# Picking with three fingers



## Zeetwig (Nov 21, 2012)

Greetings fellow bass players 

What's the correct technique when picking with three fingers? I start with the index finger, then middle then ring then back to middle and then start over, but my ring finger sort of stays on the string above (the E string if I'm picking the A string) until I pick with the index finger again (i.e. I lift both the middle and the ring finger at the same time at each start of the above described "order of picking").

Also, how far apart should the fingers be? Should I pick with the hand slightly tilted towards the pinky side of the hand, the other way around, or completely straight? My ring finger is slightly longer than my index finger.

Should I exercise the ring finger only for some time, or use the ring and index finger and leave out the middle (and then add the middle later)?


All help is appreciated


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## jeleopard (Nov 21, 2012)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K3tTp7tgAbI

If this dude isn't your god, you're doing it wrong.


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## InfinityCollision (Nov 21, 2012)

I find that ring-middle-index-repeat is my fastest and most comfortable option. If something else works better for you, more power to you. I do sometimes break out of that pattern if it better facilitates a line I'm playing, but generally and especially for faster playing that's my pattern of choice.

My wrist is usually roughly parallel to the surface of the instrument unless I'm going for a specific tonal effect.


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## SirMyghin (Nov 21, 2012)

Different folks like different finger combos, Sheehan and that Webster fellow like to use a 3-2-1, some folks like a 3-2-1-2, or even a 1-2-3-2 for some people. To practice it, practice it. I find a 3-2-1-2 preferable to a 3-2-1 but don't mesh well with 3 finger styles overall to the extent I reverted back to playing with 2 fingers. 

It is kind of funny, in that I can play much faster, and have greater endurance... with 2 fingers. Using the 3rd seems to take oodles more energy and cost some economy of motion (esp due to the shared muscle between ring and pinky).

Just my preference here, I have never aspired to play 16ths at 180 for 5 minutes at a time though. I can play about 140 for 2 fingers, and burst up to 160 or so.


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## Zeetwig (Nov 21, 2012)

jeleopard said:


> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K3tTp7tgAbI
> 
> If this dude isn't your god, you're doing it wrong.



 Wow! That's what I'm talking about! I haven't listened much to Canibal Corpse, but this guy here is almost as awesome

Look around 4:02

(Btw do you see if he's playing 1,2,3 or 1,2,3,2 (or reverse)?



InfinityCollision said:


> My wrist is usually roughly parallel to the surface of the instrument unless I'm going for a specific tonal effect.



Parallel?... :S Maybe my english is not up to par but isn't perpendicular the right word (normal/90° to the strings instead of, well, parallel with them)...? Or? (Just to get things straight)



InfinityCollision said:


> I find that ring-middle-index-repeat is my fastest and most comfortable option. If something else works better for you, more power to you. I do sometimes break out of that pattern if it better facilitates a line I'm playing, but generally and especially for faster playing that's my pattern of choice.





SirMyghin said:


> Different folks like different finger combos, Sheehan and that Webster fellow like to use a 3-2-1, some folks like a 3-2-1-2, or even a 1-2-3-2 for some people. To practice it, practice it. I find a 3-2-1-2 preferable to a 3-2-1 but don't mesh well with 3 finger styles overall to the extent I reverted back to playing with 2 fingers.
> 
> It is kind of funny, in that I can play much faster, and have greater endurance... with 2 fingers. Using the 3rd seems to take oodles more energy and cost some economy of motion (esp due to the shared muscle between ring and pinky).
> 
> Just my preference here, I have never aspired to play 16ths at 180 for 5 minutes at a time though. I can play about 140 for 2 fingers, and burst up to 160 or so.



I'm decent at ring-middle-index playing, however I always thought that it would only work for triplets or when playing a 6/8 or something like that, but as the Webster guy showed, accenting with different fingers also works. 

A 1,2,3,2 or ring-middle-index-middle picking style (or reversed) would naturally be a 4/4, but do you think that it is worth learning both?

I am not a pure death metal guy, but I like to throw in some death metal elements here and there in my songs, and I do tremolo pick a lot on guitar. Also, although you don't use it all the time it is nice to be able to do it for the moments when you do need it, be it because you're running out of stamina with 2 fingers or because the tempo is too high in a certain part of the song.


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## SirMyghin (Nov 21, 2012)

^^

One thing I forgot to note is I am terribly out of practice on bass  I only practice 4 or 5 times in 6 weeks  (so I could probably be a bunch faster with 2 fingers). I tried 3 finger when I used to practice more, but meh, didn't like it. My practice time kind of tapered off when I stopped playing out (as I play bass out, and it is my primary).


