just wondering if anyone has ever taken a double take on technique...i believe that there is "better" technique, but never proper. This apply s' to mostly the bass and guitar. proper is only the opinion of another man. I find that the way one man plays slap is not the way another does, does that make one or the other proper or right? just wanted to see what you guys think..-thanks

true, there's no proper way to play, since electric bass and guitar are relatively new and somewhat ambiguous when it comes to technique...

for me tho, its floating thumb. it really amazes me how perfect the human hand is for that application, and how the simplicity of the instrument suits it well.

but again, there's no one technique. i can play almost as well anchoring as i do floating.

There is no one correct/proper way to play the bass. The problem comes when technique gets in the way of playing music.

If a passage becomes all muddled/sloppy after sufficient practice, then one should look at their technique. Of course, "sufficient practice" depends on the individual.

I believe that the notion of "proper technique" comes from people who have experienced technique getting in the way of playing music. Their trial/error and practice has led to techniques that work. These are probably the techniques that have been labeled "proper".

Joe

It's proper technique as long as it hurts neither your hands nor the audience's ears.

yeah, i agree that proper technique will never give you carpel tunnel or anything bad.

also, if your technique is drastically slower than somebody doing it another way, its poopy.

+1 Bassist4Life

I believe that the notion of "proper technique" comes from people who have experienced technique getting in the way of playing music. Their trial/error and practice has led to techniques that work. These are probably the techniques that have been labeled "proper".

Joe

so...the "proper" technique is the one that gets in the way the least? :ninja:

"Proper" technique, at least in the way that it applies to instruments that have had a lot longer of a history than the electric bass guitar, typically refers to what academic powers have deigned to be the safest and most efficient means of playing the instrument and controlling what sound you produce. Usually they're correct, but because the bass is a relatively new instrument, and there are fifty thousand different ways of playing it, there isn't a general consensus on the best methodologies to tone production, speed, fingering, etc. This, in my opinion, isn't really important - somebody with an unusual method can arrive at the same results with somebody who doesn't use that method, and there isn't any sort of academic disdain for "improper technique" (well, not AS much)

What IS important here is one of two things. First and foremost, what should be considered "good" technique on the bass is what should be healthy technique. Things like bent wrists, unnecesary tension in the hands, wrists and shoulders and playing with an excessively hard touch (vice grip in fretting hand, digging in too hard in left) can cause serious injury in the long run, which will prevent you from playing. These sorts of things are definitely bad technique, no two ways around it. Yes you will see the heavy hitters play with bent wrists (Victor Wooten), and the heavy hitters play with a hard touch (John Myung), but in order to be there where they are today playing without injury they had to figure out how their bodies worked with their instrument without causing carpal tunnel. That's what the whole "NO BENT WRIST" thing is about, getting you to at least start thinking about safety.

The other component in my definition of good technique is "investigated" technique, and what I mean by that is technique which has had thought put into it. A person who has just started out hasn't put any thought into fingerings, and just uses whatever finger is available. A person who commits to a method, like one finger per fret or Simandl 124, in my opinion, has better technique than the first one. A person who has put thought into what sorts of fingerings to use on what patterns beyond simply thinking 1 finger per fret or 124 has attained an even higher level of technical ability. As long as there is thought put into the details, it's irrelevant if there is a uniform outcome - whatever you work on will, presumably, be the best for you, so long as you work on it. The masters of the instrument have put considerable time and thought into their own playing and developed their own unique voice in how they approach playing the instrument, in addition to playing the instrument. It is this "thought" that goes into the technique that should be considered what makes technique "good".

my middle school band director once said something i found very insightful. he said, "u know u have mastered your instrument when u dont have to worry about how to play it."