Fretting hand use by experienced players.

[REDLAWMAN]

I went to see the Hollies last night.

Hugely experienced and really tremendous bass playing by Ray Stiles.

Quick question: he, like many other top-class players, keeps his fingers on his fretting hand almost always together, moving very little and it appears that a great many of the notes are fretted with the middle (or at least one of his first three fingers), moving as a single unit.

None of this 'one-finger-one-fret' business and leaving aside slides here and there, very, very little movement all over the board.

I'd welcome any comments at all on this, please.

[gjones]

Both methods are valid it just depends on what you are playing. If what I'm playing is not very complex I tend to use my index finger and my pinky to fret notes. If I'm playing fast scale type runs it's easier, more precise and the sound is more defined if I use all my fingers.

[Doddy]

The problem with that technique is it that it isn't particularly efficient if you need to play anything
particularly complex at speed as you have to shift positions a lot more.
The Hollies have done some great songs,but they don't require great technique to play-which
is perfectly fine...but if you want,or need,to play music that requires you to play faster or over
a greater range of the fingerboard,you'll find it much more beneficial to use finger per fret.It also
allows you to play more in position which is useful,especially if you are reading.

[Bilbo]

Doddy is right. Its about need. Your technique only really needs to be as 'good' as the music you play. If you are a pop/rock player who just plays roots and minims, your left hand technique will not need to be at all sophisticated. If, however, you are ripping up 16th note grooves all over the neck, you will find the one finger per fret routine pretty helpful. Its a question of how much technique do you need to deliver what you hear? I made a decision a long time ago that I had as much technique as my ears could cope with and have concentrated on other things rather than 'speed'. I once read somewhere that 'all musicians have more technique that they know how to use' and I think there is a nugget of truth in there.

I did a gig once where a string snapped and the bridge slipped and effectively blew out two more strings so I only had one string on which to play the rest of the set (only two more tunes). It is surprising how much you can achieve without the finer details of advanced technique.

[garethfriend]

doesn't everyone do this? Sit and play the easy bits with a pretty motionless hand (resting) and get your 1 finger per fret shred on for the twiddly bits. No sense holding the the more stressing fingering for the whole set, that just wouldn't be efficient.

[Bilbo]

You are probably right.