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 Form Vs Function Opinions Wanted 
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Post Form Vs Function Opinions Wanted
I come from the school of "there really isnt a such thing as 'proper form', only 'orthodox' and 'unorthodox' if the end result is satisfactory' and especially on an instrument like the Stick which is ~50 years old where a lot of pioneers may still explore, but I want to doublecheck with you players to make sure Im not developing bad habits that will be hard to break later if need be

The first is my Stick's positioning: Im finding more and more that I like playing it about the 2:00 o'clock position where I see many folks play it more pointing to 1:00 o'clock

The second is my right thumb: When I play keyboards and two-handed tap on bass guitar, I use my thumb quite a bit (bassist Dave Larue is a friend of mine and he actually liked the fact that my two-handed technique on bass guitar incorporated the thumb)....It originally started because I was having difficulty executing a clean major triad with my left hand (hitting the major 3rd on top).....So I started bringing my thumb over on my right hand to play the high maj3rd ( i can do a one-handed minor triad just fine -- also there is an inversion of the major triad with the 3rd on bottom that I can hit fine but Im finding this only sounds best as a passing chord): not only can I execute this smoothly but I can choose to incorporate the 4th and 5th as well on that string and, if the chord is executed on lower strings, I can choose dom7, natural 7, octave, and add a 2 or 9 and the 9s variants with my right thumb....Its getting to the point where I am getting quite proficient doing this but I feel like I am going down a road I may never return from as it takes me away quite a bit from Free Hands.....Thoughts? thank you in advance


Thu Mar 09, 2017 7:40 am
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Post Re: Form Vs Function Opinions Wanted
klothos wrote:
I come from the school of "there really isnt a such thing as 'proper form', only 'orthodox' and 'unorthodox' if the end result is satisfactory' and especially on an instrument like the Stick which is ~50 years old where a lot of pioneers may still explore, but I want to doublecheck with you players to make sure Im not developing bad habits that will be hard to break later if need be

The first is my Stick's positioning: Im finding more and more that I like playing it about the 2:00 o'clock position where I see many folks play it more pointing to 1:00 o'clock

The second is my right thumb: When I play keyboards and two-handed tap on bass guitar, I use my thumb quite a bit (bassist Dave Larue is a friend of mine and he actually liked the fact that my two-handed technique on bass guitar incorporated the thumb)....My big issue on the left hand is forming a major triad with one-hand (hitting the major 3rd).....I find that bringing my thumb over on my right hand to play it: not only can I execute this smoothly but I incorporate the 4th and 5th as well on that string and, if the chord is executed on lower strings, I can choose dom7, natural 7, octave, and add a 2 or 9 and the 9s variants....Its getting to the point where I am getting quite proficient doing this but I feel like I am going down a road I may never return from as it takes me away quite a bit from Free Hands.....Thoughts? thank you in advance


The lower your angle, the harder it is to play that major 3rd with the left hand while you hold down the root and 5th. This is the biggest reason why I am one of those 1:00 players. You have a creative solution, and if it works for you, that's great. The drawback to your solution is that it obligates your right hand to help your left, something you may regret later on when that right thumb is simply too far away to to the job.

Personally, I find the tone is better when the thumb is supporting the hand, gently resting on the bevel. There's more fundamental frequency to my ear, and the finger don't have to work as hard to hold the notes, as we are natural "grabbers." just my 2 cents....

Of course, if you use a lot of processing, you won't notice the tonal difference. I'm in love with the basic sound of the instrument, so whatever I can do to make that sound even better, I will!

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Thu Mar 09, 2017 7:48 am
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Post Re: Form Vs Function Opinions Wanted
greg wrote:
klothos wrote:
I come from the school of "there really isnt a such thing as 'proper form', only 'orthodox' and 'unorthodox' if the end result is satisfactory' and especially on an instrument like the Stick which is ~50 years old where a lot of pioneers may still explore, but I want to doublecheck with you players to make sure Im not developing bad habits that will be hard to break later if need be

The first is my Stick's positioning: Im finding more and more that I like playing it about the 2:00 o'clock position where I see many folks play it more pointing to 1:00 o'clock

The second is my right thumb: When I play keyboards and two-handed tap on bass guitar, I use my thumb quite a bit (bassist Dave Larue is a friend of mine and he actually liked the fact that my two-handed technique on bass guitar incorporated the thumb)....My big issue on the left hand is forming a major triad with one-hand (hitting the major 3rd).....I find that bringing my thumb over on my right hand to play it: not only can I execute this smoothly but I incorporate the 4th and 5th as well on that string and, if the chord is executed on lower strings, I can choose dom7, natural 7, octave, and add a 2 or 9 and the 9s variants....Its getting to the point where I am getting quite proficient doing this but I feel like I am going down a road I may never return from as it takes me away quite a bit from Free Hands.....Thoughts? thank you in advance


The lower your angle, the harder it is to play that major 3rd with the left hand while you hold down the root and 5th. This is the biggest reason why I am one of those 1:00 players. You have a creative solution, and if it works for you, that's great. The drawback to your solution is that it obligates your right hand to help your left, something you may regret later on when that right thumb is simply too far away to to the job.

Personally, I find the tone is better when the thumb is supporting the hand, gently resting on the bevel. There's more fundamental frequency to my ear, and the finger don't have to work as hard to hold the notes, as we are natural "grabbers." just my 2 cents....

Of course, if you use a lot of processing, you won't notice the tonal difference. I'm in love with the basic sound of the instrument, so whatever I can do to make that sound even better, I will!


thanks, greg......this is what i need to hear, especially the the drawback to your solution is that it obligates your right hand to help your left, something you may regret later on when that right thumb is simply too far away to to the job. part....thats the part i dont like if i want to solo high then i feel like im crippling myself because i will have to keep all the playing concentrated to a much smaller area of real-estate


Thu Mar 09, 2017 7:55 am
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Post Re: Form Vs Function Opinions Wanted
I use my thumbs all the time to help me hit notes. Steve Adelson and Bob Culbertson are particularly good at this and Steve was the guy that got me tapping with my thumb while Bob reminded me that strumming isn't out of the question.

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Thu Mar 09, 2017 8:41 am
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