Flying Fingers...

Hello guys. I think I have a big problem which is probably what is hurting me speedwise. I been playing bass for two years now, and I have a real issue with my finger control on my fret hand. I have the hardest time keeping my fingers 'home' so to speak when playing faster. I've have been watching youtube videos and I see the great players fingers looks like they never leave the strings. Me, on the other hand, my fingers are flying around as if I am about to do a magic trick. It's really frustrating watching myself do it to.

I was looking for some finger excercises to help me with this issue. Has one else had this issue and did it take you a long time to recover? Even bigger question...is it much to do about nothing?

Thanks!

I don't know exactly what your saying but if I understand you correctly, I think it's just personal preference and isn't a big deal.

The question is how did you start fretting? Did you ever to scales, making sure that each of your fingers is in it's place in the pattern? That's what really matters.

How much your finger moves away from the fretboard is less consequntial than if it's not above the fret it's supposed to play.

An example would be if what you're playing resembles the major scale pattern (let's say C major just to make it easier). Your middle finger needs to be on the C (3rd fret of the A string) with your index ready on the E (2nd fret of the D string). All too often I've seen people play a major pattern with their index on the C, this of course slows them down because they need to shift their whole hand to move on.

I believe that I use the correct fingering to prevent my hand from sliding all over the place, and I am doing ok with finger placement for the next note.

I guess I'm strickly concerned with the rest position of certain fingers when they are not in use. Sometimes, I catch my index finger resting almost 2-3 inches above the fret board, or the same with my pinky when I use my ring finger. The distance traveled from rest to use is problem hindering my speed. It's something that I have just started paying attention to and thought maybe it was bad technique from me trying to teach myself.

Is definitely is 'bad technique' and is definitely not just personal preference. The more your fingers fly about, the more effort you're putting into it. The more effort you put into it, the harder it is to play bass. The harder it is to play bass, the harder it'll be to master your instrument... etc. etc.

The best way to 'fix' it is simply to practice reeeeeeally slowly with a metronome (anything, scales, songs, whatever) paying special attention to what your fingers are doing. Keep 'em close, man, keep 'em close

It'll probably feel like you're putting more effort into it keeping your fingers close to the fretboard at the start, but over time it'll feel just like your playing as of now.

Here's my favourite metronome: http://www.studybass.com/tools/online-metronome/

Ok, 2-3 inches is a bit much

I would suggest keeping the fingers that are not in use below the string your are playing. This way you keep the idle strings from ringing out.

Of course if you're talking about playing different notes in a sequence, not just the same note throughout the bar, then I think that the speed demand of the song should force you to keep your fingers closer.

I've noticed that I tend to move my fingers further away from the fretboard when I'm playing a slow note sequence for the sake of rhythm. On the other hand, when I play something faster my fingers stay close because I keep forcing them to move faster.

The main riff from YYZ by Rush, for example, really forced me to keep fingers close to the board. Try playing it at 50% speed and gradually speeding up. It should help.

Pippynip wrote:Is definitely is 'bad technique' and is definitely not just personal preference. The more your fingers fly about, the more effort you're putting into it. The more effort you put into it, the harder it is to play bass. The harder it is to play bass, the harder it'll be to master your instrument... etc. etc.

The best way to 'fix' it is simply to practice reeeeeeally slowly with a metronome (anything, scales, songs, whatever) paying special attention to what your fingers are doing. Keep 'em close, man, keep 'em close

It'll probably feel like you're putting more effort into it keeping your fingers close to the fretboard at the start, but over time it'll feel just like your playing as of now.

Here's my favourite metronome: http://www.studybass.com/tools/online-metronome/

Its says you can change the time signature, but there is no option for it. How do you do that?


Edit. Never mind, i pressed play there is no change in the pulse to indicate time signatures so it just up to you how you count the rhythm.

That's why it's my favourite

When I first started playing my mentor told me that as bass players, we are to think lazy, because less is more most of the time.

Dropthelines585 wrote:When I first started playing my mentor told me that as bass players, we are to think lazy, because less is more most of the time.

True that. But sometimes ya just cant help but rip the shit out of it.

I've just noticed that when I play Dig my fingers are also quite far from the strings during the 16th-note pattern.
So, I assume it's not really that important how far away they are, because your fretting hand is probably faster than your plucking hand anyway.