Right Hand Technique (Bass Guitar)

[Lunkwill]

Ok, since I'm going to be playing bass on a regular basis now I thought it might be a good thing to get rid of the pick and move to fingerstlye technique.

Any of you bassists out there have any tips or good online resources to help get my right hand chops up to snuff??

[Raging Storm]

search for "bass lesson" on youtube, you'll find plenty to keep you busy!

[Da Traveller]

What I like to do, from time to time, is to pull out my old Metallica cds and jam along with them. Their music is great for building right hand strength. You've got everything from slow (To live is to die), to medium (Enter Sandman, Ride the lightning) to fast (Damage Inc., Battery, Dyer's Eve). It's mostly just 8- and 16-notes, so it's a simple way to build endurance.

You could have a look at this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uj5luoLV2J8

It's from John Myung's (of Dream Theater) video, "Progressive Bass Concepts", and this section is where he explains how he uses three different combinations when playing with his right hand. They are:
1-2-1-2-1-2 etc. (Index-middle)
1-3-1-3-1-3 etc. (Index-ring)
1-3-2-1-3-2 etc. (using all three fingers, but moving from the ring finger and in, as this is usually easier than the other way around.)

Obviously, he's going pretty fast in the video, but these exercises work just fine at a slower tempo.

That's the best suggestion, really, to just go slow. Start out at a tempo that you master, and try to keep it even. Increase it gradually. I made the switch to fingerstyle about 10 years ago, and I don't regret it. So just keep going at it!

[williamr]

Ok, since I'm going to be playing bass on a regular basis now I thought it might be a good thing to get rid of the pick and move to fingerstlye technique.

Any of you bassists out there have any tips or good online resources to help get my right hand chops up to snuff??

I cant recommend anything online, but Da traveller had good advice: My classical piano teacher, always used to say, "If you can play something slowly, you can play it fast!" Take it slow and build up.

[_Wes]

Yup - good comments all around.

The key is to play it correctly slow - muscle memory is very important - cause if you play it wrong slow - fast is gonna be a bummer. :)

How many fingers do you use? Some folks use 1, some 2, some 3, some 4 (not many). I'm fairly proficient with 3 - but my pinky's too short for 4 - so I had to work on 3 to get comfortable.

Practice practice practice. It all comes in time. :)