strumming

[Macbethstx]

 

How does that bassit strum so freely with a pick without hitting the other notes. If it's muting how do you mute like that?

[Eric VB]

I dunno, this computer doesn't like YouTube so much. Off hand I'd say it's "practice".

 

I actually prefer Tom's method of strumming, sans pick. Just hold your pointer/first finger together with your thumb as if you had a pick and strum away. Keep tabs on your fingernail wear, though, so you don't get a painful surprise and blood all over your fish. (Hasn't happened so far, but you never know.)

 

I actually used this method at my last rehearsal for "Hit Me With Your Best Shot" because the guitarist didn't show and power chords made the chorus sound fuller and I didn't have a pick handy because I haven't picked up robb.'s habit yet of stashing one in my pickguard.

 

But yeah, there's a lot of muting going on. Especially when I don't practice this technique so much.

 

For more controlled "strumming" I like to pluck double stops with a pair of fingers instead. The sound it yields doesn't always work, but there's a lot less muting to worry about.

 

Better yet is 3-note chords that I can "roll" or arpeggiate. I feel I have a lot more control in that situation.

[Eric VB]

Sorry, there are much better strummers/muters on this list than me. Mostly a combination of palm-heel and fretting fingers (and sometimes thumb! eek!).

[Macbethstx]

well those are just single notes he's playing root note like

 

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|3 3333333

| 3 3333333 5 555555 1 111111

 

I always use a pick and know how to hold it. I just need to know how he strums and only lets the one note ring out so cleanly. You can't hear the muting at all so that's why I was confused if it is muting or not.

 

Sorry, I didn't understand your explanation all too well with the names. Who's Tom and Rob?

[Kramer Ferrington III.]

 

How does that bassit strum so freely with a pick without hitting the other notes. If it's muting how do you mute like that?

 

Well... there's nothing special about that guy. He's not even that good, really.

 

a) if your LH is ok and you practise playing with a pick, you can learn to play like that guy in about a week. Even less if you've come from a guitar background.

 

b) the music is such that if he DOES hit another string, nobody would notice.

 

Sorry, there's no special trickery involved, it's something anybody can do, if they use a pick.

[Macbethstx]

So it's just muting. I'm not saying that guys great but it's a good example of someone doing it constantly.

[JonathanD]

Well, 90% of the notes are on the low E(whatever its tuned to) so lay your left hand over the other strings. By this I mean your finger should be at an angle that allows it to touch the other 3 strings without pressing them down. Octives can also be done like this by pressing down on the root with the index and the octive with the 3rd finger. As someone else said, with this kind of music, you can screw things up bad and still be OK.

Jonathan

[jeremy c]

Tom and Robb are forum members who are frequent posters.

 

It looks to me like he is using his left hand to mute all the strings he doesn't pick. His hand is pretty far away from the strings, I don't think he's hitting any of the muted strings.

I thought I detected him playing a few octaves where he strummed across the strings.

 

I can see he was playing for a sold-out crowd: his mom and dad.

 

Here are some short videos to watch of a few more pick playing guys:

Matt Freeman

 

 

[Macbethstx]

Thanks guys, maybe they those two guys will have some secret tricks that make it easier, but I really think i'm getting the hang of it from what you guys have said.

 

*BTW the description said it was for a school project, or a comment says that on another one of their videos.

[ATM]

Strumming? Come on guys!

 

ATM

[tarkus]

http://www.johnpauljones.com/multimedia.html

 

watch and learn

[Rocky McDougall]

Sorry, I could not tell what notes he was playing. I have never strummed and don't plan to, but if you are strumming, I would think you would have to play 4 notes chords and/or do a lot of muting.

 

Rocky

[Rocky McDougall]

http://www.johnpauljones.com/multimedia.html

 

watch and learn

 

I watched a few of the JPJ clips, I did not see any "strumming"

 

 

Rocky

[The Bear Jew]

I strum my bass from time to time--mostly octaves.

