Left hand technique

nattiep · Post by **nattiep** » Sun Oct 30, 2005 5:39 pm

*notes to self.. That's the first pic of Wints I've ever seen*

saxon · Post by **saxon** » Mon Oct 31, 2005 6:02 am

Thanks guys, nice to know what is working now is not all wrong. I watched my bass mentor who said he plays on the tips and he was fully on the flats most of the time.

david_schwab · Post by **david_schwab** » Mon Oct 31, 2005 6:09 am

I mostly use my fingertips, but I also use the flats (and in between!)

I've heard both as "proper" technique over the years.

kcole4001 · Post by **kcole4001** » Mon Oct 31, 2005 6:10 am

You just gotta do what feels right.

iamthebassman · Post by **iamthebassman** » Mon Oct 31, 2005 6:55 am

As R.C. said, my left hand holds my pick, but thanks for asking.

rickon · Post by **rickon** » Mon Oct 31, 2005 7:19 am

Yea! More picksters!

Oh yeah, use a combination myself mostly depending on neck position and the following note.

johnashfield · Post by **johnashfield** » Mon Oct 31, 2005 8:19 am

It usually depends on pattern for me, sometimes tips, sometimes pads. I think too your finger length and hand size determines things as well.

When I teach kids guitar, I usually say tips, because otherwise you dampen strings that you need for the chords, though even then there are exceptions. Of course on bass there is more room.

Ultimately it's about getting good sound right?

jwr2 · Post by **jwr2** » Mon Oct 31, 2005 8:24 am

sometimes when I am bored or want to show off I bring my hand in from the top of the neck instead of the bottom ... or I use my left thumb to fret ... or if a song is really simple then I only use one finger on my left hand to play ...

johnashfield · Post by **johnashfield** » Mon Oct 31, 2005 9:35 am

UGHH! YUCK!

I always hate seeing guys bring their hand over from the top! Just a pet peeve of mine, for no good reason really. I just hate the way it looks!

amcrory · Post by **amcrory** » Mon Oct 31, 2005 9:59 am

Tips, and flatten when necessary, I also use my LH pinky to mute a lot.

-a

iamthebassman · Post by **iamthebassman** » Mon Oct 31, 2005 10:46 am

John, I was thinking the same thing. YUCK!!

ilan · Post by **ilan** » Mon Oct 31, 2005 10:52 am

Jimi Hendrix did that a lot.

ilan · Post by **ilan** » Mon Oct 31, 2005 10:59 am

Root with the thumb, 1-3-5 with ring, middle and index fingers.

bobcat · Post by **bobcat** » Mon Oct 31, 2005 12:11 pm

There was this one kid in jazz band at my high school who played a J-bass. He was really tall and had really, really big hands (he was also not such a good player, but that's beside the point). Whenever he played on that thin neck, his hand enveloped it in such a way that it looked like he was holding a pistol or something, like he was gripping it and trying to break it in half. It was REALLY distracting for some reason. It's weird, too, because it doesn't look odd to me on guitar, but it looks really weird on bass.

green_us90 · Post by **green_us90** » Mon Oct 31, 2005 12:58 pm

And Jimi's fingers were very long, so they lended themselves to that style. That is some cool stuff.

Sometimes I use my thumb to fret, but not without thinking about it.