Two-Fingered Tremolo Technique EXPLAINED [BASS TUTORIAL]

By popular request, here's a tutorial on my two-fingered tremolo technique for playing upwards of 20 notes per second, which I've been calling "two-by-two picking." As you can probably tell, I'm not much of a speaker, but hopefully you will get something out of it. All background music was made by me specifically for the occasion. Let me know if you have any questions, as I may address some of them in a follow-up video.
0:00 - Introduction
1:04 - What is it?
1:39 - Why do I use it?
5:08 - Demonstration + slow motion
5:22 - How do I use it?
8:14 - Finger isolation exercise
10:16 - Sample song (bass playthrough)
10:55 - Final tips
13:14 - Sample song (full instrumental + tab)
Tuning: A E A D G C
LINKED SONGS
Unholy Gravebirth: • Infant Annihilator - U...
Mitra: • Fleshgod Apocalypse - ...
MORE GOOD EXAMPLES
Soil the Stillborn: • Infant Annihilator - S...
Regret and the Grave: • Cattle Decapitation - ...
The Knife, the Head and What Remains: • Cryptopsy - The Knife,...
Saprophytic Lust: • The Aberrant - Saproph...
Ov Sacrament and Sincest: • Infant Annihilator - O...
We are Horrible People: • Cattle Decapitation - ...
Performed and edited by Linden Poirier | @linden.poirier
Filmed by Amber Poirier | @amberpoir

[@ericsiemens9891]

I've been trying to relearn how I do fast sixteenths in metal because using three fingers makes you think polyrhythmically, which is great if you're playing polyrhythms, but not so great if you're just trying to play quadruplets edit; I really dig this technique

[@LindenPoirier]

Thanks dude, glad it's come in handy!

[@landonwinter2148]

I picked this up to learn how to play some Cliff Burton. It's really helpful for Metal Militia because I could never seem to get the cadence down with a three-finger technique so I taught myself how to play with both up and down strokes with two fingers. Looked this up to see if it was an actual technique. I highly recommend learning this! At least for myself, I find it far easier than a three-finger style and I was able to supplement it entirely with a two-finger tremolo. I also do a 3 finger tremolo but only if I am playing one note really fast lmao. Not really viable otherwise.

[@LindenPoirier]

Hey, glad to hear! Still thinking of doing a better explanation video somewhere down the road 😅

[@brutaldroo]

I use a 3 finger approach with the 4th note/strike being my middle fingernail coming back up. U use finger finger nail nail for 2 fingers to make 4 strikes. I use ring middle index middle-nail. Like a wave pattern. The best way i’ve come to practice this or any method for finger banging a bass is do the method on anything while not using hand for something specific. Like, i’m a trucker, so as i drive, i do it on the steering wheel. Greatly improved my timing, strength and stamina. I haven’t touched an instrument in over a yr but i could probably get on bass right now and speed pick due to constantly doing this practice on anything/everything as a habit, following along with music i’m cranking at the time or what’s in my head. Good video man! Might try 2 fingers myself.

[@LindenPoirier]

Thanks dude! I've heard of the method you described but could never get it as precise as I wanted, could totally see how it'd work well though.I feel you with the idle practice thing, too. Sometimes I'll be strumming away on one of my right hand's fingers if I'm on the bus, watching a movie, etc.

[@crimsoncrowley6285]

Ive been doing this for yearrrrrs now super good stuff love it

[@LindenPoirier]

Glad to hear, dude!

[@joaqbasscovers6147]

Been waiting for this, before this came out I was watching ur infant vids at a slower speed trying to figure out whats going on lmao

[@LindenPoirier]

Hahah, hopefully this will help!

[@appeasedbeast408]

More like this pls

[@LindenPoirier]

Thanks man, will do!

[@thegallows8280]

LINDEN POIRIER TUTORIAL LINDEN POIRIER TUTORIAL

[@LindenPoirier]

You know it!

