What impresses you more? Fingering or Picking

[beardybass]

I used to be a total dick about pick playing when I first started, then my dad made me listen to Carles Benavente. A large slice of humble pie, washed down with a pint of my own words.

I agree 100% with the 'whatever fits' thing. I like slap too, sorry.

P.S. I mean slap with a purpose, not the 3 tap-dancing octopi thing.

[Golchen]

Some stuff is for me much easier using a picking action - any kind of fast single/few notes stuff. Prob because I got the alt picking thing down from guitar. I never use a pick though I just do that chucking thing with forefinger/thumb.

So, yeah, both fingerstyle and plec are cool with me.

[fatback]

[quote name='thepurpleblob' post='679919' date='Dec 10 2009, 09:17 AM']I can only play fingerstyle therefore pick players impress me.......[/quote]

+1

Damn thing flies out of my hand every other bar. I'm embarrassed to admit I can't pick for toffee. Any tips?

fatback

[maxrossell]

[quote name='fatback' post='681459' date='Dec 11 2009, 03:55 PM']+1

Damn thing flies out of my hand every other bar. I'm embarrassed to admit I can't pick for toffee. Any tips?

fatback[/quote]

You're digging in too hard.

The trick is to not try to "pluck" the string like you would with a bow & arrow. It's more of a kind of scraping motion with a bit of a dig as the pick leaves the string. The pick should be at a slight angle to the string and the tip of it should rake across the string, not hook it.

Also your fingers should be fairly loose so the pick has some give to move over the strings, you shouldn't have to hold onto it too hard, and the majority of the playing dynamics come from wrist movement.

[fatback]

[quote name='maxrossell' post='681464' date='Dec 11 2009, 04:01 PM']You're digging in too hard.

The trick is to not try to "pluck" the string like you would with a bow & arrow. It's more of a kind of scraping motion with a bit of a dig as the pick leaves the string. The pick should be at a slight angle to the string and the tip of it should rake across the string, not hook it.

Also your fingers should be fairly loose so the pick has some give to move over the strings, you shouldn't have to hold onto it too hard, and the majority of the playing dynamics come from wrist movement.[/quote]

Hey, thanks!

I really do feel I should be able to wheel out he sound when I need to.

fatback

[stevebasshead]

[quote name='fatback' post='681459' date='Dec 11 2009, 03:55 PM']+1

Damn thing flies out of my hand every other bar. I'm embarrassed to admit I can't pick for toffee. Any tips?

fatback[/quote]

Try different pick types and thicknesses too. Some have embossed dimples for extra grip, and of course different thicknesses give a different amount of flex when contacting the string. They're cheap enough to buy a big selection and if you spend a reasonable amount of time trying them you'll soon find what works in your hands.

Be aware of course that you should progress through the different thicknesses on order, if you go from really thick to really thin it's gonna feel odd anyway so limit this by going gradually thicker (or thinner, depending on what you start with). Your body sweat (both the amount and type) will also play a part in which picks stay in your fingers too.

[mrcrow]

[quote name='YouMa' post='679756' date='Dec 9 2009, 11:52 PM']I enjoy fingering and slapping most people i know enjoy this the most :brow:[/quote]

being a bore..i only am interested in fingerstyle
i watched a bassist last night...urb...using bow etc and finger
i was more interested in the string hand..cant say fretting..what is the correct expression
lots of real big stretches going on

it was a 16 year old girl

[Marvin]

[quote name='silddx' post='680299' date='Dec 10 2009, 02:40 PM']People who say picks are cheating are speaking with their anusol.[/quote]

Thoroughly agree with that. To play cleanly with a pick can prove very difficult as I found out recently. ( I find muting strings my downfall when picking for some reason ). I used to use a pick all the time, when young, but coming back find it almost impossible. This has of course resulted in having to learn how to use my fingers properly which is slowing my progress down somewhat.
People tend to look down on the pick because double bass players don't use them and guitards do.

[skankdelvar]

[quote name='Marvin' post='682076' date='Dec 12 2009, 12:05 PM']People tend to look down on the pick because double bass players don't use them and guitards do. [/quote]

People look down on the pick because it's a shameful historical symbol of a dark, oppressed period in our history.

