Originally published September 14, 2014, lightly edited for clarity.
As with my last blog on Left Hand Positioning, the quality of your bass guitar playing in executing fast complex material will ultimately come down to efficiency of the way your right (plucking) hand works on the instrument. For all you lefties out there, just mirror-image this information. I think it just really comes down to common sense in the choices that you make for yourself. The goal should be to get the right hand to move and deliver the sounds that you want in the most efficient and relaxed way as is possible. It’s also important to know that there will be situations that will leave you no choice but to break every rule in your book to play a certain piece of music. Just make part of your practice time focused on fingering choices, try different ways of playing something. The following video shows exercises that prepare your right hand for this way of practicing. Right-hand technique is one of the fundamentals I teach. For personalized guidance on right-hand fingering, online bass lessons via Zoom are available.
