Being insecure is standard issue as a musician, you can choose to let it cripple you mentally and give up or use it as inspiration to push you to the next level as a musician. I personally use it to push myself to the the next level, also gotta remember there's always someone better than yourself no matter how amazing a musician you are. (Unless your name is Victor Wooten lol)
As a bass teacher myself I'd like to add a few to the list (guess you left 'em out cause you can only fit so many): - bent wrist (fretting hand) - bass hanging too low - not being prepared to use rakes whenever possible - fretting way too hard - applying to much pressure with the thumb of the fretting hand - lifting the plucking fingers too far off the strings - the "violin fretting hand" - not muting with the plucking fingers - pressing too hard while sliding - looking at the fretting finger while sliding instead of looking at the target fret - tensing up, pulling up the shoulders, bending the neck forward - ... Boy, I could go on and on :D excellent video!
I have trouble keeping my plucking hand straight down , it tends to twist to the side and I play the strings with almost the side of my fingers, I’m trying to break out of it
@Dustin Helsel he wears the gloves due to a neurological condition, if memory serves. I seem to remember him saying he has a hand tremor and the pressure from the gloves reduces or removes it. (Someone correct me if I am recalling incorrectly here.) He explained it in a video quite some time ago. I used to wonder the same thing.
Time Stamps for the Video! 1:46 Flying Fingers [exercise] 4:22 See-Saw [exercise] 6:35 4-Finger Per Fret [different style] 8:05 Crap Muting [different styles] 10:56 No Dynamics [exercise] 11:50 Inverted Wrist [full] 13:14 Not using Hammer-ons and Pull-offs (and slides) [full] [Exercise] = Time stamp for the exercise [Different style(s)] = Different style for the session [Full] = Full session
the day guitarist find out about no. 5 man side note: BE CAREFUL WITH YOUR WRIST MAN I used to play guitar all the time with my wrist curled in super far so I could stretch as much as possible but I started having issues with my wrist cramping and I have this strange pop that never went away... best advice I can give is to point your thumb towards the headstock and try to keep your wrist as reasonably straight as possible. Also check and see if you can play your bass or guitar without pressing your thumb against the neck, if you struggle to play that way it could be indicative that you rely too heavily on squeezing the neck or the action is too high or something, it should not take that much pressure to get a good sound. My issues might be more related to playing bar chords on guitar but none the less take care of your hands guys!
Been playing bass for 11 years (guitar for 16), self taught, and I do every single one of these. At least I know what to work on now.... everything! haha
I'm a little similar to you in being a self taught bassist, but for a couple of years longer, and also came from guitar. I'm actually quite pleased to say that I don't do any of these currently. I know I'm bassically bragging, but I'm feeling pretty good about it right now. I could improve my dynamics some, that can always be better. It wasn't always like this. I was typically a 1 and 3 guy when fretting, but realized I could cover better ground by using the box style he spoke of. I just didn't know it had a name.
#7 is something I find really important. One of my earliest influences was Geddy Lee, and his playing is chock full of such little details that elevate his basslines: ghost notes, grace notes, little slides and so on. I've seen some Clip-Share Rush covers where the player manages to leave all those out and play every note flat, and I want to cry ..!
Guitar Works even Randy Rhodes would stop between shows to take lessons from random music teachers. The question they always asked him was “How can I teach *you* anything?” His answer was always “I can learn something from *anyone* .” Greatest mindset ever.
@Guitar Works I reviewed what you originally wrote and how I reacted.I'm sorry,I truly misunderstood you.You we're not bashing anyone or trying to say that any ideas that someone puts out to help improve playing are just an opinion and an imposition.You were in fact saying just the opposite.I really misread your post.Very sorry.Keep up your good work and yes,Scott has some helpful tips indeed.
@Joseph Drach i'm not sure where you got the idea that I was bashing anyone or saying anything other than I felt that there was some valuable information being offered in Scotts videos...as well as how fortunate we are to have access to youtube as a way to check out other players? apart from commenting that there is something to be learned from other players even after many years of playing, I was making some references to my own technique and sharing these observations...which I guess is not something you care to read and perhaps rightfully so...after all I have not established any real credibility or posted any instructional videos of my own, .. I don't quite understand why, but it appears as though I offended you in some way or gave you reason to think that i was criticising other players or the instructional efforts put forth in the video..which, if you actually read and understand my comments is the exact opposite...but in fact, your comments here have been helpful to me...rather than finding myself frustrated like this I have finally decided to stop wasting my time posting any more comments on youtube since it appears that there is always someone who misreads and misconstrues posts in some way resulting in more time wasted defending what should have been easy to understand in the first place....I really do have better things to do...and I guess I should maybe just keep on doing them..
@Guitar Works This is about learning from others.If you want to play using method you like,go right ahead.This video is about certain techniques and common blunders people make.If you want to play using only your forefinger on your fingerboard hand and grasp the neck like your trying to choke an animal,do that.Perhaps you use only the pinky on your other hand to strike the strings.Fine,I am not here to tell you off.We are sharing what works and doesn't for use and if you feel that if someone has anything to say about how you should play they are treading on your toes,hey,I've been playing a very long time and I feel like there is no end to what I want to learn and how much better I want to be.Your entitled to keep playing as you do.If it works it must be good.Scott is not bashing me or anyone else nor am I.I have been playing for 46 years,but I won't pull seniority on you, LOL.Do as you wish.I keep learning.You,keep doing what you want to do.
So I watched this video then recorded myself messing around for about 10 minutes. Watching it back I found I'm guilty of the dreaded seesaw fingers. Couple of minutes running through your drills have dramatically made my playing feel more fluid. The ideas in my head are coming out cleaner than they had before. 5 and 7 I could definitely do some more of, but I've been slowly working them into my playing as I'm getting more and more comfortable on the instrument (7 months in!) Thanks for all the great work you do, Scott!
Lots of useful techniques, thanx Steve 😊 🙏. I've been playing a long time but it's been a lot of work to overcome my slump.I was stuck for a long time, but you have helped me get through a major problem I had. 👍 Underestimating your teaching ability,and my learning abilities have finally moved me forward to another level. Thanx again Steve 😀 Lot's of luv from London ONTARIO CANADA
Great video. I'm one week in self taught and I have made all of these mistakes. This video will expidate my process of fixing those mistakes. Thanks mate!
Scott, out of curiosity, why do you play “I Want You Back” the way you do instead of playing all of it in position 1? Is it a tone thing? I guess this can lead into a more general question - when and why do bassists choose to move up or down a fretboard when they could play it entirely in one or two positions? Is there a method to this? Thanks!
I guess it would be wrong to boil it down to one reason as everyone has their own reasoning, personally however I do it for tone. Say you're playing for example the main Riff of "The Chicken" by Jaco (key of Bb major): Playing that major 6th on the g string will sound pretty bright and ring out as it is an open string. You can also however slide from the perfect 5th (third fret) to the major 6th (fifth fret) on the D String, which gives it a different attack and the tone of a fretted note higher up the neck. You should try out playing the same lines, same octaves in different places around the neck. You will eventually hear the difference:)
I've been a bass player in my high school pep band. And I must let you know that watching your videos have helped me learn so much! Thank you for making these awesome videos! Keep up the great work! :)
I honestly like this video, I have a couple issues since I’m starting on Bass, I always find myself messing up number 6 which makes sense, of course there are other numbers such as all of them, but I’m really digging your videos Scott thank you!!!
The only one I’m a little confused on is #5. Growing up, I was taught NOT to play runs and grooves with “jumping notes” that just stuck out. The reason being that it creates a massive headache for the sound guy. Sure, I use dynamics for parts of a song where the bass should not be front and center, but I learned that’s where the “loud bass all the time” failure is where we tend to turn listeners off and that there’s a time for loud bass and a time for being in the back.
Number 6 is definitely the biggest issue for me, and until you confirmed it, I was only guessing that it was where I was positioning my wrist (been watching a while, and noticed your wrist position one day, and noted that I didn't do that, and that could contribute to not being able to use all my fingers). Sadly, I started getting into bass before I discovered your channel, and picked up a few bad habits like that. I am, however, working them out of my practice, and now that I know about number 6, I can continue retraining my fret hand to feel comfortable with the position. Thank you for the video, I watch when I can, big fan. I look forward to the next one.
My absolute beginner's ass feels so called out! Thanks for the little exercises and tips (especially for muting, to my defense I have a 5 strings). And I'm proud to have thought of trying to correct, with variable degrees of success, some of them (no more inverted wrist, progress on see-saw, never actually tried to force myself on the 4 fingers->4 frets) all by myself!