[@ZakAndrews]

The 69x on the tab killed me! Great tutorial dude, keep it up :)

[@LindenPoirier]

Haha thanks man, glad you caught that ;)

[@emmarush327]

Helpful breakdown in the description box too! I don't even know how to play bass but was interested with how you described this haha well done, man :)

[@LindenPoirier]

Aww, thanks Emma! Glad to hear it's entertaining to non-bassists as well!

[@charlesoliviersdufaux6943]

Woow very cool videos. A nice level of information. Definitely going to wach this video when needed

[@LindenPoirier]

Thanks bud, hope it can be of use to you!

[@serj.danyliuk]

Bro, it's something I was looking for ages!! Thank you so much - now I'm twice more motivated to practice! I'm a lefty but playing the bass as I'm plucking strings with my right hand so I face some problems with keeping nice 16-th upper than 140 bpm. Once I improve it, I wanna do brutal bass covers. Stay Tech!

[@LindenPoirier]

Thanks man, you can do it! Lemme know if you need help with anything!

[@lennyistonline]

I'm lefty too and I also play with my right hand. And also I'd like to play this brutal shit soo much. I feel with you!

[@marianoeusse4339]

I really apreciate this video Man been working on it and it helps for real fast stuff perfectly love your videos

[@LindenPoirier]

Thanks man, glad to hear!

[@sethmartin8038]

wow, this is really helpful. Probably not something a beginner like me should learn but it's still really cool for a finger warm up/ strengthening exercise.

[@LindenPoirier]

Thanks dude! Definitely not for everyone but hopefully it'll come in handy

[@xycbass6632]

Dude! This helped a ton, I hope you keep making tutorials like this.

[@LindenPoirier]

Thanks man, glad to hear!

[@Danny-gr6qn]

Ok that's pretty amazing, thanks for sharing this

[@LindenPoirier]

Thanks dude, hope it helps!

[@theofficialassmob]

bass tone is as sick as ever linden! great vid btw mate

[@LindenPoirier]

Thanks dude! Strings are getting old but pretty happy with how it turned out.

[@nikhilt9671]

Fantastic as always bro

[@LindenPoirier]

Thanks dude!

[@AmberPoir]

The best as always ❤️

[@LindenPoirier]

Aww, thanks bb

[@BLOOM604YVR]

Excellent.

[@LindenPoirier]

Thanks man!!

[@mandowall]

Dude, I've been trying to figure this out for god knows how long now, I literally cannot thank you enough for this tutorial, its perfect. Nice Godzilla tshirt btw, you got a favourite Godzilla movie?

[@LindenPoirier]

Thanks dude, so glad you enjoyed it! And that's a tough one. For overall quality I like 1954, Shin Godzilla and Godzilla vs. Biollante a lot, but some of the campy ones like Final Wars or Godzilla vs. Megalon are also a good time.

[@mindfuc]

Thanks for sharing your knowledge Bro ;)

[@LindenPoirier]

Hope it helps!

[@amediocrehuman2885]

Thanks for the lesson Linden! hopefully I can get this down Asap

[@LindenPoirier]

No problem Akrit, lemme know how it goes! Thanks for watching!

[@juanescobar6086]

This is Sick, I’ve never seen this before, now I can Blast along with my Drummer and Guitarists😁

[@LindenPoirier]

Glad I could help!

[@aCeruleanStateMusic]

Thanks!

[@LindenPoirier]

Happy to help!

[@joonasvuomajoki2636]

This is actually similar to a technique I use sometimes, but it utilizes three fingers. So playing solid 16th notes in 4/4 it's ring, middle, index, index upstroke. It's kinda weird because it gives a different tamber on the fourth of the group since you hit it with your nail, but that's why I also call it tremolo plucking, because it's not solid 16th notes.

[@LindenPoirier]

Makes sense, considering I find the hardest hit to get good power on is the middle upstroke and your approach bypasses that. I also do a simplified middle, index, index upstroke for triplets, which I think I mentioned in the video. Great minds think alike!

