Finger roll

[BottomEndian]

I'm living a strange double life at the moment. I've only played bass with a pick until very recently, and I'd just shifted my shoddy left hand technique over from guitar. You know, hooked-over thumb, the lot. So I'm reasonably competent playing like that, but I've hit a wall in terms of my progression.

I'm going back to basics now, both to learn fingerstyle right hand and to improve my left hand technique. I'm using Ed Friedland's good ol' Hal Leonard Bass Method, and I've hit my first problem within the first ten pages. Dispiriting or what...

He introduces the concept of the "finger roll", which is a fancy name for when you want to play, for example, a G on the 3rd fret of the E-string, followed by a C on the 3rd fret of the A-string. You fret the E-string with the tip/pad of your finger, then "roll" your finger down to flatten the knuckle area onto the A-string. That's fine with index, middle and ring fingers.

My problem is my little finger. I just can't roll with it at all. It can't fret firmly on the knuckle part. My old self would just use my ring finger to fret one of the notes, but I'm determined to get this sorted. Is this just a strength thing? Will the little chap firm up with use? :brow:

I'm sure I'll be back here time and time again with acres of technique questions as I work through the book...

[cytania]

I see plenty of bass players at gigs whose little and middle fingers appear superglued together. Alot of the time you can get away without needing to use your little finger but the truth is it's independence and strength develop with practise. Playing boogie lines and passing note runs where you need a finger in each fret will force the little chap into action.

Partly I think it's a style thing. If you are playing something fast and furious in two basic positions you aren't going to worry about exact finger placement. If you are playing something lighter and more syncopated (say a walking line) you'll need to place that digit neatly.

[Ballie]

You don't want the action to be so high you have to force the string against the fret. Maybe adopt a lighter playing touch to allow lower action without buzz, and turn up the amp a little. That'll get you started with a good sound, and allow better playability of the bass. You shouldn't need to use much pressure to hold the string down, so stick your left thumb on the back of the neck, crank your bass up higher on the strap and then tell me you can't do it! Makes the world of difference having the bass at a comfortable height.

As for the finger, just keep using it where possible, and it'll get used to it in time. Just keep going with it, all the best of luck!

[thisnameistaken]

That finger "roll" thing is something I do probably too much, and it's a habit I'm trying to get out of. When doing a lot of gigs I found my skin would sometimes split where I'd been fretting with the knuckle (I suppose it can't callous the same way a finger tip does because it's a joint) and it's painful when you forget there's a split and you stick a bass string in there, believe me!

[BottomEndian]

[quote name='cytania' post='424220' date='Mar 3 2009, 03:32 PM']I see plenty of bass players at gigs whose little and middle fingers appear superglued together. Alot of the time you can get away without needing to use your little finger but the truth is it's independence and strength develop with practise. Playing boogie lines and passing note runs where you need a finger in each fret will force the little chap into action.[/quote]
Yep, those superglued fingers have been part of my shoddy technique for quite some time. But I'm forcing the little fella to do some work these days, and I think it's already paying off in terms of strength.

[quote name='Ballie' post='424627' date='Mar 3 2009, 10:43 PM']You don't want the action to be so high you have to force the string against the fret. Maybe adopt a lighter playing touch to allow lower action without buzz, and turn up the amp a little. That'll get you started with a good sound, and allow better playability of the bass. You shouldn't need to use much pressure to hold the string down, so stick your left thumb on the back of the neck, crank your bass up higher on the strap and then tell me you can't do it! Makes the world of difference having the bass at a comfortable height.[/quote]
The action's already pretty low and the bass is pretty high up, so it's not that I need much pressure. It's just that the little finger's knuckle can't easily "roll" down onto the string in the first place. Well, not without twisting my whole left hand round, so my thumb pokes its ugly head back over the top of the neck. It's just going to be practice, practice, practice, until it's got the strength [i]and[/i] flexibility to pull it off.

[quote name='thisnameistaken' post='424663' date='Mar 3 2009, 11:31 PM']That finger "roll" thing is something I do probably too much, and it's a habit I'm trying to get out of. When doing a lot of gigs I found my skin would sometimes split where I'd been fretting with the knuckle (I suppose it can't callous the same way a finger tip does because it's a joint) and it's painful when you forget there's a split and you stick a bass string in there, believe me![/quote]
Yeah, I used to get that on guitar. Believe me, it's even more painful when you double-stop a fourth on the two thinnest strings, and glissando up the neck. You get a 9-gauge E string ploughing through your knuckle like cheesewire. Combined with badly dressed frets on a cheap guitar, I've had blood dripping off my guitar neck before.

And that was on the first song of a 45-minute set. That was a lesson in re-voicing chords on the fly.

Thanks for the advice, guys. I plough ever onwards.

Edited March 4, 2009 by BottomEndian