Electric Bass Guitars, what you need to know

May 17, 2010 - PRLog -- Strings are commonly plucked with the index and middle fingers (with variations of all fingers being used). One very influential Motown Era bassist, James Jamerson uniquely called his index finger as "The Hook" since it is the only finger he used for plucking.

Xaviera Arata Editor of the  Learn To Play The Guitar  website -- http://www.LearnToPlayTheGuitar.tv -- pointed out;

“…There are also variations in which bassists rest their thumb…” Added Xaviera Arata

It may be placed on the top edge of one of the pickups or on the side of the fret board. This is very common among bassists having upright bass influence. Some players anchor their thumbs on the lowest string and move it off to play on the low string. Also, the thumb can be rested loosely on the strings to mute the unused strings.

More so, the string can be plucked at any point between the bridge and the point wherein the fretting hand is holding down the string producing different types of sound depending on where along the string is plucked. Jaco Pastorius, a famous jazz fusion bassist, is well-known for plucking near the bridge where the string is most tightly drawn. Another common technique is palm-muting, which is executed by placing the side of the picking hand below the little finger, across all of the strings very close to the bridge and then plucking strings with the fingers while the damping is in effect.

The thumbstyle or slap and pop method which is very visible in funk acts produces tones and percussive sounds by striking, thumping, slapping a string with the thumb and snapping or popping strings with the index or middle fingers. Larry Graham of Sly and the Family Stone and Graham Central Station was a known enthusiast of the slap style, and Louis Johnson of The Brothers Johnson was also famous for this style. Picks can be harnessed for alternating downstrokes and upstrokes, or with all downstrokes to achieve consistency.

Two-handed tapping styles feature bassists using both hands to play note on the fret board by rapidly pressing and holding the string to the fret. The action of pressing the string onto the fret board brings sound into life. Bassist John Entwistle of The Who would tap percussively on the strings, causing them to strike the fret board with a plucky sound to create drum-style fills. Aside from performance style, a bassist should also have a heart on fretting.

“…Fretting is a part of the act wherein strings are pressed down to play different notes and to shape the tone of a plucked or picked note. It can be used to change a sounded note or make the note die away faster…” Added Xaviera Arata

Further information, resources and reviews of the best learn to play the guitar guides you can get online by visiting: http://www.LearnToPlayTheGuitar.tv