[stan haskins]

The only way you can be sure to improve at something is through regular application and assessment. Pick one or two topics that you know you need to improve on (you know you need to through assessment - you watch a video of yourself or listen to a recording to see what you are or are not doing: varying articulation, dynamics, note choice, phrase length. whatever floats your boat. You should pick things that are weaknesses in your playing). Stickl with that topic for a good length of time (months, or seasons work well for me because I can pretend there's some mystical aspect to it if I want) aned apply it in every aspect of your practice. I mean that if you're working on injecting contrasting types of articulation to your playing, for instance, you should try to do that in every situation: etudes, chord tones, solo rep, walking lines . . . don't just say "OK, I'm working on articulation now, then I'll go back to my other practice." Assess yourself regularly through taping, videos, whatever. I hate when I lose track of the basic thing I'm working on (usually happens when I get self-indulgent and work on new repertoire at the expense of practicing fundamentals) and then find I've gone backwards the next time I see or hear myself play.

Another thing, Richard, have you thought about "visualizing" the instrument? Can you make a mental picture of how individual lines, melodies, chords, etc, "fit" on your Fender with your new tuning? I'm far from being an expert on playing alternate tunings, but my job requires me to frequently switch between violin, viola, cell, and bass. The only way I can approach that with any confidence is by visualizing where the notes live, and kinesthetically "visualizing" how my body interacts with the instruments in their different playing positions.

Keep us posted. We all think fender basses are cool in standard tuning.