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## InfinityCollision (Nov 21, 2012)

Zeetwig said:


> Parallel?... :S Maybe my english is not up to par but isn't perpendicular the right word (normal/90° to the strings instead of, well, parallel with them)...? Or? (Just to get things straight)


Relative to the surface of the instrument. Phrased differently, I have minimal horizontal tilt relative to the plane through which the strings run. If there is any tilt in my default position, it might be a few degrees rotation inward (toward the neck).



> A 1,2,3,2 or ring-middle-index-middle picking style (or reversed) would naturally be a 4/4, but do you think that it is worth learning both?


It all comes down to what your hands are comfortable with. I did try to learn a four-stroke pattern a while back, but I wasn't able to get it to a point where I could play faster that way than with the 321 pattern. If I needed to move beyond 321, I'd have to incorporate my thumb somehow or do a mix of up and downstrokes a la Joey Eppard's technique.


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## Zeetwig (Nov 21, 2012)

SirMyghin said:


> ^^
> 
> One thing I forgot to note is I am terribly out of practice on bass  I only practice 4 or 5 times in 6 weeks  (so I could probably be a bunch faster with 2 fingers). I tried 3 finger when I used to practice more, but meh, didn't like it. My practice time kind of tapered off when I stopped playing out (as I play bass out, and it is my primary).



Haha well any help is better than none, and you HAVE played base, thus you can still give advice 



InfinityCollision said:


> Relative to the surface of the instrument. Phrased differently, I have minimal horizontal tilt relative to the plane through which the strings run. If there is any tilt in my default position, it might be a few degrees rotation inward (toward the neck).



Whoops sorry I didn't read your first post thoroughly enough :S I read "parallel to the strings" somehow :S Of course you're right, I apologize. Better go and give my eyes and brain a slap to wake them up 



InfinityCollision said:


> It all comes down to what your hands are comfortable with. I did try to learn a four-stroke pattern a while back, but I wasn't able to get it to a point where I could play faster that way than with the 321 pattern. If I needed to move beyond 321, I'd have to incorporate my thumb somehow or do a mix of up and downstrokes a la Joey Eppard's technique.



Do you know of a bass player that utilizes a 1,2,3,2-pattern, or is it much more common (and thus probably easier) to just use a 1,2,3-pattern (or reversed)?


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## musicaldeath (Nov 21, 2012)

Steve Di Gorgio uses the 3-2-1-2 method. He has a PDF of a lesson which helps with that on his site. I tried it for a bit, it works, but I just found 3-2-1 more comfortable. I watched that AW video and just spent a while practicing accenting the first note in the groups i was playing. That seemed to help and I got further with that than the 3-2-1-2 method. Not saying it's bad, because it clearly works, just not for me.


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## SirMyghin (Nov 21, 2012)

Just because I have wanted to use this forever. Sort of an emphasis on how you really need to find your comfortable areas on bass. So many different picking styles on it (much like guitar, but more noticable due to the finger mechanics). We all do it a little different. Stanley Clark for example is 2 fingers when ripping it up, but he strikes on the pull AND the push. Doesn't get much faster then him, and Geddy of course, also 1 finger, push and pull nowadays.


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## Zeetwig (Nov 21, 2012)

musicaldeath said:


> Steve Di Gorgio uses the 3-2-1-2 method. He has a PDF of a lesson which helps with that on his site. I tried it for a bit, it works, but I just found 3-2-1 more comfortable. I watched that AW video and just spent a while practicing accenting the first note in the groups i was playing. That seemed to help and I got further with that than the 3-2-1-2 method. Not saying it's bad, because it clearly works, just not for me.



I'll try some 3,2,1 / 1,2,3 with accents on every 1 in each bar and see if it works for me. I guess that as long as something works, why try to do it in another way? 



SirMyghin said:


> ...Stanley Clark for example is 2 fingers when ripping it up, but he strikes on the pull AND the push. Doesn't get much faster then him, and Geddy of course, also 1 finger, push and pull nowadays.



What do you mean with "on the _pull_ and _push_"?

Yeah I guess that everyone have their own style of picking. Just look at Victor Wooten, Steve Harris and Jeroen Thesseling for instance.


