Bass SOS

[AlwaysLearning]

hello fellow bass meisters, i was wondering if you knew any classical fingerpicking tunes for 4 string bass, ones thatll bitch both my hands and draw blood like the good old days. preferably a peice that is popular enough to have an mp3 knocking around the internet that i can download. y'see as complex and odd as some of the stuff i play in my band is, i cant help but feeling im playing to my strengths and not improving on areas where im weak. for example; im useless at finger picking. until now, always been a plecman and but dabbled in fingers.

plus, does anyone fingerpick a bass like a 6 string guitar? like thumb for E + A and fingers for D + G (as opposed to thumb for E + A and fingers for all the rest on a 6 string)? i play a bit of guitar every now and then when my friends let me borrow theirs (im skint lol), and i really like that style. ive tried it on a bass, and it felt ok, but i wondered if it was an efficient way to pick or not.

thanks a lot, if anyone can help me out at all thatd be great.

Ryan


p.s. my technical knowledge is horrible, im self taught in a rather hands-on fashion so go easy on the technical jargon ;)

[satch_master]

Hi, For classical finger picking bass pieces go to www.activebass.com lessons>classical.
That site has a ton of resources for bassists.

Sometimes i finger pick on bass, like an acoustic guitar, but i find it to be inefficient. The into to "My Friend Of Misery"-Metallica is a simple arpeggio bass finger picking piece that comes to mind. It is very simple but is the basis of finger picking bass. You can also play it with a pick and other ways too.Usually i can play the same piece just by kind of sweeping one finger over the strings. Anyways, i have a kind of wierd unconventional bass playing style. Do whatever works for you. :D

[AlwaysLearning]

thanks a lot satch, its good to hear you encouraging a personal touch! ill look at those sites and that metallica song as soon as ive had some sleep. thanks again, and im sure i will be back requesting more help soon lol

also, how long have you been playing mate?

[satch_master]

bass ,over 4 years. I picked up bass before i got into guitar wanking and now i do the same thing i did on guitar, just on bass now. Check out some of my little bass ditties i recorded , they are in the bass section. I also just made a "strictly dom 7th" in the strictly threads. All on bass of course. I think i might go play some bass right now.

[mattblack850]

Hey Ryan,

Have a look at this book as well, fairly straightforward stuff, but a good clasical grounding!

'Melbay presents' series.... J.S. Bach for bass by Josquin des Pres
ISBN 0-7866-2843-X
MB9524BCD
Published by Melbay (obviously!)
Melbay publications, Inc.
#4 Industrial Drive,
Pacific,
Missouri 63069-066
Phone 1-800-863-5229

[AlwaysLearning]

thanks alot for the info guys, ill be getting that book as soon as i have any cash and that website is great. from that site I think ill start with something like greensleeves, btw was that written by henry VIII? i forget.

thanks

<edit>

there was a slight disaster involving my bass, broken hardware and a whole lot of SPLAT! so im going into town to get it fixed tomorrow, i shall start my classical path soon!

<edit2>

bass fixed, and the fingerpicking has commenced!

thanks again

Ryan