There are many ways to sound notes. If you’re right handing, you will usually sound notes with your right hand. The basic techniques (the ones which you will use most often) are covered here. More advanced techniques will be covered elsewhere in the book. As in so many other areas of bass playing, your choice of techniques forms a part of your style. Some players gravitate toward a particular technique. Always try to use the technique that gives you the sound you’re looking for.
Finger Style
Many bass players use only the index and middle fingers of their right hand to sound (or pluck) notes on the bass. This style is borrowed, with a few changes, from upright players. Classical players refer to it as “pizzicato,” which is Italian for “pinched” or, loosely, “plucked.” I, as well as many other players, prefer this technique because of the tone that is produced when the fingers meet the string. Your mileage may vary, of course. But it’s good to know this technique even if you later decide that you prefer some other technique.
The technique itself is simple but takes some time to develop. Start by resting your right hand thumb on either one of your pickups, or lightly on the E string (or the B string, if you play a five- or six-string bass). Arch your hand and your fingers slightly. Use your index finger to–with some force–pluck the A string (don’t bother fretting it, just play it open). Continue the movement of your index finger until it comes to rest on the E string. Now repeat the procedure with your middle finger. You should produce a solid tone. If your tone seems too quiet, try using more of your finger tip when you pluck the string. You shouldn’t pull the string up away from the fretboard (doing that intentionally is called “popping” and we’ll get to that later). Practice alternating your fingers and try to keep the notes as even (in length and in volume) as possible. Practice starting with both the index finger and the middle finger. It doesn’t matter which you start with, but you should strive to alternate as much as possible as this will help you build speed.
Crossing Strings
The procedure gets more complicated, of course, when you have to play a sequence of notes on more than one string. But the “rules” are the same. You should strive to keep your fingers alternating whenever practical (sometimes you will not be able to do so and it will be easier to repeat notes with the same finger before alternating). As you cross from a lower string (e.g. E) to a higher one (e.g. A), you’ll rotate your right hand forward a bit, in order to maintain a nice arch (and keep your finger tips in the proper position to sound notes with adequate volume). Likewise, your hand will rotate back a bit as you go from a higer string to a lower one. Try this example:
--------------------------------- --------------------------------- ---------2-2-2-2---------2-2-2-2- -0-0-0-0---------0-0-0-0--------- i m i m i m i m i m i m i m i m
It is easier to maintain perfectly alternating fingerings as long as there are an even number of notes per string (as in the above example). This, of course, is not always the case. Consider this example:
------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------2-2-2------- -------2-2-2-------2-2-2-------2-2-2-------2-2-2- -0-0-0-------0-0-0-------0-0-0------------------- i m i m i m i m i m i m i m i m i m i m i m i m
In certain situations, many players prefer to borrow an approach that guitarists refer to as “speed-picking.” Using this approach, you would begin again with your index finger each time you strike a new string (breaking your alternating pattern when necessary). Here’s the above example with using the speed-picking approach:
------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------2-2-2------- -------2-2-2-------2-2-2-------2-2-2-------2-2-2- -0-0-0-------0-0-0-------0-0-0------------------- i m i i m i i m i i m i i m i i m i i m i i m i
Alternating patterns are usually the best approach, but sometimes the speed-picking approach works better. Try both and see what you think.
Raking
Sometimes it’s easier to play certain passages with just one finger. Consider this example. Take a look at both of the fingerings:
----------------- ---2---2---2---2- ----------------- -0---0---0---0--- i m i m i m i m
------------------------- ---2-2---2-2---2-2---2-2- ------------------------- -0-----0-----0-----0----- i m i m i m i m i m i m (left hand, alternating fingering) i m i i m i i m i i m i (left hand, another fingering)
In the second example, the first fingering is strictly alternating, and the second is the way I would choose to play it. Jumps like these often require that you rethink your fingering or abandon strict alternating patterns for something else which works better.
Three-Finger Method
A variation on the above technique is to use three fingers of the right hand (index, middle, and ring). This is specially useful for quick triplet passages or certain other patterns, like the “gallop” rhythm made popular by bassist Steve Harris of Iron Maiden. I find it easier in these situations to start with the ring finger, though you’re welcome to begin with the index finger. Below is an example with both fingerings. Note that most players don’t use this approach exclusively. They generally revert to the two finger approach for most playing and use the three-finger method only when it is advantageous:
------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------2-2-2------- -------2-2-2-------2-2-2-------2-2-2-------2-2-2- -0-0-0-------0-0-0-------0-0-0------------------- r m i r m i r m i r m i r m i r m i r m i r m i (starting with ring finger) i m r i m r i m r i m r i m r i m r i m r i m r (starting with index finger)
Here’s a complex triplet pattern which uses both two and three finger approaches:
-------2-----------2----- ---2-----2-----2-----2--- -0---0-----0-0---0-----0- ------------------------- i m i r m i i m i r m i
Guitar Style
You can borrow the guitarist’s finger-style approach for certain passages. I like it for arpeggiating chords high on the neck. The approach uses a few repeating fingering patterns which also employ the thumb of the right hand. Here’s the example above, using thumb and fingers instead of the three finger approach:
-------4-----------4----- ---2-----2-----2-----2--- -0---0-----0-0---0-----0- ------------------------- t i t m i t t i t m i t
Playing with a Pick
Some players will look down on you for playing with a pick (a.k.a. a plectrum), but some bassists prefer the crisp attack that pics offer, and in some fast types of music (e.g. speed metal, death metal, etc.) a pick is the only logical choice unless you have a very fast right hand. Like playing finger style, playing with a pick usually requires a strict alternating pattern which you will modify to meet different playing situations. You can play notes with down strokes (the motion moves toward the floor), upstrokes (the opposite, toward the sky), or a combination of the two (which is what I recommend). In the examples below d=down stroke and u=upstroke.
--------------------------------- --------------------------------- ---------0-0-0-0---------0-0-0-0- -0-0-0-0---------0-0-0-0--------- d u d u d u d u d u d u d u d u
The same sorts of problems which plagued us while learning the finger style approaches rear their ugly heads here. Crossing and jumping strings creates special situations where you must decide whether or not you’ll maintain a strictly alternating pattern. You’ll also find that speed picking (beginning with a down stroke whenever you cross to a new string) works very well on triplet patterns like the one below:
------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------0-0-0------- -------0-0-0-------0-0-0-------0-0-0-------0-0-0- -0-0-0-------0-0-0-------0-0-0------------------- d u d d u d d u d d u d d u d d u d d u d d u d