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## SirMyghin (Nov 21, 2012)

^^

look at how you pluck a note on bass, think of the traditional way as 'pull' now do the opposite, or flick your finger extended, that is what I am calling 'push'. Kind of like how double thumbing has an up and a down, and the up uses the nail side of the thumb.


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## Zeetwig (Nov 21, 2012)

SirMyghin said:


> ^^
> 
> look at how you pluck a note on bass, think of the traditional way as 'pull' now do the opposite, or flick your finger extended, that is what I am calling 'push'. Kind of like how double thumbing has an up and a down, and the up uses the nail side of the thumb.



Aha ok 

Is this guy using it? Check around 3:55


(Don't know why but it was this video that first sprang to mind when I read your previous post - I am a metal guy, but I blame my brother for knowing some jazz bands  )


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## Sepultorture (Nov 21, 2012)

i like the Alex Webster method, moving ring, middle, then index. going 3,2,1,3 / 2,1,3,2 / 1,3,2,1, always accenting on the 4th hit

works for me, but as always, different strokes


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## cGoEcYk (Nov 21, 2012)

To the OP- my suggestion would be to just spend tons of time on this stuff and find out what is comfortable and what produces the sounds you want and eventually things will fall into place. I have found that there are no hard and fast rules for bass techniques. You see all kinds of awesome players and there are tons of variations on the types fine points you are interested in. Among other things, people have different sized/shaped hands and fingers.

Generally I like to attack with all 3 fingers in close to the same spot (not wider than the width of my 3 fingers and my fingers are on the narrow side), mainly because it gives a more consistent sound.

I wouldn't rest your ring on a string. I rest my thumb on the string "above" to mute it and just feel balanced (I use a 5 string but it works on 4 too). Look up "floating thumb" technique.



Sepultorture said:


> i like the Alex Webster method


Not impressed by it (though he's an awesome bassist and I got his book to check it out)... it boils down to a repeated 3-2-1 pattern. I guess I'd need to spend a lot of time on it (like months/a year) to see if you can really get awesome sounding accents that way. My preference is to use a 4-note pattern for 16ths. 



musicaldeath said:


> Steve Di Gorgio uses the 3-2-1-2 method.


For fast 16ths what I do is R-M-I-M/I-M-R-M... best of both worlds! 

Every rhythmic/accent pattern that I work on with 3 fingers, I also work on the inverse of (so triplets as R-M-I, also try I-M-R). The more crazy ways you can do things the better, I think it ups your overall skill level.

I have actually been developing my RH pretty consistently over the last 10+ years. It's a never ending journey and I love every step of it.

Don't forget about accents and muting techniques once you get a little more comfortable.


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## InfinityCollision (Nov 21, 2012)

Zeetwig said:


> Aha ok
> 
> Is this guy using it? Check around 3:55
> 
> ...




Think so. A similar example, albeit non-bass, would be this (0:30ish)



More flamenco-influenced really, but the idea is the same. As I alluded to earlier, you can extend this technique to three or more fingers if so inclined.


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## Schizo Sapiens (Nov 22, 2012)

It seems like it depends on preference.

I rarely play with 3 fingers, but when I do I use 3-1-2-1 pattern, even with triplets - (3-1-2)-(1-3-1)-(2-1-3)-(1-2-1).


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## Veldar (Nov 23, 2012)

Alex Webster form cannibal corpse has a book on it Extreme Metal Bass (Book/CD): Alex Webster, Cannibal Corpse: 9781423497158: Amazon.com: Books.


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## EschatonIII (Nov 24, 2012)

jeleopard said:


> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K3tTp7tgAbI
> 
> If this dude isn't your god, you're doing it wrong.



Have to agree here. I'd kill to have half of Alex's bass skills.


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## Radau (Nov 25, 2012)

Sepultorture said:


> i like the Alex Webster method, moving ring, middle, then index. going 3,2,1,3 / 2,1,3,2 / 1,3,2,1, always accenting on the 4th hit
> 
> works for me, but as always, different strokes



That's usually what I find comfortable too


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## Zeetwig (Nov 25, 2012)

Tried playing 3-2-1-repeat and moving the accent from finger to finger, but it felt kinda strange and if left unchecked the fingers reverted back to a 3-2-1-2-repeat pattern :S However, it was possible to play much faster using 3-2-1 than 3-2-1-2, but it was less controlled and more sloppy.

