Beginners bass course - for pick/plectrum

[SlapMyBitchUp]

Hi.

Just started playing a couple of weeks back. I found a couple of beginner bass courses online like Scotts Bass lessons and another one - they seem pretty good - BUT, as the songs/style of music I like is finger and plectrum style I would also like to try and use a pick (I want to be able to give an easy Rancid song a go, for example).

Does anyone have any recommendations for online beginners courses for 'pick playing'?

Or failing that. What are some good isolated lessons/exercises?

I seem to be okay with the finger style so far, but i tried using a pick for the first time yesterday and I was useless (arrgghhh). It basically just turned in my fingers and raked down the side of the strings. My fret playing hand was ok (relatively speaking), but my picking hand was all over the place, I couldn't find the strings, it was really weird, like I'd regressed back to zero. Helllpppp!

[Roger2611]

I can't help you with guidance towards online tuition but I pretty much always play with a pick, from what you describe you are either digging in too hard or your pick is way too soft if it is effective turning in your hands and scraping your fingers down the strings.

You don't have to play especially hard with a pick, if anything you can use a pick more gently than you would with finger style and still achieve the same volume.

When it comes to knowing where the strings are, I am afraid that is going to be down to practice and just getting used to playing with a pick, keep going from one string to the next, up and down until you start finding it becoming automatic.

Having started out some 35 years ago as a guitarist I found playing with a pick was far easier than finger style when I went over to the bass.

Good luck

Rog

[RCMJ]

Hi there,

Playing with a pick is a real skill. It took me quite a long time to get comfortable with it, and it really helped me to just focus on being consistent with up and downstrokes. 

The basic idea to get started,  is to play "on" beats with a down stroke and "up (or off)" beats with a upstrokes, best to focus on playing notes on one string to start with so as you don't need to worry about string crossing.

I've made a playlist on youtube to help beginners learn to read basic rhythm pattens but I played all the examples pick style, it might help you to play through some of these just get some focus on picking.

Maybe a bit too simple, but have a go and let me know what you think, I am planning to develop some more exercises for picking and any feedback you might have would help me too!

Here's the playlist:

I think some things are so basic that a lot people don't really give them much thought or practice!

[Maude]

A great Rancid song to help you learn and get used to string spacing is 'Fall Back Down'. For the most part the bass is runs of the same notes so although reasonable fast you could do half as many notes until you're used to finding your strings. It utilises all four strings fairly equally. It does have some tasty little fills which you could leave out until more confident, although they sound tricky they're actual fairly simple, Matt Freeman makes complicated sounding basslines out of fairly simple note choices and I mean that in a good way. 

This song is, to me, a great song to help build the skills you've outlined by playing as much, or little, as you're comfortable with without losing the feel of the song. 

Enjoy 🙂

 

[ubit]

I feel your pain. I have played for years with fingers but find pack playing hard as I'm not used to it. I think pure practice is the answer. I do like the pick for the sound on certain songs.

[mr4stringz]

Suggestions above are bang on. I would suggest finding your way with one method or the other first for a couple of months or so though. There’s plenty to get your head around and get used to generally and flitting from fingerstyle to pick and back again may not be beneficial this early in. Just my thoughts though. Enjoy!

[Coilte]

On 03/04/2020 at 13:52, SlapMyBitchUp said:

Does anyone have any recommendations for online beginners courses for 'pick playing'?

Or failing that. What are some good isolated lessons/exercises?

 

Carol Kaye is one of the most famous pick players. In the link below (see tip numbers 26 and 27) she gives detailed instructions on pick playing. Plenty here to keep you occupied for a while. 

https://www.carolkaye.com/www/education/tips1.htm

Edited April 11, 2020 by Coilte

[mcnach]

On 03/04/2020 at 13:52, SlapMyBitchUp said:

Hi.

Just started playing a couple of weeks back. I found a couple of beginner bass courses online like Scotts Bass lessons and another one - they seem pretty good - BUT, as the songs/style of music I like is finger and plectrum style I would also like to try and use a pick (I want to be able to give an easy Rancid song a go, for example).

