03 Bass Lessons Adam Nitti - Left Hand

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F R E T T I N G H AN D T E CH N I QU E

Las t t ime around we dis cus s ed how to improve our technique by focus ing on the plucking hand, overcoming the challenges

as sociated with it ís r ole in playing the bass . T his time, we will focus on the fr etti ng hand as we continue to wor k at developingand r efini ng the way our hands work together.

I f you have ever watched a great class ical mus ician perform, you have pr obably noti ced s ome key elements in h is /her playing.World clas s clas s ical mus icians are some of the mos t dis ciplined players with r espect to technique. Much of the mus ic theyper form demands intense focus , dexteri ty, and consis tency. I n s pite of the excellence demanded of them, however, a greatclass ical mus ician s tays very r elaxed and composed, and thes e tr ait s all ow him/her to r emain express ive, dynamic, and mus icalhr oughout a performance. Regar dless of whether or not you ar e a fan of class ical mus ic, i t i s hard not to appreciate the level ofechnical mastery demonstrated by its performers.

Obviously, there is a lot t o be gained as a bas s is t i f we are to emulate the technical discipli ne of a class ical mus ician. I nteres tinglyenough, our basic technical approach as an electric bassist virtually mirrors that of a classical guitarist. For example, look at theway a class ical guitar is t holds hi s /her hands . R ight and left hand pos it ioning is vir tually identical t o our s . T he main differ ence inhe plucki ng hands is that a class ical guitari s t plays us ing his /her fingernail s ins tead of the finger tips. T he technique of the

fr etti ng hand, however, is bas icall y t he same. I n this ar ti cle, we wil l attempt to incorpor ate the r elevant aspects that apply to ourfretting hands, specifically.

I n most applications, t he bas ic technique of our fr etting hand remains unchanged. F or example, whether you are usi ng a fingers tyl e, s lap & pop, or muting approach with the plucking hand, the fr etting hand is ess entiall y doing the s ame thing. I íve putogether a l is t of 3 general guidelines to foll ow when work ing to clean up our f inger ing:

1. Avoid usin g a ìf lat f ingeredî approach.I n other words , tr y to play more using the tips of the finger s . T his involves keeping the finger s of the fretting hand s lightlycurved. (S ee Fig. 1 )

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T he reas on for this is so you can effectively mi nimi ze the s ur face area coming into contact wi th the st r ings and the fingerboar d.T he resul t i s better intonation and greater accur acy wi th your fr etting hand. T o demons tr ate this , think about how a fr etless bassis played. Playing in tune requires one to pay par ti cular attention to wher e the s tr ing contacts the fingerboard. A move in thes li ghtes t dir ection for war d or backward with the fretti ng finger will pull the pitch out of tune. T he more nar row the contact pointon our fretting finger, the easier it is to play pitches accurately. Although a fretted bass affords us the room to play in between

he frets without fear of pitch var iance, this concept i s s ti ll valid; a flat f ingered appr oach presents a greater r is k of our notes ìfretting outî if our fingers are too far forward or backward. (Obviously, this rule does not apply if we need to ìbarî a chord ors ome other shape on the bas s . I n ins tances li ke these, i t becomes neces sary to flatten the fingers at l eas t tempor ar il y. )

2. Keep your th umb at t he back of t he neck. Whenever poss ible, tr y to avoid br inging your thumb over the top of the neck. T he higher your thumb is , the more inhibited yourr each wil l be for your fr etting fingers , especiall y when playing the lower pitched s tr ings of your bass . A good place to keep thehumb is s omewhere midway at the back of the neck s o you can maximize s tabili ty and reach. (S ee Fi g. 2)

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Although your thumb effectively becomes an anchor for your fr etting hand, you DO NOT want to s queeze hard with it ! T hereshouldnít be any excessive force coming from your thumb when fretting notes on the fingerboard. A good way to test this is tory dropping the thumb off of the neck while your playing. ( S ee Fi g. 3)

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I deall y, you should st il l be able to fret the notes us ing only your other fi nger s . I f youíve ever felt pain i n the thumb j oint or palmof your f r etti ng hand, tr y this test and see jus t how much you are depending on the squeezing force of your thumb. Jus t as theplucki ng hand can benefit fr om using a movable anchor, so can the fr etti ng hand. Whi le you play, tr y allowing your thumb tofr eely s lide over the back of the neck in all dir ections so that i t i s bas icall y ì foll owingî your fr etti ng finger s . T his will ins ure thatyou are staying relaxed and subsequently offer you maximum reach in all positions.

3. Maintain space between your palm and the back of the neck. T he main purpos e of thi s is to maintain consi s tency in hand posi tion, r egardles s of what s tr ing you ar e playing. You wil l noticehat if your palm meets the back of the neck, it naturally pulls your thumb over the top of the neck and turns your fretting fingerso a pos it ion less perpendicular to the s tr ings . (S ee Fi g. 4)

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T his pos it ion makes i t much har der to play with cur ved finger s and contr ibutes to a lack of r each becaus e of the rais ed pos ition ofhe thumb. T o get a feel for a more beneficial hand posi tion, tr y placing your fr etting hand in a relaxed open handed posi tion

away fr om the bas s (S ee Fi g. 5) ,

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and then simply raise your hand to meet the neck of the bass. As your hand meets the instrument, your thumb should naturallymove into posi tion about midway at the back of the neck, and your cur ved finger s should lay natur all y over top of the str ings.(S ee Fig. 6)

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T his is a great bas ic hand posi tion to get used to usi ng, and you will want to maintain this posi tion regardles s of what s tr ings youare playing on.

Here are a couple of other more general points to keep in mi nd that wil l aid you in your technical development as a bas s player .(T hese philosophies can be incorporated into your plucking hand technique, as well ):

Avoid sharp wr ist angles T he impor tance of this can not be overest imated. S harp wr is t angles , combined with tens ion and fatigue, s ignifi cantly contri buteo bass playersí hand injuries, and these injuries can sometimes be irreversible. Although problems such as carpal tunnel

syndrome, repetitive stress injury, and tendonitis are beyond the scope of this particular column, their prevention is aided by theavoidance of exces s ive str ess on the wr is ts . I n gener al, you want to keep your bass at a height that all ows a moderate wri s tangle for both hands . You wil l fi nd that if your bas s hangs exces s ively low, a shar per angle is incur r ed by the wri s t of the fretti nghand. I f you wear your bas s exces s ively high, t he wri s t of your plucki ng hand wil l i ncur the sharper angle. E ven if a player wear shis/her bass somewhere in between, most end up struggling with wrist tension when they are playing in the lowest register of thebass , clos est t o the heads tock. (S ee Fig. 7 )

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I hope that these points wil l help you to get to the next l evel in your playing. Pl eas e remember that not all of these sk il ls can bedeveloped over night. T herefore, it i s vi tally impor tant that you exhibit pati ence as you wor k on these. What we doní t want to dois fall into our old habits out of frustration. Allow yourself the freedom to make mistakes as you are developing, and above allels e, tr y and have a great time playing!

Until next time!

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03 Bass Lessons Adam Nitti - Left Hand

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