Thanks Scott! Been following for about five years now, since I started actually playing daily. You are doing good stuff for the rest of us trying to learn 👍🏽💯🎸
Thank you so much! Started playing bass 2 or 3 months ago now and I feel like this is the perfevt time to look at the things you were talking about in the video. And you made it so much fun to watch too! :D
I am unsure which I suffer from, I haven't played in a while. I do know there's no doubt that I suffer from some of these. Either way, I appreciate the video and it will help me clear these issues up in my future playing. Thanks for the video!
thanks i appreciate the free advise, been working on flying fingers, 3 weeks now you bring attention to all my other faults, i really do apreciate your videos, just learned how to do a pull off properly. thanks scott
Great video!! I've learned myself how to play bass and I have been playing for 4 years now, since 3 years I also play in a band and we perform quite a lot. Its funny to see how most of these techniques came natural to me, and this is the first time I have watched a bass technique video. maybe it is because I have small hands and my body found the most comfortable way to play, the right way... we will never know! would love to hear everybody's own experience!!!
Good tips. Thank you. I was happy to learn I wasn't guilty of the first four. I haven't given my thought to my muting. So, either I picked that up intuitively, or the songs I play don't require much OR I'm going to be annoyed for a while catching my poor muting. I don't think I'm bad on wrist inversion (maybe because I've always slung high, like you ) but I have much better mental picture of that now (and I'll be watching for that). I would have liked you to spend a little more time on the dynamics. I'm quite familiar with the concept, but your technique leaves me in the dust.
Thank you Scott for this video and many others you have shared. You are a gem when it comes to being very informative. I especially enjoy your cool riffs and funky bass licks which you add here and makes the videos more interesting. The important related issues you covered has corrected me of some bad habits i've been struggling with my entire bass life and you were first to point them out. You are an amazing teacher with how detailed and make it incredibly easy to learn. Awesome! Thank you sincerely Scott, Nate
Being a new bassist I suffer from flying fingers and see saw the most. Didn’t really think of the see saw until your vid. The see saw is causing me to have un-intended hammer ons...so this will be very helpful. Thanks for the great video Scott!
Great video man! Many of these things have been problems that I was not very cognizant of until I watched this. Now I will be more aware of what to look out for when I am playing.
Absolutely amazing. I’m just about to start trying to learn bass seriously, and was extremely curious about everything you covered here. Feel like I skipped a year ahead by watching this, I can start working on perfect practices right from my first lesson. Really appreciate your knowledge, passion, and enthusiasm about everything bass! I learned so much from every one of the topics covered in the video. Thank you!
When I jump on the bass it's usually to play like a Vulfpeck or Jaco tune, some funky 16th note grooves. At the moment I'm playing Conscious Club - Vulfpeck, and obviously it's a pretty fast line, but that octave bit is pretty killer. I'm not sure if I should try to have my right hand closer/to more parallel with the pickups. I feel like I'm curling my right hand too much, like a claw - hard to explain - basically as if I'm pointing towards myself, as opposed to the ground, when I'm plucking. Is this wrong/what's making things difficult?
I'm teaching myseld the bass and this video has been so helpful. Reached a bit of a plateau in my learning, hoping some of these exercises can help me move past it.
Your videos are REALLY helpful. I am sure I have been doing flying finger and see-saw. Your lesson is perfect for a beginner like me. Also, it helped to have clarification on the Hammer on/ pull offs. I appreciate so much your videos. Many many thanks from an American die-hard Rush fan living in France.
Great video Scott! I think I could really use a good tutorial on the box system and the dynamic plucking. Being primarily self-taught, I never got good at counting rhythm, so some tutorials on how to build better groove would be nice.
Personally I noticed a lot of my bad habits when I started learning difficult songs. I was the president of the inverted wrist up until I learned "to defy the laws of tradition" with that five fret stretch in the beginning. I have pretty long fingers and was confused why I couldn't hit it, but once I stopped sticking my wrist so high and spent some time practicing I could do it no problem.
Opposite to the 1 finger per fret system, I see SO many people avoiding their pinky while playing. Stretching 4 frets with the first 3 fingers like a madman.
@Bren Louis Surio It's not a question of one way being proper and another necessarily being wrong.My teacher used classical technique but was quick to point out that Any Fingering is Good,As Long as it is Consistent.There are many ways to do this and get a good result.If you play a scale the same way everywhere all your doing is starting on a different note and moving your fingers the same way.If your consistent like this,you can change keys just buy starting on a different note.I am note saying that classical technique is better or worse than the other popular way,one finger per fret or some other way.It's just something else to try that has a lot of material available to help learn it.Use anything you like.Nothing is "improper"if it works.
@Bren Louis Surio Consider learning classical fingering.It was invented for the bass fiddle but lots of bass guitarists use it especially on fretless,though it's just fine for a bass with frets.Until the 12th fret one uses the forefinger one one note,then the next note is held down by the middle finger.The next note is held down by the pinkie,Supported by your ring finger.Lots of open strings and shifting involved.Get a book on the method.Simandl and Nanny both have good books on this.Get both or a good teacher.Good for small hands.Above the 12th fret,All five fingers can be used.Study and try it.
I don't use the 1 finger per fret on the first frets (1-7) because my hand is small. For those frets I use index, middle, and pinky. I find it comfortable to not stretch the ring when it's to far.
Based on my own experience, I would have put muting at #1. I also would have added "careless or sloppy articulation." Very staccato and very connected playing are both valid when situationally appropriate, but it has to be a decision. Not a bad list, though I would say dynamics is more a creative than a technical thing, especially since getting really even and consistent dynamics is so important when learning to play with fingers. Same thing for hammer-ons and pull-offs; sometimes that's appropriate, and sometimes you want to articulate every note individually. I'd file legato and raking under the same category.
My biggest problem definitely is the inverted wrist! Combine that with my pretty much tiny hands, and I have loads of problems keeping up with faster lines whenever I need to change frets. Me not using hammer-ons etc. probably only exacerbates the problem. Glad I at least got my dynamics and muting down haha Thanks for this video! It's helped a lot ^^
I agree with just about all of this since I also teach bass guitar.To add to the inverted hand/wrist-this sometimes includes holding onto the neck as if it were a wrench and trying to slide smoothly.Obviously it's counterproductive to do so and most students are glad to be corrected.About the "box" system.Classical technique,such as is used on the bass fiddle and typically on the fretless bass guitar works well on the regular bass guitar(the one with frets).I don't call it the box system because it can be part of learning classical fingering.Up to the 12th fret,one uses the forefinger,middle finger and the pinkie supported by the ring finger to depress one position each(C,C#,D,for example).Open strings are more common and at the 12th fret and above one uses all five fingers one the fingerboard.The use of the thumb creates amazing possibilities!I also use the one finger per fret method outlined here and it's excellent as well.For fretless I feel that classical fingering is the way to go.Insofar as dynamics and rhythmic improvement go,a metronome is a Must.Also buy drum books.They have a wealth of rhythm in them and you can accent them at different points to practice dynamics.There are also drum books for odd meters and these are also very useful.Practice shifting!Start with an E on the E string and play all the notes in key of C (no sharps or flats)all the way up to the highest note available on the G string and back down again.Try soloing on one string.Then solo on another until you have done all of them.This helps with shifting and fingerboard awareness.Even though I try to keep my fingers low to the fingerboard I am aware that in some cultures and subcultures seeing the fingers move up and down and flutter is considered a good part of the performance and for certain audiences,I will toss in a bit of "finger dancing" but not to the point where it messes up my playing.Thanks for all the advice you've given in your many videos.They are very useful.
wow, great tips for a beginner bass player, i play guitar for many many years, and bought my bass 3 weeks ago, this lesson will help lots, thanks for helping.
Thanks for making this video. In my 45 yrs of self taught bass playing i make pretty much all these mistakes with exception of crappy mute ( mouse pad mute..trick from a Cuban musician)and inverted wrist i still do it occupationally but I've been working on it.. it's a wonder i get work 😂 I'm getting on the other 6 immediately.. thanks
Hey Scott - Thanks for the video ! I was really worried when pressing play on the video that I’d be ticking all 7 boxes aha ! I’d say myself I struggle to keep my pinky and ring finger floating over the strings - it’s like a combination of 1&2, my pinky and ring finger will seasaw between themselves when I’m using them. Something else that I’ve seen a lot of people do - myself included is when playing in the ‘box’ technique I loose most ability with my pinky finger and sometimes even hide it behind the fretboard the higher up the register I go. Another note - something you very lightly touched on is the dynamic difference between hammer-one and pulls-offs. My hammer-on game is strong, but pull-off technique feels quite weak and you mentioning about want the same volume between the 2 has made much sense in what I need to practice with! Furthermore - Thank you Scott ! Having watched loads of your videos I cannot say thank you enough for all the free content and great advice !
Straight to the point, I like this new style! I used to suffer from both #1 and #2. It was one of your monthly challenges (the groove one, couple of years back) that mostly fixed this for me. I made a video for the challenge myself playing and it was eye-opening to see how much my technique was wrong, I didn't notice any of that myself when I was playing but seeing it again from 3rd perspective.. just ruthless. This improved my timing also for the same reason, because it was clearer for me that it should improve. Video yourself playing, it will teach you a lot!
