Finger positions

[Noctos]

Hi guys, this is a topic which hasen't really been talked about much or shown in many bass videos. I dont just mean knowing which finger to play a note , i mean knowing where to place the other fingers whilst playing that note, that for me distinguishs a beginner from a professional, even when their playing intermediate bass lines you can see their comfortable, whilst a beginner would fumble clumsly around.

I've been teaching myself bass for a couple of years and think my finger positioning is letting me down, when i see uriah playing simple basslines, i see him going into chord finger positions really fast even though he plays one note, something i cant do that quick lol.

So lets share our knowledge on this issue, such as what do you do when your playing notes on the bottom string of the bass or playing a 1-5-octave sequence.

 For a 1-5-octave sequence i usually place my index on 1, 4th finger on 5 and pinky on octave.

[uriahsmusic]

...HERE IS MY TRAIN OF THOUGHT....PRACTICE SPREADING YOUR FINGERS AND HITTING ONE NOTE WITH THE FINGER THAT IS LAYING OVER THAT NOTE.

EXAMPLE  
IF YOU PLAY AN A...USE YOUR INDEX FINGER...NOW TO PLAY AN A# USE YOUR MIDDLE FINGER..ETC...

BUT WHEN YOU ARE JAMMIN...JUST LET YOUR HAND FLY...IT DOESNT MATTER WHAT FINGER HITS WHAT NOTE!...WHAT MATTERS IS THAT YOU HIT THE RIGHT NOTE AND ON TIME!

I LIKE TO SWING MY HAND ALL OVER THE PLACE AND HINOTES WITH WHATEVER IS COMFORTABLE....

IN TIME YOU WILL FIND YOU OWN WAY OF PLAYING ACCORDING TO YOUR BODY AND THE INSTRUMENT YOU ARE PLAYING....IN A LITTLE WHILE IT WONT EVEN BE AN ISSUE...

[Noctos]

Hmm yea uriah thats cool when your playing slow riffs but when you start playing at faster speeds around the bass then surely you have to place your fingers in fixed positions to enable you to move to the next note comfortably.

I've been playing for a while and it even canes me to play the shout riff on the f note string E (1-2-3-4), its seems quite a stretch for anyone but uriah you seem to play it comfortably, do you bring the neck of the bass closer to your then usual body ? Any tips for when your constantly plaing near that end of the bass of the E and A string?

[uriahsmusic]

...AFTER A WHILE YOU DONT REALLY THINK ABOUT IT...BECAUSE DIFFERENT SITUATIONS REQUIR DIFFERENT THING...BUT I DONT HAVE A LARGE HAND!...I JUST DID THE EXERSIZE THAT I DESCRIBED AND AFTER A WHILE IT WAS EASY....FOR EXAMPLE WITH THE SHOUST RUN WHERE ONE NOTE COMES RIGHT AFTER THE OTHER...4 FRETS IN A ROW ON EACH STRING..YOU WILL NOTICE THAT IF I START ON AN A NOTE ON THE E STRING WITH MY PINKY....AND THE NEXT NOTE WOULD BE A B ON THE A STRING....THAT IS A STRETCH!....BUT BUY THE TIME I SWING AT THAT B NOTE ON THE A STRING I HAVE LET MY PINKY LEAVE THE A NOTE THAT I STARTED ON BECAUSE IS ISNT COMFORTABLE TO STREATCH THAT FAR...(PLUS THERE IS NO NEED TO...YOU CAN JUST MOVE YOUR HAND!....THIS IS ONE OF THOSE THINGS YOU MUST JUST DO AND NOT TALK TO PIECES LIKE THEORY!....THE FACT OF THE MATTER IS AFTER DOING IT A COUPLE OF HUNDRED TIMES YOU WILL DEVELOPE YOUR OWN WAY ACCORDING TO THE SIZE OF YOUR BASS AND YOUR HAND SIZE.....
I STILL SAY PRACTICE STRETCHING IT...PUT IN REAL PLAY DO WHAT IS COFORTABLE....STRETCHING MAY BE UNCOMFORTABLE AT FIRST BUT YOU WILL GET CLEANER NOTES IF EACH NOTE GETS A FINGER...
(STILL WHO WANTS TO BE CLEAN ALL THE TIME)

I AM SURE YOU WILL WORK IT OUT!

[Noctos]

Hey uriah do you think it really makes a difference when your using really thick strings compared to medium skinny ones, cause i have to apply quite a bit of pressure on these thicker strings.

[uriahsmusic]

...IT MAKES A HUGE DIFFERENCE!  THICKER STRINGS PROVIDE MORE TENSION AND ARE HARDER TO PRESS DOWN....BUT HAVE A GREAT SOUND TO THEM....MEDIUM STRINGS SOUND JUST FINE BUT ARE EASIER TO PLAY....
THE LIGHTER THE STRING THOUGH THE MORE WIREY THE SOUND SO BEWARE.

[Noctos]

uriah where do you place you thumb on the back of the neck. inbetween those two parallel lines, resting the tip of your thump on the bass? using the midst of your thumb? I want to know what goes on behind your bass lol

[uriahsmusic]

..i have never really thought about it....I dont think there is just one place i put it....I just grab it and my hand lays where it feels good....I go for thinner necks though!

[SmithPlayer]

My fingers rest on the strings to deaden them.  When a note ends I just lift up off the frett but I keep the finger touching the string. If you take it all the way off you could sound the open note accidentally.(As if you were tapping like van-halen)

This came from playng waltzes in a ballromm dancing band for so long. Play a note and rest play another and rest. You have to keep it quiet when resting.
It's actually hard to not play in the middle of a measure sometimes. A rest can be as hard to play as a note. That's where muting comes in.

Boom chuck chuck Boom chuck chuck

You do the boom and a drummer does the chucks

The high strings get muted with my left hand and the low strings get muted with my right thumb (which moves to the highest string I dont need at the moment) If I'm playing the lowest string I put my right thumb on the pickup.

My left thumb rest where it lands. Go for comfort.

The videos on this forum make me want a video camera!