I mute/deaden the unwanted strings with my other left-hand fingers.

It's really not a big deal, since octaves are only two notes with one unused string between them. I'll use my index finger to hold down the root note and my ring finger to hold down the octave, then I use my middle finger to mute the string between these notes. The I generally don't strum full chords formed from the lowest string, whether I'm tuned to "drop D" or not, as the low frequencies often sound kind of like mush and don't please my ear much.

 

But seriously... not a big deal.

[Macbethstx]

I don't use octaves at all. The most I use is just two strings with no octave in the middle. That's not what i'm having trouble with, it's the root notes and how to mute the strings that aren't the note and make it sound good while strumming.

[Rocky McDougall]

Then why strum? Just play the two notes. When plucking with two or three fingers you have a vast varity of choices. With a pick you have just one. Strumming is not a style I would waste any time on learning. IMHO

 

Rocky

[The Bear Jew]

I agree with Rocky to some degree--if you want to play chords made from two strings right next to each other, just don't hit the other strings.

 

You can do that with a pick or your fingers or a drumstick or an iguana or a yak.

 

However, strumming can be a cool thing to know how to do... it's just another tool to use. You never know when it might come in handy. If you want to learn how to do it well, I'm sure you can figure it out if you just screw around with the basic idea for a while.

 

BTW, I've seen Les Claypool (of Primus) do a lot of strummy-type things in his playing--no pick.

[Rocky McDougall]

Sounds like a good way to break strings and scratch a beautiful finish, while your making a horrible sound.

 

Rocky

[yourlord]

Strumming like that guy was doing has more to do with show than tone. He was probably eating at least 1 to 2 extra strings on each strum, and he probably wasn't even muting them that well. It's just hard to hear it through the guitar. They were playing an amazingly simple song (only 4 notes C-G-A-F?) anyway.

 

I've never touched a bass with a pick and I could play that better than he did using one and look a lot more professional doing it.

 

Sorry if this was anyone's favorite band (the band being covered or the band doing the covering) and I hurt any feelings.

 

 

 

[The Bear Jew]

1. I have never, ever broken strings while strumming, and I play hard. It's all about control.

2. My pickguard serves two pretty basic purposes--namely, looking pretty and guarding the finish of my bass against the terrors of being hit by a pick. I think it does both rather admirably.

3. "Horrible sound" is in the ear of the listener.

 

Another bassist who is quite "strummy"--Paul d'Amour, Tool's first bassist... who uses a pick.

[Thomas Wilburn]

Sounds like a good way to break strings and scratch a beautiful finish, while your making a horrible sound.

 

Rocky

 

This is not true in any way.

 

I sometimes strum with a pick, but most of the time I hit the strings with the first two fingers of my right hand, extended slightly farther than the others (like an imaginary pick). On the downstrokes I get a click from my fingernails, and on the upstrokes I get a softer, bassier sound. It's possible to use this to get a bunch of different sounds out of the bass without having to pick up a pick, and it's easy to switch back to fingerstyle instantly. I've never broken a string.

 

Strumming's just another way to play the bass. Not everyone will use it as much as I do, but it's a good technique to have around. Teaches a lot about chord formation, too, if your theory's rusty like mine.

 

I find that inverted chords are helpful for avoiding the mush that CMDN talked about.

[Eric VB]

I sometimes strum with a pick, but most of the time I hit the strings with the first two fingers of my right hand, extended slightly farther than the others (like an imaginary pick). On the downstrokes I get a click from my fingernails, and on the upstrokes I get a softer, bassier sound. It's possible to use this to get a bunch of different sounds out of the bass without having to pick up a pick, and it's easy to switch back to fingerstyle instantly. I've never broken a string.

This is of course how John Entwistle (The Who) and Geddy Lee (Rush) do some of their really fast runs. So not just for strumming chords, as I'm sure you're already aware.

[Eric VB]

I find that inverted chords are helpful for avoiding the mush that CMDN talked about.

