's all about what gets the notes out with the correct tone and feel. Hang the rest.
So for me it's all about what gets the notes out with the correct tone and feel. Hang the rest.
My experience was similar. Guitar is always 1234, sometimes 123 (blues guys mostly), so the idea of not using the ring finger is foreign. Most string bends are done with the ring finger, and of course it's essential for chording, so it has to be developed.
So when I picked up a bass, my natural tendency was to gravitate to 1234. It works fine, though occasionally my hand gets tired. When it does, I switch to 124 on the lower frets. Awkard at first, but eventually the picky got beaten into submission!
Anyway, my point is sometimes you do what you gotta do. If I'm in the middle of a gig (on guitar) and my hand gets tired, I need to be able to adapt quickly and keep on playing. And many faster passages seem like they would require the use of all four fingers. It seems to me, as a noob, that intentionally not using a finger would be limiting at some point.
I have that book/DVD. I can see there’s some good stuff in there but the 124 thing turned me off, I’m way past that. There’s a lot of metal stuff I play where 124 is useless.
That being said, the book was cool...I should go back to it.
Oh, and about 10 years ago, I think I offended the author of that book when I relayed that 124 wasn’t working for me. He let me know pretty quick that I was headed for hand injuries...fortunately, that didn’t happen. Yeah, that discussion wanted me to toss the book but I still have it.
That being said, the book was cool...I should go back to it.
Oh, and about 10 years ago, I think I offended the author of that book when I relayed that 124 wasn’t working for me. He let me know pretty quick that I was headed for hand injuries...fortunately, that didn’t happen. Yeah, that discussion wanted me to toss the book but I still have it.
