How to Play Bass With a Pick (from an ex-Pick Hater) 

Fingerstyle i actually mute a lot with my right hand...a slight touch with one finger after i smashed it is all i need and my fret hand is free to change. I actually use both hands at different moments to mute, and using a pick, i feel my right hand is useless to mute. Prob need to work on my technique, cause my palm muting just kills everything dead, i hate the sound i make

Hey Aaron! Totally agree, muting is harder while using the pick (and slapping, for similar reason). I think it's easier *at first* because beginners aren't focusing much on muting anyway.

@@BassBuzz Yeah, that makes sense! It's one of those things that seems easier that is actually harder to be proficient at.

Yeap, picking might seem easier when starting, but it does gets a lot harder on the long run. I'm also a finger style player and only recently have I dared to start using the pick a lot more in determined songs again. I find that with the pick it is much harder to maintain a steady rhythmn and consistent volume. But I totally agree with those bigger transients and the thinner tone definitely helps to pierce through the mix in a loud rock setting. e.g. those riding triplets in The Final Countdown are much harder than the ones in The Trooper (pick vs fingers)

Its not hard at all. Use the tops of your non pick holding fingers between the knuckles to mute.

Yeah, honestly as someone who learned finger first I find it way more difficult, mainly because of the muting technique needed.

@@benmakestalkies same

@@benmakestalkies palm muting helps with this issue

@@benmakestalkies Yep!

Why it’s easier

It's actually easier to dampen when playing with a pick, than when playing with fingers. I've been playing with a pick since 1981. Do I win the internet today? Ha! The part of your hand that you would use to karate chop a brick... that part is constantly touching/moving across the strings as you pick... automatically dampening unplayed strings. And for further damping... I use the technique of leaving my hand open, with the pinky, ring and middle fingers 'uncurled' and laid across the strings lightly...Some pick players like Paul McCartney keep their fingers curled in.. still the 'karate chop' portion of your hand will dampen unplayed strings.

@@Bultacoproteenie Depends upon style. I like the aggressive sound of plucking at an acute angle with the pick, like shown in the video. That takes my palm up instead of down on the strings.

@@Bultacoproteenie I definitely wouldn't say it's easier with a pick than with fingers. With fingers you can rest your picking hand thumb on the low strings and the high strings are easily muted by the fretting hand...that's it, no awkward hand positions. When playing with a pick there isn't a simple formula I've found that works for every situation. I sometimes palm with the picking hand, sometimes I end up doing awkward fretting hand things like wrapping my thumb around or sticking out my middle finger to mute the low strings. .

Not really, use your thumb. That's what I do.

@@violencefight9557 it's pretty much the same thing with a pick - rest the fleshy part of your picking hand on the strings "below" the one you're playing (i.e the thicker ones) and let your fretting hand handle the "higher" ones, so you're basically surrounding the string you're playing. Like palm muting but for the lower strings, and your hand can be anywhere, just resting against them. It can feel really natural just because of the way you hold a pick, and your hand doesn't need to change shape e- just grabbed a pick and it's more like resting the heel of your palm on the strings than the side sometimes, depends which string you're playing - still just the basic idea of letting your hand stay in contact with the strings all the time. You can change your pick grip to angle it and stuff, there's a lot you can do!

I like to pick up their guitars and play them like a bass . Lol

@@rdhudon7469 lmao, i grab a guitar and i get amazed how many frets i can cover with my fingers

@rick39guitarist: Yeah, just what the HELL was that Paul McCartney kid thinking when he put down his guitar and took over for Stu Sutcliffe on bass?

I can play bass better than most bassists can play guitar. But I do own a few.

Bass is easy if you play guitar. Plain and simple.

for me i started to play with pick bcz i was inspired by lemmy kilmister.

How were you inspired by a bass you couldn't hear

I guess because there is a higher cognitive load whenyou need to coordinate all fingers compared to using a pick... Using a pick involves "less" coordination between fingers, saving you cognitive power to coordinate your speech... that's my theory from a cognitive perspective..

They're all hiding in a black hole somewhere with my other sock and my Chrono Trigger SNES cartridge...