Having played bass for 35 years with only 3 years of lessons in the beginning, I can honestly say I'm good on the wrist, hammer on's and offs, improving on the muting, but he nailed me on the first 3 and I appreciate the techniques to practice to fix my bad habits.
Excellent video Scott! Crap muting is probably my biggest offender. I played a 5 string for years and was good at it, but played with a pick quite a bit, so it was more in my picking hand. Now that I've developed my fingerstyle my muting ability has dropped off some and I need to focus on the plucking hand now.
I've been playing bass intermittently since I was 12 years old and still have problems with "flying fingers" and "inverted wrist". Videos like this serve as a great reminder of the basics. Thanks Scott!
Scott, Thank you so very much! I was a professional Trombonist and have been fortunate enough to have performed with many celebrated artists. Several years ago I had a stroke and as a result some eye problems that prohibited me from playing much trombone as the back pressure was verboten according to my Retina Surgeon. I performed and recorded with many A Player Bassists whom I got some great tips from, but have NEVER been able to get my muting under control. This video has helped me tremendously and with practice the muscle memory that comes with the hours of repetition I believe success is in my future. Thanks Scott! Hope to thank you in person one day!
I did better than I thought I would! I have been playing for 4 months, self-taught. I do the see-saw a bit sometimes so I need to pay more attention to that and I have also not been paying attention to dynamics. I notice I do sometimes play certain notes harder instinctively but I've not been very consistent with it. Great video!
I think I've done well with avoiding most of these issues (through my own trail and error) I think I probably suffer from the "box effect" though, I believe you referenced it as the four finger four fret issue. I will find myself playing this way because I play a large scale bass with pretty small hands and it is the most comfortable for most running licks, but I immediately struggle to get out of that groove an back into proper technique. It makes my transitions in songs weak because I tend to not accent notes until I'm "comfortable" again and it leads to me missing some of the strong notes later in the lick. I'm sure everyone better than me can relate, especially if you have a really big bass with really small hands. 🤣 thanks for the tips Sir!
This is so helpful! As someone teaching themselves bass, I had very little guidance on technique but your bass lessons have been extremely helpful. Also, finally going to give my 5 string a much needed setup this Christmas so hopefully that will things less exhausting to play.
I loved this video! I've been playing the bass for about 2 years but I've only been playing avidly for the past 5 months, and I noticed I do so many of these techniques fails! Definitely gave me some peace of mind about how to improve my skills on the bass. Thanks!!
Hey there. I'm like 3 weeks into learning how to play bass and I want to say that your lessons are super helpful. I'm Trying so hard to practice good techniques from the beginning and it's tough, but I'm so glad that have these videos to help me avoid bad habit. Thank you so much. Keep up the good work.
Great video Scott! Man I suffer most with 1,2,&3 the most. I've always struggled with fretting hand technique. I have short fingers. And yes yes I know that's not an excuse. But the problem is my pointer and little are curved in. It gets even worse if my wrist is bent at all. What's your thoughts on that? Have you had any students with this issue you've been able to help? Thanks for all you do for the community, Chad S.
Really enjoying these videos. I play a different instrument, but I'm keen to widen my awareness of those around me in order to gain greater insight and understanding. This video alone provides clues as to who is likely to be class and who might not in a new situation before a note is even struck
Great video! "Crap muting" is definitely my biggest ongoing challenge, especially as I switch between 4- and 5-string. Actually, I think my biggest challenge is kind of a "meta" challenge related to this... if I start noticing my crap muting, I get really conscious of trying to mute (especially on the 5) and it throws everything else off! Psyching myself out, I guess.
I sorted most of these out some time ago through trial and error. Great to know I'm doing the right things and not totally blagging everything! Thanks for the all the inspiration Scott and team. You've got an older bass player back into it like never before. Always something new to learn or something I need to refine and also a lot I should have learnt a long time ago! ...Back to scales, modes and arpeggios that I didn't learn properly 30 years ago! Absolutely loving your content.
I find my problems tend to be my tendency to play with my hand angled nearly 45 degrees to the fretboard when i play, rather than keeping it relatively straight, as well as the inverted wrist when i start playing on the lower (1st-3rd/4th) frets, I try to stop myself every time i notice but it's become a really bad habit
Been playing 39 years and still plagued by 1 and 6. Probably because I never had lessons. Your lessons are great! (But old habits die hard!) Thank you.
After spending the last few years watching your videos, now is a great time to revisit some of these and see how far I've come. 1. Fixed it - for the most part. I have a snappy pinky, so its ON or OFF, but Ive learned how to keep it on strings that arent being used, which helps muting too. 2. Gotten way better at it - still have to think about it sometimes though. 3. 4 fingers seems like a good place to start, but not to hold on too tightly. Will watch for that. 4. Very mindful of this. I tend to use multiple fingers - it just feels more natural. Aways in progress. 5. I think Im pretty good with this. 6. Inverted wrist helps with thumb muting on a 5 string, but otherwise it feels unnatural to me. 7. I find I use too many hammerons and pulloffs - they have been a crutch, but only recently have I started to pull-off properly. As always, thanks for all of your help. I really appreciate you've been there every step of the way!
So as a 30 year guitar teacher, I’m just now picking up bass guitar. Some of the things that translate well are as such, when you’re above the ninth fret The rules change. So on the bass, Fingers 1,2 and 4 tend to dominate When below the ninth fret. But above the ninth fret you’re going to stick to a one finger per frat rule for every position
I just started bass a couple weeks ago and I suffer with 1 through 7. In all seriousness though, I've seen your flying fingers videos and been working on that. The most helpful one for me as I am right now is the seesaw, once I heard that I realized I've been doing that.
Hey Scott! Great stuff as usual mate! Thank you for all you do! Soooo helpful. I hope you get to see this - have a question for you: Many years ago there was the “melody maker” newspaper that cane out every Thursday. Coming up at that time I got tons of jobs from the “bass-player wanted” adds. I’ve been in the states a lot of years now but thinking about returning home. Are there any publications nowadays that I can find work from? I don’t know if you have such a product but I was thinking a while ago it would be fantastic if you started your own sort of bass player talent agency bro… Lol Merry Christmas to you and your family! Martin T
I had that exact problem with the flying fingers when I started to learn the guitar, and then I learnt to use every finger and thumb, it makes it so easier to play and change chords too
4 finger per fret makes perfect sense, and maybe I'm not really understanding what Scott means since I'm a beginner, but I feel it's because when starting out a first to fourth fret stretch is pretty tough. It's tough for me and my bass is a 34" scale. But also because of how a lot of bass and guitar is taught revolving around pentatonic scales, so usually only your first and fourth fingers really get a workout and develop muscle memory. Personally I've been trying my hand at deriving and playing majors and minors, pentatonic scales are just a subset of them so if you know the former, you can definitely play pentatonics with great ease. Thankfully I'm not making the fails so much other than occasional flying fingers. That's quite a sticky wicket, ehh? Hammers and pulls I'll eventually get as I get better. Gotta work on getting into the groove first! Lots of great information, Scott, thank you and cheers!
All of these were great, and made me so glad I went in with a few months of paid lessons (since all the guitarists I knew would give conflicting information :P), since I always had a problem with the "floating fingers"/see-saw back then are still stuck in my brain when I go to warm up and do simple patterns up and down the board. :D Great video.
I’ve just started on Bass and trying to teach myself as there are really no “great teachers” where I am so this I joined SBL and also subscribe to Yousician. I have to say I’ve learned more in a few lessons with you than 4 months with an app and a book! So you can bet I have issues with ALL of the above! Thanks SCOTT for this vid as it has answered lots of my questions about techniques. (Haven’t got to hammer and pulls though!) 🤗
I do the opposite, I tuck unused fingers into my palm. I pretty much never use 1-4, I go from 1 finger per fret to 1-3 depending on what i'm playing, but I have long fingers...
In some cultures,the hand movements on the fingerboard are part of the performance.Do not think that the musicians are slow moving and clumsy!They can move like lightning and very accurately.They just let there fingers make movements that accentuate there playing and add to the show.If I'm going slow and my hand is moving in a preset pattern, it's no great technical sin to do a bit of this Central Asian dancing hands showmanship.It looks nice.Some rockers love to do it too.None of these people allow it to mess up the notes.
Been learning guitar and #6 inverted wrist has been my biggest trouble. Anytime I have to try to use my pinky or recently with bar chords I just can't seem to stretch my hand properly. Decided to give Bass a shot as well and your videos have certainly helped.
I find something very important is making sure my bass guitar is setup correctly by adjusting the truss rod, the intonation, and the height of the strings. If that isn't set up properly, no matter how much you practice, you will never feel you're getting better. Your songs will sound out of tune if the intonation isn't setup properly, and you will never have any speed because you have to fret way too hard.
