Resarch for school, bass techniques.

[Ironkid]

Hey there Talkbass guys !

So my resarch is, what kinda technique people use the most,
Slap/pop, Tapping, With pick, or Without pick ( playing with fingers), if you use some otrher technique, you should mention it
When you leave your reply, i would be thankful if you'd also gave me your age and gender .
Also a little comment about why you use this technique, would be useful ...

Thankful Rauno, from Estonia .

EDIT: Also if you regulary play with pick and sometimes use slap/pop or tapping etc, then leave your answer in the reply
Also dont judge for so popular poll, i'm new around here, and i don't have time( date to give away the resarch is 04.04.2011) to search, so i made new poll ..

[totallyfrozen]

Age an gender are in most members' profiles (41/male). I pluck with alternative fingers most often. I do this because it feels natural and puts me in constant, direct contact with the strings so that I feel everything more. I feel like the bass is an extension of my hands when I use my fingers more than when I use a pick. I may slap or pop a note or two in a bass line but slap is certainly NOT my main style of playing--and I can't see how it could be. Slap/Pop is a more of a novelty skill to me. Unless someone is playing a funk style tune that requires that sound constantly, it's rare that a bassist would slap/pop an entire bass line, IME. I rarely use a pick; not because I don't like the sound but because I don't like the feel of it. Tapping? Well, I do hammer-ons and pull-offs but I don't often play any tapping or chords on the bass.

One thing you should have asked for is to have respondents to tell you what styles of music they play mostly. The style of music will largely determine what playing style a bassist will use often. I play Rock, Pop, Country, R&B/Disco, and Jazz--mostly Rock and Country. I play electric bass not upright/double bass. My basses have frets; I don't have/play a fretless bass.

Good luck with your research.

[TheDude007]

29/male. Mostly fingers for me. Totallyfrozen nailed it. It has to do with being in contact with the instrument for me, letting it be an extension of me. Every once in a while I'll use a pick if we're doing a song with a heavy punk influence. Mostly we play pretty straight forward rock though.

[DeclanG]

Male 28, Use pick and fingers depending on the song but probably pick more.

[queevil]

Male 32. Alternating two and three finger technique with chords and some tapping.

[AmadeusXeno]

Male 28. I do all of them. It just depends on what I'm playing or how I'm feeling. I like to be as versitial as I can with my playing style although I do mostly use my fingers.

[Mayers]

Male 28, I used them all. But I don't use a pick often because I hate the feeling. I don't slap anymore because I feel like it is over done. I also use the 4 fingers technic that classical guitar player use, I also use false harmonic ( using the thumb or index ) and tapping harmonic ( I don't know the real name but you tap on the fret to produce an harmonic ).

I play with a 6 string bass fretted and one fretless. Right now I prefer fretless bass.

I also learn to play upright bass 5 years ago when I did a college degree in music.

I play : classical music, prog ( think Dream Theater ), jazz ( more fusion like John Patitucci/Chick Corea), I also played death metal ( like Necrophagist ). Otherwise right now I would really like to play like Zander Zon or Micheal Manring.

[TOOL460002]

Mail to: 32 Age St.

i like to change up techniques, but 2-3 fingers take care of most of my business.

[Pollinator95]

15 y/o, male. Everything except tapping, I almost never use it. My band is hard rock, but I play metal, jazz, funk, and anything that takes my fancy.

[fearceol]

Male 56. Fingers just seem the most natural to me. Nothing against a pick in certain circumstances. I keep intending to learn the technique, but so far I have not done so.

[heywhatcanido]

Fingers most of the time, but I do play slap and tap quite often as well.

[isthimus]

15/male
pick for fast, trebly, "biting" lines
slap for flashy bits
fingers for low, round, bassy lines
tapping for a laugh XD
i used to only use a pick but its not versatile enough. none of the techniques really have enough versatility to use all the time, so i jus mix an match :P

[KalTM]

21 Male

I used to play with a pick in high school because I liked the way it sounded with my band at the time. Now, I hardly ever use one. I use finger style mainly because I have learned new ways to get pick-like attack with my fingers, and have less and less need for one. I also enjoy slapping once in a while, but I voted strictly fingers.

[Mezzo]

Male age 15

I mostly pluck with my fingers, but I break out the pick every now and then.

[MysticMichael]

Male/55

I voted "all of the above"...

While the great majority of my playing now is fingerstyle, when first starting out, I alternated regularly between fingerstyle and picking - mainly because much of the classic rock I was playing at that time (we just called it "rock" then - it hadn't yet become "classic") required that sharp attack and crisp, bright timbre that only a pick can provide.

Since then, I've occasionally used a little slap & pop - sparingly - though I am by no means a slapmaster. Tapping is the technique with which I have the least experience - or understanding. But I like to experiment with it. It is probably the technique I find most fascinating - because of all the harmonic & melodic possibilities it opens up - unlike slap & pop, which is almost entirely rhythmic...

MM

[Marginal Tom]

Male, 67, fingers only. I'm a lefty playing right-handed, and play mostly older country, blues and rock. If I played with a pick, I'd be Terrible Tom.

[Invisible_Kid]

Female, 14. I use picks when I have distortion, I tap on occasion, I do a lot of slap stuff, but sometimes I like fingerstyle.

[D.A.R.K.]

male, 41.
i'll use whatever is best for the music.
i'm about instrumental/experimental music, so it's been appropriate to use more techniques like tapping and even
sometimes slap to serve the tune.

[Infidelity]

Male 19, mostly finger and slap.. I use pick rarely. I play mostly rock on bands but you'll hear me play more funk/fusion stuffs..

[shadow_FIX]

Male/21. I use fingers more than anything else, 2-finger alternating style. I occasionally slap and tap but I rarely if ever use a pick...I find I can get a pick-like attack by using a slightly different approach to fingerstyle.

I play just about everything...rock/jazz/blues/funk/reggae/metal/motown/like everything else. Have definitely played with a polka band on more than a few occasions for decent $$