@@BassBuzz lmao ... Chrono Trigger has some COOL bass lines in it, imho! In fact, one of the first bass lines I ever learned to play was the one from the "undersea palace" score 🤘 btw, as for dropping picks, just use super glue on your thumb! ... (my guitarist buddy tried that once when we were in 7th grade... 🤭 results were; it's a TERRIBLE idea! lmao) ***Definitely DO NOT do!***

They bounce like a goddamn football lmfao

I was actually the opposite. I found rolling the pinky side of my palm down the strings playing with a pick was way easier to consistently mute. It just clicked better for me. I'm still working on better muting with plucking.

I agree. Palm muting takes very little effort when I play with a pick

When using a pick I do most of my string dampening with my fretting hand.

It's actually easier to dampen when playing with a pick, than when playing with fingers. I've been playing with a pick since 1981. Do I win the internet today? Ha! The part of your hand that you would use to karate chop a brick... that part is constantly touching/moving across the strings as you pick... automatically dampening unplayed strings. And for further damping... I use the technique of leaving my hand open, with the pinky, ring and middle fingers 'uncurled' and laid across the strings lightly...Some pick players like Paul McCartney keep their fingers curled in.. still the 'karate chop' portion of your hand will dampen unplayed strings.

@@Bultacoproteenie yep

A big part of Duff's tone is the bass he used. It was a Fender jazz special. I got mine the same time he did (probably for the same reason, we were all broke and it was a great affordable bass...I paid $250) to this day it's my absolute favorite bass. Only now it never leaves my house.

I play songs that are meant to be played with fingers with a light pick at borderline pick hits the floor, and lowering the attack basically creates a similar sound to playing with fingers.

I do the same.

Sweet, enjoy. I can recommend the Beginner to Badass course Josh made. I had played guitar a bit and decided to play bass as well. The course has helped with both instruments.

NOT ENOUGH TIME!!! PLAY 8 TO 10 HRS. PER DAY!!! YES, I'M YELLING AT YOU!!

R.I.P Peter Steele. One of my all time favorites

I'm firmly convinced that playing both made me better at both. Focusing on basslines made my guitar riffs better, I actually prefer to write riffs on bass now, and I am already comfortable playing arpeggios and soloing on a bass. Suddenly became a huge Cliff Burton enjoyer. Knowing both made me better at songwriting as well.

Guitarist James Williamson (The Stooges) would consistently wear down his index fingernail. Now when JW plays he glues on a fake fingernail, and files it to the right shape. Give it a slot. It may work for you

Can't beat the tone

@@fivestring65ify nope. I absolutely love my tone using a pick. I feel like I can play any number of styles with a pick but may experiment more with different pick types. Just for tonal fun lol

The sound is what keeps me using a pick. I can play with my fingers just fine, but I want to hear that picked bass sound, and only use fingers for a few specific songs. The sound of Krist Novaselic's picked bass is what made me want to be a musician in the first place.

Yeah you need a pic for that sort of music otherwise you don't cut through as the guitars have so much bass already. My favourites too

@@hagwagtoob You can get a tone like that using fingers too.

@@marcopollo8820 I use wooden picks, or Jazz Is.

Comments like this and the ones from my band mates makes me think that I'm the only one using the .73 tortex for bass.

I’ve always played with my fingers, even when playing Megadeth songs. Nothing against the pick, I just can’t get the same precision.

Some of that comes from a time when monitoring was less than reliable. You definitely get more mid presence with a pick. The further you are from you amp or wedge the harder it is to hear and feel the bass. Some songs need it, others it's definitely optional. IEMs help.

And the chords on Whole Lotta Love.

I've seen that JPJ video as well. How fascinating was that? Yes he says the pick makes it sound more percussive 👌💃

Sure, JPJ was one of the best, but THE best plays with fingers... Geddy, obviously

@loosetube5417 who was inspired by Chris Squire

Sounds like a great pick, will have to try one. I use the Kirk Hammett Jazz III for guitar so the John Petrucci might work great for bass with the slightly bigger and thicker size.

