Bass Guitar - Advanced Playing Styles

Tapping

Tapping is a technique used mostly for playing notes that greatly differ in pitch, to add flexibility to your playing style and also make unique sounding sections of music. It is mainly used in solos, however where it can be used has no limits. The technique of tapping involves tapping your finger/s firmly between the desired fret/s to sound out a note. Another variation is the 2 handed tapping technique, which involves tapping using both hands simulatneously. As difficult as this sounds it can be mastered by first practicing tapping with one hand through different scales and patterns. Once your finger strength has increased then you can try to slowly implement use of the second hand, by playing something simple at first. Tapping may also be used for chords by tapping the notes that form the chord simultaneously, but you will need strong fingers to hold down all the notes of the chord so that it resonates clearly.

3 Fingerstyle

3 Fingerstyle is almost identical to normal fingerstyle which i discussed in my other article on Basic Playing Styles. The only difference is the included use of the third finger. By using your Index, Middle and Ring finger you are able to dramatically increase your playing speed, and what seems too fast for others to play will be perfectly comfortable for you. From my experience it is easiest at first to start the "walking" motion on the Ring finger then follow with Middle and then Index and practice the technique like this until you are comfortable with it, but for ultimate mastery of the technique you must be able to use all 3 fingers in any combination. Practicing playing in triplets is the easiest way to start learning this technique, as using 3 fingers fits into playing triplets much easier because you can play it in a very smooth and flowing motion. After becoming comfortable with triplets move on to 16th notes or 8th notes which will be more difficult to play as fast and in time at first.

Double Thumb

The Double Thumb technique is basically the equivalent of using your thumb as a pick (plectrum), however it has a warmer tone to it and in ways is also similar to Slapping. It also compliments slapping well and can even be substituted for slapping or used in combination. The technique itself involves holding your thumb in a horizontal position (similar to as if you were going to slap) but instead of slapping you push your thumb downwards through the string until it rests on the string below the one you just played. After doing this you then pull the thumb back to its original position plucking up the string you already played again. The string is most likely to come in contact with your fingernail on the way back. It can be practiced through alot of repitition, as most people learning this technique start out very clunky and out of time and the main issue is attaining smoothness.

Sweeping

Sweeping on bass is very much the same as on guitar, and it is most definetly possible. However to be able to sweep it helps to have learned at least the basics of the Double Thumb technique. Begin by choosing a scale or arpeggio to practice learning this technique on. After choosing your scale or arpeggio play it using your thumb in a downwards motion using the Double Thumb style. That's the first half of the sweep done, keep in mind that you want it to be as smooth as possible, so when pushing your thumb through the strings make sure it doesn't pause too long between notes. On the way back up through the scale/arpeggio use your index finger to smoothly rake the notes on each string before finishing on the 2nd note of the progression. The reason for finishing on the 2nd note with the rake is because in order to repeat the sweep you must begin on the first note again using your thumb. Practicing this technique is the same as any other, but focus on getting it smooth, just like the Double Thumb technique, and after many many repititions it will improve. Also try it on different scales and arpeggios to increase your fluency of the technique.