Since I picked up the bass, I had to micro-shift with my pinky to make the note ring clear. I just fret then shift the finger closer to the fret I am playing. Cleans up the tone and after a few times, you barely notice you are doing it. I did it not because of short fingers, but because I could not stretch the pinky far enough to sound the note clean. I think as my technique gets better, micro-shifts will still be needed for getting the note to ring clear.
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My hands are kinda chonky, I don’t see micro shifts ever going away. What helps with technique I find is doing scales a couple three minutes each day
The pentatonic scale from the Geezer video, is a fun one to play with.
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I shamelessly and unapologetically micro-shift ALWAYS. I long ago gave up on the notion of being able to span several frets without moving my hand, as many people here do. I also keep my fretting fingers close to the strings for muting purposes, so when you watch one of my cover videos, it sometimes looks like I’m not even fretting. I don’t care, I only care about producing the proper tones and rhythm.
I do not offer an apology for my unorthodox plucking, picking, or fretting style, and neither should you. If the music sounds right, it doesn’t matter if you play it with your tongue.
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Ditto that, Pam @PamPurrs . . . 
Although I have made some progress in that area, I just micro-shift as needed.
Cheers,
Joe
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I’d pay extra to see this.
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You mean you missed my video?
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I have come to this conclusion this week, working through the 25 Bass Grooves on talkingbass. They of course are designed to work all 4 fingers across, well, 4 frets. My pinky fretting sounds horrible and I’m microshifting and its all good. I decided just now not to focus on the pinky but rather proper muting, fretting etc with the three well behaved fingers instead.
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Try fretting with your Ring and pinky together. Works for me, and apparently is a thing
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