Maybe I should just use a pick on the parts where I need the extra speed


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## BADASSBASS137 (Nov 25, 2012)

if your playing 3-2-1-2 then your middle finger is working twice as hard as all of your other fingers (and playing just as frequently as if you were only using 2 fingers) the way i learned to play with 3 fingers is that the fingers on your left hand line up with the fingers on your right hand. so if your fingering a note with your first finger on your left hand then you pluck with the first finger on your right and so on.
if your playing scales with 3 fingers per string it lines up well (except that you fret with your pinky you pluck with your ring finger) obviously this wont work perfectly all the time but its what feels most natural to me. with this theres no set pattern its just mimicing the left hand. ill try to find a video to explain this a little better. if your doing this then you should aslo practice lining up patterns of 3 on your right hand to patterns of 4 on your left hand or just 3 fingers on your left hand accenting every 4 notes


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## BADASSBASS137 (Nov 25, 2012)

also im not saying that my way is right, its just what works best for me and feels most comfortable for me. its really a matter of preference as there really is no absolute right way to play the bass


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## Stealthdjentstic (Nov 25, 2012)

I've been trying 3-2-1-2, but will probably end up using a pick.


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## SirMyghin (Nov 25, 2012)

BADASSBASS137 said:


> if your playing 3-2-1-2 then your middle finger is working twice as hard as all of your other fingers (and playing just as frequently as if you were only using 2 fingers) the way i learned to play with 3 fingers is that the fingers on your left hand line up with the fingers on your right hand. so if your fingering a note with your first finger on your left hand then you pluck with the first finger on your right and so on.
> if your playing scales with 3 fingers per string it lines up well (except that you fret with your pinky you pluck with your ring finger) obviously this wont work perfectly all the time but its what feels most natural to me. with this theres no set pattern its just mimicing the left hand. ill try to find a video to explain this a little better. if your doing this then you should aslo practice lining up patterns of 3 on your right hand to patterns of 4 on your left hand or just 3 fingers on your left hand accenting every 4 notes



You win most eccentric picking method but I can see a lot of ways that becomes a problem very fast. You never want your hands depending on each other, you want them independent but coordinated.


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## TemjinStrife (Nov 25, 2012)

I do 3-2-1-3-2-1 because it's like drumming my fingers on a table, and is very easy to do at speed.


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## BADASSBASS137 (Nov 25, 2012)

the point of it is more of just not thinking about your right hand. with the other patterns you spend too much time trying to figure out how to play what you need to with the set fingering. the way im explaining is meant to just let your fingers play whats natural with out thinking about it too much or over complicate it. i think its for more coordinated than depentend. maybe im just not explaining it well enough


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## MassNecrophagia (Nov 26, 2012)

BADASSBASS137 said:


> the point of it is more of just not thinking about your right hand. with the other patterns you spend too much time trying to figure out how to play what you need to with the set fingering. the way im explaining is meant to just let your fingers play whats natural with out thinking about it too much or over complicate it. i think its for more coordinated than depentend. maybe im just not explaining it well enough


This.
If adding your ring finger isn't making things easier (in the long run), it's not working for you.

I also use 3-2-1-3-2-1 and don't like the 3-2-1-2 because it doesn't work for me. Try everything, see what floats your pickle.


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## Zeetwig (Nov 26, 2012)

BADASSBASS137 said:


> if your playing 3-2-1-2 then your middle finger is working twice as hard as all of your other fingers (and playing just as frequently as if you were only using 2 fingers) the way i learned to play with 3 fingers is that the fingers on your left hand line up with the fingers on your right hand. so if your fingering a note with your first finger on your left hand then you pluck with the first finger on your right and so on.
> if your playing scales with 3 fingers per string it lines up well (except that you fret with your pinky you pluck with your ring finger) obviously this wont work perfectly all the time but its what feels most natural to me. with this theres no set pattern its just mimicing the left hand. ill try to find a video to explain this a little better. if your doing this then you should aslo practice lining up patterns of 3 on your right hand to patterns of 4 on your left hand or just 3 fingers on your left hand accenting every 4 notes



But if you're just playing straight 16ths, how do you pick?



MassNecrophagia said:


> This.
> If adding your ring finger isn't making things easier (in the long run), it's not working for you.
> 
> I also use 3-2-1-3-2-1 and don't like the 3-2-1-2 because it doesn't work for me. Try everything, see what floats your pickle.



Yeah I guess


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## Necris (Nov 26, 2012)

I tried out 3-2-1 and 3-2-1-2 but ended up shifting to playing Thumb-1-2-3-Thumb-1-2-3 etc. in the end, since I find that more comfortable. It also has quite a few benefits, since you can minimize movement when string skipping and playing arpeggios.


