Monday, February 28, 2011

Bass Technique begins with fretting

By Allan Goudling


Fretting is one of the most integral concepts behind learning good bass techniques. If you just picked up the bass guitar, you need to learn the rudiments of good quality fretting prior to anything else. What do you essentially have to comprehend? Well there are some basic directions and information:

Keep your nails clipped and tidy. It is nearly impossible to play bass guitar with claws. Make sure you trim your fingernails prior to even picking up your instrument.

Learn your finger numbering. On bass guitar, your fretting fingers are numbered. One is the pointing finger. Two is the mid finger. Three is your ring finger. Four is your small finger.

Arm positioning. You want your arms to hang easy at your sides. Endeavor not to get into the routine of resting your elbow on your leg when you sit down. Also, ensure that there is no tightness in the shoulders.

Cushion your wrist. As lots of musicians are subject to hand or wrist injuries ensure, you heed your body if you experience throbbing. It is common for your fingers to ache and niggle at the outset, but you should in no way experience shooting or other types of sharp pain in your wrists.

Have your palm away from the bottom of the neck. Your hand should not meet the bottom of the neck. Instead, there should be a tiny pocket of air.

Push carefully. Always strive to press with token pressure while still getting a distinct and sharp tone.

Learn to modulate and hone your tempo. This may sound logical, but it is harder than it seems. You have to understand the contrast between, say, 40 beats per minute compared with 60 beats per minute.

And in conclusion, remember to prepare, run through and practice. Learning bass techniques can be time consuming, but in the end, you will become familiar with your instrument.




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