Playing techniques should not be viewed as separate entities.

[GrindYourMind]

I believe that thinking of slap/finger/garrison(or dipiazza or just four finger technique) as separate entities requiring large shifts in position and way of thinking is folly. They are the same, the only difference is a small shift in your right hand and a different sound coming from the instrument.

Nobody thinks playing 2 finger over the bridge pickup is a different beast entirely from playing over the neck pickup, why should slap, double thumb, four finger etc all be seen as such different forms of playing?

Watching a player like Wooten or Manring really shows a fluidity in right hand technique that lends itself towards expression and sound rather than simply "slap bass" or "four finger plucking". The same way a great guitarist doesn't just run through sweep arpeggio patterns and call it music but rather uses the motion as a tool to get through a sequence of notes that he has written.

Anyways, that is my 2 cents and silly rambling...

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[Rudreax]

A technique is a way to get a specific sound out of an instrument, along with a way to physically play something in terms of musical instruments. It's like double tonguing, trills, circular breathing, and whatnot for wind instruments; you're still using your mouth and tongue, but you're getting a different effect from the instrument.

With bass, playing with a pick, using the tips of your fingers, and "slapping" the bass each get a different sound out of the instrument, so obviously they're going to be called different techniques. The things that Wooten and Manring do are basically very advanced versions of those techniques.

 

[JimmyM]

but how do you play the notes without having some sort of technique?