Plucking exercises

[SteveXFR]

I'm trying to make an effort to improve my technique (there's plenty of room to improve) and I've got a couple exercises to try to solve the flying fretting fingers but need something to help my generally crap plucking technique. Any good tips?

Edited April 3, 2024 by SteveXFR

[Stub Mandrel]

"I'm not a pleasant plucker"

 

I pluck the steering wheel when I'm driving, two or three fingers. Aim for consistency and limited movement. Try not to crash.

 

Also focus on muting, not palm muting but using non-plucking fingers (especially ring finger) to selectively mute individual strings both unplayed ones or to damp a plucked string. Find an interesting riff/sound/feel and try and keep it up/move it around/across.

[Owen]

Find the Fingerstyle Funk vids by Rocco Prestia. Problem solved. 

 

Also, I have found that holding a pencil in your plucking hand fist with your 3rd and 4th fingers enables some people (me included) to get more control on your 1st and 2nd fingers. 

[Cato]

The biggest fingerstyle breakthrough I ever had was when when I started brushing my fingertips across the top of the strings rather than plucking them from the sides with my finger oads, if that makes sense.

 

Less effort, more speed.

 

I did have to turn the amp up though to compensate for the lighter touch.

Edited April 3, 2024 by Cato

[SteveXFR]

15 hours ago, Cato said:

The biggest fingerstyle breakthrough I ever had was when when I started brushing my fingertips across the top of the strings rather than plucking them from the sides with my finger oads, if that makes sense.

 

Less effort, more speed.

 

I did have to turn the amp up though to compensate for the lighter touch.

 

I do hit the strings pretty hard. Maybe that's my problem. Geezer Butler manages to hit hard but he's a hell of a lot more talented than I am

[Stub Mandrel]

4 hours ago, SteveXFR said:

 

I do hit the strings pretty hard. Maybe that's my problem. Geezer Butler manages to hit hard but he's a hell of a lot more talented than I am

 

That's one thing about the steering wheel exercise. It may sound silly, but as the wheel is slightly compliant but not rigid, it forces you to control your touch.

[asingardenof]

20 hours ago, SteveXFR said:

 

I do hit the strings pretty hard. Maybe that's my problem. Geezer Butler manages to hit hard but he's a hell of a lot more talented than I am

He gets a lot of blisters as well

[Guest]

Might be worth a few shekels on a few lessons with a decent tutor. They'll look at your natural tendencies, whether you tend to stroke the strings downwards or more sideways, positioning, etc, correct any deficiencies and encourage any strengths. 

 

My technique is a bit odd as I can't feel fingers 3 a 4, and as I could already finger pick on a guitar (proper lessons as a teen) I re-learned that skill and improvised a technique using my thumb and first two fingers, using my useless fingers to steady the playing hand against the body, a la a bass playing verson of Mark Knopfler (with the same amount of hair.) 

 

While it works very well a few lessons with a tutor had me altering my hand position to give a more apoyando inward strike on the strings with the fingers, gives more control, less unwanted noise and buzz than the more sideways picado stroke id been using for those. It's a chronic bodge, but my tutor (hi Cesar, if youre on here) honed it into something quite useable.

 

I'm closer to a picado stroke with the thumb, but that's the limit of the biomechanics of the digit, and the thumb only comes in on E where the difference in tone is least noticeable. 

 

Because off my physical issues I play pick about 50% of the time, and fortunately I'm mainly a rock bassist and love learning the different techniques for that too, picked a few strokes and edge playing exercises up from him for that was well.

 

Edited April 5, 2024 by Bassfinger
The postman rang twice

[SteveXFR]

14 minutes ago, Bassfinger said:

Might be worth a few shekels on a few lessons with a decent tutor. They'll look at your natural tendencies, whether you tend to stroke the strings downwards or more sideways, positioning, etc, correct any deficiencies and encourage any strengths. 

 

My technique is a bit odd as I can't feel fingers 3 a 4, and as I could already finger pick on a guitar (proper lessons as a teen) I re-learned that skill and improvised a technique using my thumb and first two fingers, using my useless fingers to steady the playing hand against the body, a la a bass playing verson of Mark Knopfler (with the same amount of hair.) 

 

While it works very well a few lessons with a tutor had me altering my hand position to give a more apoyando inward strike on the strings with the fingers, gives more control, less unwanted noise and buzz than the more sideways picado stroke id been using for those. It's a chronic bodge, but my tutor (hi Cesar, if youre on here) honed it into something quite useable.

 

I'm closer to a picado stroke with the thumb, but that's the limit of the biomechanics of the digit, and the thumb only comes in on E where the difference in tone is least noticeable. 

 

Because off my physical issues I play pick about 50% of the time, and fortunately I'm mainly a rock bassist and love learning the different techniques for that too, picked a few strokes and edge playing exercises up from him for that was well.

 

 

I have booked some lessons. A local bassist I've got to know recently has started up lessons.

[SteveXFR]

I've started playing Root by Deftones as an exercise. It seems to be helping. 

Obviously I'm playing it without a pick but this was just a convenient video