I was playing Pretty Pink Ribbon and honestly doing alright EXCEPT for the index finger roll on the first frets of the G and D strings. Pinky on the 4th frets totally fine, index on the second frets is ok, but for some reason on that first fret I just couldn’t lift enough to get the G string to stop making noise.
Did anyone else have this problem? I’m sure it’s probably user error. I do play a bass with a very thin neck and it’s even a bit thinner in that spot which may be making it harder to get the motion right in that location.
I gotta tell you, the finger roll is one of the most difficult (for me, THE most difficult) fretting technique to get clean and comfortable.
So, that’s just the overall disclaimer that you’re trying to do a tricky thing.
My guess is that your index finger is applying tons of pressure to the neck (pinching with the thumb on the back of the neck).
If you can find a balance point so that you aren’t trying to hold the neck in place with your fretting hand (but the strap and bass are kind of doing some of the job for you) you might be able to ease up the pressure and be able to move more quickly/easily.
This won’t be the case with the middle/ring/pinky because that index finger is back there holding the bass in place, and the other fingers can move more freely. But then when you have to move that index, if it’s being used as an anchor with too much pressure, it can be hard to move.
That does help a lot, I appreciate it and I think that’s it exactly. I was able to play it a little better this morning and I was probably more relaxed with my hand because it wasn’t my first time through and I wasn’t “trying” as hard to get the lesson right but just a playing around before work.