I would say number 2 for sure. Thank you for the advise. I used to suffer with inverted wrist, correct that a few years ago because he hurt my wrist so much. Also had number 1 a few years ago. Sorted that because I seen a video of myself playing. I didn’t like it haha 😂
Just started learning bass two days ago. watching this makes me feel struggling trying to get all of that right to make it feel all natural to me. I'm frustrated. It is so helpful and yet intimidating.
Don't let it get you down. I just started too. It's good to know what good technique is and fixing what you can in the beginning. At least you know what to work on if you have problems learning to play.
Technique doesn't have to be perfect to play, it just helps. It's more important to play. Use technique to enhance your playing. Enjoy playing first! :)
I never realized that changing my wrist slightly like Scott was talking about would give me that much more ability to maneuver around the fret board quicker, it truely does, thanks scott
oddly, a lot of my bad habits started going away as i learned more technical music. its almost like utilizing what caused bad habits made me form better habits haha. i used to primarily fret with my index and middle fingers, but doing stuff like playing modes nad messing with like a blues scale, made a difference. having to be chromatic in a blues scale really changed it. learning my fretboard helped too, now i make a chord shape regardless of playing all the notes or not. its like my hands know where to go and i need to just trust them. i generally play 5 string bass. if im using a pick, ill use the pick itself like a palm mute. if im playing finger, i can just sort of nuzzle a finger to mute a string. hammer ons and pulls offs has made such a big difference too. i almost rely on them now.
Quick tone question here (I'm mostly a guitarist but have always dabbled in bass over the years). For reference I'm on round-wounds usually just using the bridge pick up and maybe rolling off a little tone (a la Jaco). The tone here, and for a lot of Scott's videos, I'm assuming the smoothness I hear (correct me if I'm wrong) is flatwounds, and the twang is new strings, now I am also plucking over the bridge, with enough force when needed - any tips on working on endurance there (figure it's a technique thing, hence me being here) would be appreciated too, but as far as getting that crispy punch. What can I do there (with my pickup/tone selection) and amp modelling etc., (Guitar Rig) to achieve that? Believe I'm going to do a little research on this, but figure asking here is as good a place as ever. Should I have a little overdrive on there with gain at 1 or 2, will that help or hinder, what sort of amp etc., would love any insight of this.
Call the cops!!! this is it!..period!The Best and most profound teaching on this subject I have ever experienced in 62 years! Thanks you so much for this!! Im a drummer that is rethinking everything differently about my crappy bass playing. There may be hope after all!!
Thank you so much for bringing the inverted wrist to my attention! I didn't even realise and suddenly playing is a lot easier. I thought it was just because I had smaller hands!! I also struggle with the seesaw too ): keep it up, you're brilliant!
Independent picking fingers is what I'm working on a lot now. I've also been incorporating a flat pick with the middle and ring finger as plucking fingers...about half a year now...it's working quite well. I was a flat pick guitar player for years so utilizing the fingers is a new challenge. I also drill; plant, pluck, stop alternations with the M&R fingers. Planting is not taught a lot but I encountered it when I experimented with classical a little. Plant pluck stop is a great way to control time and note duration. When combined with alternating flat pick strokes I've found a lot of new to me approaches. Thanks for the video. I'd like to add that the opening of the hand is for fast runs. Closing your grip on the neck is good for some riffs. Also, a lot of teachers don't teach 'thumb over' playing which was popular with 60s and 70s players especially. If you fret with the thumb (over the top of the neck on the lowest string (E) your hand will open and if you get good with the technique you can handle some very good runs. It's an excellent way to handle riffs that would be harder without it. I naturally went to thumb over when I started as a kid but my older brother used the proverbial ruler on the knuckles so it was years later before I came back to it. Watch Richie Blackmore play for example of a pro who uses thumb over proficiently and was classically trained in his youth.
Hei, Scott! Love your knowledge skills and development for the bass! A couple of insights from me: No technique fails as long you are developing your own style. I slap, mute, pick, slide, drag, bend, wrench, hammer etc. all together, and I dig it. I am never going to bee a professional , but I can an enjoy playing bass for my own satisfaction (as we all do). In my trying "traditional schooling" I have never been able to control my pinky, and will never do, but I can use it to hammer overtones and such - get it to reach other places on the fret with and dirrerent angles of attack on the strings and such. And I'm fine with that. As an experienced player, I always set up my "sessions" (recorded or not) so there will always be an progression, learning type of thing. I can see you have a feeling for funk/jazz/rock. Do you play other styles? Like traditional rock with plektrum, or using the bass as an "drum" or with big cords? Best regards. JK from Norway
Funny, some of these posts. I've been playing bass guitar at a pro level for... wow, 38 years now. I'm also a classical violinist, trained, 2 degrees in music. Worked in sessions, studios, and played most of my waking hours for many many many years professionally. My pinky isn't right next to the board most of the time, I do flying fingers. It's intentional. My pinky is shorter (so are most), and weaker, and I do a lot of hammering in my left hand. The technique I master years ago has a very even tone between the fingers no matter which one is hammering or just playing normally. I don't disagree that in theory many of these ideas are nice to do and, if they work for you, should reduce muscle use. However I've had zero issues with my hands, fingers, tone or ability to play fast, or complex chords, or any style of music. So, I mean, good ideas, and you play brilliantly. Some of these are not hard and fast rules, however.
Even though you have a short pinky you still have to use it! I have long skinny fingers and you can certainly play better than I can, but you must use that pinky. That's what the pinky toe is for, wanting more!
Even though you have a short pinky you still have to use it! I have long skinny fingers and you can certainly play better than I can, but you must use that pinky. That's what the pinky toe is for, wanting more!
That was very helpful. Exercises for things I knew I needed to work on and reassurance that some things I have been doing are actually good to do. Thank you.
I find it fascinating to reflect on these points as a guitarist! I also see the "flying fingers," the "Inverted Wrist," and "No Dynamics" friggin' everywhere -- even on pro players! The 4-finger/fret doesn't apply so much given that your hand can *technically cover as many as six frets at a time. The compact nature of the instrument lends to some different fretting techniques that make bass MUCH more difficult -- and that doesn't begin to cover the animal that is mandolin. I'm personally hindered further by the fact that my hands are a mite small for a guitarist; bass becomes a totally different ballgame. Very helpful for my own conception of how to play bass. Having a clear list of technical issues is helpful to me in terms of how to help my own students though, so kudos!
I'm brand new, still just trying to teach myself bass on an acoustic not-bass guitar! hopefully I'll be able to get a bass soon haha But yeah I think Inverted Wrist is the only one I *don't* suffer from currently, as I've been really trying to get as many fundamentals right as I can while playing the wrong instrument... Definitely going to add the exercises for 1 and 2 into my practice sessions though!
Thanks for making me insecure about my everything on Bass. You're great keep it up.
That’s not his fault ;)
Let the insecurities make you better man. Don’t give up you got this. You can’t succeed without error at first
Not sure if you realize that constructive criticism is actually how you get better at music. Take what he's teaching, and improve.
@A Rando q
Being insecure is standard issue as a musician, you can choose to let it cripple you mentally and give up or use it as inspiration to push you to the next level as a musician. I personally use it to push myself to the the next level, also gotta remember there's always someone better than yourself no matter how amazing a musician you are. (Unless your name is Victor Wooten lol)
As a bass teacher myself I'd like to add a few to the list (guess you left 'em out cause you can only fit so many):
- bent wrist (fretting hand)
- bass hanging too low
- not being prepared to use rakes whenever possible
- fretting way too hard
- applying to much pressure with the thumb of the fretting hand
- lifting the plucking fingers too far off the strings
- the "violin fretting hand"
- not muting with the plucking fingers
- pressing too hard while sliding
- looking at the fretting finger while sliding instead of looking at the target fret
- tensing up, pulling up the shoulders, bending the neck forward
- ...
Boy, I could go on and on :D excellent video!
I have trouble keeping my plucking hand straight down , it tends to twist to the side and I play the strings with almost the side of my fingers, I’m trying to break out of it
@photag216 Me too. It limits my speed. I have worked on it over the years. I find, the more familiar I am with a song, the less pressure I can use.
@Dustin Helsel he wears the gloves due to a neurological condition, if memory serves. I seem to remember him saying he has a hand tremor and the pressure from the gloves reduces or removes it. (Someone correct me if I am recalling incorrectly here.) He explained it in a video quite some time ago. I used to wonder the same thing.
I do that! I realized I fret waaay too hard. Like I press so hard. I can’t stop! Lol
Someone please tell me Why he is he the only guy on the planet who wears a latex glove to play the bass.
Thanks Scotty. Back to the basics for me :)
Time Stamps for the Video!
1:46 Flying Fingers [exercise]
4:22 See-Saw [exercise]
6:35 4-Finger Per Fret [different style]
8:05 Crap Muting [different styles]
10:56 No Dynamics [exercise]
11:50 Inverted Wrist [full]
13:14 Not using Hammer-ons and Pull-offs (and slides) [full]
[Exercise] = Time stamp for the exercise
[Different style(s)] = Different style for the session
[Full] = Full session
Username checks out.
