Bass guitar players - a technique question

I’m a middling guitar player with an electric Epiphone SG and an Ibanez acoustic. I enjoy noodling a lot, improvising on scales and practicing chords.

A couple of years ago I bought a Fender acoustic bass, which I’m also having a great time with, doing essentially the same thing as I am with the six strings. I’m not interested in becoming a bass player per se, or anything like that and I play with a pick just as though it was a six string. My question is about fret spacing, particularly towards the nut. For me the frets are spaced at that end such that I can cover three frets with three fingers, but it’s a significant stretch, physically and literally. I can very easily cover the three frets with four fingers. As I move towards the guitar body the frets obviously get closer together with distances similar to those on six strings.

So bass players - do you stretch your fingers in the first five or so frets or do you use four fingers to bridge that gap? If I’m improvising and using four fingers to cover three frets, that has its own implications when changing strings, different from the techniques I would use on a six string. If I use just three fingers then the procedures are the same as on a six string, except that I get some string buzzing because of the stretch.

So, what do you do? thanks

I can cover the first four frets with four fingers (just like guitar, it gets easy if you do it often enough), but I don’t normally stick to that. Unless there’s something that requires me to move from G# to F really quickly, a jump from the fourth fret to the first just isn’t really necessary.

I don’t either and I certainly don’t answer to anybody anyway, but it is interesting to hear what others do.

Do you play with a pick?

When I was a kid, I was actually better at playing with my fingers. I ended up playing guitar in a band for a few years, and through that picked up playing bass with a pick as well. Which I use generally depends on how I feel at the moment these days, but it’s usually a pick. I don’t even know if I could play a full set without a pick right now, my fingers would probably wear out.

Some players “claw” their hand, moving from fret/position to position. But unless you are a little kid or have unusually small hands, you should be able to cover 4 frets. Like scab says, it gets easier. Be thankful you don’t play upright! :wink:

When I started bass guitar (which I play no longer) I used a pick, thinking it was easier to just work on one hand. But of the bassists I admire, none uses a pick. At the beginning, you will be more proficient w/ pick. But it limits what you can do.

It’s kind of a conundrum for me as I’m not, intentionally, a bass player; I bought in almost on a whim (a good deal at a local music shop) and I have a really good time noodling on it the same way I do on my six strings.

There seem to be two fundamental approaches to fretting in bass, one is one finger per fret, and the other is to use pointer for first fret, middle finder for second, and ring and pinky together for third fret. If you do the second method, you would shift your fingers to get to a fourth fret.

That three fret technique is very common. I tend to switch back and forth depending on the bass part and where I am on the neck.

I use my fingers, not a pick.

There’s a Gretsch short-scale electric bass that’s really pretty great for the money ($300), and a short-scale bass might feel more comfortable for a guitar player.

Four fingers covering four frets.
Normally, my left hand gravitates to a position where I have the root under my middle finger so I the most common scale pattern I use is right there.
For example, middle finger on G on the low E string. Then it’s simple: E 3, 5 A 2, 3, 5, D 2, 4, 5 (i.e. exactly like playing that scale on the bottom 3 strings of a guitar).
Then it’s a simple case of rocking 1st finger to 3rd finger and 4th finger to get root-fifth-octave, covering 95% of bass work.

I have the opposite challenge from you: my hands are huge, so in 20 years of trying to play guitar I never felt like I could fit my fingers where they needed to go. Then I picked up a bass guitar and never looked back.

No pick here. Even though I used to play jazz guitar with those stubby picks, it feels like I’m trying to run in heavy work boots when I use a pick on a bass. Playing with fingers feels like running barefoot in a grassy meadow!

The second method (ring and pinky together) is the formal technique that upright bassists use, following the technique that is taught for playing the instrument in a “classical music” sense.
They speak of different positions on the fretboard and learn them in a way completely different to how an electric bassist learns the fretboard.

I have a 1/4 upright bass I bought used (it’s a clapped-out student instrument) and I play jazz on it from time to time just for fun, but any upright bassist would know instantly that I am an electric bassist by the way I fret the notes, and they would point and laugh. Surely it’s out of necessity because of the bridge cables they use. I suspect that on a full sized one my fingers would tire in minutes if I were to play the way I do.

I’m a guitar player turned bass player (fairly recent serious transition). I have mid-sized hands, but my fingers are not very flexible so I cannot comfortably span frets like I see most do. I use my pinky a lot to make those jumps, and also move my hand a lot more than others. I play mainly with a pick but I am training my fingers. Like @scabpicker, I couldn’t play a two hour set with my fingers and that is our typical jam length.

Same. I met a couple guys that had a jam session and they both play guitar so I took up the bass “full time”. I absolutely love playing bass now that I am very intentional about playing and practicing versus my old noodling sessions. And now that I’m dedicated to bass, I find myself listening to music entirely different than I used to.

TBH i can’t remember - I took all the frets out of mine !
Fingers only for me, i don’t think i ever used a pick.

Yeah, great bass lines are like a song within the song.

Your right hand would likely give you away as well. :wink:

Can’t imagine why a BG player would give up the speed and flexibility available by covering 4 frets w/ their 4 fingers. On upright, it just isn’t an option.

I’ll step out of the thread now, since I’m presently entirely upright. But just wanna say, be careful about adopting “shortcuts” - like using a pick, or not covering 4 frets - simply because you think those shortcuts will get you up and running quicker. The learning curve for doing it correctly ain’t all that steep. And if you develop dome proficiency using shortcuts, you may find it more challenging to unlearn those bad habits later.

