I have sometimes found myself doing the same as you, but it is not good.

The best way to have your fingers when they are not playing, is relaxed and stretched close to the strings.

Don't move the fingers unless you have to, that is the key to it.

Work on that on your practice and it will become natural.

Enrique

I'm paying much more attention to how I'm playing
now. Nothing like photographic evidence to prove
that you need to practice. :) I'm slowly breaking
the habit. Cheers!

Never looked until this was brought up, and now I notice I'm doing just what Enrique suggests.

Now I'm faced with the realization that I have more proper technique in my little finger than I have in my whole body!

J

The funny thing is that I use my pinky very often, and often overlook using my "ring" finger.

Me,too. My pinky gets used a lot.

Yeah, I hear that. I guess I was always told to use it back when I first started playing, that I made sure of it and actually favor it at times. Strange, but it works for me.

I think that I use four fingers more-or-less evenly when I play. I use the pinky a lot, especially with octaves.

I definately progressed on the fingering.

I let it float over the fingerboard. Try exercises like 1-2-3-4, 2-
3-4-1, 3-2-4-1, whatever. It helps train your hand to stay loose
and over the frets.

Adam,

Electric bass, as far as instruments in general
go, is brand-new, so there are no hard and fast
rules about technique. In fact, accepted technique
has changed a bit since I first started playing,
back in the seventies.

Good technique, as far as I am concerned, is what
works. It is what is practical, and what uses the
most economy of motion.

Unfortunately this involves using your pinky as an
actual finger. :)

I don't really know what else to tell you, except
that, if using your pinky is a problem, you either
need to start over learning to play, or you need
to stop worrying about it.

Certainly plenty of people have gotten famous
without ever using their pinkies. They also never
reached their full potentials.

I happen to think that, even if you are going to
get famous, it probably won't be within the next
couple of months. So, you might as well spend the
time while you are waiting to learn to play
properly. :)

I'm working on playing more naturally, and not
sticking hard and fast to the 1-finger-per-fret
method if it throws my hand into an odd angle. I
think I've probably got plenty of time to practice
before I ever reach fame. ;)

Adam,

Well, as long as you position your arm, elbow, hand,
and so on properly, the one-finger-per-fret method
should never throw your hand into an odd angle.

Oh, and as long as you don't wear your bass too low,
and don't want to wrap your thumb over the top of
the neck. :)

I completely agree on the thumb - except during the hop! Gotta grab the neck during the hop (index fretting only), otherwise you loose the note on impact ;)

Sorry, what's "the hop"?

Kelly

;)

lol
Cool shot !!
:)
Peace Ed

when bassists get very good they begin to levitate...

It's an optical illusion - I'm actually pinned to those cases in the background...

are you saying you aren't that good of a bassist yet???

NO FREAKIN WAY!

Man, we just did some recording recently. Listening to my tracks by themselves made me think I'm the worst bass player in the world... ;)

Ah, now I get "the hop." Way too energetic for me.
:) As to soloing bass tracks, I know what you mean,
especially if you recorded direct. All kinds of
squeaks, squonks, clanks, and rattles. :)

Kelly

..a question that a frog would be good at answering!

: )

yfMo