This drives me CRAZY. Stop using it PLEASE 

this is why I'm glad I learned upright at the same time, so I learned that 1,2,4 is sometimes so much better, especially in the low range where the frets are so far apart

Studied with Gary briefly. Only thing more impressive than his technique is his class and generosity. Even though I was massively out of my depth in my lessons with him, he always treated me with kindness and respect. A true giant.

Honestly this makes me feel a lot better. It’s a tool in the toolkit but not something to use every time. 🤘

I've found my large hands to be an impediment because I tended to do this and stretch rather than move my hand. Then all those female and young bassists came to RU-vid with their teeny tiny hands and I saw how fast and fluid their playing is. Now I practice with a hair elastic in a figure-8 round my fretting fingers. It's not enough to get in the way but it reminds me every time I stretch for a note - 40 years of habit to overcome!

The finger per fret method has its place, especially for complete beginners, initially, to get them accustomed to using all four fingers. But once they’re comfortable using all four fingers in a given position, that you have to break them out of that.

I think a lot depends on your hand size. I’m primarily an upright player, obviously using 1-2-4. On electric, I like treating it more like a cello with 1-2-3-4. I tend to rock back and forth in the lower positions, like cellos do when they have extensions. I definitely like having another finger to use on electric vs the double bass. To each his own.

I’ve been playing for 50 years and I used to worry about having a lazy 3rd finger, but I realised that what you are saying is exactly right, and my 3rd finger gets used automatically when I need to without even thinking about it. It’s much more important for beginners to get the little finger working.

No Sweat is the album which got me inspired to play again. I had it in the late nineties/early aughts and lost it when I moved. I ended up on Gary's website a year later or so, and ended up emailing Gary as I was a super broke grad student, just to ask for a download for that album, which I had bought years before. He offered me everything on the site instead. As it happens, I accepted simply the No Sweat album and nothing else as I wanted to pay for anything else I bought, since it's his labour we're talking about. There are moments, I confess, where I regret that decision, but I stick by it :) If you've done the work, you're worth being paid for it! Thanks for this

Yes learning to not use my 3rd finger so much has helped me greatly. 3rd and 4th together helps as well.

Even on guitar, my instrument, I often use my pinky in a 1, 2, 4 pattern. For exemple, I do power chord with finger 1 and 4. It allow me slide finger 1 one fret down to have the very useful inverted minor interval. Plus, it's just a more relaxed position. To me at least.

“And as you can see, I’m still battling on with my celebration of wacky-ass shirts...” 🤣🤣😂 I’m on the floor....🤪🤪😂😂😂🤣

I've discovered that my most used fretting fingers are 1 and 4, even when the distance isn't far. It's all about the ergonomics and protecting yourself peeps. I don't have the biggest hands either so this is my bread and butter. Take a part like Fire by Hendrix, the chorus features four-note walks that progress in a chromatic way. It's the kind of line that would scream "one finger per fret" on guitar. On bass though, I'll slide up a half step after the first note and continue playing the rest with 1, 2, and 4. Due to the scale length (even on some short scales) I apply less tension on the arm and am less likely to injure myself in the future.

I played the cello from the age of 10 til 17 when I actually got the instrument I wanted , a bass . The fundamentals of using fingers 1,2 and 4 were in my opinion , easy to transpose, plus I had huge strength in my left pinky and the muscle down the side of my hand . Also thumb positioning on the back of the neck was strictly applied and learning how to slide the thumb so the fingers could stretch to beyond where finger 4 would be . Hope that makes sense . My female teacher told me I had a fast left hand and a great fingering technique ... make of that what you like lol .

Great video, I can’t wait to take the course. SBL membership is great as well as I am a lifetime member ❤️

Huge Gary Willis fan here. In fact I think I may have introduced the Overwater guys to TT many years ago as I used to spend hours in the shop talking to Laurence about bass and our respective musical influences. I believe we met a number of times and chatted as well. I once travelled 500 miles in one afternoon/evening to watch Gary in clinic at Mansons in Exeter. I can also remember his excited I was prior to the release of Gary’s first solo album which I ordered on CD from Audiophile Imports in the US. I believe he is one of the unappreciated masters of bass and an all time great!

I used finger per fret when playing slow stuff but when i gotta move around the fretboard when jamming to stuff like metal or revival or jazz; then i kinda negate the pinky and use my strongest fingers 🇯🇲

This is a Spanish guitar technique. When I learned classical guitar briefly as a child, I was taught to do that. It's good for soloing, no good for using chords.

When I was starting out I remember my teacher saying to me that if I didn't start using my ring finger and my pinky at the same time he'd tape them together. When I laughed he looked at me with a very serious face and said he wasn't joking :D. Learned a lot that day

Just picked up a used GWB35 and love it. Willis is a MONSTER!