I refer to the days when the worst guitarist was ignominiously demoted to bass playing. Thank the Lord those days are long gone.

[Marvin]

[quote name='skankdelvar' post='682134' date='Dec 12 2009, 01:17 PM']People look down on the pick because it's a shameful historical symbol of a dark, oppressed period in our history.

I refer to the days when the worst guitarist was ignominiously demoted to bass playing. Thank the Lord those days are long gone. [/quote]
If only this were true!

[StringNavigator]

 

I enjoy playing with both pizzicato and plectrum. But it took rigour and discipline!

It's the slap/pop bit that, for some unknown reason, I'm not attracted to. But I was raised with big band music on the radio. I need a walking line or to play in half-time, the Latin box or rock riffs. I like the melody and harmony in rhythm. Percussion only is not for everyone.

I play either PZ/PL depending on the song. Some lines sound better to me with a pick (I Think We're Alone Now, Hang On Sloopy, Good Vibrations...). Those type of lines work and sound better with plectrum. And I can't imagine a car chase scene in a movie unless the bass is on plectrum power. Whereas, jazz and blues need the fingers to do the walking. But I'm speaking in generalities. Leave your band for another and you'll find yourself doing something different.

 

 

I hope you had fun singing along with Sloopy! I know the McCoys did! She reminds me a little of Andy Capp! Could be Flo had a daughter.

 

 

.

My bass journey has been inspired by records alone. I drove myself nuts until I could learn two finger pizzicato back in the incubator because of James Jamerson on every restaurant juke box. Then, the sound of a plectrum on a muted heavy-gauge flat-wound string attracted my ear, courtesy of Carol Kaye, Sir Paul McCartney and Ladi Geisler. I heard the great Rod Hicks playing a fretless Ampeg bass with Paul Butterfield and immediately ordered a fretless. I bought a Fender Jazz when I turned to rock and pop. Ray Brown's swinging walking lines caused me to go out and finally buy a double bass. Trying to capture the original vibe that made the song a hit in the first place drives me to change techniques accordingly. But all the great slap-pop bassists in the world can't entice me to "frappe la pouce en bois".   

 

Love Disease 6/8 fretless Ampeg bass:

 

 

Ladi Geisler with Bert Kaempfert's Orchestra. "Knack-Bassen unde Dankeshoen!"

The proper way to hold a plectrum! (and this may comes as a surprise for some!)

Right Way!

 

 

Wrong Way!

 

Way wrong way!

 

 

 

I caught on when I realised that biggest part about playing bass with a plectrum is to hide most of the pick and rotate only the wrist while resting the forearm firmly against the bass hip. That's why the body is bevelled there (Thank you Leo!). After those three tricks are mastered, one can modify to suit. Carol Kaye's books were most helpful. Holding the plectrum like Mel Bay also makes sense to me, now. 

And just enough plastic showing proud to push the string. A small wrist arcing motion separates the string and plectrum to avoid interference while alternating up and down strokes. There's no chance of resting the fingers on the pickguard to slow you down and the closed fist acts like a spinning ballerina, spinning faster as she pulls in her arms and legs close to her center of gravity. 
 

The effects of centripetal force is kindly and gracefully exhibited by these wonderful ladies!

 

 

 

The double bass will introduce one to the bow! No bassist should ignore this if they ever get the chance to buy a DB. I always felt that to be a bass player, you have to play a DB. When I finally bought one, I changed all my fingering to Simandl and now apply it to the Fender bass also. I reserve the 1-2-3-4 guitar fingering for guitar and banjo where it belongs. (Or the dusty end of the bass guitar.) 

The plectrum suffers undue criticism because pizzicato is what distinguishes the bass player from other string players. So to be a "real" BP, one must walk the talk. But the plectrum offers another tonal palette to be explored. Just as any possible combination of five digits. Harmonics, tapping, slap/pop... We should never sell ourselves short. Pick 'em all over time.

