3-finger-playing-issues

[Faithless]

So, I'm now seriously practising 3-finger playing technique, as I want minor problems with speed, as it's possible.

Before 3-finger stuff, I was [oh, and actually [i]am[/i]] using two finger "Jaco" technique (incorpoting Ring and Pinky to mute the strings below...)..

Aaaand, I'm also using "[i]loose[/i] string rule", i mean, for e.g., if I'm plucking G string, I'm muting D string with those same 'plucking' fingers, i mean, nor pinky, nor ring finger isn't incorporated there... You know what I mean.

So, all in all, this technique gave me a possibility to 'move' plucking hand as less, as possible..


[b]The problem[/b] comes with 3-finger tech...
I'm now using so called 'floating thumb' technique [actually, it doesn't 'float' on the string - it 'sits' on the string..] to mute strings + 'loose string rule', but, for e.g., if I'm playing simple octave pattern, i've gotta move my plucking hand onto the next string... This seems a bit unpractical to me because of stability and speed considerations..

Should I use pinky once 'again'? I've tried, but hand feels a bit uncomfortable, or, a bit shackled..


[size=2]
Soooo, how do you, guys, struggle with the whol [i]'muting thing'[/i], when using 3-finger tech...?[/size]

Edited October 16, 2008 by Faithless

[MacDaddy]

a slight bend in your hand, and use the top (near wrist) part of the palm to mute - for me it's the fleshy part of the thumb joint - as you move across and up following the floating thumb.
Also don't forget about muting with your fretting hand. And if your hands are big enough, use your thumb to mute the E string. Find your own way and whatever works (that doesn't cause you injury!) works!

Edited October 17, 2008 by MacDaddy

[mcgraham]

So the difficulty is that you've got to move the whole hand up/down strings in order to play a pattern such as an octave pattern? Regardless of the number of fingers you've got that's an inherent attribute of floating thumb, the point being your fingers pluck every string in the same physical way, reducing muscle memory you need to practice. Unfortunately that does mean you need to develop stability in your movements when shifting your hand up/down. It does come with time.

This may not be that useful, but when I use three fingers, it's usually a three finger variation (IMR, not thumb) of the 4 finger Matt Garrison technique (have a look at urb/Mike Flynn's excellent videos for this) so it ends up being free strokes (not coming to rest on the lower string/using the 'loose string' technique). That definitely helps with not getting 'caught up' in the other strings that occurs when using rest strokes. However, as it's a variation of another multifinger technique, it may not be that applicable to or helpful for your situation, but I thought I'd mention it.

Mark

Edited October 17, 2008 by mcgraham

[chris_b]

I mute with both hands depending on what I'm playing. For example; if I was playing octaves in C, I'd have my thumb on the E string, index finger on C, index finger muting the D string and my little finger on the octave C.

On my right hand I use what you describe as the "loose string rule" for most notes but can't use the fleshy part of my right hand as it puts my fingers in the wrong position to pluck the strings. Having looked at it, I seem to mute more with my left hand. I'd never noticed before!

[6h5g]

for most stuff i mute with the left hand. for octaves, if the lower note is on the A string, i would mute the E with the top of my index finger, and mute the D with the middle of my index finger. It wasn't too hard to get used to, its kinda like the fretting hand thumb thing, except its with the index finger...

[urb]

I use 4 fingers a la Matt Garrison quite a lot but Gary Willis has one of the most refined and effective uses of 3 fingers (he uses his thumb a lot as well for downstrokes and muting) - he's just started a Youtube channel - here's one of the picking videos:

[url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ewB3V2sHSrE"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ewB3V2sHSrE[/url]

- and here's my picking instructional thing - might give you a few ideas as well - but sadly I need to make another video covering muting - hopefully do that soon!

[url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-PigAe4VIMI"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-PigAe4VIMI[/url]

Cheers

Mike

[mcgraham]

[quote]- and here's my picking instructional thing - might give you a few ideas as well - but sadly I need to make another video covering muting - hopefully do that soon![/quote]

How do you mute exactly Mike?

Mark

[urb]

[quote name='mcgraham' post='316421' date='Oct 28 2008, 09:11 AM']How do you mute exactly Mike?

Mark[/quote]

Hey Mark

Man - I've been meaning to reply to your question for weeks now but I've been distracted with Crimbo and all that... but I'll try and give you a brief idea as it's the one side of the four finger stuff that is most tricky and something I'm still trying to improve.

Having given this quite a lot of thought the 'nutshell' way of looking at muting with this technique is kind of the same as how you mute when slapping. The common factor being that - when slaping - you have your fretting hand flat against the strings - while your 'slapping' hand is floating around either doing downstrokes with the thumb and up plucks with the index and or middle finger. Which is pretty much exactly what you would be doing with the 4-finger technique. Obviously you can dampen the strings with your palm on the plucking hand but most of the time you will be muting with your fretting hand - shifting the fingers that are fretting notes while continually 'barring' across the lower strings to keep them from ringing. The higher strings should (in theory) be muted by the lower part of your fretting index finger - but the main problem will be when you move in to the higher register and therefore leave the lower strings exposed. Again if you go back to what you would do if you were slapping there are ways you can keep the lower strings quiet - i.e. palm mute, of stretch your fretting index over them, or simply try and avoid making contact with them - or most likely a combination of all three! You can also mute with your middle, ring and pinky on your fretting hand - shifting each one in an opposite motion to the ones that are fretting notes.

As you can see it's not straightforward but there are ways around it - as with other aspcts of of this technique it all takes time to bring together - I use barring a lot with my left hand as I tend to play a lot of closed shapes - I move around the fretboard with the Gary Willis one-finger-per-fret idea but maintain the ability to strecth above or below this basic shape to try and shift smoothly from one key centre to another. The 4-finger style demands a lot of awareness of how you string cross so the muting side of things does actually follow developing this style quite naturally - i.e. it's something you will be aware of from the minute you start using this picking technique...

Hope all that helps - I really will try and get another instructional video up that covers this in more detail - but it's the holidays and I have a baby to look after!

Cheers

Mike

[mcgraham]

Interesting! Thanks for the input Mike!

When using the 4 finger technique I mute in a similar fashion, essentially dragging my index finger across the strings behind the movement of the other strings like the scrunchie that so many players use. that way it still mutes lower strings even when I move to high registers, as I used other portions of my index (where necessary) to fret different strings and therefore 'shift' the focus of my playing from one string to another.

I love bass, so many interesting techniques you can use!

Mark

[urb]

[quote name='mcgraham' post='365667' date='Dec 29 2008, 06:35 PM']Interesting! Thanks for the input Mike!

When using the 4 finger technique I mute in a similar fashion, essentially dragging my index finger across the strings behind the movement of the other strings like the scrunchie that so many players use. that way it still mutes lower strings even when I move to high registers, as I used other portions of my index (where necessary) to fret different strings and therefore 'shift' the focus of my playing from one string to another.

I love bass, so many interesting techniques you can use!

Mark[/quote]

Absolutely... I'd still love to see/hear you use this stuff as well, try and post something in the Recordings forum sometime, sounds like you have it down. I'm getting really fluid with the 4 finger stuff now, and love to use it on a groove with a drummer, but also I'm finding loads of different ways to use it for ascending runs and chordal plucking, I'm going to start writing some solo bass pieces again as I've ignored this side of my playing for a long time while I've been working on my jazz stuff and I think it's time to start looking into this area again as I love doing it and the Sei is the perfect vehicle for any idea I have... cheers

Mike