Aguycalledphil Posted January 25, 2015 Share Posted January 25, 2015 Hi, I'm a beginner bass player and I'm not able to stretch out my left hand to one finger per fret I see you can use a 1 - 2 - 4 method across 3 frets I'm not sure of the best way to practice this, could anyone provide a you tube link or practice book to buy on amazon or simple written advice of their experience Is it vital to be able to master one finger per fret? Are there any famous bass players that are unable to do one finger per fret? Would appreciate your help..Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BassBus Posted January 25, 2015 Share Posted January 25, 2015 [quote name='Aguycalledphil' timestamp='1422227118' post='2670196'] Is it vital to be able to master one finger per fret? [/quote] In a word, no! Depends where you are playing on the neck. If you are playing further up towards the body end then it will be easier to play one finger one fret. Playing nearer the nut it will be more difficult, so use the 1,2,4 fingering over three frets. Dave Marks has something to say about it in the clip below. http://youtu.be/eXkxu_7Tn48 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael J Posted January 25, 2015 Share Posted January 25, 2015 Try further up the neck, where the frets are closer together. Put your index finger on 7th fret of the E (thickest) string, and it will sound B, the 8th fret gives C. Now using the A (second thickest) string, 7th fret is E, 8th fret is F. Add in the open A to start, and the open D (second thinnest) in between, hey presto! A, B, C, D, E, F, and we haven't stretched at all. Working out the rest of the walk up through G, A, B, C, D, E, and F, is left as an exercise to the reader. Your hand stretch will almost certainly improve with time and practice, there's no need to force it and there is usually more than one way to skin the cat. There are those who say there ain't no money above the fifth fret, however there are only four notes below it that can't also be played somewhere else. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mornats Posted January 25, 2015 Share Posted January 25, 2015 There's a book called Bass Fitness which has exercises just for this. I used it for a few months and noticed a vast improvement. Essentially, you start on once string fairly high up the neck (where the frets are closer together) and finger each fret in time to a slow metronome. Try 60bpm to start, slow it down if that's too fast. The exercises will then get you to finger just one note on the next string up etc. but you can simply do 4 frets on one string, then 4 on the next to start. Make sure you only move one finger at a time and keep your fingers resting on each fret if they're not the one moving. Once you're comfortable with the BPM you're practicing at increase it by 3 BPM. It doesn't sound a lot but jumping too far ahead in speed won't help. The key is to practice slowly so your fingers get used to moving in that way. I went from a two finger clunker around the fretboard to being able to play a full scale without moving my hand and just dancing my fingers around. It's a pain to get going at first as your fingers will ache so just take it easy, don't strain them and shake your hands out every now and then to loosen your fingers up a bit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TKenrick Posted January 26, 2015 Share Posted January 26, 2015 [quote name='Aguycalledphil' timestamp='1422227118' post='2670196'] Is it vital to be able to master one finger per fret? Are there any famous bass players that are unable to do one finger per fret? [/quote] As the above posts have said, I'd avoid one finger per fret in the lower areas of the fretboard (anything below the 7th fret, depending on your hand size). I use 1 2 4 for most of my playing and find it way more secure and less stressful on the hands than one finger per fret. I doubt that there are any famous bass players that are unable to do one finger per fret, but I'm sure there are plenty that choose not to. One finger per fret makes plenty of sense in the higher register of the bass, but 1 2 4 is much more 'finger friendly' for most bass lines. I wrote a blog post about 1 2 4 vs one finger per fret methods which you can read [url="https://tomkenrick.wordpress.com/2014/09/18/unorthodox-instructionals-part-2-franz-simandls-new-method-for-the-double-bass/"]here[/url] In terms of instructional books, I found studying double bass method books on electric bass gave me a firm grounding in the 1 2 4 technique (there are links to books in the blog post above). In my opinion I'd avoid books like Bass Fitness, purely because the exercises in there have no real musical value (I worked through the book from cover to cover many years ago). You're better off spending your time playing exercises that work on patterns that you'd actually use in a 'real life' playing situations such as scales, arpeggios and bass lines. Learn to play music by practising musical ideas and you'll progress much faster. