Quick LH fingering question

[Funky Dunky]

...or RH fingering question, if you're a lefty

When you play, are the fingers on your fretting hand flat/ parallel to the strings or are they more arched?

Trying to troubleshoot problems in my fretting hand, and I see it done both ways but notice a lot of bassists appear to have their fingers somewhat parallel when fretting, whereas mine are definitely arched (I played guitar for a bit before bass). I think it may be causing unnecessary tension in my hand and slowing me down/costing me fluency.

[Grangur]

In an ideal world, your fingers will be flat, spaced for 1 finger per fret and close to the fingerboard at all times. Each finger will be vertical; parallel to the frets at all times.

The curvature in your fingers is a sign of tension that you're better off not having.

Good luck with achieving all of that. I'm also still working on that too.

[Funky Dunky]

I dunno how people can do it that way, I can get very little movement with my fingers flat. I have to arch my fingers so they can move at any kind of speed

Cheers for ze input though

[Trueno]

My bony arthriticky claws will only go one way... which is pretty much flat. I usually play fretless because I find frets tend to get in the way.

[Coilte]

It is more beneficial to have the fingers arched. Why ? Stretch your hand out in front of you with the palm facing you. Notice how the fingers are all different lengths. Now, curl the fingers in towards the palm. Now they are all even lengths. This is beneficial for playing.

Check out these clips :


[url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IeRoQuXlj9w"]https://www.youtube....h?v=IeRoQuXlj9w[/url]



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VRkSsapYYsA

Edited September 25, 2016 by Coilte

[miles'tone]

I found these two vids helped me immensely :

http://youtu.be/8F0pVPr4VYw (@2.22)

http://youtu.be/VRkSsapYYsA

Check 'em out!

[Skybone]

That Scott's bass lesson vide was really good & makes a lot of sense. Going to have to have a look at that myself.

[JapanAxe]

The 1-finger-per fret approach comes from the skinny-string guitar technique known as position playing, where it works fine. It transfers ok above about the 5th fret on the bass, but if you apply it rigidly nearer the headstock you will find it very uncomfortable. Here's what Scott Devine says about it:

[media]http://youtu.be/PoEyh-1UkxM[/media]

[Cato]

I'm not sure there is a correct way, as long as your technique is not causing you physical pain then it's probably fine.

As to arched vs flat I noticed the other day that when I play normal finger style I have my fingers arched, at an angle to the frets with my thumb over the top of the neck, but when I slap I adopt a much more classical posture -thumb in the centre of the back of the neck, fingers almost flat and parallel to the frets, which I find helps with muting and left hand slap/mute thingies. (I've never known the correct name for those).

I swap between the two pretty much without thinking about it.

Edited September 25, 2016 by Cato

[Muppet]

For me, thumb positioning is crucial and I tend to subscribe to the Scott Devine theory in the main. I often hear people say "I've got small hands I can't handle a Precision (or whatever) neck, when a change of thumb position and modification of fretting technique would resolve that.

[Woodinblack]

[quote name='Muppet' timestamp='1474797979' post='3140523']
I often hear people say "I've got small hands I can't handle a Precision (or whatever) neck, when a change of thumb position and modification of fretting technique would resolve that.
[/quote]

Or in my case, a much easier change of bass!

[chris_b]

High arched fingers are important if you're playing a guitar and playing many strings at once. On a bass a low arch is the most you need. I'll use low arch and fingers resting on all strings. That's also good for LH damping.

Here's a Chuck Rainey video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7TAFWwqeHko

[Jazzjames]

The best thing to do would be to have a lesson with a teacher. They could assess what's going on and talk with you about tonal goals and the music itself. Well intented suggestions can be miscontrued and even detrimental. It's hard without seeing and hearing you play!

I think conventionally an arch in the fingers is preferable most of the time, because your grip is stronger and more precise.

However guys like Danny Mo Morris play mostly with the first finger and use the others as a mute to get that motown thumpy sound, and therefore plays with flatter fingers. It works for him, but that's in conjunction with a different technique.

[essexbasscat]

I've found that the size and shape of the neck does have an influence to my hand shape

[Dad3353]

[quote name='essexbasscat' timestamp='1474826103' post='3140846']
I've found that the size and shape of the neck does have an influence to my hand shape
[/quote]

It's a common problem.

[KingPrawn]

I have always worked on the principle that index finger and thumb follow each other up the neck. Thumb placed in the middle of the neck. Keep the fingers shallow and as relaxed as possible.

[BottomE]

My LH changes all the time depending on things like position on neck, style e.g. walking bass vs slap vs octaves vs tempo etc bla bla. Never really thought about it until this thread.

[Coilte]

[quote name='KingPrawn' timestamp='1474834765' post='3140958']
I have always worked on the principle that index finger and thumb follow each other up the neck. Thumb placed in the middle of the neck. Keep the fingers shallow and as relaxed as possible.
[/quote]

The thumb should be allowed to go where it naturally needs/wants to go. It's work is to support the fingers.

[Phil Starr]

I started with a classical arched, one finger per fret technique and still default to that when starting a new song but increasingly I find the need for left hand damping and a much flatter position. I wonder if the arched position and classical thumb placement are left over from upright bass technique.

[essexbasscat]

[quote name='Dad3353' timestamp='1474827832' post='3140866']
It's a common problem.


[/quote]

[Steve Woodcock]

Consider how the muscles in your hand work: to straighten the fingers the muscles on the inside of your fingers relax and the muscles on the outside of your fingers contract to pull your fingers straight; to clench your fist the muscles on the outside of your fingers relax and the muscles on the inside of your fingers contract to pull them in toward your palm.

The 'natural' position of your hand is in between these two extremes where the muscles on both sides of the fingers are in a relaxed state. To demonstrate this just let your arm and hand relax and hang loosely by the side of your body - look at the shape of your hand, you will see the fingers are slightly curled. Now bend your elbow, rotate your wrist and bring your hand up towards the neck of your bass - your hand should still be relaxed, the fingers will still be slightly curved and your thumb will be somewhere opposite your first finger or maybe your second finger; take note of how this looks as this is the hand position you want to maintain for efficient, safe, and fatigue-free playing.

Edited September 26, 2016 by Stickman

[Barking Spiders]

I started playing flamenco guitar before taking up bass and have never known any other approach than arched . How can you get speed if your fretting hand is parallel?

[Nicko]

To me having flat fingers with the thumb behind is toally unnatural. This may be because I used to play 6 string, but even when I pay that I avoid full barre chords and prefer to play 3 or 4 note inverted chords or open position.

[SteveK]

[quote name='chris_b' timestamp='1474799520' post='3140545']
High arched fingers are important if you're playing a guitar and playing many strings at once. On a bass a low arch is the most you need. I'll use low arch and fingers resting on all strings. That's also good for LH damping.

Here's a Chuck Rainey video.

[url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7TAFWwqeHko"]https://www.youtube....h?v=7TAFWwqeHko[/url]
[/quote]
That Chuck Rainey video demonstrates possibly the worst technique of any world class player that I've ever seen. I'd be interested to see how he would cope if called upon to play a reasonably fast 1/16 note phrase or fill.

[chris_b]

I probably shouldn't have chosen that clip. He's recovering from a stroke and can be seen to be struggling at times but his technique is good enough to have made him an elite and world class bass player for the last 50 + years.