How many of you knowingly have bad technique and embrace it?

[GENRLEE]

Well I knowingly have bad technique but it works for me. I mainly use 1 and 4 on fret board. Have thick calluses on both of those fingers to prove it. While my picking/fingering hand uses the 1 and 2 (index and middle). I use my thumb at times but not much.

My bad technique works for me because I really don't play that fast of music. If I played faster songs, My fingers would get tied into knots no doubt.

Several of you made excellent points for both sides. My whole thing is that if it sounds good and you accomplish what you want to accomplish, why worry about it? I don't know any theory at all but would love to learn it sometime. Doesn't mean I'm going to say theory doesn't mean anything because I know for a fact it does. Look at Cliff Burton. That man knew theory frontwards, backwards, up, down, diagonally.. you name it, he knew about it. Very technical player.

[fearceol]

Originally Posted by MrCincinnati

My only point here is that your statement suggesting that bad technique leads to bad art is completely wrong

Im inclined to agree with this. Take a look at this guy's fretting hand technique. He seems to break every "rule" in the book, yet he has produced very little "bad art".



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=obFcsEtFIKA

[JimmyM]

Actually McCartney's produced a lot of bad art Just that he produced so much awesome stuff that you kind of forget crap like "Press To Play" and "Simply Having A Wonderful Christmastime."

Anyway, kids, don't aspire to be a yutz. You ain't McCartney. If you're going to get serious with music, it's best to learn as much as you can, including pain-free and efficient techniques. That way, when you need them you'll have them, and if you want to look cool when you don't need them, then you can do that, too. But don't aspire to learn as little about music as possible.

[LeoSash]

Well...

1. Very Slanted bass (like anywhere between 45 and 75)
2. Upright like plucking (sometimes) on my electric or acoustic
3. When i do pluck with my fingertips i hear very staccato-like noise upon playback as in i don't put enough meat on my plucking

1 and 2 are just for comfort and tone. 3 is because i used to play metal and that mean't speed for me, for metal? that's good...but for jazz i get mocked by my bass teacher for having a thinner tone.

[the Arsonaut]

I'm sure there was a time when Slapping a bass was considered a poor technique. Maybe a well respected older gentleman lamented the player's attempt to draw attention to himself...
and popping a string, well, that's just sloppy pizzicato there, Mr.


Reading thus far, why do I get the feeling that all of the Art teachers married all of the English teachers, and had kids?

[fearceol]

Originally Posted by JimmyM

Actually McCartney's produced a lot of bad art Just that he produced so much awesome stuff that you kind of forget crap like "Press To Play" and "Simply Having A Wonderful Christmastime."
.

Fair enough. My point was that his technique did not hinder him in making his art, be that art good or bad.

In other words the titles you list above were not "crap" because of his fretting hand technique.

[Russell L]

Don't ask me about my golf swing, ok?

Bass-wise, I play octaves with my pinky, and go 124 almost everywhere except when I HAVE to use my ring finger. Actually, I play more 1-4 than anything. It's probably the reason my pinky got sore recently after playing ten dates (two gigs, four jams, four rehearsals) last month. Better now, but I gotta watch that. Now I've gotten used to just using 123. Hope I don't get mixed up.

[HarperHawk]

I was going to have a go at arguing on this thread but I forgot my thesaurus.

That is bad humour, but doesn't mean I'm not capable of being funny every now and again.

[funkingroovin]

I fret 95% of the time using only my index and pinky fingers. Because of an old injury my ring-finger 'ratchets' and locks up. I have big hands,and my pinky is about the same size as most people's index finger,so fatigue has never been an issue. I also tend to hook my thumb over the top of the neck,which I've heard is a no-no..

[dropbass]

Does it matter as long as it feels and sounds good? And you can play what you want?

[PerlNinja]

I guess I count. I tend to use the pads of my fingers more in a rolling motion, but I started doing that because my dayjob involves a lot of typing, which means that (initially) wrecking my fingertips means I can't type for ****. However, once you get used to it and get used to the idea that to play "loud" you don't have to dig in, it works out. Let the amp do the work.

Fretting technique is atrocious since I do have this thumb-over-the-top tendency, and my plucking technique is odd at best. I anchor my thumb on the last bit of the neck, and will use my ringfinger and pinky for string muting. It just turned out to be the most comfortable position that causes no pain, no cramps, and sort of "came natural".

Do I consider this bad technique, however? No, not really. I consider it my technique, and it works for me. Your mileage may vary, and so on.

[deeptubes]

I don't know what technique I use that is good or bad. I just do what comes naturally and feels right. After 26 years, ain't no changin' this old dog!

[CauliColin]

I taught myself to slap, but it appears to have ended up a Flea/Claypool hybrid. It's indecisive.
My chord playing is probably inadequate. I picked it up from watching Primus videos. It works, but from time to time if I do it too aggressively, some of the skin from my middle finger (and nails) gets ground down.
Also, my triplet technique is self taught. It goes M-I-I. The second I involves flicking my finger at the string, which, during long songs, doesn't help my nails.
But it all works.

[revtime]

Great, I did not know I had bad technique until I read this thread.

[the Arsonaut]

Half of these "bad techniques" I'm reading about, I'm going to try out...

[byronkowalski]

yeah some of them seem worth having in the arsenal,

[CauliColin]

This cover I put on youtube only enforces my statement about my slapping and chord playing...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r-TYmN8p0KU

[EasyMurder]

I fret my E string with my thumb. Sometimes even the A string...