ザヒーローマシュー The Hero Matthew thanks bro! Your Awesome!
the day guitarist find out about no. 5 man
side note: BE CAREFUL WITH YOUR WRIST MAN
I used to play guitar all the time with my wrist curled in super far so I could stretch as much as possible but I started having issues with my wrist cramping and I have this strange pop that never went away... best advice I can give is to point your thumb towards the headstock and try to keep your wrist as reasonably straight as possible. Also check and see if you can play your bass or guitar without pressing your thumb against the neck, if you struggle to play that way it could be indicative that you rely too heavily on squeezing the neck or the action is too high or something, it should not take that much pressure to get a good sound. My issues might be more related to playing bar chords on guitar but none the less take care of your hands guys!
As a bass player for years I never realized how much flying fingers was holding me back, thanks for the tips!
Been playing bass for 11 years (guitar for 16), self taught, and I do every single one of these. At least I know what to work on now.... everything! haha
I'm a little similar to you in being a self taught bassist, but for a couple of years longer, and also came from guitar. I'm actually quite pleased to say that I don't do any of these currently. I know I'm bassically bragging, but I'm feeling pretty good about it right now. I could improve my dynamics some, that can always be better.
It wasn't always like this. I was typically a 1 and 3 guy when fretting, but realized I could cover better ground by using the box style he spoke of. I just didn't know it had a name.
@Maxwell Edison jeez bro the anger
Maxwell Edison because I got very comfortable with it and it wasn’t a problem. Self taught here also.... Been there, done that.
How the fuck did you not notice there was something wrong
Same 😭🚶
#7 is something I find really important. One of my earliest influences was Geddy Lee, and his playing is chock full of such little details that elevate his basslines: ghost notes, grace notes, little slides and so on. I've seen some Clip-Share Rush covers where the player manages to leave all those out and play every note flat, and I want to cry ..!
@Joseph Drach Excellent comment regarding "economy of motion" ! This hit home since my sensei mentioned that continually.
Guitar Works even Randy Rhodes would stop between shows to take lessons from random music teachers. The question they always asked him was “How can I teach *you* anything?” His answer was always “I can learn something from *anyone* .”
Greatest mindset ever.
@Guitar Works I reviewed what you originally wrote and how I reacted.I'm sorry,I truly misunderstood you.You we're not bashing anyone or trying to say that any ideas that someone puts out to help improve playing are just an opinion and an imposition.You were in fact saying just the opposite.I really misread your post.Very sorry.Keep up your good work and yes,Scott has some helpful tips indeed.
@Joseph Drach i'm not sure where you got the idea that I was bashing anyone or saying anything other than I felt that there was some valuable information being offered in Scotts videos...as well as how fortunate we are to have access to youtube as a way to check out other players? apart from commenting that there is something to be learned from other players even after many years of playing, I was making some references to my own technique and sharing these observations...which I guess is not something you care to read and perhaps rightfully so...after all I have not established any real credibility or posted any instructional videos of my own, .. I don't quite understand why, but it appears as though I offended you in some way or gave you reason to think that i was criticising other players or the instructional efforts put forth in the video..which, if you actually read and understand my comments is the exact opposite...but in fact, your comments here have been helpful to me...rather than finding myself frustrated like this I have finally decided to stop wasting my time posting any more comments on youtube since it appears that there is always someone who misreads and misconstrues posts in some way resulting in more time wasted defending what should have been easy to understand in the first place....I really do have better things to do...and I guess I should maybe just keep on doing them..
@Guitar Works This is about learning from others.If you want to play using method you like,go right ahead.This video is about certain techniques and common blunders people make.If you want to play using only your forefinger on your fingerboard hand and grasp the neck like your trying to choke an animal,do that.Perhaps you use only the pinky on your other hand to strike the strings.Fine,I am not here to tell you off.We are sharing what works and doesn't for use and if you feel that if someone has anything to say about how you should play they are treading on your toes,hey,I've been playing a very long time and I feel like there is no end to what I want to learn and how much better I want to be.Your entitled to keep playing as you do.If it works it must be good.Scott is not bashing me or anyone else nor am I.I have been playing for 46 years,but I won't pull seniority on you, LOL.Do as you wish.I keep learning.You,keep doing what you want to do.
So I watched this video then recorded myself messing around for about 10 minutes. Watching it back I found I'm guilty of the dreaded seesaw fingers. Couple of minutes running through your drills have dramatically made my playing feel more fluid. The ideas in my head are coming out cleaner than they had before. 5 and 7 I could definitely do some more of, but I've been slowly working them into my playing as I'm getting more and more comfortable on the instrument (7 months in!)
Thanks for all the great work you do, Scott!
I got my first bass for Christmas and your lessons have been super helpful for getting me started. Thank you!
Same here. Just bought a fender precision bass this weekend and I’m watching all these videos about techniques
I just got one for my 16th bday today
I got one this year!
It's been almost a year. Still playin?
a bass guitar is one great christmas present
Lots of useful techniques, thanx Steve 😊 🙏. I've been playing a long time but it's been a lot of work to overcome my slump.I was stuck for a long time, but you have helped me get through a major problem I had. 👍 Underestimating your teaching ability,and my learning abilities have finally moved me forward to another level.
Thanx again Steve 😀
Lot's of luv from London ONTARIO CANADA
Great video. I'm one week in self taught and I have made all of these mistakes. This video will expidate my process of fixing those mistakes. Thanks mate!
It's so interesting to see how all of these fails also apply to the guitar.
Scott, out of curiosity, why do you play “I Want You Back” the way you do instead of playing all of it in position 1? Is it a tone thing? I guess this can lead into a more general question - when and why do bassists choose to move up or down a fretboard when they could play it entirely in one or two positions? Is there a method to this? Thanks!
I guess it would be wrong to boil it down to one reason as everyone has their own reasoning, personally however I do it for tone. Say you're playing for example the main Riff of "The Chicken" by Jaco (key of Bb major): Playing that major 6th on the g string will sound pretty bright and ring out as it is an open string. You can also however slide from the perfect 5th (third fret) to the major 6th (fifth fret) on the D String, which gives it a different attack and the tone of a fretted note higher up the neck.
You should try out playing the same lines, same octaves in different places around the neck. You will eventually hear the difference:)
I've been a bass player in my high school pep band. And I must let you know that watching your videos have helped me learn so much! Thank you for making these awesome videos! Keep up the great work! :)
I honestly like this video, I have a couple issues since I’m starting on Bass, I always find myself messing up number 6 which makes sense, of course there are other numbers such as all of them, but I’m really digging your videos Scott thank you!!!
The only one I’m a little confused on is #5. Growing up, I was taught NOT to play runs and grooves with “jumping notes” that just stuck out. The reason being that it creates a massive headache for the sound guy. Sure, I use dynamics for parts of a song where the bass should not be front and center, but I learned that’s where the “loud bass all the time” failure is where we tend to turn listeners off and that there’s a time for loud bass and a time for being in the back.
Number 6 is definitely the biggest issue for me, and until you confirmed it, I was only guessing that it was where I was positioning my wrist (been watching a while, and noticed your wrist position one day, and noted that I didn't do that, and that could contribute to not being able to use all my fingers).
Sadly, I started getting into bass before I discovered your channel, and picked up a few bad habits like that. I am, however, working them out of my practice, and now that I know about number 6, I can continue retraining my fret hand to feel comfortable with the position.
Thank you for the video, I watch when I can, big fan. I look forward to the next one.
My absolute beginner's ass feels so called out!
Thanks for the little exercises and tips (especially for muting, to my defense I have a 5 strings).
And I'm proud to have thought of trying to correct, with variable degrees of success, some of them (no more inverted wrist, progress on see-saw, never actually tried to force myself on the 4 fingers->4 frets) all by myself!
Thanks Scott! Been following for about five years now, since I started actually playing daily. You are doing good stuff for the rest of us trying to learn 👍🏽💯🎸
Never thought about this "box system" of 1 and 4. It is really helpful! Please do a lesson on this topic! You are great, Scott. Thank you!
Thank you so much! Started playing bass 2 or 3 months ago now and I feel like this is the perfevt time to look at the things you were talking about in the video. And you made it so much fun to watch too! :D
I am unsure which I suffer from, I haven't played in a while. I do know there's no doubt that I suffer from some of these. Either way, I appreciate the video and it will help me clear these issues up in my future playing. Thanks for the video!
Great lesson, mate! Besides most of the other problems you mentioned, I suffer most from intercontinental ballistic pinky. It's exhausting.
thanks i appreciate the free advise, been working on flying fingers, 3 weeks now you bring attention to all my other faults, i really do apreciate your videos, just learned how to do a pull off properly. thanks scott
Great video!! I've learned myself how to play bass and I have been playing for 4 years now, since 3 years I also play in a band and we perform quite a lot. Its funny to see how most of these techniques came natural to me, and this is the first time I have watched a bass technique video. maybe it is because I have small hands and my body found the most comfortable way to play, the right way... we will never know! would love to hear everybody's own experience!!!
