Really bad hand cramps.

[Bassistkid123]

Dear Patrick,


Hi i have a quick question on playing, i play in a high school band and i mainly play in first position, but when i play repeated stuff a lot or just in first position, my left hand cramps up really bad. Usually if i take a little break quick it feels better but it just starts again once i start playing, is it just that my hand is not conditioned enough or is my positioning wrong? thanks.

[PNeher]

Hello, and thanks for the question!
Left Hand cramps are USUALLY due to over-squeezing and using an inefficient form when playing. Be sure your fingers are ALWAYS rounded, like holding a ball. Do NOT squeeze any more than is necessary to get the string firmly to the fingerboard. Do you get more cramped when playing pizz than when playing arco? This might be that you squeeze more strongly when playing pizz. Also, notice the shape of your thumb and its placement. Generally rounded a bit (again naturally inward toward the hand with the tip) but not cramped (so the thumb looks a bit straighter in general than the other fingers). Certainly you do not want the thumb bending outwards, where the thumb knuckle is collapsed and the tip is pointed away from the hand. Also, the thumb needs to be located, most of the time, behind the fingers that are playing... so between the first and second most of the time. NEVER behind the first (like a relaxed open hand). Your squeeze is going to be efficient and "relaxed" when your form is as close to a "form-at-rest" shape as possible. Hope this helps!
PN

Originally Posted by Bassistkid123

Dear Patrick,


Hi i have a quick question on playing, i play in a high school band and i mainly play in first position, but when i play repeated stuff a lot or just in first position, my left hand cramps up really bad. Usually if i take a little break quick it feels better but it just starts again once i start playing, is it just that my hand is not conditioned enough or is my positioning wrong? thanks.

[PNeher]

AND:
the angle of approach to the bass can also create various stresses on your hand. Is your elbow too high? Do not lift your arm above your shoulder. In fact, for me, I prefer my arm sort of "down" most of the time, unless doing a big wide vibrato. Your teacher needs to take a look at all angles-of-approach to be sure that your hand and arm position is as efficient as possible. Raising or lowering the elbow changes the angles of the fingers to the board. AND, don't pronate your wrist. A little bend is fine but you should realize that your fingers' operations come from muscles and tendons in the arm. So the angle from the top of your hand to the elbow needs to be moderately straight. Slight bend in the wrist is okay but big bend causes the muscles and tendons to work too much.
Ciao!
PN

[Bassistkid123]

Originally Posted by PNeher

AND:
the angle of approach to the bass can also create various stresses on your hand. Is your elbow too high? Do not lift your arm above your shoulder. In fact, for me, I prefer my arm sort of "down" most of the time, unless doing a big wide vibrato. Your teacher needs to take a look at all angles-of-approach to be sure that your hand and arm position is as efficient as possible. Raising or lowering the elbow changes the angles of the fingers to the board. AND, don't pronate your wrist. A little bend is fine but you should realize that your fingers' operations come from muscles and tendons in the arm. So the angle from the top of your hand to the elbow needs to be moderately straight. Slight bend in the wrist is okay but big bend causes the muscles and tendons to work too much.
Ciao!
PN

Thank you for the reply, my band instructor doesnt teach me to play im self taught from some hal leonard book. And now that i think about it, i think i have my bass set too high with the end pin, and my elbow is raised above my shoulder a bit,i will work on all of that, thank you again.

[Bassistkid123]

Oh and i mainly play pizz when i am playing too.