light or HARD

[VictorClarke]

Hey, thanks to everyone who helped me out with my string dilemma. A new question though...this one is more of technique. I was jammin around earlier...and seeing as it is 1 a.m. almost anything would be earlier...and I noticed that if I played the strings lighter with my right hand I could make stretches and play at higher tempos I couldn't play before. So, should I resort to playing lighter with my fingers, or is it just the occasional nightly disease that gives me amazing chops??

[The Geoff]

Play light - let the amp do the work.

 

G.

[Fred TBP]

I agree! It also places less stress on your hand.

[davio]

Less stress on your hand = better and faster playing.

 

Play lighter and turn your amp up if you can't hear yourself anymore. You'll also be able to control your volume and tone quite a bit through your playing rather than your bass and amp knobs.

[g.]

Play hard, play always below the fifth fret, play only roots with the occasional fifth, and never play fast. What good is that? Become a guitarist if you want to be a musician.

 

 

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[g.]

That said, fluency is easier if you aren't beating the bass. Just use hard when you want to place accents, or want that sound... or have absolutely no other choice ; }

 

For some styles its nice to have a wide dynamic range, of course. Let the amp help.

[PhilMan99]

Maybe I just have "wussy hands", but I get much better tone if I squeeze hard(er) with my left (fretboard) hand. Without that, I get some sort of buzzing that I can't identify, and generally "weak" sound.

 

For plucking the string, I prefer the sound of a light touch.

[The Geoff]

Sounds like you need a higher action.

 

I can get that effect if I *don't* finger in the middle of the fretspace.

 

G.

[Phil W]

Err . . . dynamics anyone? - I know greenboy metioned this. Fluency on bass guitar requires control of both left and right hand finger(generalising here!) pressures. Particularly on fretless, you need to vary your left hand pressure to get the expressive tone you want and your picking hand pressure to vary the dynamics of the song (when needed). I find it best to play soft unless the dynamics or desired sound require digging in. In a line you'll want to emphasise and stress certain notes and hit accents - if you're playing the bass hard to start with, you're not using the dynamic range you have available.

I've had to work very hard on this. For years I played way too hard with my right hand - mostly just straining to be heard! It took me a lot of practice to get the softer touch. Sometimes, at gigs when the band volume increases as the night progresses; I forget myself and pluck hard - better to just turn up and play softer!

It's good to practice playing a line or a melody while varying the dynamics and accents to get these things fully under control.

[lug]

This is why I recommend a gazillion watt amp/speaker combination. I used to have to really dig in in a band situation when I was underpowered. It totally changed my playing dynamic. Once I was sufficiantly powered, I could play with a lighter touch.

[Stackimo]

Much easier said than done. I wish I could get a better hold on this as well. I have little problem when I practice, but when I play with the band, the genre of music we play usually brings out a more aggressive style.

 

Thank you for the healthy reminder.

[Bassplayerjoe]

Originally posted by Grandad Geoff:

Play light - let the amp do the work.

 

G.

I definatley agree with that.