I'm just starting off with the bass (no instruction/teaching) and i'm pretty sure I"m guilty of all of these. Thanks for the tips!
Good tips. Thank you. I was happy to learn I wasn't guilty of the first four. I haven't given my thought to my muting. So, either I picked that up intuitively, or the songs I play don't require much OR I'm going to be annoyed for a while catching my poor muting. I don't think I'm bad on wrist inversion (maybe because I've always slung high, like you ) but I have much better mental picture of that now (and I'll be watching for that). I would have liked you to spend a little more time on the dynamics. I'm quite familiar with the concept, but your technique leaves me in the dust.
Thank you Scott for this video and many others you have shared. You are a gem when it comes to being very informative. I especially enjoy your cool riffs and funky bass licks which you add here and makes the videos more interesting. The important related issues you covered has corrected me of some bad habits i've been struggling with my entire bass life and you were first to point them out. You are an amazing teacher with how detailed and make it incredibly easy to learn. Awesome! Thank you sincerely Scott, Nate
Love your work Scott, you’ve really helped me develop as a bass player and your videos on technique have really helped me weed out my bad habits
Being a new bassist I suffer from flying fingers and see saw the most. Didn’t really think of the see saw until your vid. The see saw is causing me to have un-intended hammer ons...so this will be very helpful. Thanks for the great video Scott!
Great video man! Many of these things have been problems that I was not very cognizant of until I watched this. Now I will be more aware of what to look out for when I am playing.
Absolutely amazing. I’m just about to start trying to learn bass seriously, and was extremely curious about everything you covered here. Feel like I skipped a year ahead by watching this, I can start working on perfect practices right from my first lesson. Really appreciate your knowledge, passion, and enthusiasm about everything bass!
I learned so much from every one of the topics covered in the video. Thank you!
When I jump on the bass it's usually to play like a Vulfpeck or Jaco tune, some funky 16th note grooves. At the moment I'm playing Conscious Club - Vulfpeck, and obviously it's a pretty fast line, but that octave bit is pretty killer. I'm not sure if I should try to have my right hand closer/to more parallel with the pickups. I feel like I'm curling my right hand too much, like a claw - hard to explain - basically as if I'm pointing towards myself, as opposed to the ground, when I'm plucking. Is this wrong/what's making things difficult?
I'm teaching myseld the bass and this video has been so helpful. Reached a bit of a plateau in my learning, hoping some of these exercises can help me move past it.
Your videos are REALLY helpful. I am sure I have been doing flying finger and see-saw. Your lesson is perfect for a beginner like me. Also, it helped to have clarification on the Hammer on/ pull offs. I appreciate so much your videos. Many many thanks from an American die-hard Rush fan living in France.
Great video Scott! I think I could really use a good tutorial on the box system and the dynamic plucking. Being primarily self-taught, I never got good at counting rhythm, so some tutorials on how to build better groove would be nice.
OH MY GOD! Thank you so much for #6 I've done this the entire time, and wondered why I had no range, you're the best!
Personally I noticed a lot of my bad habits when I started learning difficult songs. I was the president of the inverted wrist up until I learned "to defy the laws of tradition" with that five fret stretch in the beginning. I have pretty long fingers and was confused why I couldn't hit it, but once I stopped sticking my wrist so high and spent some time practicing I could do it no problem.
Opposite to the 1 finger per fret system, I see SO many people avoiding their pinky while playing. Stretching 4 frets with the first 3 fingers like a madman.
@Bren Louis Surio It's not a question of one way being proper and another necessarily being wrong.My teacher used classical technique but was quick to point out that Any Fingering is Good,As Long as it is Consistent.There are many ways to do this and get a good result.If you play a scale the same way everywhere all your doing is starting on a different note and moving your fingers the same way.If your consistent like this,you can change keys just buy starting on a different note.I am note saying that classical technique is better or worse than the other popular way,one finger per fret or some other way.It's just something else to try that has a lot of material available to help learn it.Use anything you like.Nothing is "improper"if it works.
@Joseph Drach I'll try it thanks dude. I do consider myself as a guy who easily adapts so I'll probably get used to the "proper" way once I study it.
@Bren Louis Surio Consider learning classical fingering.It was invented for the bass fiddle but lots of bass guitarists use it especially on fretless,though it's just fine for a bass with frets.Until the 12th fret one uses the forefinger one one note,then the next note is held down by the middle finger.The next note is held down by the pinkie,Supported by your ring finger.Lots of open strings and shifting involved.Get a book on the method.Simandl and Nanny both have good books on this.Get both or a good teacher.Good for small hands.Above the 12th fret,All five fingers can be used.Study and try it.
I don't use the 1 finger per fret on the first frets (1-7) because my hand is small. For those frets I use index, middle, and pinky. I find it comfortable to not stretch the ring when it's to far.
blacktongue1000 I do that a lot
Based on my own experience, I would have put muting at #1. I also would have added "careless or sloppy articulation." Very staccato and very connected playing are both valid when situationally appropriate, but it has to be a decision. Not a bad list, though I would say dynamics is more a creative than a technical thing, especially since getting really even and consistent dynamics is so important when learning to play with fingers. Same thing for hammer-ons and pull-offs; sometimes that's appropriate, and sometimes you want to articulate every note individually. I'd file legato and raking under the same category.
My biggest problem definitely is the inverted wrist! Combine that with my pretty much tiny hands, and I have loads of problems keeping up with faster lines whenever I need to change frets. Me not using hammer-ons etc. probably only exacerbates the problem. Glad I at least got my dynamics and muting down haha
Thanks for this video! It's helped a lot ^^
I agree with just about all of this since I also teach bass guitar.To add to the inverted hand/wrist-this sometimes includes holding onto the neck as if it were a wrench and trying to slide smoothly.Obviously it's counterproductive to do so and most students are glad to be corrected.About the "box" system.Classical technique,such as is used on the bass fiddle and typically on the fretless bass guitar works well on the regular bass guitar(the one with frets).I don't call it the box system because it can be part of learning classical fingering.Up to the 12th fret,one uses the forefinger,middle finger and the pinkie supported by the ring finger to depress one position each(C,C#,D,for example).Open strings are more common and at the 12th fret and above one uses all five fingers one the fingerboard.The use of the thumb creates amazing possibilities!I also use the one finger per fret method outlined here and it's excellent as well.For fretless I feel that classical fingering is the way to go.Insofar as dynamics and rhythmic improvement go,a metronome is a Must.Also buy drum books.They have a wealth of rhythm in them and you can accent them at different points to practice dynamics.There are also drum books for odd meters and these are also very useful.Practice shifting!Start with an E on the E string and play all the notes in key of C (no sharps or flats)all the way up to the highest note available on the G string and back down again.Try soloing on one string.Then solo on another until you have done all of them.This helps with shifting and fingerboard awareness.Even though I try to keep my fingers low to the fingerboard I am aware that in some cultures and subcultures seeing the fingers move up and down and flutter is considered a good part of the performance and for certain audiences,I will toss in a bit of "finger dancing" but not to the point where it messes up my playing.Thanks for all the advice you've given in your many videos.They are very useful.
wow, great tips for a beginner bass player, i play guitar for many many years, and bought my bass 3 weeks ago, this lesson will help lots, thanks for helping.
Thanks for making this video. In my 45 yrs of self taught bass playing i make pretty much all these mistakes with exception of crappy mute ( mouse pad mute..trick from a Cuban musician)and inverted wrist i still do it occupationally but I've been working on it.. it's a wonder i get work 😂 I'm getting on the other 6 immediately.. thanks
Hey Scott - Thanks for the video ! I was really worried when pressing play on the video that I’d be ticking all 7 boxes aha ! I’d say myself I struggle to keep my pinky and ring finger floating over the strings - it’s like a combination of 1&2, my pinky and ring finger will seasaw between themselves when I’m using them. Something else that I’ve seen a lot of people do - myself included is when playing in the ‘box’ technique I loose most ability with my pinky finger and sometimes even hide it behind the fretboard the higher up the register I go.
Another note - something you very lightly touched on is the dynamic difference between hammer-one and pulls-offs. My hammer-on game is strong, but pull-off technique feels quite weak and you mentioning about want the same volume between the 2 has made much sense in what I need to practice with!
Furthermore - Thank you Scott ! Having watched loads of your videos I cannot say thank you enough for all the free content and great advice !
Straight to the point, I like this new style!
I used to suffer from both #1 and #2. It was one of your monthly challenges (the groove one, couple of years back) that mostly fixed this for me. I made a video for the challenge myself playing and it was eye-opening to see how much my technique was wrong, I didn't notice any of that myself when I was playing but seeing it again from 3rd perspective.. just ruthless. This improved my timing also for the same reason, because it was clearer for me that it should improve.