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grangur Posted January 26, 2015 Share Posted January 26, 2015 A couple of years back I had a first lesson with a teacher who told me to use 1-finger per fret in frets 1,2,3,4, with my thumb in the centre of the back of the neck. He went on to tell me, if you can't do that simple thing, then you may as well give up all hope of playing bass. I gave something (or someone) up, but it wasn't bass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coilte Posted January 26, 2015 Share Posted January 26, 2015 [quote name='Grangur' timestamp='1422280267' post='2670589'] A couple of years back I had a first lesson with a teacher who told me to use 1-finger per fret in frets 1,2,3,4, with my thumb in the centre of the back of the neck. He went on to tell me, if you can't do that simple thing, then you may as well give up all hope of playing bass. I gave something (or someone) up, but it wasn't bass. [/quote] "Teacher" is a bit of a misnomer in that case. Having said that, there are a lot of teachers who do insist on the OFPF on frets 1-4. Another thing often insisted upon is to keep the thumb adjacent to the ring finger when fretting. This can cause all sorts of injury problems over time, because the carpel tunnel is narrowed or caused to collapse in on itself. It is an injury just waiting to happen. The trouble is, when the problem is finally realised, it is generally too late, and a visit to the doctor and/or a course of physiotherapy treatment is the order of the day. As with OFPF, it is a case of prevention is better than cure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
louisthebass Posted January 26, 2015 Share Posted January 26, 2015 [quote name='Aguycalledphil' timestamp='1422227118' post='2670196'] Hi, I'm a beginner bass player and I'm not able to stretch out my left hand to one finger per fret I see you can use a 1 - 2 - 4 method across 3 frets I'm not sure of the best way to practice this, could anyone provide a you tube link or practice book to buy on amazon or simple written advice of their experience Is it vital to be able to master one finger per fret? Are there any famous bass players that are unable to do one finger per fret? Would appreciate your help..Thanks [/quote] Ed Friedland's Electric Bass Complete Vols 1-3 covers the 1-2-4 fingering on Electric Bass. FWIW, it keeps the fretting hand much more relaxed (especially bearing in mind that fingers 3 & 4 share a tendon). I use it all the time and have never had an issue with it. If it feels comfy playing that way, use it . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bass Culture Posted February 3, 2015 Share Posted February 3, 2015 Good technique definitely helps you to play 'better' (hem, hem) but, on the occasions I teach these days, I always stress that it should be a servant not a master. There are orthodox techniques with regard to finger/fret and left hand thumb placement but a good player will adapt them to what suits him or her, I think. I remember seeing the bass player with Renaissance live years ago ('Northern Lights' I think was their hit) - very accomplished he was too - and he didn't use the little finger of his left hand AT ALL. I'm not necessarily advocating that but it seemed to work for him. There comes a time when, if you've persevered trying to master orthodox technique and it ain't happening, try something that does work for you instead. Good technique is about preserving energy and reducing extraneous movement. If, by trying to adhere to applying 'good' technique on all occasions you're using more energy and increasing movement, adapt accordingly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JTUK Posted February 3, 2015 Share Posted February 3, 2015 [quote name='BassBus' timestamp='1422227953' post='2670202'] In a word, no! Depends where you are playing on the neck. If you are playing further up towards the body end then it will be easier to play one finger one fret. Playing nearer the nut it will be more difficult, so use the 1,2,4 fingering over three frets. Dave Marks has something to say about it in the clip below. [media]http://youtu.be/eXkxu_7Tn48[/media] [/quote] Its basic common sense and the video explains it easily. If you watch a lot of people...which in this day and age, it is VERY easy on the likes of youtube, you'll see that 'rules' are merely common sense guidelines, IMO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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