String Skip Interval Calculator for Guitar and Bass

Often you reach a point in a run where you are comfortabley with the scale fingering, so it runs automatically. Then when you add an extended arpeggio, the passage falls apart. Why? Probably because you are unsure of how far to move the hand. If that happens, the pick will either catch two strings instead of one or miss a string entirely. In other words, its what we call a string skip.

Most people goes on guessing their way around this until they get fed up. The geometry of your fretting hand mean that certain jumps feel different than others; intuitively guessing is often not reliable with more complicated intervals. The calculator above eliminate this guesswork. It accurately maps the semitones in a given interval. It tells you exactly how far you have jumped and how many string you have skipped. It also estimates picking load based off the direction you select. This leaves you free to concentrate on executing the passage without worrying about setting up.

How to Stop Missing Strings When Playing Big Jumps

First off: knowing what happens when we tune differently explains why tuning makes all the difference, as normal tuning set up a visual trick where distance between B and G-strings (a major third) is consistently different than the other intervals (fourths), and our brains try to make same shape again on two strings but don’t account for the tighter spacing. Transposing to an open tuning like Drop D or DADGAD helps you see whats going on. The intervals are completely changed, sometimes being wider and sometimes closer together. Understanding table of intervals on page will help you realize it’s not just about skipping. It is about interval relationships your instrument was designed to play.

It’s easy to neglect picking mechanics till it’s too late but I find that big jumps usually feel safer outside picked, as the pick has further to travel in the air between strings. If you’re able to make your picking action tight then inside picking sound cleaner too. The calculator scores these interactions as difficult if you combine a wide skip with an awkward pick direction where it feels like there is a high chance of messing it up.

Why? Because it combines fret travel with string span, it explains why jumping three strings while going up four frets are much harder than jumping three strings without a fret change. The task is more daunting still for the bassist with longer scales and thicker strings; what was a feasible jump across strings on a guitar is now a huge physical stretch on the bass. A careless mute won’t be covered by velocity, so jumping over three strings on a four string bass wouldn’t of worked unless you can find another way to mute the unused strings quickly. The preset drills for the five- and tenor settings shows how many bass players use either their finger or a hybrid pick for these skips.

Again, keeping the pick closer to the strings is a good way to develop something that are physically possible to play on the instrument. It’s not that practice is about playing fast enough to cover up the mistake but taking the mystery out of the mechanics until you no longer feel nervous when you know exactly what it is your hand is going to commit to. If the move is a wide tenth or a clean octave jump you will stop fearing the gap and begin to respect the geometry. Know where you are heading, as they say and the journey will be much less chaotic.