Video yourself playing, it will teach you a lot!
Having played bass for 35 years with only 3 years of lessons in the beginning, I can honestly say I'm good on the wrist, hammer on's and offs, improving on the muting, but he nailed me on the first 3 and I appreciate the techniques to practice to fix my bad habits.
Excellent video Scott! Crap muting is probably my biggest offender. I played a 5 string for years and was good at it, but played with a pick quite a bit, so it was more in my picking hand. Now that I've developed my fingerstyle my muting ability has dropped off some and I need to focus on the plucking hand now.
I've been playing bass intermittently since I was 12 years old and still have problems with "flying fingers" and "inverted wrist". Videos like this serve as a great reminder of the basics. Thanks Scott!
Scott, Thank you so very much! I was a professional Trombonist and have been fortunate enough to have performed with many celebrated artists. Several years ago I had a stroke and as a result some eye problems that prohibited me from playing much trombone as the back pressure was verboten according to my Retina Surgeon. I performed and recorded with many A Player Bassists whom I got some great tips from, but have NEVER been able to get my muting under control. This video has helped me tremendously and with practice the muscle memory that comes with the hours of repetition I believe success is in my future. Thanks Scott! Hope to thank you in person one day!
I did better than I thought I would! I have been playing for 4 months, self-taught. I do the see-saw a bit sometimes so I need to pay more attention to that and I have also not been paying attention to dynamics. I notice I do sometimes play certain notes harder instinctively but I've not been very consistent with it. Great video!
I think I've done well with avoiding most of these issues (through my own trail and error) I think I probably suffer from the "box effect" though, I believe you referenced it as the four finger four fret issue. I will find myself playing this way because I play a large scale bass with pretty small hands and it is the most comfortable for most running licks, but I immediately struggle to get out of that groove an back into proper technique. It makes my transitions in songs weak because I tend to not accent notes until I'm "comfortable" again and it leads to me missing some of the strong notes later in the lick. I'm sure everyone better than me can relate, especially if you have a really big bass with really small hands. 🤣 thanks for the tips Sir!
Scott, I watched already a lot of your great lessons, but this one is (for me) the best yet!
This is so helpful! As someone teaching themselves bass, I had very little guidance on technique but your bass lessons have been extremely helpful. Also, finally going to give my 5 string a much needed setup this Christmas so hopefully that will things less exhausting to play.
I loved this video! I've been playing the bass for about 2 years but I've only been playing avidly for the past 5 months, and I noticed I do so many of these techniques fails! Definitely gave me some peace of mind about how to improve my skills on the bass. Thanks!!
Hey there. I'm like 3 weeks into learning how to play bass and I want to say that your lessons are super helpful. I'm Trying so hard to practice good techniques from the beginning and it's tough, but I'm so glad that have these videos to help me avoid bad habit. Thank you so much. Keep up the good work.
Great video Scott! Man I suffer most with 1,2,&3 the most. I've always struggled with fretting hand technique. I have short fingers. And yes yes I know that's not an excuse. But the problem is my pointer and little are curved in. It gets even worse if my wrist is bent at all. What's your thoughts on that? Have you had any students with this issue you've been able to help? Thanks for all you do for the community, Chad S.
Really enjoying these videos. I play a different instrument, but I'm keen to widen my awareness of those around me in order to gain greater insight and understanding. This video alone provides clues as to who is likely to be class and who might not in a new situation before a note is even struck
Amazing! I've just found some problems with my playing, and now I can improve!
Great video! "Crap muting" is definitely my biggest ongoing challenge, especially as I switch between 4- and 5-string. Actually, I think my biggest challenge is kind of a "meta" challenge related to this... if I start noticing my crap muting, I get really conscious of trying to mute (especially on the 5) and it throws everything else off! Psyching myself out, I guess.
Big help on my basic sloppy fundimentals 🤣 thank you Scott and be well ✅
I sorted most of these out some time ago through trial and error. Great to know I'm doing the right things and not totally blagging everything! Thanks for the all the inspiration Scott and team. You've got an older bass player back into it like never before. Always something new to learn or something I need to refine and also a lot I should have learnt a long time ago! ...Back to scales, modes and arpeggios that I didn't learn properly 30 years ago! Absolutely loving your content.
I find my problems tend to be my tendency to play with my hand angled nearly 45 degrees to the fretboard when i play, rather than keeping it relatively straight, as well as the inverted wrist when i start playing on the lower (1st-3rd/4th) frets, I try to stop myself every time i notice but it's become a really bad habit
Been playing 39 years and still plagued by 1 and 6. Probably because I never had lessons. Your lessons are great! (But old habits die hard!) Thank you.
After spending the last few years watching your videos, now is a great time to revisit some of these and see how far I've come.
1. Fixed it - for the most part. I have a snappy pinky, so its ON or OFF, but Ive learned how to keep it on strings that arent being used, which helps muting too.
2. Gotten way better at it - still have to think about it sometimes though.
3. 4 fingers seems like a good place to start, but not to hold on too tightly. Will watch for that.
4. Very mindful of this. I tend to use multiple fingers - it just feels more natural. Aways in progress.
5. I think Im pretty good with this.
6. Inverted wrist helps with thumb muting on a 5 string, but otherwise it feels unnatural to me.
7. I find I use too many hammerons and pulloffs - they have been a crutch, but only recently have I started to pull-off properly.
As always, thanks for all of your help. I really appreciate you've been there every step of the way!
So as a 30 year guitar teacher, I’m just now picking up bass guitar. Some of the things that translate well are as such, when you’re above the ninth fret The rules change. So on the bass, Fingers 1,2 and 4 tend to dominate When below the ninth fret. But above the ninth fret you’re going to stick to a one finger per frat rule for every position
so far, these techniques are also good for fretted string instruments in general, and finger picking. Very important video!
I just started bass a couple weeks ago and I suffer with 1 through 7. In all seriousness though, I've seen your flying fingers videos and been working on that. The most helpful one for me as I am right now is the seesaw, once I heard that I realized I've been doing that.
This is exactly the video one needs toward clean bass playing. Thanks. Love it.
Hey Scott! Great stuff as usual mate! Thank you for all you do! Soooo helpful.
I hope you get to see this - have a question for you:
Many years ago there was the “melody maker” newspaper that cane out every Thursday. Coming up at that time I got tons of jobs from the “bass-player wanted” adds.
I’ve been in the states a lot of years now but thinking about returning home. Are there any publications nowadays that I can find work from?
I don’t know if you have such a product but I was thinking a while ago it would be fantastic if you started your own sort of bass player talent agency bro… Lol
Merry Christmas to you and your family!
Martin T
I had that exact problem with the flying fingers when I started to learn the guitar, and then I learnt to use every finger and thumb, it makes it so easier to play and change chords too
Always entertaining to watch your videos Scott, thank you for this and all the videos
Just watched a recording of myself - I do the flying fingers!!! Thank you for providing the exercises - I will be practicing that!
4 finger per fret makes perfect sense, and maybe I'm not really understanding what Scott means since I'm a beginner, but I feel it's because when starting out a first to fourth fret stretch is pretty tough. It's tough for me and my bass is a 34" scale. But also because of how a lot of bass and guitar is taught revolving around pentatonic scales, so usually only your first and fourth fingers really get a workout and develop muscle memory. Personally I've been trying my hand at deriving and playing majors and minors, pentatonic scales are just a subset of them so if you know the former, you can definitely play pentatonics with great ease.
Thankfully I'm not making the fails so much other than occasional flying fingers. That's quite a sticky wicket, ehh? Hammers and pulls I'll eventually get as I get better. Gotta work on getting into the groove first!
Lots of great information, Scott, thank you and cheers!
All of these were great, and made me so glad I went in with a few months of paid lessons (since all the guitarists I knew would give conflicting information :P), since I always had a problem with the "floating fingers"/see-saw back then are still stuck in my brain when I go to warm up and do simple patterns up and down the board. :D Great video.
as a self taught 'bassist' this was very useful thank you so much!!
I’ve just started on Bass and trying to teach myself as there are really no “great teachers” where I am so this I joined SBL and also subscribe to Yousician.
I have to say I’ve learned more in a few lessons with you than 4 months with an app and a book!
So you can bet I have issues with ALL of the above! Thanks SCOTT for this vid as it has answered lots of my questions about techniques. (Haven’t got to hammer and pulls though!) 🤗
Been playing guitar/bass for 30+ years and I still catch myself doing 'Flying Fingers'.
Well, you look epico while you do it 😂
I do the opposite, I tuck unused fingers into my palm. I pretty much never use 1-4, I go from 1 finger per fret to 1-3 depending on what i'm playing, but I have long fingers...