Good idea, but they’re called thumb picks.

The best Thumb Pick player I've ever seen: the bass player in the Knack that recorded My Sharona...!! He is AWESOME with a thumb pick!! Check him out, he's still active and plays sometimes with new wave 80s bands. Check this vid.. scroll across to 1:40 and watch him demonstrate how he played on My Sharona.. Cool!!! ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-OHahbtMoZC4.html

@@jarretjohnston5287 Thanks for the correction!!! :D

I used a thumb pick for almost 20 years. When I started playing, I would grip the pick too tightly and my hand would cramp. Plus I would drop the pick. I switched to a thumb pick and pretty much had the same one for 20 years. Definitely takes a little getting used to and I guess I developed my own style because of it. Also, when I did eventually learn to play with my fingers, I could use both during the same song. The past several years, I've gone to regular nylon picks.

73 mm Tortex is my pick of choice.

I also started playing bass from a guitar background, so it's still all picking.. Any day (week, month, year..) now, I'll start practicing plucking for real..! :) And the thick bass strings have made me prefer thick picks - 3 mm "big stubby" ones.

I also transitioned to bass from guitar, but my case is very different; on guitar I've always used finger picking (think Nick Drake style), as well as jazzy guitar licks with fingers. My transition to bass was very easy as a result, but I still find it difficult to play with a pick on both instruments, and finger picking will always be my comfort zone (though I've been trying to improve my abilities with a pick too!)

It depends how you play really, you can lock your hand in place and just use wrist or finger movement to control the pick - but using more of your body can be easier than focusing all the movement in a few muscles. It's like writing, or using a mouse, or a touchscreen - you use a combination of muscles (all the way to your back!) to perform those movements, even if the fine control is in the fingers. It's a lot easier to play fast with a pick! The strings can definitely fight a pick, but that's a technique thing really - same as if you "pull" the strings too much with fingerstyle. Both work better when you're pinging off the top of the string (and a thicker pick can definitely help with that, thin ones bend and get caught). I think picking is probably "easier" because it's a pretty simple motion compared to alternating fingers, there's less to learn, and it's easier to build up speed too. Personally I found fingerstyle a lot harder (coming from guitar so y'know), but it was more rewarding

If you use your entire arm to play with a pick, then you're doing it wrong.

@@unduloid I'd bet the number of people who play with their wrist or elbow locked in place is in the minority, but there are lots of techniques - just gotta make sure you're not making it hard for yourself

I think the myth stems from the fact that it IS easier to start bass with pick if you're already a guitar player (assuming you use a pick). With this, it is even more essential to start learning with fingers first to build a bass paradigm instead playing the bass as a guitar

Depends what you're used to

I’ve done this when I’ve dropped picks. Works surprisingly well. Also I thing the bass player from chic uses that technique

Agreed!

I'm trying to learn Basket Case, but am total baw bag with the pick (at the moment anyway)

Nice, where does your pick hide when you play fingers?

@@iduncanw I usually have it resting between 3rd and 4th finger. Its not that hard. you just need to figure out whats comfortable and accessible for your style of playing. Plus you would be surprised on the amount of people that catch you doing that , that are not musicians 🤣

Put the heel of your hand just before the bridge and use it as a pivot. Mutes all the strings and you can get lots of attack with minimal movement with a 1mm+ plectrum. Gives you a really solid tone for metal.

you can use ur thumb on your fretting hand to help mute lower strings

You can make a pick more grippy by scratching an X pattern on the pick with a box cutter. A dull blade seems to work better, gives better grip than a sharp one. You won't need to squeeze the pick as hard either. I put the X's on both sides.

Rest your hand against the strings the whole time, and the side/heel of your palm will mute the strings below the one you're picking (same as fingerstyle). You have a lot of pick control even if your hand is anchored in one place, and you can move your hand around anyway!

Thanks Thomas!

Because of Davie

Bass players are slow creatures. Most still think you're not supposed to use pedals

Best way for me to mute when using a pick - unplug the bass and let someone who's better at picking play. 😜

@@BassBuzz 😂