A (Somewhat) Definitive Guide To The Matthew Garrison Technique And Playing Ramps

#61
Bass45 said:
I tend to do things similar to what you describe but I do it with 2 fingers. It isn't the number of fingers but the way you apply it. Most of these guys using 3 or 4 fingers are trying to do things Jaco pioneered using only 2 fingers.
Click to expand...

i split my play time about 50-45-5 between 2, 4, and slap, the exposure to a variety of techniques can only help you, while this may not be the be all and end all of techniques, it is always good to widen your palet think in different ways, it may not help you terribly, but i for one am glad i learned it.:D
 
#63
I'd like to install a ramp on my Warwick Thumb BO 5 ,but as we know the pickups are very close. Anyway, I'd like my ramp to be from the neck pickup to about an inch or two to the neck. I'd like to leave some room for when I slap and pop. I live in Chicago so who can do it here? I heard Elrick is in Chicago, is that correct?
 
#66
I made my own cheapie one like that once for a Stingray I used to own:
full.jpg
 
#73
I'm one of your YouTube subscribers (UK2AK), so I noticed these videos already when you posted them. They are nicely done.

Because I was in the middle of nowhere and didn't know any other bass players, I am completely self taught and do things in a quirky way.

For instance, I started off playing bass plucking with two fingers on my right hand, but I've always plucked with both sides of my two fingers, the flesh part and the nail part of my fingers, kind of like how guitar players use both sides of a pick.

Jaco was so darned fast with his fingers, it was the only way I could kind of keep up.

Then I added a third finger, again plucking up and down with them, but I used them for triplet (and faster) applications, and used two fingers for 16th note applications.

I started using my thumb when I wanted to play a line I learned to slap, but didn't want that full slap sound. I thought it sounded cool, it did sound different than 2 to 3 fingers, so I started teaching myself to play with the thumb added to my 3 fingers.

When I started using my thumb, I used it both up and down as well, the way I did my other 3 fingers.

I've learned Victor Wooten and Alain Caron use their thumbs like that as well, both up and down.

My big problem with my right hand is that how I use it is so random; I didn't slow it down and use a metronome and get proficient at different patterns as you recommend, I just let whatever finger jumped to do the job do the job.

Consequently, muscle memory tends to rule and my right hand can sound awfully like my previous playing, if that makes any sense. It tends to be the same patterns over and over again with different notes being fingered with my left hand.

I need to liberate my right hand.

I'm going to break it down as you do in your videos, clean it up, and see what I can do with it.

Thanks for taking the time to share this stuff; I'm very appreciative.
 
#74
No problem- Chuck Rainey also does the back and forth finger picking way as you do. I started out plucking with just my thumb, then went on to using my two fingers but only freestrokes, then only reststrokes. Now I try to use them all. It's tough having to relearn how to play over and over again :D Sitting yourself down with a metronome, a very simple but structured exercise plan, and no other distractions really lets you know how many holes in your game there are. I haven't been as diligent as I should as of late- I'm going to take my own advice and hit the shed pretty hard over the next month.
 
#75
I often do an upstroke with my index finger, mostly while playing with two fingers, I think usually the note before I shift down a string or something.

I've been trying to implement the 3 fingers and thumb technique, but I have a hard time getting my thumb to sound like my fingers (sounds a lot thuddier and warmer, probably due to the greater mass of my thumb), and due to using my thumb, I don't have anything to rest my hand on, so my wrist and forearm gets quickly sore due to supporting itself the whole time.
 
#76
I'm trying to get use to this technique. but I'm having a lot of trouble getting comfortable with the i,m,r movement in my fingers. Are there any exercises that help to get use to it?

Also, does anybody know where I could get a ramp on my bass around Hamilton, Ontario Canada?
 
#79
Hey GAWD,

I'm in all honesty not being wise here but the T I M R that you just mentioned is the exercise.

It does not take as long to get used to as you would think.

What I did was just practice it all the time with or without a bass in my hands. At work, driving etc... and soon it is very natural. About a week or so if you do this you will see dramatic results and it will be very natural. By the end of a month you won't even know what the issue was.

Seriously
 
#80
Hey Guys

Nice to see this thread still developing and with more people getting into this technique - I know I posted this video elsewhere on the Technique forum but I guess it's probably better here instead - this is my recent very clear and very slow (in places) video that should show you how to get the plucking with TIMR fingers in time and with the aim of you getting it into a groove first before soloing with it:



I do plan on making a more advanced version which will cover different combinations of plucks on a single string and lots more string crossing ideas - plus MUTING! That's the one thing not covered here - but in a nutshell I mute with a combination of my left hand (like when you slab and try and flatten you fingers across the fretboard to dampen the strings) and also with my picking hand.

Anyway - if you have any questions then do ask - but I am so busy right now with work and my new family that I apologise if you dont get a reply for a while!

Good luck and keep practicing.

M
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom
Back