Musicman20 Posted October 6, 2012 Share Posted October 6, 2012 Hi all My fingerstyle has developed a lot over the past 2-3 years. I was primarily a rock pick player for 13-14 years, then I figured 'heck, I need to play fingerstyle', so I did....it just naturally worked out after 3-4 months of leaving the pick alone. Flea is one of the reasons I love bass guitar so much. I love his tone, no matter what bass he uses. He came from a very similar playing background to me, eg playing fast punk. The Chili's are a great band, and at the moment I'm trying to get used to playing as fast as he does. Can you recommend anything for getting that really aggressive fingerstyle that he pulls off? Is it just sheer practice at Chili type songs? I'm getting there...some of them are easier than I thought. By The Way sounds awesome played along with the recording. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BassPimp66 Posted October 6, 2012 Share Posted October 6, 2012 You need to have your wrist straight and aligned with your fingers (keeping the bass low will help), and detach the elbow/forearm from the body of the bass. That's the only way to be aggressive finger-style and not hurt yourself. Don't break your wrist at 90 degree, with the forearm resting on top of the bass or you'll end up with tendinitis... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrismuzz Posted October 6, 2012 Share Posted October 6, 2012 It's one of those annoying things that's so easy to do but so hard to explain! I've always played with an aggressive finger style since I was never shown how to play 'properly' You basically have to 'hit' across the string with your finger, the attack is very similar to a downstroke with a plectrum I guess. Bryan Beller uses this style a lot... He's using it in a metal context in this video but you can kind of see what he's doing with his fingers here. [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YS7NXRQXem4&feature=related"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YS7NXRQXem4&feature=related[/url] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LukeFRC Posted October 6, 2012 Share Posted October 6, 2012 raise your action a bit. set your volume to play along with something. turn the amp down a bit so it's not quite loud enough for you. compensate with your fingers so you can hear yourself. Strings, bass and Eq play a part too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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