Chapter 3 Open-String Exercises

The purpose of this chapter is to develop the basic fingerstyle plucking technique in the right hand. We won’t be using the left hand at all in this chapter, except for muting some strings at certain points to stop them from ringing out. It’s very important to develop a good, solid plucking motion in the beginning of your studies, as this will allow you to progress more rapidly and with better tone.

Now let’s try some open-string exercises, remembering the tips from Chapter 1:

Keep your first knuckle (the one closest to the tip) straight as you pluck across and slightly downward, toward the body of the bass.
Allow your plucking finger to come to rest against the next string when plucking strings 1, 2, or 3.
Pluck with the pad of your finger—not the tip.

Example 1

Example 2

What’s That Mess?

If you’re wondering what that messy sound is when you move from the E string to the A string (and on up through the strings), then you’re likely not doing one important thing: following through with your plucking finger and resting on the next string. When you pluck the E string and then move to the A string, the E string will keep ringing unless you stop it. This creates a low-frequency mess that doesn’t sound very clean. By following through with your plucking finger and resting on the next string, not only does it keep your finger in close proximity to the strings for plucking the next note, but it also stops that string from ringing. So, if you pluck the E and A strings consecutively, your plucking finger should come to rest on the E string, thereby stopping it from ringing.

If you’ve been doing this already, congratulations on paying close attention and keep up the good work!

In this next example, we’re going to encounter our first rests. This means that we’ll need to stop the string from ringing before striking it again. We can do this one of two ways: with the plucking hand or with the fretting hand.

To stop the string with the plucking hand, simply replant the finger on the string—the same way you do when preparing to pluck the string the first time. So the order is:

Pluck the string.
Come to rest on the next string (if plucking strings 3, 2, or 1).
Replant the finger on the string when the rest occurs.

To use the fretting hand, simply lay your hand lightly across the strings—touching them without pushing them down to the fretboard.

The safest bet is to use both methods (if possible), as this will ensure that the string will stop ringing cleanly.

Example 3

Example 4

OK, let’s raise the bar just a little bit. We’ll go back to sustained notes, but now we’re going to skip strings when plucking. This means that, even though our plucking finger is coming to rest on the next string, it’s not always going to stop the previous string from ringing—something else must be done. Let’s take a look at the example.

Example 5

Now let’s examine this measure-by-measure to see what we need to do in order to keep the unwanted from ringing out.

Measure 1: Right away, you have a problem: you pluck the E string and then pluck the D string. Your finger will come to rest on the A string after plucking the D string, but that won’t stop the E string from ringing. If you were really paying attention at the beginning, you may have already been taking care of this problem. The solution? Plant your thumb on string 4. Whenever you pluck a string other than string 4, you should move your thumb off the pickup and instead plant it on string 4. This alone will take care of the ringing E string in measure 1.

Measure 2: On beat 1, you need to stop the D string from ringing over. You’ll need to do this with your fret hand. Lay your fingers lightly across the top two strings to stop the D string from ringing as you pluck the A string. However, after you pluck the A string, you pluck the G string and have to stop the A string from ringing out. The solution? Plant your thumb on the A string. This is the same move as in measure 1, only up one string. When you plant your thumb on the A string, it’s a good idea to allow the nail front (the nail side) to touch the low E string, as well, since this will deaden it.

Measure 3: After plucking the G string, you’ll need to deaden it with the fret hand when you pluck the A string.

Measure 4: When you pluck the D string, the follow-through will mute the A string. When you pluck the E string, you’ll need to deaden the D string with your fret hand. This is just like the move in measure 3, only one string set lower.

Now go back and try the previous example again, making sure to follow these muting tips. You should end up with clean, distinct notes throughout the entire example.

Obviously, these aren’t the most musically inspiring exercises, but mastering this chapter is imperative before moving ahead. Review it three, four, or five times if you have to, but make sure that you’re able to play all the examples cleanly before moving ahead.