Three Finger Technique – Alex Webster Video
Not heard of the three finger technique before? Steve Lawson pointed me to this lovely Qik interview he did with Alex Webster , bassist with death metal band Cannibal Corpse.
In the short clip Alex explains the 3 finger technique – amazing for playing at speed, 1/16th notes here we come…It is used by players including Billy Sheehan and John Myung.
Alex’s first time streaming live to the web!:
Lots of comments on this one via Facebook, so pasting a few of them here:
“I’ve been known to attempt that with varying results. Not as easy as it looks!” – Graham C .
“I do that but the other way round, i.e. 1-2-3 rather than 3-2-1.” – Mike A.
Starting with the ring finger give you much more control over dynamics. If you get used to using the third finger first you won’t drop back to two finger style as easy. It’s very easy to use only two fingers until you need the third and as far as I’m concerned you will not be anywhere near as good with three as you are with two unless you use three all the time. I’m not a teacher just a player and this only applies to me. Stay in the pocket. Doug
Nice one Doug. I think those who’ve come from the thin string guitar world to bass will struggle less with using 1-2-3, but for those new to using the 3rd finger, it does seem more intuitive to use the 3rd finger first – in that ‘grabbing’ motion.
For a while I played with 1-2-3-2. In the end, for the speed of music I play, 1 and 2 is just fine 🙂
I never reailly thought much about it. Over the years I’ve found myself using 3 and even 4 fingers at times. I did come from a lot of finger style guitar playing, so I guess it wasn’t so much of a stretch. Thinking about it, I do use 3 a lot, but not necessarily in this order. Never really paid that much attention to what other bassists were doing because my 3 main influences all did it differently, McCartney, Bruce, and Entwistle. The main thing is be confident and comfortable with what you’re doing. If you have to work too much at something, it may not be your most effective. Forty years and I still can’t make it work with picks or thumb. Do what works for you. Just my thoughts. BennyB