am i hurting myself?

Suckbird · #1 06-01-2005, 08:58 AM

so right now i'm doing two hours of practice with my pandora:

-1hour scales
-1hour slap 8 ( Making my 1hour of slap practice routine... )

when i practice scales i usually play the scale a couple of times then rest a bit, and play them again for the whole hour...

but this hour(i just did daily scale routine) i played constantly, if i played a major scale then it was the scale + a 16th note rest then again for 5min til i changed scale, and when i played for example the phrygian i also do one tone from the next octave wich means constant playing + no rest at all.
I noticed that my hand started to hurt in theb eginning of practice but i kept plaing the whole hour and then i looked at my hands, the right hands finger was straight as usuall but my left hand fingers looked like bows, i couldn't have them straight and i couldn't squeeze my hand because it hurted..

anyone experienced this? Do i practice to hard?

Dan1099 · #2 06-01-2005, 10:42 AM

Well, of course practicing more than you are used to will push you, physically, but any pain, reluctance to move, stiffness or anything, sounds like a technique issue to me, and should be worked out BEFORE you get carpal tunnel from it.

christoph h. · #3 06-01-2005, 01:21 PM

i have practiced scales longer than an hour, with not many pauses in between and i haven't got any pain.

so my guess is that you're probably not _practicing_ too hard, but _playing_ to hard. there's probably something wrong with your hand position or there's too much tension in your body.

during practice you should try to stay aware of your body. if pain and tension occur try to find out where they come from and stop it. anything else will only hurt you.

Suckbird · #4 06-01-2005, 02:06 PM

I'm just back from 3hours of scales infront of the television and now it doesn't hurt, not as it did before...

steveksux · #5 06-01-2005, 06:11 PM

Muscles need time to warm up, so play a bit, get into harder stuff gradually, and take a little break after 15 minutes to rest. Then hit it and you'll find the long practices much easier to take.

Also concentrate on using the minimum pressure on the strings. Your left hand needs to be relaxed, if you play with a deathgrip on the neck, you'll always be slow and tending toward cramping during long or complicated passages.

Randy

Bubba Love · #6 06-01-2005, 08:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by steveksux

Also concentrate on using the minimum pressure on the strings. Your left hand needs to be relaxed, if you play with a deathgrip on the neck, you'll always be slow and tending toward cramping during long or complicated passages.

That's right. My old bass teacher used to have a deathgrip, but then he full on sprained his thumb (or something). That was years ago, and it's still not completely healed, probably never will.

As others have said, if somethings causing you pain, get it sorted out. One of the most important things to do is relax when you're playing.

i like tictacs · #7 06-01-2005, 11:23 PM

How on god's green earth can you play scales for an hour straight?

AuG · #8 06-02-2005, 12:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by i like tictacs

How on god's green earth can you play scales for an hour straight?

Exactly what I was thinking. I'll play scales for about 20 min, max. Maybe cause I'm too interested in playing slap all the time.

So I slap scales.

If my hand starts to hurt, I immediately stop and rest for a couple of minutes or so. After I start playing again my hand won't cramp up or hurt again. It's like a barrier for me, passable only after I rest for a couple of minutes. Maybe you should practice several times a day for a short period (maybe only an hour?) instead of for a long time all in one go.

Just an idea,

Oog