[@NewAeonWarlord]

Very cool and nice breakdown! :) I will try this again, as well :) Have kind of given up on practicing this kind of stuff lately since I've mostly just moved to using my thumb for fast tremolo-picking style parts which seems to work well. I'll experiment around with it though :)

[@LindenPoirier]

Thanks bud! Honestly the thumb is more than fast enough practically speaking, unless there's something really specific you wanna do.

[@NewAeonWarlord]

@@LindenPoirier Yes, i think most of the time I can get plenty speed out of my thumb. What you use this technique for is more special occasions I feel like. It's just not good to ALWAYS play that fast on bass. I just kinda like the feel of playing thumb style and how I can combine it with popping for fast thrashy rythms and the likes. I don't really play much extremely fast technical deathmetal though. When I do tremolo "picking", it's more in the blackmetal style which in a lot of cases is a bit slower than what's shown here. I still like the economy of this technique and it's always good to learn more :) Especially from a good tutorial hehe

[@Emily_M81]

I'm getting pretty fast with two fingers, and have a copy of Alex Webster's Extreme Metal Bass (he uses three, or did when this book came out). Three feels weird to me, too. It's almost like I have to do this odd "reach" with my ring finger to get to the strings and it just wasn't working for me. But this. This I think I can eventually manage. Thanks! :D

[@LindenPoirier]

Glad to hear! Feel free to reach out if you encounter any problems. I'm also available for lessons if you ever feel inclined :)

[@lennyistonline]

Hey Linden, I just stumbled upon this channel. But I already love it. Thanks for making such awesome bass covers (and tutorials lol). It's also a very inspiring thing for me bc I play bass too for about 5 years now (sometimes more, sometimes less intense) and I would really like and enjoy to play and maybe make some covers of this too. But I can't play along with this Deathcore stuff yet. I haven't got a 5 string till now. But it will be my next music investment. Just a 4 string squier and a 4 String Dean Thunderbird with a low B Tuning and thicker strings (but it's not the same). And in a technical way something wouldn't be thaaat hard for me to play I guess but you're like a god for me when you're playing Soil The Stillborn (second and last cover I've watched from you btw). You totally have my subscription and support form now on!! And thank you so much for doing what you're doing! You are awesome. Greetings from Germany, Lenny

[@lennyistonline]

third bass cover I already watched*

[@LindenPoirier]

Thanks for sending me this dude, means a lot! That's rad that you wanna start making covers, too. If you ever need tabs from songs I've done or wanna pick my brain about something, don't hesitate to reach out. Cheers from Canada |m/

[@lennyistonline]

@@LindenPoirier Thanks for that. If I'll need help I will ask you :)

[@jamesschuh3859]

This is well explained, love the advice. I was in a band as a drummer and I could of used you as a bass player. The gravity blast doesn't exist I believe its called "the one handed drum roll technique" gravity has nothing to do with it.

[@LindenPoirier]

Thanks dude, and yeah makes sense! I guess it's more about the fulcrum point than the rebound itself

[@moustaphabalde7581]

ive always been wondering about this and i didnt know you were american lol

[@LindenPoirier]

Hope it helped! And I'm from western Canada so I don't have the stereotypical Canadian accent haha

[@moustaphabalde7581]

@@LindenPoirier thats really cool, thsnks for the video

[@BlackFriday242]

Clicked on this faster than them fingers, boiiiiii.

[@LindenPoirier]

Thanks for all the support man! Totally outside my comfort zone on this one.

[@radMisc]

I've been toying around with different right hand options for speed during my two years of playing. In my band i simply opt for pick, but I'm experimenting while practicing. My "problem" with this type of technique is similar to the double thumb double pluck method - sure, I get speed, but I don't get the timbre I want. The thing that's so attractive about full on 4 finger picking is that all strokes are rest strokes, so you get the punch of low frequencies. Any technique which involves free strokes moving away from the pickup will naturally result in less "meat" than regular finger picking. Currently my go to for faster 16th note parts is to simply hold my fingers like a pick and trem pick with the tip/side of my thumb. It sounds decent and is more ergonomic than regular double thumbing (since you support the thumb with your index finger)

[@LindenPoirier]

Fair enough dude! It won't be the best option for every application, but I find for percussive styles of playing with a lot of clack, where supplementing tremolo guitar lines, double kick, etc., it does the job well. What do you mean by moving away from the pickup though?