I went through the technique accelerator and it completely revamped my bass playing. I may go through it again to get even better. Thanks man.

I found just going with what was comfortable led me to using 1 and 4 or 1,2, and 4 a lot. One finger per position is fine for many things but it leads to really awkward stretches used all the time. I play fretless, too, so lots of big stretches are going to lead to being out of tune.

I was taught by an older French fellow who also played upright and he taught me to use my 2nd and 3rd finger together, with the pinky and index finger independent. When I don't need a 4 fret reach to play a line that's what I do. I can't retrain myself to use the ring and pinky together at this point, I've been doing it that way for over 20 years now.

Thanks Scott! Invaluable!

Thanks Scott for bringing this to peoples attention that are not familiar with it. The 1, 2, 4 is critical for me with my 5 string thumb bass, especially when hangin down in the 1st or lower positions for an extended length of time. Particularly for an instrument with a thicker neck, like the 5st Thumb bass, It will extend the playing life of the fretting hand and not bring undue repetitive stress when the situation does not call for a one finger per fret hand position or even the extended [ 3 note per string] position playing many guitar players like to use. I teach my students this as early as possible. It was a honor of a lifetime when i got to study under the nicest of all people ever, Scary Gary Willis at M. I. in the 87-88 era, during my most inexperienced and informative period at 20 yrs old.

I started playing on upright bass in 96. When you play upright, the spacing between the ring finger and pinky are not sufficient to play a full half step (at least not until you get passed the fret 12 equivalent position in the fingerboard, or if you have giant hands lol). That being said: When I picked up bass guitar in 98, I had to teach myself that it's ok to use that third finger. Its great to have the independence of that finger because, if nothing else, it enhances the independence of the pinky and middle finger. But over my years of playing, I've found that the ring finger is only useful when it's useful, if that makes sense. The fingering that makes the line you are playing easier while still allowing you to move smoothly to the next is the correct one. I've noticed that seems to be a bit different from person to person. The other part of that has to do with another subject you've touched on, which is not STREEEETCHING that pinky to grab a fret and shifting instead, using the ring finger to backup the pinky (like upright players do). That last bit is what I have found that drastically changes how I finger a line and also my overall endurance, since I'm saving energy using a shift instead of a stretch. Look at it like this: Hold your hand out in front of you, palm towards your face. Fan your fingers just to the point where you aren't forcing a stretch. Bend your ring finger down. Notice how the middle finger shifts a bit and the gap between index and middle finger is essentially the same and middle and pinky? On upright, thats the equivalent of 3 frets distance. You would have REALLY stretch to get a similar gap between middle-ring finger and ring-pinky, and that takes a ton more energy than a little shift. Just a little food for thought. I hope that's a helpful perspective for folks 💪 😎 👍

When I first started out, I only used my first two fingers and then eventually included the third. It took far more years than I want to admit to finally start using the fourth. Even so, I don't think I've ever had more than two fingers on the fretboard at any given time, with the other fingers hovering nearby, ready to dive in when needed I guess...

On point. I have a few students on bass that are stuck on this finger per fret thing. annoying to say the least. Poor fellas. Tape fingers together to break that habbit. Only works on some things. Not all things. Great video Scott

That's an early Gary Willis, because he changed his technique to reduce moving his hands up and down the neck - sticking to up and down the strings.

As a bass player who's hand shape curves 3&4 inward toward 1 when my hand clasps closed, the 1 2 4 method was what I naturally derived as I taught myself to play bass (even though I started music on classical guitar using 1234). The larger strings and fret spacing on bass made it the only way I could play as it was physically impossible for me to play with my hand in the 1234 method. Been playing bass professionally for 10+ years now and nobody has ever mentioned it 😃

As a general ruler 1,2,4 technique 7th fret and lower. Finger per fret above that. *depends on musical situation of course

Thank you for this vid on this subject particularly.

Thanks for this. I crunched ring finger at some point last year. It's better but painful for pressure in certain directions. I'm a beginner. It's great to dispel some of the "must do" and just work it out. Ha, beginner with two basses. Short and long scale. Got the long years ago. Short after crunching the finger.

I used to only play 1-2-3 as a noob, gradually I started doing 1-2-4 without thinking about it much. It's just more flexible I think, you can stretch your hand into "finger per fret" much easier if you're already playing 1-2-4

There's a grey zone somewhere between the 6th and 8th fret where I'm often unsure which to use, but after and before that for the most part it's obvious, though as shown in this video, a lot of lower register stuff can be played with 1 and 4.

We say Wardrobe too but its usually a cabinet (not in wall) that holds clothing.

I first saw Tribal Tech in '85. I never heard of them. Gary blew my mind. Been a fan ever since.