Exactly! First inversion rules for triads! Easier to finger, too.

 

In general I only like 4-string chords (on a 4-stringer) if it's some sort of E chord. That way I can play the E string open and it functions as a *gasp* root bass note! Imagine that! [Drama added for humor and not intended as a snipey comment towards my esteemed colleague, Mr. Wilburn.]

[The Bear Jew]

Yeah, I know about the inversions... I don't use them too often, as they sometimes like to argue with the chords the guitarists use. At some point, I had figured out a way to play almost every song I know with bass chords. Good for the theory bones? Yes. Useful in real-life applications for what I do as a musician? No. But I did it.

 

BTW, RicBass, a similar type of great, big, giant 4-string chord can be made with "drop-d" tuning:

Open low D, fretted D on the A string (fifth fret), open D (the middle one), fretted D on the G string (seventh fret).

 

Try it sometime--it's not so much a "chord" as much as it is a way to make every container of liquid in the room fall over.

 

It's also great for strumming.

[jeremy c]

Let's not debate about the worthiness of a pick again.

http://images.dpchallenge.com/images_challenge/157/47063.jpg

 

Playing more than one note at a time can be very useful. You certainly will get noticed when you do it. It's nice to use to fill a big hole, or fill up a small band in certain parts of certain songs.

 

Since I don't usually play with a pick, when I strum I usually use the back of my fingernails. That's very different the way I usually play chords, which is with my thumb and two fingers, just like a guitarist.

 

I was actually working on bossa nova chord voicings and the proper rhythms to play them with a bass student last night.

[yourlord]

Depends on the sound I'm going for. I use the back of my fingers in a downward strum, I use the front of my fingers in an upward strum. Sometimes I space my fingers and do a double strum in one motion (index followed by middle at 1 or 2 string spacings, etc), sometimes I use 1 digit per string and play each note simultaneously (not technically a strum, but perfect for playing chords without having to strum across muted strings).. You get the picture.. There are a lot of options with your fingers..

 

I'm not seeing where this turned into a pick worthiness thread. Picks are very very good for strumming.

 

 

[cblinkdude182]

Hey guys, I know most of you have been alluding to the fact that you don't like this song and I will admit on the youtube of this band it does not get done justice. I personally like Blink 182 and this song, even though the bass player (Mark Hoppus who recently was in Bass Player Magazine), is not that technical it still is good music *imo*.

 

To regards, I would agree he probably is hitting multiple strings and it probably wouldnt make a differenc with their harsh sound.

[_Sweet Willie_]

You can do that with a pick or your fingers or a drumstick or an iguana or a yak.

 

 

When you bring an iguana or a yak to a gig with which to strum, do you bring spares -- in case you drop one or want to toss them into the crowd at the end of a particularly slammin' performance?

 

Just curious.

 

Peace.

--Dub $$

 

[jeremy c]

Alice in Wonderland's flamingo would be good enough for me.

 

If you wish for one, it will appear.

[Kramer Ferrington III.]

1. I have never, ever broken strings while strumming, and I play hard. It's all about control.

2. My pickguard serves two pretty basic purposes--namely, looking pretty and guarding the finish of my bass against the terrors of being hit by a pick. I think it does both rather admirably.

3. "Horrible sound" is in the ear of the listener.

 

+100

 

I tend to do a lot of strumming.

 

I like to give my guitar player a bit more support during choruses and so on. If I can throw in some power chords and bolster the sound, where's the harm?

 

I agree that using all four strings in shaping a chord can sound a tad muddy (with the notable exception of the neat E major you can do with 0-7-9-9) but they're always useful to have up your sleeve.

 

Also, I've always been fond of triggered, Giorgio Moroder type basslines (think Giorgio Moroder and/or Sigue Sigue Sputnik) and strumming+pick makes that stuff a LOT easier.

 

And yes, if the good Lord hadn't meant us to strum, he wouldn't have given us pickguards, would he?