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## Zeetwig (Nov 26, 2012)

Necris said:


> I tried out 3-2-1 and 3-2-1-2 but ended up shifting to playing Thumb-1-2-3-Thumb-1-2-3 etc. in the end, since I find that more comfortable. It also has quite a few benefits, since you can minimize movement when string skipping and playing arpeggios.



*Ponderface* Hmm interesting. How exactly do you play with the thumb? Just normal slap or more of a picking motion?


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## Necris (Nov 26, 2012)

More of a picking motion, it's the same technique that Matthew Garrison uses.

Dominique Di Piazza uses it as well.
It takes some getting used to in the beginning, but I've found it to be the most comfortable and the most economical in terms of movement.


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## LordCashew (Nov 26, 2012)

^ Love that Garrison technique. I sometimes use Thumb-3-2-1 which is a classical guitar tremolo pattern. For my hand, it feels like a more natural motion than his thumb-1-2-3. But it sounds more fluid... like classical guitar tremolo lol.

The percussive stuff in the video is awesome! Makes me want to play around with that technique a little. Thanks for posting!


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## InfinityCollision (Nov 26, 2012)

Necris said:


> More of a picking motion, it's the same technique that Matthew Garrison uses.
> 
> Dominique Di Piazza uses it as well.
> It takes some getting used to in the beginning, but I've found it to be the most comfortable and the most economical in terms of movement.




That's impressive. I've been working on playing T-3-2-1 on a single string and in melodic shapes the past few months, but I can't get it that fast or fluid yet. It really is quite economical though.


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## angus (Nov 27, 2012)

cGoEcYk said:


> I wouldn't rest your ring on a string. I rest my thumb on the string "above" to mute it and just feel balanced (I use a 5 string but it works on 4 too). Look up "floating thumb" technique.



What you described is the opposite of floating thumb technique. Floating thumb technique would have your thumb resting flat across all strings below the one you are playing, whereas you are describing just resting your thumb stationary on the higher string. Not the same thing, nor the same effect. 

I think I have some pictures I posted of the difference a couple years back. I'll see if I can find them.


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## angus (Nov 27, 2012)

Ok, crappy pictures, but this is what floating thumb looks like. These were posted here like 3-4 years ago.

The second-to-last picture is actually out of place- that looks like mid-classical-guitar-motion shape, a la Garrison (which is how I normally play). I don't know why that picture is there.


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## Zeetwig (Nov 27, 2012)

I'm gonna try T-3-2-1.  That's the way I drum my fingers on a table, and it feels really natural to me, and is fast and controlled. Gonna try it on the bass tomorrow 

Also, I've always understood the "floating thumb" technique as when you don'y anchor the thumb at the lowest string but follow the plucking fingers to that it always rests on the string above the string being plucked. Well, you learn something new every day  Gonna try the real floating thumb tomorrow to


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## LordCashew (Nov 27, 2012)

Zeetwig said:


> Also, I've always understood the "floating thumb" technique as when you don'y anchor the thumb at the lowest string but follow the plucking fingers to that it always rests on the string above the string being plucked.



Same here. There seems to be a lack of consensus on what "floating thumb" is specifically. 

I was under the impression that the common "floating thumb" was what you describe, where the thumb is always anchored but "floats" from string to string following the plucking fingers. Then the "true floating thumb," as I was told, involves the thumb not actually resting on the bass but literally floating in the air. This was supposed to give the right hand the most freedom of movement and the least strain but totally lacks in the muting department. Again, this is all "what I was told." There are probably plenty of differing opinions out there.

The variation illustrated in the pictures above is actually new to me. It looks like the ultimate for muting on basses with extra strings. However, in putting that much of the thumb on the string, the hand assumes a flatter angle relative to the bass, which is going to deprive it of some plucking power and/or alter the angle of the plucking motion. Certainly looks like a valid approach though, and I can see why some people would prefer it. I'll definitely check it out, thanks for sharing!


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## angus (Nov 27, 2012)

The method in the pictures is what "floating thumb" originally referred to- your thumb literally floats, laying flat across all of the strings lower than the one you are playing, muting all of them. String higher than the one you are plucking get muted by the left hand. 

It definitely doesn't cost me anything in the plucking power, digging in capability or substantially affect plucking angle (you could do it without having the same hand position I use). The biggest thing in the beginning is making sure your arm position above your right wrist is good. 

The result, though, is no string ring, ever. It's a huge pet peeve of mine. 

