Right Hand Technique For Beginner Bass Guitar Players

What kind of right hand technique should you use when you learn to play bass guitar? Should you play with your fingers or should you use a pick? There's a lot of snobbery around the issue, suggesting that real bass players play with their fingers. Which of course is absolute rubbish.

Lets talk about the pick. One of the most recorded bass players in history was a she by the name of Carol Kaye (or Carol K), back in the 60s and 70s. A jazz guitarist turned bass guitarist the day the latter didn't show up in the recording studio (so the story goes). And what did she play with? A pick. And damn well so! Along with James Jamerson and Bob Babbitt she played on countless Motown songs.

My point here isn't to determine what's best and what's not. There are many roads to Rome, and Heaven doesn't mean the same to everyone, and therefore I propose that when you learn to play bass guitar> you follow what feels right to you, whether that means playing with a pick or slap or using your fingers.

When you learn to play bass guitar, probably the most important technique to get right early on is the right hand technique (if your left handed, it's the other way around of course). Practice steady notes using both the fingers and a pick, try to rest the palm of your right hand on the strings when playing with a pick and try to play rhythmically.

In the end of the day it isn't about the technique you use, but about the sound and feel for the particular song or style you happen to play in. If I play blues or R'n'B, or something along those lines, I most likely will play with my fingers. However, I also play a lot of punk rock, and the trebly sharp sound of a pick just sounds better (and looks way cooler in my book) than the warm round sound of finger playing. Nor does it hurt that your attitude changes when using the pick (read: Legs spread wide, head banging with the guitar player).

Playing with a pick also gives a whole range of options when it comes to dampen the strings with the palm of the right hand, making the playing very rhythmical (think Sting).

As a final thought, explore various techniques when you learn to play bass guitar and make sure they fit the music style you're into.