The Two Finger Rest Stroke
The basic two plucking hand options open to the beginning bassist are to either use finger(s) or a pick. Whether using the fingers or a pick the beginning bassist must strive to develop a strong, even tone. The picking/plucking hand is the foundation for every bass player's sound.
On this page we're
going to look at developing fingerstyle playing. The majority of bass
players with their index and middle fingers and this is the approach
we're going to look at here. (NOTE - pick technique and 3 fingered
plucking techniques will be looked at on other pages. Simply
return to Bass Techniques and follow the links there).
The Thumb Position
The first consideration when playing fingerstyle on the bass is the position of the thumb. The thumb acts as an anchor for the plucking hand and needs to be lightly - but firmly - grounded.
The two natural
resting points for the thumb for general playing are either the bridge
pick up or the neck pick up.
(This of course assumes you have a 2 pick up bass - when I came to
take photos for this lesson I realised that my 2 pick up Steinberger
was being repaired and I had to use my Line 6 Variax bass - which
has no pick ups!, fortunately the Variax has a nice wooden ledge for
the thumb!)
As well as being the anchor for the left hand, the thumb also helps
mute strings that aren't being played. When playing on the E string
the basic position on the top of the pick up is perfect (see picture
above - please use artistic license and imagine the Variax's thumb
ledge is the top of a pick up!)
When playing the A string, the thumb should still rest against the
pick up but the thumb should move down so that it rests on the E string.
This prevents any unwanted sound occuring from the E string whilst
playing the A string.
When playing on the D string the thumb should now move to the A string,
but also still rests against the E string. This prevents any unwanted
sounds from the E or A strings whilst playing the D string.
When playing on the G string, the position with the thumb anchored
on the A string works fine, any unwanted noise from the D string will
be dealt with by the rest stroke...
The Rest Stroke
Once the thumb is in position - lightly but firmly - the fingers can do their thang!
Start with the E string, rest the thumb on the top of your pick up of choice and place the fleshy pad of your finger ready to play (see photos above).
Sound the E string, alternating between index and middle fingers. You should use enough force so that the fingers come to rest against the pad of your thumb once you've sounded the string. Try not to play too hard or you will get a weak, distorted tone.
Repeat this until it feels comfortable then drop your thumb to the top of the E string and play the A string - again alternating your index and middle fingers. This time your fingers should come to rest against the E string.
Next up drop the thumb to the A string and play the D string with alternating index and middle fingers. This time the fingers should come to rest against the A string.
Finally the G string. Leave the thumb on the A string and play the G string with alternating index and middle fingers. This time the fingers should come to rest against the D string - preventing any unwanted string noise from the D string.
And that's a brief
explanation of the two finger rest stroke. A
more detailed look at the two finger rest stroke is available
as a lesson in PDF form. Either left click to open the PDF in a new
window or right click to download to your hard drive. Included with
the PDF are 6 exercises for you to print out to help you get started
mastering your two fingered rest stroke!
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