Hmmm, not sure if this is a similar issue than what I’ve had with the G string, but I had continuously problems to bring it properly down and it sometimes sounded terrible. I have figured out that I tend to hold the 1st joint of the fingers too flat-ish on the G string. Now I’ve tried to touch it more with the very fingertips, and not so flat, and that has helped. Maybe this could apply to your issue as well??
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Hey folks, finished the class a few weeks ago and having a ton of fun!
I’m noticing there is one specific position with the fretting hand I’m struggling with: when the pinkie finger is pressing on a fret and then I need the ring finger to go the fret right above. This comes up for instance in Billie Jeans or Money by Pink Floyd (4th fret of D then A string). In that position I find it difficult to just roll the pinkie upwards (easier when it’s G then D string) but also my pinkie and ring feel a bit glued together and it’s hard to move them independently.
Any advice or workout you recommend to get better “independence” between pinkie and ring fingers?
Thank you!
Yes. I learned an exercise from a pianist. make a fist with both hands. Then raise your first (index finger) and ring finger together. Then lower them back to the fist, then raise your middle finder and pinkie finger together. Lower them back to fist then repeat. First & ring, then middle and pinkie. back and forth as fast as you can for a few minutes. You’re teaching your mind give independent control over two fingers that have a hard time working without each other. The exercise only increases dexterity not strength. But I find myself doing this exercise as a stress relief at work, too.
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This is surprisingly difficult lol
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Hello everyone, i just joined the bandwagon ..
Do you guys mind sharing any tips on how not to use/relax fretting hand thumb? I will always unconsciously press with my thumb onto the neck
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Wow, that isn’t exactly easy, especially with middle & pinky it’s really hard to do. Not to speak of “as fast as you can”…
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Minimum Viable Pressure.
I forget where Josh goes over this, but it takes very little pressure to press a string against a fret. Practice feeling how little pressure it takes by gently resting your finger on a string while plucking it, so you get a muted note. Press a little harder and you’ll get a rattly, buzzy note. A little bit harder and it will turn into a cleanly fretted note. Hold that minimum amount of pressure and try to remember what it feels like. Do this exercise any time you notice yourself digging in too hard, or more often.
So long as you keep paying some attention to it and correcting it when you notice, it will improve over time, but it will be slow. You need to get that minimum pressure into your muscle memory, so keep correcting it.
Also you’ll find that when you’re focusing on learning something new, a lot of other technique (like fretting pressure) will slip because your brain isn’t focusing on it as much. Allow yourself to be imperfect while you get through the initial learning of the new thing. Once you start to internalize it, the rest will come back. This is also why it’s common advice to slow down when learning something new. Gives your brain more time to keep up.
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I don’t remember where it is in the course (somewhere before module 5), but Josh has you do an exercise where you take your thumb off the back of the neck and fret as normally as you can, while counterbalancing the bass with your plucking arm.
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This is ridiculously hard 
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I can do middle and pinky ok, but that ring finger does not want to work on it’s own like that.
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Thank you for the tip! I’ve been playing with this and it seems I can only do it if I hold my ring finger down with my thumb which I imagine is not the idea 
basically I’m not able to raise my ring finger on its own without at the same time raising a little bit the middle finger and pinkie.
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What my hands feel like trying this
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my latest struggle is ceremony by new order. seems to be a common theme struggling with joy division/new order 
struggling with those 15/17th frets (and later 13/15 and 8/10s) where you have to keep striking the A and G strings and miss out the D. i know the answer is probably start really slow and build up but……
i guess theres no particular technique to it, its just getting used to it?
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Yes. Hooky has a video where he shows how he plays it too:
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Also the Hacienda bass is cool
It’s made from wood from the stage and dance floor
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I like it!!! What a great tip. I am going to need to work on individuals first, however.
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So this is less struggling, more trying to make sure that I comprehend what I’m learning correctly.
For triad construction, augmented and diminished triads… the augmented is the root, the major 3rd, and the major 3rd of that major 3rd. The diminished triad is the root, the minor 3rd, and the minor 3rd of that minor 3rd?
For Caug it would look like C - E - G# and for Cdim it would be C - Eb - Gb?
Yes.
Mainly, chords are made by stacking major and minor thirds. This extends beyond triads but limiting to triads, this makes more sense when you look at the intervals involved:
Major triad: root + major third + minor third
Minor triad: root + minor third + major third
Augmented major triad: root + major third + major third
Diminished major triad: root + minor third + minor third
Like most music theory, it makes a lot more visual sense with a piano keyboard than a bass or guitar.
With C as an example:
Major triad: C-E-G
Minor triad: C-Eb-G
Augmented major triad: C-E-G#
Diminished major triad: C-Eb-Gb
The biggest key to unlocking chord tones is that the intervals are all that matter. Understand the intervals involved and a lot will fall in to place and make sense.
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You got it.
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