Talking Technique: Right Hand Thumbs Up!
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- Опубліковано 5 чер 2016
- More here: www.notreble.com/buzz/2016/06/...
When you’re playing fingerstyle, where do you put your right thumb? You can anchor it on the pickup, but that can limit your tonal range. You could anchor on the lower strings, but then where do you put it when you need to play those strings?
That’s precisely the question we got from a reader, so today we’re examining the right thumb. We’ll go through each technique and how and when to apply each one. Of course, we’ve got some musical exercises to give you a workout.
I personally use a floating thumb, also for muting the lower strings. I feel a little hindered if I anchor my thumb either on the string or pickup. It's different for everyone, find what's comfortable for you!
Thank you, Ariane!
I am not surprised I found it difficult to rest my thumb on the pickup. When I play golf you are supposed to lay your thumb parellel to the shaft and wrap your other hand around it. I hate that as well. Your free floating thumb and string resting technique brilliant for me and my bass. Rock on !
Amazing! I had such a hard time finding info about right hand thumb placement. I feel the pickup restricts my feel and picking speed for some reason. Thanks for the tip!
that thumb trick that acts as the back board that you finish on when playing open strings really helped me. thanks. liked and subscribed.
Great content, thank you!
I was always taught to push my strings towards the soundhole in classical as well.
Great information 😎👍
Thanks for talking about classical guitar fingers vs bass plucking.
In classical guitar- the stroke is called the rest stroke
great video
Thank you!!!!!!
Great question and great lesson! I'm on a short timescale to learn bass for a gig and this has really helped me!
Always nice to hear what I SHOULD be doing. Hey, pick up those Straplocks for that 4 banger! You’re making me nervous! haha
Thanks for this, I’m currently enjoying your book and appreciate your emphasis on technique. Do you prefer the tip of the thumb to be pointed toward the headstock as opposed to toward the body of the bass or in between those two positions? In other words the length of the thumb runs generally along the same plane as the bass? Thanks again!
You're a great teacher and your videos have helped me a lot. They were exactly what I was looking for as a guitarist brand new to bass. I obsess over picking technique on guitar and am now doing the same with plucking technique on bass. Doesn't landing on the string below (in the case of playing the G string) to mute have some issues though?
1) It worsens economy of motion, in theory slowing maximum speed, and 2) When you have your thumb anchored on the A string (the highest you suggest going when using a 4 or 5-string), the D string is only muted AFTER the G string is plucked. Both strings will ring for a short period of time. For these reasons, this strikes me as a bad habit.
Muting this way doesn't make any difference if you mute the D string with the tip of your index finger on the left hand, but this is not always possible. It seems like it's sometimes advisable to anchor the thumb on the D string, or even the G if you have a 6-string. Can you tell me what you think? Thanks for reading!
Sounds great and happy to hear. I don’t agree with the slow down bit, I just trained myself to do it with minimal movement. What I describe is a basic muting set up. As for if other strings ring: Mute also with the three little fingers (234) or RH and LH as well. Works well for six too.
As a beginner I mounted a thumb rest that I bought on Amazon right above the E. At least until I get totally familiar and comfortable with the guitar.
You say pluck "into the bass, not like classical guitar". That makes sense, but I've been dealing with this unconscious tendency to pluck against my pickups, and into them, like a ramp is for. it's distracting because i'm always afraid of damaging them in the long run, so i keep trying to stop it. So plucking "into the bass" causes that to happen more. Do you hit the pickups? P.S. I adore your teaching and your playing ! Iconic.
I would love to know the type/gauge of the strings on that 5 string. Flats, right?
Thanks ma'am. Really helpful.
Try floating your thumb for all strings and never anchor it. You wouldn't think it could work, but it's life-changing. However, it seems you have to have a light plucking technique and also have a fair amount of command to be successful with this.
Floating thumb technique is a technique that has its uses in solo bass applications and if you play a lot of chords. For grooving, I prefer the method I describe here because of the bigger tone you get. The disadvantage of the floating thumb technique is that it changes your overall technique (including left hand) because the right arm is no longer resting on the bass body. That often means pulling up the shoulder and strain on the right neck. I have written more about this in my book, Music Theory for the Bass Player (Amazon). Thanks for watching!
What bass is that your playing ? And, is it a short scale ? Thanks, Philip.
It is a regular scale 5 string Marleaux Consat.
I am using her book but have not been able to use the phone to read the QR code to access the demos. Is there an app. I can use to access demos from my computer? The screen on my iPhone is too small to actually watch videos. Thanks Ariane!
gary morrison you can just access them here: arisbassblog.com/free-vids-to-book/ free, one time registration is required. Enjoy!
I'm no expert bassist; been playing for about 4 years, but I have a thumb technique of my own and which I like to recommend. If I called it something it should be "super-floating thumb". I keep my thumb about 1 mm (millimetre) from the string I'm playing, (just barely far enough to allow it to vibrate), and mute the strings below that by keeping the side of the thumb flat on them. What this allows me to do is to push my thumb just a little bit to mute the string I just plucked, to control note length; or I can push the thumb and pluck at the same time, to sound a harmonic. It's a nice trick to add to the not length and muting control bags of tricks.
Unrelated: What pickups are those?
(The Jazz pickups on the blue bass)
HOLY SHIT A VIDEO WITHOUT DISLIKES
Sorry, the seafoam four string. Thanks again, Philip.
That is a four string Votan by Marleaux. Also regular scale length
Your wrist shouldn’t be bent