Bass lesson - The fretting hand
The left hand (or right hand if you are a lefty) will generally use one of two techniques when you play bass; Depending on the style or type of riff your playing.
These techniques are:
• the 3 fret stretch
• the 4 fret stretch
The 3 fret stretch
When playing bass the 3 fret stretch will be used allot. When you using the 3 fret stretch make sure you use all 4 fingers though, not just your first 3. Doing this should leave you 2 middle finger free and almost looking like a bunch of bananas. This is the best technique to play groove bass with.
The 3-fret stretch makes sense for a number of reasons:
1. On a bass, four fingers only cover 3 frets anyway, so it’s a natural hand position.
2. Secondly, the fingers your not using help mute any strings that you are not playing and boost the notes you
are playing.
3. Thirdly, it makes for tighter use of the left hand. There's not a lot of unnecessary movement.
Next time you see a pro bassist at a gig. Chances are, he’s using this method and his hand barely moves, even though he's hitting a lot of notes.
The 4 fret stretch
The 4 fret stretch is were you stretch all 4 fingers across 4 frets. This is probably the biggest stretch you'll need to make. It will be more effective playing scales, some arpeggios (chord tones), and melodic phrases or riffs because you can reach more notes without moving your wrists. You'll find its more effective for licks more than grooves.
Other Bass lessons:
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