How do you pluck the strings? (do any of you pluck inwards, sort of like a less forceful slap)?

[Baloney Balderdash]

I am asking because I've realized that my way of plucking the strings, when using the regular 2 finger plucking technique is probably not the most common way to do it.

 

I tried to analyze what I am actually doing and it seems like I am more so stroking the strings, rather than striking or plucking them, rather lightly and quite briefly with the outmost surface of my finger pads, but doing so in a way so I am actually pushing the strings inwards towards the finger board (rather than sidewards/upwards), before the strings then, lightly stroking against the very outer most edge of my finger nails, is being released again.

 

I have kind of just adjusted my plucking technique intuitively to what sounded best to me, rather than analyzing in details what I actually did, that is up until now, I did however notice that it gets a lot easier to make it work when my nails are cut to just exactly the right length, neither too short, nor too long, the latter causing the strings to easily get caught on the nail, and the former making it harder to achieve the right sound I desire, like the nail just ever so slightly poking out above the edge of the finger, but really only ever so slightly, so for this to work optimally I really need to constantly tend to cutting my finger nails, and really paying attention when doing so too.

 

Though I can actually get pretty close to the same kind of tone/sound even if the stroke doesn't finish off with touching the very edge of the nail before it is released, but I do think it sounds the best when it does.

 

It also requires a fair deal of accuracy, I assume more so than more common regular sidewards/upwards string plucking, because for it to work properly it is crucial that you only stroke the strings lightly with a relatively minor area of your fingertips and nails, and also only very briefly, rather than plucking them as such (you definitely don't want to dig in in any way), which took awhile for me to get to work consistently. 

 

I would describe the tone/sound I get from doing this as sort of a slapping or piano like sound/tone, like having some of the same unique somewhat metallic attack as you get from slapping, just less forceful, much softer and much more subtle sounding than regular slapping, really perhaps more similar to the sound of the hammer hitting the strings in a piano.

 

Anyone else doing something similar, and if not then how do you pluck your strings, how did you develop/chose your technique, and what would the sound characteristics be of it?

 

Or is all this really nonsense, me just imagining being special, and this actually being how most people do it?

 

 

Edited April 15, 2023 by Baloney Balderdash

[bassalbert]

without seeing you, it seems you are using a style of plucking similar to Stanley Clarke's.

there are no good or bad techinques. each of them gives different sounds to your palette to choose. I always recommend my students to explore that part of the bass technique. normally people learn some way of plucking and stays there for ever till they die. well, I think they are missing something

[Waddo Soqable]

By preference I'm a ( clangy and aggressive) pick player, but.. I will also use all sorts of finger or thumb playing methods for different sounds or whathaveyou. For a very Bassy sound I might use the soft side of the thumb 'tug bar' style kind of, I'd sometimes play with the forefinger and thumb together almost using an imaginary pick if that makes sense. I would sometimes use the thumb both ways in a strumming or flicking action.. It's very hard to describe stuff like this adequately.. Suffice to say, personally I don't just stick to one solitary "technique", I guess it's a case of experimenting with different things and see what you think works

Edited April 14, 2023 by Waddo Soqable

[Baloney Balderdash]

On 14/04/2023 at 19:34, bassalbert said:

without seeing you, it seems you are using a style of plucking similar to Stanley Clarke's.

there are no good or bad techinques. each of them gives different sounds to your palette to choose. I always recommend my students to explore that part of the bass technique. normally people learn some way of plucking and stays there for ever till they die. well, I think they are missing something

Well, I just by far prefer how this sounds, I do however also make a lot of use of classical acoustic guitar finger style, and flamenco guitar style index and/or middle finger flicking, as well as some use of double thumb, techniques that often all gets incorporated and used interchangeably within the same piece, depending whatever the various riffs and parts calls for.

 

And I am a quite accomplished pick player as well, which was actually my preferred method of plucking the strings when I first started out.

 

I was just particularly interested in traditional 2 finger plucking in this case, for which, as said I by far prefer the tone/sound that the method described in the OP gives me.

 

I do fully agree though of the importance of experimenting and finding your own approach, the one that personally fits you best specifically, your own voice, and not just when it comes to plucking techniques, but in all aspects of playing your instrument(s) of choice, and really actually playing music in general.

 

Edited April 15, 2023 by Baloney Balderdash