Hi. I am about 1/4 into Mod 4. I have really enjoyed the journey so far. Josh, you are an amazing instructor!..never heard that, have you?
I am really struggling with the whole “Keep your thumb rested on the pickup while plucking the notes on A & E” part of the U2 song practice.
My fingers, especially the index, want to pluck the string they rest on.
Example…plucking the DDDDDDDD AAAAAAAA BBBBBBBB part with the fingers landing on the E string between rotations. My index especially wants to pluck the $!#@! out of that fat E string it is resting on when it should be continuing the song on the A string.
Driving me a little nutty…had to break from the lesson to recoup.
I’m betting the answer is to just keep drilling it and perhaps it’ll straighten itself out.
I can play the song very well moving my thumb / rest across the strings. , but I want to learn some good techniques without doing something just b/c it feels right.
Anyway, having a blast picking up the base after a 40-year hiatus. I played in college, but had to quit playing bass before my obsession with it almost had me quit college.
It takes time and practice. Each time I switch from 4 string to 5 string, I need a couple of minutes to recalibrate so I don’t plug the wrong strings and I’m a few modules above Mod 4,
I’ve been at this a few weeks, I’m currently in module 10. Still can’t play. I’ve noticed that I tend to rest my thumb on the E string. I’ve no idea why, and maybe this is the start of a bad habit.
The normal thing (but by no means exclusively) is to anchor the thumb on the pickup (or ramp) for playing the E string, on E for A string and on A for D and G strings.
So I don’t think it’s a bad habit unless you’re always anchored on it rather than dynamically moving it to the required anchor point.
I have seen the light! I can get it as to why it’s a thing. I just finished up Mod 4. That string walking was intense, and I don’t think I could have made it sound as good w/o resting my thumb on the strings and back-walking up the strings.
Still have a lot of practice to do, obviously, but I get why it’s a thing.
Sometimes it is more efficient to anchor the thumb on the pickup when play a pattern that moves between the E and A. It’s a good habit to be in.
What I found myself doing as sort of in-between is resting my thumb on TOP of the pickup instead of on the corner of the pickup. Or like, with my thumb nail hooked over the corner. Then I sort of roll my thumb forward and back to go between strings with less stretch, but don’t actually need to pick it up and replace it.
You’re absolutely right—this is one of those things that feels impossible until suddenly it doesn’t. One day, your fingers will just “get it,” and you’ll wonder why it ever felt hard.
And hey, if anchoring your thumb feels more natural right now, that’s okay too! The important thing is that you’re aware of the technique and working on it. Many great bassists shift their thumb position dynamically—it’s not a rigid rule.
This was tough for me, too. I find it hard to keep good tone when plucking two strings over. For example, plucking D string when thumb is on E, or plucking G when thumb is on A. I think it was Module 4 where we were encouraged to keep the thumb on the pickup while plucking A because it would be easier to keep it there when moving to pluck the E vs moving it up later. Pulling across to mute the string underneath was OK, but the plucking was harder for me to control. Practice, practice. Patience, patience.
, but I want to learn some good techniques without doing something just b/c it feels right.
