@Gio, I really appreciate your response! Thank you!
4 Likes
Hi @tamaraster,
I think that over time you will develop your own style, what works for you And you feel comfortable playing.
There is not any must do this or must do that, as a newby just starting out you need to explore and as mentioned earlier everything you do will get easier ie: pinky not working well , you’re wrist soreness etc.
It’s nice to know that there are others here that are ready to assist you in developing your skills.
I for one never take my thumb from the pickup, when I started I stuck at keeping it there.
I couldn’t reach across the first 4 fret positions when I started, now I find it easy to reach across the 4.
My wrist used to hurt like hell when I first started playing, I have gone back and done that dreaded Billie Jean on the fast workout and after a few run throughs my hand/ wrist is sore.
So I focus on playing music I like and has interesting bass lines, sure I love geezer butler, Chris squire, etc but I think it is more enjoyable to try and play stuff that is achievable as opposed to stuff that is impossible and frustrating, my fingers just don’t move that quickly.
Hope this helps.
Keep up the good work.
Cheers Brian
3 Likes
So here is an interesting technique that I use and didn’t really realize until I watched the “Right Hand Technique” video. So By all means @JoshFossgreen @Gio If I am in the wrong please let me know. I have posted elsewhere that I have played guitar for 30 plus years. Well the last 10 years I have studied classical and Flamenco styles mostly. So I pick with three fingers an dry thumb. I can play faster and more efficiently on a guitar with this technique and rarely use a pick at all. Now when I came to play bass a few months ago I tried anchoring my thumb or more appropriately moveable anchor technique which works well for me. I have noticed though that I prefer to play with three fingers and the thumb I am more efficient in this style even with bass. So I know that this is probably weird to ask but if I play more effectively with this technique should I try and abandon it or stick with it. I do not notice any tonal issues or anything like that. Thanks
4 Likes
Hey Lester, you can definitely get some cool sounds on bass that way! Just make sure you’re doing rest strokes for normal bass plucking - any kind of free stroke will significantly change your bass tone. You’ll get less low end “solidness”, which is usually not a good thing unless you’re playing soloistically!
7 Likes
Thanks @JoshFossgreen I am using rest strokes. If I need more attack on the low E I usually use my fingers with my thumb rested on the pick up. I guess you can say I use a hybrid technique which at first I thought oh man I am doing this all wrong but your video helped a lot
6 Likes
Rest stroke is when you pluck the bass string and your finger rests on the next string you pluck INTO
Free stroke would be just plucking into air
Dry thumb, IDK
5 Likes
@eric.kiser sorry I didn’t see this sooner I did not mean dry thumb it was a typo should have said my thumb. I play bass with an approach I would have used playing classical guitar. Sorry for the confusion. Check out @JoshFossgreen video on right hand technique
5 Likes