Bass Technique?

"I have problems with my middle finger starting to hurt....."

This could possibly be down to using too much pressure to hold the strings down - one of the first things I noticed, when turning my hand to bass, was that because you have to press harder than guitar to hold the strings down, I was pressing REALLY hard, which meant my hand used to ache after a few minutes...you may be double jointed, but you're still putting your fingers under strain....

"I have also been having trouble muting strings. I play my bass as I would play my guitar - in classical position."

I like to play the bass standing up, with the body close to my hip....I have long arms, so that way my right hand isn't uncomfortable...but I like the headstock high, this seems to bring my left hand into a more natural position....I do tend to barre the strings, obviously lower than the one I'm playing, I find this cuts out unnecessary noise....

"am I supposed to fret with the tips of my fingers, like guitar, or the flatter part of my finger, where the fingerprint is?"

Again, for me, it's down to the way I hold the bass - in that posititon, I find I'm playing with the flatter part of my finger more than the tip, and this also helps muting unplayed strings....

:D :D :D

Vic

Whoops. I neglected to mention that the finger problem is with my right hand, not my left. Luckily, somehow I never really had major problems with the left hand - or maybe I just took it head on and eliminated the problem without thinking about it. I picked up the bass back when I used to do a lot of finger training exercises.

It's the middle finger on my right hand - because the tip of my finger bends backward when i pull the string. It becomes hell when I'm playing with a friend.

As for the body position, I do the same - I play standing up, with the neck high, as it's the only good way to get a good hand position. My strap slips a bit, though, so that's another problem I have to work out. :D

I will try barring the strings, as you do. I hope it will help - I have realized that the excess sound is also due to the natural resonance created by playing notes. It's a lot more noticable on bass than guitar, though. Thanks for that advice.

Does anybody have the finger problem I have, for the plucking hand?

For muting, you need to keep your fret-hand fingers, especially the index finger, on the adjacent strings. You should also use the pads of your fingers, not the tips.

This is different from the "spider" approach many people use for playing guitar, with the fingers raised high off the strings.

For a picture, go to page 13 of this lesson:
http://www.studybass.com/lessons/bass-technique/fretting/

On page 11 of that technique guide it says to fret right behind the actual fret, I was just wondering if that applies to guitar as well - I have always tried to fret directly in the middle?

On page 11 of that technique guide it says to fret right behind the actual fret, I was just wondering if that applies to guitar as well - I have always tried to fret directly in the middle?

Don't worry about exact placement too much. I figure if your finger lands anywhere from just above halfway between the frets to right behind the fret, the string will ring clearly; that top third area.

Ive always learnt to play directly behind the fret as a habit.

But if you don't hit exactly behind the fret because of speed
it doesn't really matter - it will still sound great!

Steve

When playing octaves on bass, do you alternate fingers or do you play with the same fingers?

This, for instance.

G|--------|--------|--------|----
D|--9---9-|--7---7-|--9---9-|----
A|--------|--------|--------|----
E|7---7---|5---5---|7---7---|----


Should I alternate my fingers for every stroke, or should I try to rake across the strings, skipping the ones I'm not playing? While strictly alternating seems like the logical choice, it isn't all that great when I have to repeat octaves.

I'd use my first finger on the bottom E string and probably my ring finger on the D string....easier that way to mute the string you're not playing, I've found the biggest drawback to playing bass - been at it about a year or so now - is that playing on more than one string at a time, I tend to get a hit a lot of unwanted notes, which, while they might be in the right key, and even an essential component of the full chord, tend to add very-much-unwanted distortion......

:D :D :D

Vic

When playing octaves on bass, do you alternate fingers or do you play with the same fingers?

This, for instance.

G|--------|--------|--------|----
D|--9---9-|--7---7-|--9---9-|----
A|--------|--------|--------|----
E|7---7---|5---5---|7---7---|----


Should I alternate my fingers for every stroke, or should I try to rake across the strings, skipping the ones I'm not playing? While strictly alternating seems like the logical choice, it isn't all that great when I have to repeat octaves.

On this sort of pattern I'd probably use, on my picking hand, index and middle, one finger for each string, over and over again instead of alternating. Sometimes if it's easier, I'll use thumb and middle or thumb and index. Anything to keep the pattern going without thinking too much about the actual 'correct' technique.

...However, I've got a few quetions about technique - i've been playing bass for a little wihle, and my finger stamina is better than it was, but I have problems with my middle finger starting to hurt. I'm double-jointed in my fingertips (when I straighten my fingers, they bend back) and that has really been causing a problem when I play, because it hurts after a while. Is anyone else double-jointed, and if so, did you ever have this problem? How did you deal with it?

There's a little exercise taught to my wife by a cello teacher. I don't know what it's called exactly, but it's like mini finger-pushups. You lay your forearm on the desk in front of you (or the arm of a comfy chair), palm facing downwards and fingers curled so the tips are touching the surface. Then, one at a time (and keeping your wrist straight with your forearm), you push upward with each finger in turn so that it raises your hand/wrist/forearm off the table, from the elbow. You do it really slowly so that the finger muscles have a chance to tense evenly.
I have also been having trouble muting strings. I play my bass as I would play my guitar - in classical position. However, I occasionally have resonance from other strings ringing while I'm playing a bass line. I usually try to mute by using stop strokes with my right hand, just like classical guitar; I also mute with my left hand by slightly lifting the finger after playing a note. I doesn't work so well on bass as it does on guitar, I suppose, because I think that's the source of the resonance. Any suggestions?

