Fretting for bass guitar
Fretting is one of the core concepts of learning proper bass techniques. If you recently picked up the bass guitar, you want to gather the basics of good fretting prior to everything else. What do you seriously need to be familiar with? Well here are some integral guidelines and advice:
Keep your nails clipped and neat. It is more or less impossible to play bass guitar with claws. Ensure you pare your fingernails previous to picking up your instrument.
Memorize your finger numbering. On bass guitar, your fretting fingers are numbered. One is the pointing finger. Two is the median finger. Three is your third finger. Four is your pinky.
Arm positioning. You want your arms to spread naturally at your sides. Try not to get into the habit of resting your elbow on your lap when you sit down. Also, ensure that there is no tension in the shoulders.
Safeguard your wrist. As many musicians are subject to hand or wrist injuries ensure, you must listen to your body if you feel tenderness. It is normal for your fingers to ache and niggle at in the beginning, but you should in no way feel piercing or other types of pain in your wrists.
Keep your palm away from the underside of the neck. Your hand should not contact the underside of the neck. Instead, there should be a small pocket of space.
Push softly. Always try to press with minimal pressure while still getting a fresh and brisk tone.
Learn to contrast and tighten up your tempo. This may possibly seem obvious, but it is harder than it seems. You must know the contrast between, say, 40 beats per minute compared with 60 beats per minute.
And as a final point, remember to rehearse, exercise and practice. Learning bass techniques can be time consuming, but sooner or later, you will become familiar with your instrument.
Want to find out more about Bass Techniques, then visit Andy Ainsworth’s site on how to choose the best Bass Techniques for your needs.