Does anyone have any recommendations for online beginners courses for 'pick playing'?

Or failing that. What are some good isolated lessons/exercises?

I seem to be okay with the finger style so far, but i tried using a pick for the first time yesterday and I was useless (arrgghhh). It basically just turned in my fingers and raked down the side of the strings. My fret playing hand was ok (relatively speaking), but my picking hand was all over the place, I couldn't find the strings, it was really weird, like I'd regressed back to zero. Helllpppp!

 

I think you're just impatient.

It takes time. Keep at it, regularly, and you'll get there much more quickly than you imagine, but it won't be overnight.

I rarely use a pick, and even if I play guitar with a pick, I still find it a bit awkward except for the simplest songs/runs. Practice, that's all, really. Practice and the right pick. For bass, I found it much better to use more rigid thicker picks. Dunlop stubbies are the best I found, for my taste. 2mm or 3mm are very good, and their shape with a depression in the middle helps keeping them firmly in place even when you're hitting strings hard and fast. The 3mm ones are best when you don't necessarily want a very sharp attack, as their rounder edge makes them smoother, while the 2mm ones are more aggressive.

[Bassfinger]

The only answer to your woes is practice, practice, practice - hours under your belt is what it takes. With time, experience and muscle memory your pick will find the strings every time.  There are no shortcuts.  Good news is that once you're  adept the pick is a very versatile medium and can be gentle or hard, flat or oblique, direct or stroked, and can give a much wider palette than fingers alone, so even if you mainly use fingers it's still worth mastering.

You may also need to experiment to find a pick that suits your hands, style and tastes.  I'm a Dunlop Tortex Triangle 1.0 man myself - ideal for my bag hands so can get a secure grip, and just enough give that it bestows some additional feel and feedback, but stiff enough for a good, solid attack.

Edited April 12, 2020 by Bassfinger

[tonybyrne1]

For a good book on how to play with a plectrum try Plectrum Technique by Stuart Clayton. (bass line publishing). It’s content is full progressive plectrum exercises which are very helpful.

As others have mentioned, the key to learning is patience, always practice etudes slowly.  Have  a consistent structured practice routine & learn to keep emotions,  like frustration,,out of the process. Think what you can achieve over the long term not by next week. It’s all in the mind, learning is a mental thing.  Most importantly find a GOOD teacher.

 

 

[ribbetingfrog]

One tip I would give is to try Dunlop maxi grip picks. I use the 1mm for bass.

they are far easier to keep a good Hold of.

Still needs practice though!

[RCMJ]

On 11/04/2020 at 09:29, Coilte said:

Carol Kaye is one of the most famous pick players. In the link below (see tip numbers 26 and 27) she gives detailed instructions on pick playing. Plenty here to keep you occupied for a while. 

https://www.carolkaye.com/www/education/tips1.htm

You can't go wrong with Carol Kaye! She has so many great performances to her credit and her educational material, especially  those pick rudiments can be applied to many other musical styles.

[Rexel Matador]

On 12/04/2020 at 14:26, mcnach said:

For bass, I found it much better to use more rigid thicker picks. Dunlop stubbies are the best I found, for my taste. 2mm or 3mm are very good, and their shape with a depression in the middle helps keeping them firmly in place even when you're hitting strings hard and fast.

This - everything felt easier when I switched from regular flat picks to stubbies - never looked back.

Also, re Rancid, maybe give Time Bomb a go - it's nice and slow and a lot of fun to play. Plenty of tabs out there - just start slow.

Edited April 16, 2020 by Rexel Matador

[4000]

Re picks, you need to buy a bunch and experiment. What works for others may not work for you, and there are many, many different types. Most will sound and feel different. I generally use Dunlop Jazz but sometimes I’ll use others for a different sound. 
 

And yes......practice! And you can always study guitarists. The principal is the same and often their picking is more advanced.