Finger Technique.. a question?

[bobodhi]

Hi, i'm pretty new to the bass and really enjoying it, however... when I started I just got stuck in and plucked the strings pretty much as I had when I played regular guitar, basically pulling the string across the body, and things went just fine, then... i read abass beginner book that said, wrongo! that instead i should be pushing the string in towards the body to get the proper bass tone. Ok i thought, i'll give it a go. First up, definite tone improvement, less tinny and thin, more bassy.. if there is such a word? However, i immediately had to change my hand position, i was bracing against the side of the neck at the bottom and now had to place my hand on the neck pickup to gain a bit of clearance on the E string, this is fine, except it now hurts my shoulder there (i like to sit to play), but more importantly, i started getting a lot of noise, firstly the string when struck now seems to rattle of the frets when i start moving frets, also, when i start to speed up, the finger that comes to rest on the next string now causes it to vibrate when i lift off to play the next note, all in all not a good situation. I'd appreciate any input on this matter as it is kinda fundamental and certainly spoiling my enjoyment of playing. Cheers.

[xgsjx]

First thought - you should be asking the Mrs for advice.

But after reading your post I'd say you need to adjust your strap position or play sitting sown to start with.

I'm at work, so can't type loads just now, but have a look in teh techniques section on here.

[surfinbernard]

I recommend you start getting into good habits now or it will cost you later on and be hard to correct. Look up Youtube videos for 'floating thumb' or 'right hand muting' for bass. If you are getting the sttring rattling against the frets you are playing too hard I should think, again, it will be easier to see this on a youtube video than to read it. There are lots of excellent tutorials available or free. Good luck.

[grtz]

Hi,
Some beginner lessons here:

http://scottsbasslessons.com/technique/right-and-left-hand-positioning.html

http://scottsbasslessons.com/technique/right-hand-technique-bass.html

Hope it helps,

Cheers,
Grt

[Judo Chop]

Are you literally pushing the string towards the body of the bass? If you are then try dragging it backwards towards yourself at the same time, you'll soon stop the rattling and build up a bit of speed too.

Edit: If you're already doing that, maybe a truss rod or saddle adjustment is needed?

Edited June 25, 2012 by Jack Cahalane

[bobodhi]

[quote name='Jack Cahalane' timestamp='1340630501' post='1707270']
Are you literally pushing the string towards the body of the bass? If you are then try dragging it backwards towards yourself at the same time, you'll soon stop the rattling and build up a bit of speed too.
[/quote]

Hi, think that's what i'm doing.. pushing right into the body, will try your idea out, cheers, thanks for all the other comments, keep em coming.

[Toasting]

I found that when learning finger techinque I had a tendency to pluck the strings which does cause fret buzz - mainly a habit picked up from practicing without an amp!. Over time I learnt to play with a lighter touch and rolling the flesh of my fingers over the strings. As previous posters have suggested, there are some great tution videos on youtube offering guidance on floating thumb and muting. Scott Devine also has some great tuition on his website. Good luck!

[Bilbo]

Watch some videos, as suggested above.

In the meantime, don't stress too much as, for every right way of doing it, there ios some genious out there playing astonishing bass by doing it all 'wrong'. As you say, work with all the different techniques available and figure out what makes you sound the best and what makes it easiest to play. There are several options and none of them are 'right', just different.

Check out Gary Willis, Hadrien Feraud, Michale Manring, Matt Garrison, Anthony Jackson, Stanley Clarke - all have different r/h techniques and all sound amazing.

[Twigman]

Playing finger style is much like making love to a beautiful woman.


Stroke the strings, tickle the strings, pretend the strings are the magic button.
A sensitive touch goes a long way.

[Fat Rich]

Most bass players rest their thumb on the neck pickup or the bridge pickup, or somewhere in between. Time to do some experimenting:

Rest your thumb on the bridge pickup, play gently, play hard (really dig in but not so much you hurt yourself)
Rest your thumb on the neck pickup, play gently, play hard again
Rest your thumb on the end of the neck (like you were doing before), again play gently, play hard.

You'll probably find you get a much tighter punchier sound at the bridge pickup and can play really hard without too many rattles. You'll probably find with your thumb on the end of the neck you get a big woolly sound but have to play very gently to lose the rattles.

Totally different sounds depending where you play, different string tension, different amounts of energy going in the string. Use this to get different sounds out of your bass to suit the song before you start fiddling with tone settings.

You'll find a sweet spot where you get the sound and control you want for most of your playing, you may need to adjust your arm position and the angle of your bass to get comfortable. A mirror may help, you might look all twisted up without realising it. It may feel a little achy at first as you use your muscles in a different way, but if it persists you need to look into further, maybe with a lesson or two.

Good luck!

[bobodhi]

Some really good advice here, thanks to you all for taking the time to reply, much appreciated