For bass (and electric guitar too), I pretty much play with a 'sloppy' hand, totally unlike the technique you use with classical guitar training. In classical guitar the whole fingering technique revolves around not hitting strings - to make sure their on their tips so that there's the maximum amount of space between the rest of the finger tip and the adjacent strings. With bass or electric guitar, you sorta start from the idea of 'everything muted' and then just hold down (and clear away) from the string you want to having sounding. Like if you play incredibly loud electric guitar, there's this whole other thing where you pretty much have to keep your hand/fingers on the strings at all times so the strings don't feed back, and then what notes you want, you press down to the frets. It's the same concept of that 'noteless' chucka-chucka muted strumming you hear, where the left hand is muting everything. Start from that standpoint rather than the classical guitar method of letting everything ring clearly, and you're pretty much there.
Just thought of this - should I always be barring the strings with my index finger, in order to mute? That seems like it'd work, but I don't think it'd be very natural. In fact...now that I think about it...am I supposed to fret with the tips of my fingers, like guitar, or the flatter part of my finger, where the fingerprint is?

It's not really a barre, but as described above. Hand/fingers across the strings but not really holding them down. Then just hold the notes you want.
So many questions...sorry. I just have to figure this out, and I need some advice. Thanks.

One thing that was mentioned was the use of the rest-stroke in playing the bass. That has a lot to-do with starting and stopping notes accurately. In this, it's very much like classical guitar, except, as was also mentioned by someone else, you use the 'fingerprint' part of the fingertip; not the very tip of it.

Hope this helps.

The middle finger problem seems to have gone away with time. I thought it'd be a problem, but I just the fingers just got stronger. I guess even double-jointed people can prevail...then again, I haven't been trying to play faster than I can lately, which may have a lot to do with it. (I play with a guitarist, a friend of mine who likes speed metal. You do the math.)

I'm generally very good at fret-hand muting, but not for individual strings - while I've been trying to practice muting with my index finger on my left hand, it's difficult when I have to use it for something else, like fretting a note. Also, if I've got to span a number of frets, it makes it harder. I'd ilke to be able to access four frets in any position, at any time. I used to do left-hand eercises but I haven't in a while.

As for the octave, I suppose I'll try some different techniques. Habit makes me try to use my thumb, since I'm used to playing guitar with my fingers, but more often than not this ends up sounding very sloppy (not to mention the tone of the note changes, since I'm using the thumb). I suppose it may be necessary in some cases, though. I'll try the one-finger-per-string technique...but does that work well at high speeds?

I'm still trying to work up to a decent speed on bass - but one thing I have noticed, I can play a lot faster with the one finger per string style. The problem comes when I have to do a quick run on one string, I automatically use my first finger - like you would playing guitar. I suppose that it's because I've played guitar for so long, and bass for a relatively short time - it's a deeply ingrained habit....I suppose it'll come in time, muscle memory will prevail - but only if I get it right!

Lunchmeat, glad the finger problem's cleared up.....it looks as if it was just that your finger needed strengthening.....

:D :D :D

Vic

If you're fast with one finger, man, you'll be playing laps around everyone once you switch to two. I sometimes use classical style on the bass (PIMA technique) but only if I'm playing something I've written meant to sound that way. Much harder the mute the sintrgs, there, but ringing notes on bass can be a pleasing effect if done correctly. No super-low registers...you can do chords, but they have to be inversions. I might play an open A string, and then a C and an E an octave above, and it sounds quite nice. To me, anyway.

I alternate fingers and I'm getting a bit faster as well...I have learned to love the alternate/sweep method. Good stuff. I find it very difficult to use my ring finger on bass other than to mute the occasional string; I have to tilt my hand to engage the finger if I try to use it, and it's a lot weaker than the other fingers. In classical style it's fine, but trying to alternate with it is a chore. Triplets are really going to kick my ass.

I can't play that ocatve exercise quickly at all...there's no economy of motion when I don't alternate strings like that. I guess I'll just have to get used to it.

One last question (sorry, guys!) - I just realized this, as I was playing today. When I try to mute the strings with my fret hand, it should work...but it doesn't. And I've realized why. I always get annoying harmonics wherever I try to mute, espcially near the nut. Most ANNOYING sound ever...how do I alleviate this? (Aside from turning down the gain/volume, or getting flatwounds :P )

...
One last question (sorry, guys!) - I just realized this, as I was playing today. When I try to mute the strings with my fret hand, it should work...but it doesn't. And I've realized why. I always get annoying harmonics wherever I try to mute, espcially near the nut. Most ANNOYING sound ever...how do I alleviate this? (Aside from turning down the gain/volume, or getting flatwounds :P )

Sorry, didn't see this last one.

For this - and I know what you mean, it's those natural string harmonics between the nut and the 5th fret or so - it would be a combination of muting with the fretting hand and playing rest-strokes with the picking hand. Also, turning the fretting hand slightly so the fingers are pointing more or less toward the headstock sometimes helps. It puts the fingers at a really weird angle to the strings and gives different points with which to mute. Sometimes you have to actually rehearse segments of the song where there's a problem and rehearse the muting - especially for important / troublesome notes.

Sometimes you can also minimize the ringing by picking a little further away from the bridge for those particular passages.