Back in the day I was the designated bass player for your typical 60's high school rock band. We didn't really know much back then and everything has changed so much. So as I get more an more involved with bass I want to increase my skill level. In the good ol days we pretty much used a pick or out thumbs and nobody really noticed or cared.
But now the standard right hand style (slap exempted at this moment) seems to be more of a 2 or 3 finger plucking technique. I'm ok with that and have been doing whatever feels right at the time. And with easy stuff it almost doesn't matter if I use one finger or two- which I sort of do either of unconsciously. But I want to improve my technique and of course my ability to play faster. I understand how to alternate fingers, but the problem comes with my preference of fingers to use- based on finger length...
My index finger is a FULL 1/2 shorter than my middle finger. And probably because of that I tend to use my middle finger more intuitively, possibly also because I think it's stronger (being in the middle of my hand). But I know there are times when I have to pluck with my index, particularly reaching for a higher string than my middle just plucked and it feels like a MUCH farther reach than if I'd just plucked with my index and then had to reach a higher string with my middle (if that makes sense). And so my question is two-fold:
1) Should I be changing my hand position in any way to help compensate for the finger length discrepancy? 2) If alternating fingers 1 and 2, (let's just say steady 8th notes, but perhaps moving across strings), does it matter whether you begin with 1 or 2? [Yes, I understand what "raking" is an tend to do it a bit intuitively because I often use efficiency picking when playing guitar]. Is there a plucking strategy that one uses to determine which finger to start with? Or do you always start with 1 or start with 2? Because my middle finger is longer and stronger, should I consider that my "main" finger for simple plucking purposes?
Looking forward to your replies. TIA
But now the standard right hand style (slap exempted at this moment) seems to be more of a 2 or 3 finger plucking technique. I'm ok with that and have been doing whatever feels right at the time. And with easy stuff it almost doesn't matter if I use one finger or two- which I sort of do either of unconsciously. But I want to improve my technique and of course my ability to play faster. I understand how to alternate fingers, but the problem comes with my preference of fingers to use- based on finger length...
My index finger is a FULL 1/2 shorter than my middle finger. And probably because of that I tend to use my middle finger more intuitively, possibly also because I think it's stronger (being in the middle of my hand). But I know there are times when I have to pluck with my index, particularly reaching for a higher string than my middle just plucked and it feels like a MUCH farther reach than if I'd just plucked with my index and then had to reach a higher string with my middle (if that makes sense). And so my question is two-fold:
1) Should I be changing my hand position in any way to help compensate for the finger length discrepancy? 2) If alternating fingers 1 and 2, (let's just say steady 8th notes, but perhaps moving across strings), does it matter whether you begin with 1 or 2? [Yes, I understand what "raking" is an tend to do it a bit intuitively because I often use efficiency picking when playing guitar]. Is there a plucking strategy that one uses to determine which finger to start with? Or do you always start with 1 or start with 2? Because my middle finger is longer and stronger, should I consider that my "main" finger for simple plucking purposes?
Looking forward to your replies. TIA
