Supportive Fretting.

[Marvin]

I bought the Bass Handbook by Adrian Ashton, and one of the techniques he encourages is Supportive Fretting.

i.e one finger per fret. But also not lifting the finger behind the note you are fretting. So if you play G Ab A Bb by the time you get to Bb all four fingers are still on the fretboard.
I find I can do this more or less on each string separately however, he goes on to say that to develop the technique further then try it across the strings. Known as the Spider

e.g you start on G on the E string and play the 4 notes in sequence up to Bb. Now when you come to start on the A string on the C, leave the fingers on the E string i.e pressing down Ab,A and Bb.
Basically you only move the finger that is going to play a new note, across all four strings.

The book says it is difficult and not to expect miracles. So I was just wondering how many can actually do this. Trying to leave my little finger in place and move my ring finger down a string I find impossible.


Apologies if this makes no sense whatsoever, and to those who may not have needed a rather long winded and quite frankly sh1te explanation.

[velvetkevorkian]

I think its a good exercise but I wouldn't try and play that way all the time. Its good to build up hand strength and finger independence but its impractical for playing actual lines IMO.

As ever, YMMV.

[Marvin]

[quote name='velvetkevorkian' post='676124' date='Dec 6 2009, 08:51 PM']I think its a good exercise but I wouldn't try and play that way all the time. Its good to build up hand strength and finger independence but its impractical for playing actual lines IMO.

As ever, YMMV.[/quote]
I was thinking the same myself. It's definitely something I'll use as an exercise and warm up.

[Eight]

I started doing a lot of exercises that encourage that and find that when playing I instinctively do it when it feels right (does seem to help a bit with speed, stamina and getting nice legato) but it's not something I actively think about.

Might as well keep doing the exercises and see what happens naturally.

[velvetkevorkian]

[quote name='Eight' post='676197' date='Dec 6 2009, 09:54 PM']I started doing a lot of exercises that encourage that and find that when playing I instinctively do it when it feels right (does seem to help a bit with speed, stamina and getting nice legato) but it's not something I actively think about.

Might as well keep doing the exercises and see what happens naturally.[/quote]
Exactly right IMO.

[Bilbo]

I used to work with a variation of this when I was a practising fool in the 1980s. I just started on G on the 12th fret (G Ab A Bb), then worked my way down (11th fret (Gb G Ab A), 10th (F Gb G Ab) and so on back to the 1st fret (Ab A Bb . Then repeat on the D, A and E strings. That way, it starts easy and gets harder as you move down the neck.

And do it with a metronome, just to hack JB off .

[leftybassman392]

Another method that I use and teach is to go diagonally downwards from the 12th fret, as follows:

E string, play E F F# G

A string, play G# A A# B

D string, play C C# D D#

G string, play E F F# G

D string, play A# B C C#

A string, play E F F# G

E string, play A# B C C#

etc.

[bigjohn]

I think I pretty much do this anyway.

I also sometimes fret my pinky finger with my 3rd finger on top.

I think it's a legacy from having learned on a poorly set up bass with a really high action and high tension strings. (for about 15 years)

And I've got big hands so sometimes although I fret with my pinky there's no real need and the 3rd finger goes to help

Edited December 7, 2009 by bigjohn

[Marvin]

I'll probably use all the suggestions when practicing, I can't see it will do any harm.

Many thanks

[wulf]

That sounds like a mix of a couple of (valuable) approaches.

One is about supporting the leading finger (the one holding down the string to get the note you are playing). Rather than making it take the whole tension of the string, you can use any fingers behind it to share the load. Less tension means less strain means less fatigue, which is vital when playing for an extended period. The other one sounds like minimising movement: less work and more accuracy.

The two don't necessarily run together. For example, if your exercise went Bb A Ab G on the E string and then Eb D Db C on the A string, supporting the leading finger would mean you would shift the whole set of fingers up to the A string supporting the fourth finger in playing the Eb. Strict minimal movement would leave 1-3 covering G-A. Both are approaches worth taking in the practise environment though and then considering how to apply them to your live playing.

Ultimately, the aim is to be so smart and lazy you can provide appropriate energy for your basslines all night.

Wulf

[Marvin]

[quote name='wulf' post='678795' date='Dec 9 2009, 09:33 AM']That sounds like a mix of a couple of (valuable) approaches.

One is about supporting the leading finger (the one holding down the string to get the note you are playing). Rather than making it take the whole tension of the string, you can use any fingers behind it to share the load. Less tension means less strain means less fatigue, which is vital when playing for an extended period. The other one sounds like minimising movement: less work and more accuracy.

The two don't necessarily run together. For example, if your exercise went Bb A Ab G on the E string and then Eb D Db C on the A string, supporting the leading finger would mean you would shift the whole set of fingers up to the A string supporting the fourth finger in playing the Eb. Strict minimal movement would leave 1-3 covering G-A. Both are approaches worth taking in the practise environment though and then considering how to apply them to your live playing.

Ultimately, the aim is to be so smart and lazy you can provide appropriate energy for your basslines all night.

Wulf[/quote]
Thanks.

That makes a lot of sense and provides a better focus for what i would be practising rather than just doing it.

[thisnameistaken]

That's pretty much how I play anyway. Never realised until my mate made me play Guitar Hero and I couldn't do it.