YOUR QUESTION:

02/22/2021 Aiden T.

Hi!
First, I just wanted to say I really enjoy your work and it's very inspiring. I do also really love Mr. Bungle but I'm sure you get a ton of questions about them, so I'll stick to other questions.
I am also both an upright and electric bass player (although I'm very much an amateur) and was just wondering what your opinion on fretting with your third/ring finger was? My high school's orchestra conductor was always very strict about not fretting with my third finger, although he did not actually really play bass much himself. However, my current school's guitar/electric bass teacher actually argues in favor of using your ring finger. I didn't know if maybe it was an upright vs electric bass thing or just a personal preference kind of thing as neither teacher played both basses. I noticed in the tabs you put out of Dead Goon you use third finger but wasn't sure if you only use it on electric or if you try and avoid it at all.
Unrelated, but I was also wondering what you thought of mint chocolate chip ice cream? A lot of people say it tastes like toothpaste but it's one of my personal favorite ice cream flavors.
Lastly, thanks so much for creating great music and also for answering all these questions, it's very appreciated. Hope you're doing alright in quarantine and I hope to hear back whenever you have time if you choose to answer this one :)

MY ANSWER:

It’s good to use the correct nomenclature so avoid the word “fretting” when talking about the upright bass, otherwise I think you’re talking about an instrument with frets. By the same token, the upright bass does not have a fretboard, it has a fingerboard. Anyway, what you are describing is very much an electric vs upright scenario. Traditionally the 3rd finger is not used in classical technique on the upright until you get into thumb position, where you also drop the use of the 4th finger. Electric bass is totally different and I use a four finger position (one finger per fret, 1-2-3-4) all the way up the fret board. There are some exceptions to all of this. Some modern upright players utilize the 3rd finger around the 8th position or so, and sometimes the traditional upright position of 1-2-4 is easier utilized in certain scenarios on the electric bass. Check out my article “For And Against Technique” in Arcana vol 2 for more on this tomfoolery. I’m a big believe in both traditions of the respective instruments. A lot of masters spent a lot of time honing in on the perfect technique. There are various schools of thought on which is best, but it’s really up to you to find your own balance.

I do like chocolate chip ice cream. I disagree with the toothpaste association. But mostly I prefer more chocolatey or fudge oriented flavors.