Edited November 4, 2018 by StringNavigator

[ZenX]

I play with fingers live, but on our last recording, I recorded fingerstyle with a fairly clean sound, then over dubbed with a pick and some drive. In a dense mix with heavy guitars it helped everything 'sit' in its place and still be distinct. I'd do it again, but will stick to fingerstyle live. I also slap the low B string to accent notes in one chorus.

[Marvin]

9 years ago I posted on this thread and I still can’t play properly with a pick. 😞

[Dad3353]

Just now, Marvin said:

9 years ago I posted on this thread and I still can’t play properly with a pick. 😞

S'been over fifty years, on guitar and/or bass, and have never managed to use one of those plectrum thingies. 
Not much 'cop' with fingers either, though. 

[Painy]

You can't groove with a pick! 

 

 

[StringNavigator]

On ‎11‎/‎12‎/‎2009 at 13:41, mrcrow said:

...i watched a bassist last night...i was more interested in the string hand...cant say fretting... what is the correct expression...

the stopping hand?

[PaulWarning]

8 hours ago, Marvin said:

9 years ago I posted on this thread and I still can’t play properly with a pick. 😞

I can't play finger style, no interest in trying, I play in a punk band and all the bassists that inspired me to play bass are pick players, Burnell, Foxton, Macca, as far as I know they can't play finger style either

[StringNavigator]

1 minute ago, PaulWarning said:

I can't play finger style, no interest in trying, I play in a punk band and all the bassists that inspired me to play bass are pick players, Burnell, Foxton, Macca, as far as I know they can't play finger style either

Different strokes for different folks! The plectrum offers many things. And why fix something that ain't broke? Flex the plex...

[mcnach]

On 09/12/2009 at 23:22, Basska said:

I seem to get the impression, that people are generally less impressed when they see a bassist using a pick and not giving it laldy on the slap front.
Is it just me or is my impression accurate?

What's your opinion on the subject BassChat?!

 

I'm not sure anyone is really 'impressed' at fingers vs pick or viceversa. A certain (small) proportion of the audience may be impressionable and admire a little bit of slap even when it's not done very well. But pick or fingers? I can't imagine anybody really cares or even notices. And why should they? 

edit: whoa, watch out for zombies!

Edited November 4, 2018 by mcnach

[StringNavigator]

Fingering?! Picking?! Why, this whole thread could be shut down...

Edited November 7, 2018 by StringNavigator

[BigRedX]

Neither.

Songwriting is what impresses me the most. Write a decent song and don't obsess over how to play it.

[steve-bbb]

FINGERING

[StringNavigator]

PLECTERING!

[Shutterbug]

I can't slap, I never learned. I never learned because I don't like it at all, dunno why, I just don't enjoy all the sound that's produced. I'm old school. I learned using just my thumb in the late '60's, then graduated to include picking in the '70's, then onto include single and multiple fingering techniques after that.  I've never played in a band that required a slapping technique, so other than that I just use whatever technique the song requires or sounds best with. 

[StringNavigator]

3 hours ago, Shutterbug said:

I learned using just my thumb in the late '60's...

Thank you! You're the first I've heard to admit that. When I first started I only played bass with the thumb for a couple of years. You can play a lot of bass with one thumb. But when Motown arrived, I forced the fingers into gear. Jazz walking helped me a lot to make the transition. The original Fenders all had a finger rest below the strings so that one could pluck the string with the thumb. It just seemed like a natural way to play at that early time. I still play with the thumb for soft parts and sometimes pinch with thumb-index for double-stops.

 

I wish everyone would just sign an agreement stating once and for all that the string bass presents a smorgasbord of techniques (getting hungry) that any bassist can avail themselves to that activate the strings into vibration, and all are equally valid, except for the axe method. Drumsticks may be debated.

 

Then we could all go to Stockholm and sign it, and put this burning issue to rest!

It could be a proliferation treaty condoning all WSMD's (Weapons of String Mass Deflection), such as, but not limited to: bow, plectrum, pizzicato, thumb, Jamerson's Hook, thumb-index pinch, slap/pop, and PIMAC(any combination and number of digits - thumb, index, bad, ring, baby). Any others may then be added by amendment.  

 

 

 

 

Edited November 5, 2018 by StringNavigator