In some cultures,the hand movements on the fingerboard are part of the performance.Do not think that the musicians are slow moving and clumsy!They can move like lightning and very accurately.They just let there fingers make movements that accentuate there playing and add to the show.If I'm going slow and my hand is moving in a preset pattern, it's no great technical sin to do a bit of this Central Asian dancing hands showmanship.It looks nice.Some rockers love to do it too.None of these people allow it to mess up the notes.
Keep em close to the fingerboard.But sometimes people like to see,Flying Fingers or Dancing Fingers.It can be part of being a showman,in moderation.
So hard to get rid of,lol. 🐥
Been learning guitar and #6 inverted wrist has been my biggest trouble. Anytime I have to try to use my pinky or recently with bar chords I just can't seem to stretch my hand properly. Decided to give Bass a shot as well and your videos have certainly helped.
I find something very important is making sure my bass guitar is setup correctly by adjusting the truss rod, the intonation, and the height of the strings. If that isn't set up properly, no matter how much you practice, you will never feel you're getting better. Your songs will sound out of tune if the intonation isn't setup properly, and you will never have any speed because you have to fret way too hard.
I would say number 2 for sure. Thank you for the advise. I used to suffer with inverted wrist, correct that a few years ago because he hurt my wrist so much. Also had number 1 a few years ago. Sorted that because I seen a video of myself playing. I didn’t like it haha 😂
Just started learning bass two days ago. watching this makes me feel struggling trying to get all of that right to make it feel all natural to me. I'm frustrated. It is so helpful and yet intimidating.
Don't let it get you down. I just started too. It's good to know what good technique is and fixing what you can in the beginning. At least you know what to work on if you have problems learning to play.
@DJ Dank Memes thx, dude!
@Anthony Guess good idea! :D
Technique doesn't have to be perfect to play, it just helps. It's more important to play. Use technique to enhance your playing. Enjoy playing first! :)
Hey go to blues bass for beginners,. It makes learning fun
I never realized that changing my wrist slightly like Scott was talking about would give me that much more ability to maneuver around the fret board quicker, it truely does, thanks scott
oddly, a lot of my bad habits started going away as i learned more technical music. its almost like utilizing what caused bad habits made me form better habits haha. i used to primarily fret with my index and middle fingers, but doing stuff like playing modes nad messing with like a blues scale, made a difference. having to be chromatic in a blues scale really changed it. learning my fretboard helped too, now i make a chord shape regardless of playing all the notes or not. its like my hands know where to go and i need to just trust them. i generally play 5 string bass. if im using a pick, ill use the pick itself like a palm mute. if im playing finger, i can just sort of nuzzle a finger to mute a string. hammer ons and pulls offs has made such a big difference too. i almost rely on them now.
Quick tone question here (I'm mostly a guitarist but have always dabbled in bass over the years). For reference I'm on round-wounds usually just using the bridge pick up and maybe rolling off a little tone (a la Jaco). The tone here, and for a lot of Scott's videos, I'm assuming the smoothness I hear (correct me if I'm wrong) is flatwounds, and the twang is new strings, now I am also plucking over the bridge, with enough force when needed - any tips on working on endurance there (figure it's a technique thing, hence me being here) would be appreciated too, but as far as getting that crispy punch. What can I do there (with my pickup/tone selection) and amp modelling etc., (Guitar Rig) to achieve that? Believe I'm going to do a little research on this, but figure asking here is as good a place as ever. Should I have a little overdrive on there with gain at 1 or 2, will that help or hinder, what sort of amp etc., would love any insight of this.
Call the cops!!! this is it!..period!The Best and most profound teaching on this subject I have ever experienced in 62 years! Thanks you so much for this!! Im a drummer that is rethinking everything differently about my crappy bass playing. There may be hope after all!!
I feel hopeless. I seem to have a mess of problems with technique. Tripping over my fingers. I’d like to add I just picked up the bass two weeks ago.
So practice for few months using good technique, focusing on playing correctly. Then it becomes muscle memory...
How is your bass playing now. I started last month and better at knowing the fretboard and working on theory and technique.
It's been a month now, how has your bass playing gotten?
Thank you so much for bringing the inverted wrist to my attention! I didn't even realise and suddenly playing is a lot easier. I thought it was just because I had smaller hands!! I also struggle with the seesaw too ): keep it up, you're brilliant!
Independent picking fingers is what I'm working on a lot now. I've also been incorporating a flat pick with the middle and ring finger as plucking fingers...about half a year now...it's working quite well. I was a flat pick guitar player for years so utilizing the fingers is a new challenge. I also drill; plant, pluck, stop alternations with the M&R fingers. Planting is not taught a lot but I encountered it when I experimented with classical a little. Plant pluck stop is a great way to control time and note duration. When combined with alternating flat pick strokes I've found a lot of new to me approaches. Thanks for the video.
I'd like to add that the opening of the hand is for fast runs. Closing your grip on the neck is good for some riffs. Also, a lot of teachers don't teach 'thumb over' playing which was popular with 60s and 70s players especially. If you fret with the thumb (over the top of the neck on the lowest string (E) your hand will open and if you get good with the technique you can handle some very good runs. It's an excellent way to handle riffs that would be harder without it. I naturally went to thumb over when I started as a kid but my older brother used the proverbial ruler on the knuckles so it was years later before I came back to it. Watch Richie Blackmore play for example of a pro who uses thumb over proficiently and was classically trained in his youth.
Hei, Scott!
Love your knowledge skills and development for the bass! A couple of insights from me: No technique fails as long you are developing your own style. I slap, mute, pick, slide, drag, bend, wrench, hammer etc. all together, and I dig it. I am never going to bee a professional , but I can an enjoy playing bass for my own satisfaction (as we all do). In my trying "traditional schooling" I have never been able to control my pinky, and will never do, but I can use it to hammer overtones and such - get it to reach other places on the fret with and dirrerent angles of attack on the strings and such. And I'm fine with that.
As an experienced player, I always set up my "sessions" (recorded or not) so there will always be an progression, learning type of thing.
I can see you have a feeling for funk/jazz/rock. Do you play other styles? Like traditional rock with plektrum, or using the bass as an "drum" or with big cords?
Best regards.
JK from Norway
As always awesome, great help and advise. Thanks Scott
Funny, some of these posts. I've been playing bass guitar at a pro level for... wow, 38 years now. I'm also a classical violinist, trained, 2 degrees in music. Worked in sessions, studios, and played most of my waking hours for many many many years professionally. My pinky isn't right next to the board most of the time, I do flying fingers. It's intentional. My pinky is shorter (so are most), and weaker, and I do a lot of hammering in my left hand. The technique I master years ago has a very even tone between the fingers no matter which one is hammering or just playing normally.
I don't disagree that in theory many of these ideas are nice to do and, if they work for you, should reduce muscle use. However I've had zero issues with my hands, fingers, tone or ability to play fast, or complex chords, or any style of music.
So, I mean, good ideas, and you play brilliantly. Some of these are not hard and fast rules, however.
Even though you have a short pinky you still have to use it! I have long skinny fingers and you can certainly play better than I can, but you must use that pinky. That's what the pinky toe is for, wanting more!
Even though you have a short pinky you still have to use it! I have long skinny fingers and you can certainly play better than I can, but you must use that pinky. That's what the pinky toe is for, wanting more!
I have always thought of myself as not being very good at bass but when I saw this video I realize that most of these aren't a problem for me anymore
Hi. Yesterday my first bass finally came and i played technically everything wrong.
From now on you're my teacher. You are awesome! Thank you!!!
Number one key to success: practice,practice and then practice a little more
That was very helpful. Exercises for things I knew I needed to work on and reassurance that some things I have been doing are actually good to do. Thank you.
I was told to use the 1 and 4 fingers anywhere above the 5th fret a long long long time ago, though that definitely got me into your box style
Started playing about 4 days ago and I have mostly all of these problems, but I mean I'm playing for just 4 days so enough time to fix it!
I started playing 3 days ago and already wanna play this good 😂
I find it fascinating to reflect on these points as a guitarist! I also see the "flying fingers," the "Inverted Wrist," and "No Dynamics" friggin' everywhere -- even on pro players! The 4-finger/fret doesn't apply so much given that your hand can *technically cover as many as six frets at a time. The compact nature of the instrument lends to some different fretting techniques that make bass MUCH more difficult -- and that doesn't begin to cover the animal that is mandolin. I'm personally hindered further by the fact that my hands are a mite small for a guitarist; bass becomes a totally different ballgame. Very helpful for my own conception of how to play bass. Having a clear list of technical issues is helpful to me in terms of how to help my own students though, so kudos!
I'm brand new, still just trying to teach myself bass on an acoustic not-bass guitar! hopefully I'll be able to get a bass soon haha
But yeah I think Inverted Wrist is the only one I *don't* suffer from currently, as I've been really trying to get as many fundamentals right as I can while playing the wrong instrument...
Definitely going to add the exercises for 1 and 2 into my practice sessions though!