When I get a camera, I'll make a video demonstrating it so you can visualize the differences in the three methods described in the last few posts.


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## Zeetwig (Dec 19, 2012)

Sorry for the late reply, lots of things to do 

However I have had plenty of time to try different methods of picking with three or more fingers, and I have finally settled for the 3-2-1-3-2-1. I tried using doubles with each finger (on the push and pull), but it was hard to play even and powerful with that method. I also tried thumb-3-2-1 (as that's the order I drum my fingers on the table when I do so), and it could probably work if you spend a lot of time on it. The problem was that the hand crooked up in a strange angle to allow the thumb to slap or push the same string as the other three fingers, and the end result was that all the notes were rather weak. I had some problems with just hitting one string as well, and all in all it felt a bit unnatural. As I said, it could probably work, and I found that it worked quite well on thin guitar strings. However you would probably have to spend quite some time on getting it right.

So, in the end it was the 3-2-1 method that suited me best. Although I did not like it at first since there's a displacement when playing even-division notes, after some practice it felt better, and it yielded far better results much faster than the other methods. I can already play decently at my two-finger top speed with this method, and it feels like a lot of improvement can be achieved in no time 


Thanks for the advice, help and input guys!  Good luck to all of you! Cheers


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## Ryan-ZenGtr- (Dec 19, 2012)

I play a 6 string bass and use 3 fingers with a floating thumb mute, for picking.

I've gravitated to a pick, when convenient, from being a finger style purist. For the Tech metal precision triplets and complex patterns, picks are good for that kind of thing.


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## InfinityCollision (Dec 19, 2012)

I find that T-3-2-1 benefits from a bit of arm motion. You get a sort of push-pull motion, forward with the thumb and then back again on the 3-2-1.


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## angus (Dec 20, 2012)

Arm motion?


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## Cuddles (Jan 3, 2013)

i could never get use to losing a beat just doing 321 321 321 so i adopted a flamenco method of 321 and back up with the 1 with the nail completing the 4 it made my life easier and felt i was more consistent and not on the border of a triplet and standard 16ths or 8th you can also do the 21 up 21 very fluid moment and very conservative of energy


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## InfinityCollision (Jan 3, 2013)

angus said:


> Arm motion?



Just enough to bring the thumb into the string's plane. Probably less than an inch of travel total, but I wasn't happy with the results when I tried to keep my hand perpendicular to the string when using T-3-2-1.


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## SirMyghin (Jan 3, 2013)

InfinityCollision said:


> Just enough to bring the thumb into the string's plane. Probably less than an inch of travel total, but I wasn't happy with the results when I tried to keep my hand perpendicular to the string when using T-3-2-1.



When I have tried to use thumb and fingers on the same string I had similar needs. something to do with hand shape overall, I'd wager.


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## theoctopus (Jan 3, 2013)

I wasn't able to find it, but somewhere on YouTube is a video of Gary Willis talking about his fingering technique in an old training VHS. He's an incredible bassist (and teacher, if you ever have the pleasure of being one of his students), and his fingering method is unlike any other. He plays with all 4 fingers, and uses the next finger to mute the string that was just played by the previous finger (if that makes any sense). He does this to avoid fret buzz caused by muting the string by releasing the fret on the fretting hand. Then that next finger plucks the string, and the one after that mutes it. So forth and so on. That way all of the notes are distinct and clean. I never managed to wrap my mind around it, but watching him play was really, really incredible.


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## CaptainLuckeyBeard (Jan 28, 2013)

Its definitely a technique you need to just sit down and work on, starting slowly and building up speed over time. Eventually you will find a niche for it and you'll be able to drop into it naturally and with out too much thought. I actually end up going 3-2-1-2 / 1-3-2-1 / 3-2-1-2 etc pattern. It gives me more control over my timing and allows me to be more accurate. On really crazy lines, I'll drop my pinkie down and go 4-3-2-1 / 2-1-2-4 / 3-2-1-2 etc. It's really odd and a lot of people don't like it, but it works for me. I've also seen people use their thumb instead of their pinkie so it hits on a down stroke after your index finger. Either way, it comes back to sitting down and figuring out what works best for you


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## abandonist (Jan 28, 2013)

if I really need to kick in some speed I play push/pull with 2 fingers. alternating 2-1 and then 2-1 again with a flick. Using the nail on the "down stroke". Other than that I just use 2 fingers, unless the line necessitates a 3-2-flick kind of thing.


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