First thing, and I say this every time someone asks for advice on the internet - please, I beg you, get a real live human being in person teacher. We all need the money, and there are so many large and small elements of playing that take 5 minutes in a lesson, and take enormous effort to clarify in writing. I get it - it may be a difficult option for you depending on where you are and your resources of time and money. What can I say? However expensive lessons will be, an RSI is more expensive.

On double bass (upright, bull fiddle, dog house, I don’t care what you call it…), one starts with 1 on the ‘first fret’ (I know, there are no frets…), 2 on the second fret, 3+4 for the third fret. One of the big reasons for this is ergonomic support - 4 is your weakest finger, and I would strongly advise against ever fingering a note with just 4.

Same thing with an electric bass, or an acoustic ‘side bass’ (or whatever else you want to call the thing) - it’s less of a fuss whether you want to use the 1, 2, 3+4 or one finger per fret, and the scale length counts for a lot more, BUT - until you’re used to the instrument, I strongly advocate always making sure that the other three fingers are also down to support the fourth finger.

Also - where is your thumb? I strongly advise keeping it on the other side of the neck from your third finger, and keeping it parallel to the frets/perpendicular to the neck. ‘Hitchhiking’ (thumb parallel to the neck) is right out. (I make my beginning students wear a finger puppet on their thumb. As long as I can see Mr. Tiger, I know we’re good; if Mr. Tiger disappears, I know the thumb position is inefficient.) Thumb wrapping should be considered an advanced technique, and frankly, if your hand were big enough to thumb wrap, you wouldn’t be asking us this question.

Also your left elbow - it should hang in such a way as to give advantage to your fourth finger. It’s the weakest finger, the shortest finger, and it has the hardest stretch to get to the fourth string (lowest in pitch, closest to the ceiling). The elbow can help with all of that. And the elbow is going to provide you with the ability to shift up and down the neck easily, which you’re going to be doing a lot of.

Don’t be afraid to start at the ninth fret and slowly work your way down. The positions of your fourths and fifths are the same, and the frets are closer together. Nothing wrong with working out your I - vi - IV - V chords up there in oddball keys like Db/C#, Gb/F#, B, and E - it will serve you well as you go further down (lower in pitch, therefore down) the neck.

Pick vs. fingers - IDGAF, though I’d advise you to explore both. Geddy Lee uses fingers, Chris Squire used a pick, Tony Levin uses whatever he feels like using…

For my six strings, I’ve taken a fair number of lessons with different instructors. In fact, a couple of months ago I had to stop lessons from an outstanding instructor simply because I didn’t have the time to properly practice between lessons.

Regarding the bass, however, I bought my acoustic bass on a whim and really enjoy playing it but not as a “bass player” per se. I sort of regard it as a “guitar +”, or as a slightly longer guitar with deeper notes. And I’m 64 and I’m never going to perform, though I will retire in less than a year and that may cause a resumption in lessons for both six string and bass. We’ll see.

No reason you oughtn’t have fun however you wish. But in my experience, it was not generally intended as a compliment to tell a bassist he/she played like a guitarist. YMMV

I was just thinking. Put your middle finger on your low G, and if you play 1 finger per fret, you can play a major or minor G scale octave in closed position with no shifts. Hard to imagine a good reason to intentionally give up that ability.

Basically, whether insulting or not :slight_smile: , I do play my bass the way I play my guitar - improvising off of scales, learning the fretboard, and trying to develop my digital agility and versatility (or whatever it’s called) and, in the case of my guitars, practicing chords. At this point I haven’t really looked at chords for the bass, if they exist or if it’s even done, though I assume they do and it is.

So I’m not trying to be part of a rhythm section, since it’s just me at the moment. A funny thing is that, while playing my bass out on our patio in the summer, our neighbours on both sides of us complimented me on what they heard, which was nice.

No insult intended. Do what you find fun.

When I played BG, I ALWAYS primarily identified myself as part of the rhythm section w/ the drummer. Now that I play bluegrass/oldtime, I AM the rhythm section. In just about every band or jam I’ve ever played in, there have been plenty of people eager to show off, and too few stepping up to lay down the groove. So I happily assume that role. Just what works for me.

There are some things the bass can do that no one else can. So that is where I prefer to live. But feel free to decide what you are doing that is the best for whatever setting you find yourself in.

And no matter what instrument, EVERYONE’S pinky needs more work. So it is not just you. I’d imagine the hand strength you would build up playing bass would do you well on guitar…

None taken, though I don’t think that I will be backing up Steve Vai anytime soon.

And reading all of the comments in this thread gives me a lot of good things to consider.

You have me scratching my head now, and playing my bass. Major is obvious–that’s what I was mentioning upthread. Minor isn’t so clear. I can see sliding over a fret and starting with my first finger on G; that would be a nice minor scale. But if I start with the middle finger on G then the scale turns into an awkward thing that extends two frets up and two frets down.

That said, I tell everyone that the tuning in 4ths is the best thing about playing the bass: just learn a few patterns and they work everywhere! (unlike the guitar, with that major 3rd interval between the G and B strings).

Whenever I am playing I will happily go up and down the neck doing various things, but if I find myself in a bind, I know I can always put my middle finger on the root of the key (Eb? C? Bb? all the same) and play notes from that same scale pattern and I’ll be just fine.

That’s also my fallback for walking basslines: middle finger on chord root, play appropriate chordal tones based on position relative to that, always the same regardless of key.

Of course, things sound much better when we move out of such a rigid pattern, but it’s always nice to have it as a safety net.

Another reason to love the bass: there is no such thing as a bad note on bass…you’re just going chromatic! And all of the “off” notes are a half step away from the good notes, so you can slide into the nice note and nobody will ever know you didn’t intend to do that.

You are absolutely correct. I was sloppy in my thinking. Thx for the correction.