Bass Exercises - Different Possibillities of Finger Positions

Here are all the finger possibilities that can be played in one hand position, there are 24 in total.



1-2-3-4     1-2-4-3     1-3-2-4      1-3-4-2
1-4-2-3     1-4-3-2     2-1-3-4      2-1-4-3
2-3-1-4     2-3-4-1     2-4-1-3      2-4-3-1
3-1-2-4     3-1-4-2     3-2-1-4      3-2-4-1
3-4-1-2     3-4-2-1     4-1-2-3      4-1-3-2
4-2-1-3     4-2-3-1     4-3-1-2      4-3-2-1

1 = first or index finger
2 = second or middle finger
3 = third or ring finger
4 = fourth or pinky finger



If all the possibilities are learnt then your fingers will be capable of any finger pattern in a four fret finger span. All finger possibilities want to be played the same as the other exercises where the number represents what fret to play. The desired exercise should be played on every string, ascending then descending, also like the previous exercises.

A good tip for learning the exercises and also to benefit from them is to pick one exercise per week and learn just that one, play it for about 10 minutes each day for the course of the week, and then move onto a new one the following week. If you struggle with one more than others keep going untill you get it, even if it take longer than a week. I would suggest a minimal of a week per exercise to really benefit from them.

Below I will use examples of the different ways you can play each exercise, just use the examples that follow to figure out how to play other exercises the same way.

 G|----------------------1-2-3-4--1-2-3-4----------------------|  
 D|---------------1-2-3-4----------------1-2-3-4---------------|  
 A|--------1-2-3-4------------------------------1-2-3-4--------|  
 E|-1-2-3-4--------------------------------------------1-2-3-4-|

 G|----------------------1-2-3-4--4-3-2-1----------------------|  
 D|---------------1-2-3-4----------------4-3-2-1---------------|  
 A|--------1-2-3-4------------------------------4-3-2-1--------|  
 E|-1-2-3-4--------------------------------------------4-3-2-1-|

 G|----------------------4-3-2-1--4-3-2-1----------------------|  
 D|---------------4-3-2-1----------------4-3-2-1---------------|  
 A|--------4-3-2-1------------------------------4-3-2-1--------|  
 E|-4-3-2-1--------------------------------------------4-3-2-1-|

 G|----------------------4-3-2-1--1-2-3-4----------------------|  
 D|---------------4-3-2-1----------------1-2-3-4---------------|  
 A|--------4-3-2-1------------------------------1-2-3-4--------|  
 E|-4-3-2-1--------------------------------------------1-2-3-4-|

 G|----------------------4-5-6-7--5-6-7-8-------------------------|  
 D|---------------3-4-5-6----------------6-7-8-9------------------|  
 A|--------2-3-4-5------------------------------7-8-9-10----------|  
 E|-1-2-3-4---------------------------------------------8-9-10-11-|

 G|-------------------------5-6-7-8--4-5-6-7----------------------|  
 D|------------------6-7-8-9----------------3-4-5-6---------------|  
 A|----------7-8-9-10------------------------------2-3-4-5--------|  
 E|-8-9-10-11---------------------------------------------1-2-3-4-|

 G|----------------------4-5-6-7--5-6-7-8-------------------------|  
 D|---------------3-4-5-6----------------6-7-8-9------------------|  
 A|--------2-3-4-5------------------------------7-8-9-10----------|  
 E|-1-2-3-4---------------------------------------------8-9-10-11-|

As you can see there are quite a few variations of the same exercise you can play, this is why it is best to take about a week on each exercise.