I’m self taught for the most part, but I do find myself naturally gravitating to 124 further down on the neck and finger per fret playing in the higher register. I’d say that a good bassist would use the best technique for the situation.

Yeah, its much more ergonomic with 1,2 and 4 in most money playing positions. The one-finger - per - fret-system caused me major problems with tendonitis for years, all though it certainly can be better in some cases.

I too love Gary.i heard Jaco,and it blew my mind,and then he left us not long after.and then heard "The Big Wave"..and ...more of the same type .not like Jaco but that good and that articulate.and I was screwed by the fingers per fret thing whe I started.it was before utube,or the Internet.. and I was teaching myself.i saw the Jaco in Montreal after playing for 3 yrs ,and saw him covering a 5th fret with his first finger,as it were.i had worked out Donna Lee with FPF left hand.He didnt do that though. My double bass teacher had given me the mindset about there being A 'right 'way to play.including A single way to finger.and I sort of subconsciously transplanted the MINDSET that there is ONE way to do things.

One finger per fret is not a beginner technique. The beginner technique is one finger per hand.

It’s so fun learning the different lingo between brits and americans, closet vs wardrobe

1:33 “it’s great on bass for many things” 2:13 “in many ways for a lot of lines it’s perfect - we were watching Willis here and he was using a lot of finger per fret stuff too”. The G maj pent example 5:15-5:50 is the finger per fret system, but it just changes positions.

Finger per fret is good, but sometimes is better to do what feels natrual or better

as a double bass player 124 is the modern way to learn DB. occasionally you use the 3rd finger in lower positions depending on the distance you need to stretch, and of course in thumb position. But one thing which is a big no is 4 - 4 shifting up and 1-1 shifting down. then its better to plan your fingering so you don't have to do those awkward shiftings. :-) good subject to bring up. keep it up man! If you learn double bass you can play electric but not the way around ^^

Hi. btw, many of us are sitting on the same Ikea chair as you do. Maybe you have removed the armrests completely, as they get in the way when playing guitars. However, you can still have armrests and swivel them out the way when playing guitars and rotate them back when doing other things. On both sides: 1. remove the bolt at the front. 2 . you can now rotate the armrest backwards without any effort. 3 with the armrest rotated away, screw the front bolt of the armrest back in again, so when you rotate the armrest back to its (almost) normal position it will rest on the front bolt screwed back in. Note that the armrest can now rotate around the back bolt!

Thanks for this, Scott. I see players on RU-vid who can play more stuff than me but they're sticking religiously to one finger per fret and I can't understand it. You really notice it on lines with octave intervals like Taxman by the Beatles or Start! by the Jam. It makes no sense to use your third finger.

I mostly use 1& 2 and slide my hand. I will use 3 or 4 in some cases if it works better (such as playing fifths & octaves where I fret both notes.) Oddly I use my 4th finger more than my 3rd on guitar when playing single notes. I do need to improve my 4th finger strength for bass.

Never really tried FPF. I just work out the fingering that works for me. Didn’t realize until this video that I constantly rely on the 4th finger.

"It does what it says on the can." WHAAA? LOL Never heard that before!! Okay, carry on. LOL

Mostly use my 1st and 2nd Also my ring finger is a bit longer than index so I use it to rake as well as my dominant finger and the index is right there to hit anytime

I think many people avoid using certain fingers because they feel uncomfortable, and they assume it will never feel comfortable, so they find a way to work around it. If only they understood this one simple concept: Nothing is hard, just not comfortable YET, once you understand this it opens ups DOORS! Within a couple of weeks of using those fingers it will already start to feel very comfortable. Same with any technique no matter how challenging. Break it down it to small digestible chunks and you can master anything!!

finger-per-fret is valuable in building the strength & independence of each fretting digit, so that when you write a line, you have choices about how to play it. agreed, it definitely shouldn't be 'the only way'.

I have long fingers and it works for me. At fret 12 I can forget not using 1 per

I have never used finger per fret. I don't know if I could do it....

Yes! I am a big fan of Gary. I actually got one of his signature basses and I ABSOLUTLY LOVE IT

Scott's Bass Lessons and Fine Shirts.

Gary Willis...one of the fretless GOATs!

I only use the finger per fret method when I'm playing right up near the bottom (or is it the top?) of the neck where the frets are closer together. I also don't use my pinky often times at the utmost part of the neck in that same area as well because it feels much more awkward and inefficient to reach the frets with the pinky. I also like your idea of using finger contact on the edge of the frets and I think that has helped my technique a bit as well

Thank you for this. I am a guitarist and I never know these things about playing bass.

