Thumb plucking, when to use?

I don’t just mean the technique, I mean the sound too… tapping on bass sounds very similar to finger style on a nylon strung classical guitar :slight_smile:

Tappers are just guitarists who really wanted to play piano :wink:

Time to go buy a Harpejji and a Chapman Stick :joy:

Absolutely not just referring to technique but of the need and talent some musicians have to express music beyond the usual practical parameters of plucking/picking/slapping the instrument.

And, yes, tapping the uppermost register can definitely produce some classical guitar tonal qualities depending on the player’s attack and musical intent.

Never heard of this band before, man that lead vocalist could even stand up to the one from Halestorm. Cool technique to see on the bass too

That’s Brittney Slayes. She’s not using her full range here. Heck of a singer. So is Lizzie Hale of Halestorm

This seems a suitable thread.

We’re practicing a song at the moment, and I’ve put this bass to it -

Edit - got the notes wrong! Edited now -

A—A—E—E—F—F—G—A

(A starts on E string and the song basically goes down to the open E and then back up the E string via the F, G and A again)

It’s about 115bpm or something - nothing crazy fast, just average.

What I want to do with it is use octaves for each section. So it’s now like this (small letters for the higher octave)

A—A—a—A—E—E—e—E—F—F—f—F—G—A

All at the same speed, so around 8th notes I guess. I know the above looks a mess, but I’ve got a rhythm for it that makes it swing pretty well with the drums, so that bit’s done.

I do a run between the G and the A, so that bit’s sorted. Can ignore that bit.

So that’s all the music. But to play those octaves at the speed I need for the song, I’ve got to use my right hand thumb for the the majority of the main notes, to free up my index finger for the octaves - because I can’t seem to maintain it at speed any other way without compromising on muting and simply getting there fast enough.

What I’d normally do is slooooow it right down, and then try, which normally works for most things, but for some reason, this particular skill eludes me every time.

It’s like I need to put my hand in slap position, and it works perfectly, but I can’t even do slap bass!

I’m also trying to do ‘as many’ index/middle notes as I can and try to reduce the amount I’m using my thumb, but it just seems immediately comfortable if I just put my hand in slap position and just use my thumb and index? :man_shrugging:

If you had to do those notes, how would you play them?

I would play octaves alternating with index and middle fingers.

I use thumb plucking very sparingly and usually only for a line that requires an emphatic, meaty tone.

That said, do what works for you. We all play differently based on our unique physiologies and tunes.

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Nice one, cheers.

Ill try that and see how it feels.

The trouble will be the rhythm but lets see!

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I’ve used it once on the recording below trying for a short, thumpy, muted pluck sound.

https://youtu.be/gOfLVEtQr0U