ChangeYourStrings
FoundationsLesson 02

Bass Lesson 02: right-hand fingerstyle basics

Taught by Lowe, your Change Your Strings Bass teacher ·

Fingerstyle means plucking the strings with your index and middle fingers, alternating them so you never use the same finger twice in a row. Rest each finger on the next thicker string after it plucks. That rest stroke gives a full, even tone and keeps your two fingers taking turns cleanly.

Relevant gear

  • Strings

    D'Addario EXL170 Nickel Wound Bass Regular Light (.045-.100)

    Buy on Amazon

Watch BassBuzz's walkthrough in the video above, then read the breakdown.

In Lesson 01 you met the four strings. Now your right hand makes them speak. Most bass tone you have ever heard came from bare fingers, not a pick, so this is the technique to build first.

Fingerstyle uses two fingers on your plucking hand: the index and the middle. They take turns. You pluck one note with the index, the next with the middle, the next with the index again, and so on. Never two plucks with the same finger in a row. That turn-taking is what lets you play fast and even later, so build the habit now while it is slow.

First, anchor your thumb. Rest it on a pickup, or lay it lightly across the E string. A planted thumb gives your two plucking fingers a stable base and quietly mutes strings you are not playing.

Now the stroke itself, and this is the part beginners skip. Do not pluck up and away from the bass. Pluck across and let your fingertip come to rest against the next thicker string. That is a rest stroke. If you pluck the D string, your finger follows through and stops on the A string. The rest stroke gives you a fuller, rounder note and keeps every pluck the same volume.

Start on one string. Pluck the open E eight times, strictly alternating index, middle, index, middle.

G |-----------------
D |-----------------
A |-----------------
E |-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0--
Eight plucks on the open E. Alternate index and middle, one per note. The high G string sits on top, the low E on the bottom, the way bass tab is always written.

Now cross strings while you keep alternating. Play each open string once, thickest to thinnest.

G |-------------0--
D |---------0------
A |-----0----------
E |-0--------------
Open E, A, D, G, one pluck each. Do not reset to your index on every string. Keep the fingers taking turns straight through the crossing.

Your tone lives in your fingers, but it also lives in your strings. A set like the D'Addario EXL170 Nickel Wound Bass is the standard 4-string gauge and gives new fingers a clear, even attack to learn against. See the full set at D'Addario EXL170.

Practice this

Set three minutes on a clock. Pluck the open E, alternating index and middle, one note every second, slow and loud and even. Listen for two things: is every note the same volume, and did each finger land as a rest stroke on the next string? Then walk the open strings E, A, D, G and back, still alternating. Even and relaxed beats fast and tense.

Where you are

Lesson 01: parts of the bass named your four strings, and now your plucking hand can sound them cleanly. So much of the Motown sound was played fingerstyle, not with a pick, by bassists like James Jamerson. Proof of how much tone lives in your plucking hand. You can browse bass and guitar strings any time. Next, Lesson 03: the open strings and note names, where those four plucks get their letter names and the fretboard starts to open up.