My right hand technique: works for me, is it unusual?

[highwayman]

I started on the bass last year, plectrum only to begin. Over Christmas I started experimenting with finger style (index and middle) and now it's my preferred method.

My bass is a four string Stingray and I anchor my thumb between the two screw arches on the top side of the single humbucker. Though I have no problems, I started to think about avoiding injuries and also the matter of string muting. I've tried the traveling thumb method, and I don't much like it, though I'd imagine it's essential if you're planning on a five-string (which I'm not).

Here's what I've settled on: my thumb anchored on the humbucker side-on (so the thumbnail's pointed towards the neck) with the base of the palm resting flat against the body contour. I've noticed that my ring finger is lending a hand with muting on the E & A.

It's working for me, just wondering how usual/unusual it is?

[dlloyd]

I would think that you would suffer a little in terms of control and dexterity.

I'd always encourage people to use a movable anchor using rest strokes. It really has so much in its favour that I wouldn't consider anything else. I had been playing bass about ten years before I switched to this technique... if I'd started with it earlier it would have been a lot easier to learn.

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hDzRqeS0ruQ[/media]

[dlloyd]

Also watch this:

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uIYuqTsUlyM[/media]

[highwayman]

Thank you for the clips. It's entirely possible that my technique may develop to integrate a movable anchor, after all I started out thinking I'd be plectrum-only.
On the second clip he demonstrated a fixed anchor where the the hand moves backwards rather than outwards, thus avoiding such an acute wrist angle, that's where I'm aiming for now anyway.

Edited August 7, 2017 by highwayman