Bass Lesson – Right Hand Three-Finger Technique, Part II

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G||--------------------------|------------------------------||
D||--------4--5--7--5--4-----|------------------------------||
A||--5--7-----------------7--|--5--5-5-5--5-5-5--5-5-5--5-5-||
E||--------------------------|------------------------------||

 

 

.....2  1  2  1  2  1  2  1     2  3 2 1  3 2 1  3 2 1  3 2

This is the first example I played. Remember to play the first measure with two fingers, using three fingers for the second. The numbers below the staff correspond to my right hand fingers. 1=index, 2=middle,  3=ring.

Again, feel free to lead with any finger that feels the most comfortable for now. Eventually you’ll want to be able to lead with all of them, but I think it’s important you start using the technique as much as possible to really get a feel for it and start building that muscle memory, and do that you’ll need to simplify things a little.

For two-finger stuff I like to lead with my middle finger, maybe you like to lead with your index -- I probably should have played the above example leading with my index finger to avoid having to pluck with my middle finger twice in a row when the pattern repeats. This goes back to what I meant by “planning ahead.” If you’re playing slow enough, it shouldn’t matter if you’re plucking with the same finger twice in a row. When you’re playing fast, it does!

G||----------------------------|----------------------------||
D||--------4--5--7-------------|----------------------------||
A||--5--7-----------5-5-5--5-5-|--5--5-5-5--5-5-5--5--5--5--||
E||----------------------------|----------------------------||

 

 

.....2  1  2  1  2  3 2 1  3 2   1   3 2 1  3 2 1  3  2  1

 

 

 

This is the second example. You might want to use your metronome at first to make sure that everything is in time and that your gallops are lining up with the downbeats.

It’s much more fun (and useful) to find ways to practice technique within a song and I hope these simple examples will give you ideas for how you can use three-finger technique in songs. A good place to start is Iron Maiden…but don’t limit yourself to just “galloping” bass lines!