For me personally at-least, i am genuinely incapable of properly playing most notes on the ring finger when it comes to playing fret per finger on the lower part of the fretboard. Always been accustomed to 1-2-4 on the lower end since the beginning and towards the top of the fretboard, i can kinda do whatever considering the notes are so much closer together in comparison.

Im a metal player I use all five fingers on both hands and my palms. A true pro knows what position they need to get in too get the tone they want

Can you show some licks that use just fingers 1, 3 and 4, 'cos I recently lost the tip of my 2 finger in an accident...?

That shirt looks like one of the José González videos for Vestiges and Claws

Are those flat wounds? I play island reggae, and the flats I currently use has a clicking sound when I play it. My other flats doesn’t do that. What kind of strings are those?

Skipping fingers on lines and rolls felt more natural from the start 28 years ago. Helps my second fimger to be ready for it's turn in a index ring. Middle just waits. Or 1, 2 4's then rings waiting etc. Shortcuts

He never explained why you wouldn't just use fingers 1,2,3. What's the advantage of missing out 3 and using 4 instead? The fourth finger is shorter so there's no reach advantage.

Crazy shirt Friday at work…wear the most obnoxious patterned/colored shirt you can find!

Your tone is amazing in this one! What's your signal chain?

00:28 I feel you man😂😂😂😂

I think you look great in the neckerchief brother

Both techniques are important!

I use 1 and 4 for almost everything. Sometimes I'll bring in 2.

Gotta love the maestro , Gary! P.S. I fully support the killer shirts, and the F Bass 🤓

Gary is great! What's your opinion on Percy Jones?

Such a nice sounding bass, that one! 🔥

I use most of the time finger per fret. When I see Scott playing in a higher position , I wonder why je still plays 124 . It' s much easier to play 123 . Maybe it's different for each person.

Should I only stick to 1-2-4, then…? I’m a newbie, and I’ve been utilizing 1-2-4, 1-3-4, and 1-2-3-4 whenever they’re convenient.

I only discovered Gary in his later years, Killer.

I was literally just wondering my 3rd finger was getting lazy but now I feel better about it lol

finger-per-fret is a tool. You should never have just 1 tool.

Just getting over the tinnitus from yesterday's shirt. Glad this one is far more tame. Do you uhave a cold or allergies? You sound a bit stuffy. I find that the finger per fret approach is far more conducive for upper register playing than lower register.

I thought you were going to say people need to stop bass tapping… its like watching someone shred on guitar… its poison to any chance of developing melody, derails the entire song.

Im only here for the shirt. The bass lesson was a nice bonus.

Yeah I am huge fan of Gary Willis..Saw him live at the Sziget Fest in Budapest in 2004 or 2005..unfortunately I never saw him in my area (between lyon and Geneva) ..but damn!! I was bassplayer just for 2 or 3 years and it is the first "bass hero" I saw live, I just was shocked!!! it very consolidated my love for bass!! thanks Another technique which is natural to me ..I play one finger per fret when it's needed if not I use a lot my little finger..but what I have trouble to understand is why so many people need to be guided for such things...I mean, it s not an offense, in this video it's very clear so it has a good value, but I see so many things that others palyers around me and I got naturally, by thinking a bit....and then, teachers and lessons come for the harder part....Im still a very medium bassplayer, not very good, but for my part, the most important things that made me able to gig and record and have a pretty descent reputation, just came from my thinking and observation...The finger per fret is good during some part of walking bass for exmple, but not very often but, to it allowed me to be more confortable on the neck at first and to strenghen my hand and also it helped me to have good precision which allowed me to play fretless with no any effort at all because my muscle memory knows exactly where the frets are....that's where I learned it by myself...I didn't know it was named!!! Im not sure to be clear and understood (english is not my language) I struggle to explain myself lol

Love your postings. Learned a lot. But what’s with the glove? I have listened to Tribal Tech for years.

1 2 4!! 🥰🏋️🤳 That is a great shirt brother.. I mean Mate!

Huge fan of Gary, I don’t even play bass well I do but I’m not a bass player.

The shirt game is on point, Scott! 3 for 3!

You’re completely off Scott. It’s the foundation. Once you have the foundation then you can deviate.

The hat clashes with the shirt LOL

There is no such thing as a wacky shirt, it all looks good on scott.

I love this shirts dude!

I rarely use my ring finger to fret

Anthony Jackson on Hiromi Trio "Desire"

For a proper mix your shirt should be equally as loud as your bass. 👕 + 🎸 = 🎧👍

Gary Willis/Tribal Tech! 🤘🏻

huge fan here. Inimitable

Nice video, but why are you wearing a glove on your left hand..?

Wait a tick, Scott got his accent back?? A few videos ago he was speaking in a perfect American accent 🤔

Bom dia, Scott manda um alô para o Brasil!!! Abraço.