In this short video we look at bass picking technique & angles of picking fingers on bass guitar.
Enjoy!
The bow-and-arrow picture
The first thing to watch with your picking fingers is that they don't fold up as they come through the string. Keep just enough tension in the finger to stop it bending in on itself – that one habit tightens up both your tone and your timing. Pete's favourite picture for it: the finger works like a bow and arrow. You load energy into the string, then release it.
The rest stroke
Put pressure into the string and let the finger roll off so it lands – rests – on the next string down (or on the pickup and thumb when you're on the E string). Classical guitarists have used this rest stroke for centuries, and on bass it gives you a full, defined note with almost no wasted motion. Moving to the A string? The thumb hops to the E string as a mute, and the finger rolls off to land on it in exactly the same way.
Meanwhile the fretting hand lies gently across the strings, keeping everything quiet and relaxed – damping is half the secret of a clean sound (more on that in Fretting and Damping for Beginners).
Once the stroke itself feels solid, learn how to colour it – Three Ways to Change Your Picking Finger Tone picks up exactly where this video leaves off.
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