Three Picking Techniques That Your Bass Teacher Can Show You
Working with an online teacher who will help you learn how to play the bass guitar can open the door to a lifetime of music for you. If you have no previous experience with the bass, your teacher will slowly introduce you to a variety of beginner-level techniques that you can implement. While you'll be excited to learn what to do with your fretting hand, you also need to learn how to use your picking hand. There are a number of picking techniques that your teacher will show you, including the following.
Using A Pick
A lot of bass guitar players use a pick to pluck the strings, so this is something that you'll learn in your online bass lessons. Your teacher will show you how to correctly hold the pick and even make some suggestions about what size and thickness of pick you should use. There are some advantages to playing a bass guitar with a pick. For example, if you favor fast music, it's often easier for a beginner to hit the strings quickly with a pick instead of with their fingers. You may also find that using a pick allows you to more accurately make contact with the strings that you want to hit.
Using A Single Finger
Your bass guitar teacher will likely introduce you to other picking techniques to help you become more of a well-rounded player. One technique is using a single finger on your picking hand to pluck the strings. This is a technique that is easy for beginners to learn and can be effective when you're playing slow music or music that doesn't have a lot of note changes in quick succession. There are different approaches to using a single finger. For example, you might learn how to play some rhythms with your index finger and other rhythms using your middle finger.
Using Multiple Digits
Another technique that you'll learn in time is how to use multiple digits to pluck the strings. Many bass players favor this approach, and your teacher will introduce you to it slowly so that you don't feel overwhelmed. For example, you'll often use your thumb to pluck the lowest string of the bass guitar while using your other digits to pluck the other strings. This approach requires some degree of coordination, but regular lessons and plenty of practice will get you comfortable with it. You'll be impressed at your ability to play quickly by using this technique.
Contact a provider of online bass lessons to learn more.