[@radMisc]

@@LindenPoirier yeah def, kudos if you can make it work! I'm talking about the fact that the finger upstrokes will not have the same amount of low end content as the downstrokes. Any plucking motion which travels out from the body of the instrument rather than in towards it (i.e. free strokes) will be like this, in my experience. So when playing in a full band context I'm worried about getting a *THUD THUD* ᵖˡᵘᶜᵏ ᵖˡᵘᶜᵏ sound

[@LindenPoirier]

@@radMisc I agree with you on the thump/pop issue, but I'm not sure the same applies in this context since the down and upstrokes are both relatively flush to the body of the bass (though not entirely). The biggest problem I could see is the upstroke having sharper attack bc of the nail, but if the action is low enough then it gets drowned out from the other fretboard noise. I'd assume that the speed of each subsequent note would affect how much low end can be generated, too, since the string can only vibrate so much in a 20th of a second but that's more of a hunch. Either way I'm enjoying this duscussion!

[@radMisc]

@@LindenPoirier yeah tbh this reminds me that i need to get my bass setup sorted, rn the action is way too high so it's difficult to get the desired clank especially on the higher strings. Maybe my perspective will change after fixing that. Also, Rob Trujillo actually uses your technique! Search for "rob trujilo warwick" and look at the bass promo thing, he does it a couple of times in there

[@LindenPoirier]

@@radMisc Oh sweet, I'll check it out! Not surprised a guy like him uses it.And yeah it definitely works better on bigger, slinkier strings. You can do it on the high strings but I find it doesn't feel the same.

[@julbrine]

Been waiting for this! Thanks a lot man, I can't wait to try it out. Do you also use this for 8th notes at 300 bpm or just for the tremolo? Or is it like you said just whatever fits?

[@LindenPoirier]

Glad to hear! I'll often use it for 8th notes-for example, playing 300 bpm 8ths with just the index finger, then adding the middle if any 16ths pop up-but it depends. It's a lot easier to play something like that with one finger instead of the traditional two-finger downstrokes method. Anything above 300 bpm I would defs use down and upstrokes for, anyway.

[@julbrine]

@@LindenPoirier thanks, I'll keep that in mind when practicing it and putting it to use. Thanks for the video dude, keep up the great work!

[@LindenPoirier]

@@julbrine Thanks man, I appreciate the feedback!

[@gayyy3565]

I was so excited about learning and using this technique in my bass playing, but then I realised just how badly this would fuck up my nails T-T. Guess I'm sticking to three fingers

[@LindenPoirier]

It's not too bad unless you're growing 'em out or have them carefully painted or s/t. It's just the very tip that touches

[@bassmelodies1592]

Bro you are the best!!!! When you doing another bass Cover? Do "everytime I die "by Children Of Bodom

[@LindenPoirier]

Thanks man! I'm not totally sure, but I'll definitely get at least a few more out this year. Hopefully something new will be up this summer. I'll keep that in mind though, would be good to pay my respects to Alexi like that!

[@bassmelodies1592]

@@LindenPoirier I just uploaded my " Involuntary Doppelganger " Bass Cover . Lol will do it again in the future with me Jamming it .( that tapping part is hard )

[@LindenPoirier]

@@bassmelodies1592 I just checked it out, very nice! I like that you made it your own

[@bassmelodies1592]

@@LindenPoirier 🙂😊 haha thanks man. Play with feel when all else fails .

[@LindenPoirier]

@@bassmelodies1592 Amen to that!

[@drumboy940]

2 years late, but I think you could improve the technique rythmically by making a 2 or 3 fingers standard plucking during a few bars and then double the strokes. I tought it like a drummer making single and double stroke rolls.

