How has your technique changed over the years?

[Peter McFerrin]

Wow, BigWheel, that sounds exactly like the way my technique has evolved...

The first few weeks that I played, I used a pick; I wanted to sound like Geddy Lee and always thought that he used a pick (he just digs in really hard, that's all). It didn't really sound all that good, though, and it caused a lot of fret buzz, so I just said "screw it" and started using two fingers, planting my thumb on the neck pickup of my MIM Jazz.

After a couple of months, I started using three fingers in a rather haphazard style; I usually play R-M-I-M, but when I'm doing something with lots of cross-string jumping (the middle section of "Portrait of Tracy," for example), I tend to use my ring finger as a string-jumping lead, Gary Willis style.

Up until about last month, I was still planting my thumb on the neck pickup. With my new Dean 5-string, I was running into problems keeping the low B quiet, so I started using a bastard floating thumb technique--keeping the thumb on the face of the pickup and sliding it down to the B when necessary.

In the past few weeks, I've become acutely aware of just how much the pickups on my Dean suck, especially the bridge unit. The bridge PU has <b>no</b> midrange and is very thin-sounding. To get a bit more midrange out of my bass, I started playing over the bridge pickup, and doing floating-thumb muting on the B, E, and A strings. Surprisingly enough, it's coming along pretty well. I can articulate fast passages and I can finally get that punchy "burp" out of the bridge pickup. I still want to put in some Bartolinis to get thicker midrange out of my bass, but I can be heard now, at the expense of some fundamental.

My slap technique has gone from "crap" to "still sucks, but getting better." I pop with both my index and middle fingers, which helps on slap-double-pop triplets (I love those to death). For muting, I just palm the low strings immediately after I'm done slapping; the ringing barely even gets amplified and the subtle "thud" can be used like a ghost note, which is also awesome and highly useful when playing triplets. I still can't slap 16ths on the same string at much more than 80bpm, though.

[ZoomBoy]

I guess for me the thing that evolved was how I held the bass and going from being a pick only player to a 95% fingerstyle/5% pick (if the song calls for it) player. When I started out playing, the bass was slung really low and I played with a pick all the time. Over the years I found that I was shortening my strap as my playing improved and I used a pick less and less. Having the bass up higher is much more comfortable for me and I play a pick only for the tone.

[5156246]

The longer I play the bass the better I understand that there will always be something new to learn. And that you can always improve everything.

Most of all this were/are just little changes, maybe you even don't notice that you changed/improved something.

But of course there are also big changes. With me, the last big improvment was not to slap so hard any more. I realized slapping softly means better sound, a relaxing but VERY fast thumb/hand and really cool feeling for your instrument. I don't know the best word for it, but when I move in such a relaxed position my left hand for fast lines over the whole fretboard it's smooth and not at all stressing.

In former times I wouldn't even be able to play such things shortly but now with practice and experience it's so easy

[NiKo]

OK guys, Niko's here.
I probabilly am not as experienced as
you all but I really agree tha players get better
unconsciously while exercising and playing.
I'm only played for 5 years but as you say
comes a day when you realize something's changed
from the beginning of playing.
E.G.my fingers are faster and stronger now,
my tecnique obviously is better,
my music has changed no more only rocky riffs
but also melodic lines.

Than you for the attension.
Stay heavy NiKo Raven

[Sheep Man]

Well, it hasn't quite been a number of years yet for me (Haven't even been playing a full year yet. ), but I've now changed from planting my thumb on the pickup to moving it from pickup to string to string...as in when I play the E string it's on the pick up, when I play the A string it's on the E etc...