[@LindenPoirier]

Good idea! I've been thinking about doing an updated version of this video sometime. There's a lot of stuff I wanna clarify or expand on, including practice techniques

[@wormbass6747]

Robert Trujillo from Metalica uses this technique.

[@LindenPoirier]

Ah interesting! Do you have any idea what he calls it?

[@wormbass6747]

@@LindenPoirier no

[@Jackpostguitar]

This is like the Alternate picking of bass

[@LindenPoirier]

Yeah, pretty much hahah

[@Jackpostguitar]

So you’re canadian too eh man ! When we puttin together the next big Canadian shredy fast tech death band 😉 hahaha

[@LindenPoirier]

​@@Jackpostguitar Idk dude, but sounds good to me ;) I just saw that you've got some sick content of your own btw, which area are you from?

[@Jackpostguitar]

I’m from southern Ontario

[@Jackpostguitar]

Thanks so much dude you rip, glad you like it.

[@julianwieck8974]

Hey man, really enjoyed this video and tried working on it because three finger technique hasn’t clicked with me yet beyond galloping. I saw in your “about” page that you did lessons. Is that still a thing?

[@LindenPoirier]

Hey dude, sure is! Haven't put much effort into pursuing it but it's something I'm open to. Send me an email or DM and we can hash something out

[@Gorlung]

please make a mirrored version)

[@LindenPoirier]

So you want a version where I appear to be right-handed, and all the text on the screen is reversed? Or are you talking about something else?

[@maciejjanoszko1214]

So, you play by your index finger down and up and after that you do the same with your ring finger?

[@LindenPoirier]

Actually it's middle down, index down, middle up, index up-no ring finger required! But I originally did what I described but with ring instead of middle

[@maciejjanoszko1214]

@@LindenPoirier Thanks for the explanation. Your skills are unhuman and I couldn't figure out what fingers you used and in what order because of the speed you achieved. Even slo-mo didn't help :) Please do more tutorials like this, I enjoyed this a lot.

[@LindenPoirier]

@@maciejjanoszko1214 Thank man! I'm hoping once my degree is done (December or January) I'll get back into making videos.

[@nicholas5142]

Come back :D

[@LindenPoirier]

Soon

[@mmmmmmmtoast]

Man I feel like if I learn this I'm gonna have to trim my nails even more often

[@mmmmmmmtoast]

Also the only thing I don't get, what do you mean by transients? Or transience? I've never heard that term

[@LindenPoirier]

Haha it definitely becomes a major deal, like I probably cut mine once or twice a week. Doesn't have to be crazy short or anything. And good question! In recording, it's the big spike that appears right when the string is struck. With this technique, I wanna get those to basically look like the teeth of a saw as much as possible, rather than being different spacings and heights.

[@mmmmmmmtoast]

@@LindenPoirier interesting, thanks for the answer! I dont know enough about recording to understand it exactly but maybe one day 🤔

[@LindenPoirier]

@@mmmmmmmtoast No prob, lemme know if I can help you w anything!

[@balancewiz199]

you still trying to be a bass on IA? I could ask dickie if you want

[@LindenPoirier]

If they're looking for someone then yeah, definitely! That'd be a dream gig

[@balancewiz199]

@@LindenPoirier alright I’ll ask

[@nathanthehuman3600]

Wouldn't say im a fan but been a long time viewer. Just have to say something this is the probably the worst technique for playing fast tremolo picking on bass. You would have to have the most God tier finger strength to pull this off constantly with no mistakes...and you can not, it's muddy especially with your tone. This makes sense why I can't get into your covers it's beyond messy at fast parts if you're trying to cheat your way to sixteenth notes this is not it. This doesn't apply to the economy of motion it's more work for a bad sound. Learning to articulate with 3 fingers to make sixteenth notes is far worth it than this form of failed articulation. Your sound literally changes when you pull up and pull down, super inconsistent. Watch Brian bell of Dethklok's way of tremolo picking it's very similar but has more articulation and power because you're using 2-3 fingers at once like a giant pick

[@LindenPoirier]

Oh well, can't please everyone ¯\_(ツ)_/¯