BAD mad angled wrist! pics included, help needed

[varunkapahi]

this happens every time i play in the 1-3 position on the fretboard. in the middle from the fourth fret onwards the wrist angle is all fine. here are two pics showing me playing an F octave in the first position.

i need some suggestions on how to improve this sick bent in the wrist (?) as i need to play a lot in the lower register...... pics which show a better wrist angle while playing down there would really help a lot more. thanks

[fearceol]

http://www.adamnitti.com/bass_player_03.shtml

[varunkapahi]

or it is like "normal" ?

[j-bass-kreep]

try to put your fingers in a "curved" position.

[Pacman]

yep. curve your wrist and you'll clean that up in a hurry

[HaVIC5]

No, definitely NOT normal, or at least it shouldn't be. Playing in the lower positions with proper, safe technique can be very difficult on bass if you don't have a teacher. The key is in getting an angle on the fingers - it won't work if your fingers are at precisely a 90 degree angle to the strings, which is what you're trying to do. You need to aim for a 45 degree-ish angle, and control the position of your fingers with your lowest joint, NOT your wrist. Also, trying learning 124 simandl fingering - it will improve your ability to play in the lower positions and will start to force you to think more ergodynamically. It's hard to explain all of this not in person, but here are a couple pictures of me and my 7-string. Playing one finger per fret on the B string in 1st position on this monster is obviously not recommended, but thats what I did to show the necessary hand position for doing something like this.

[fretlessman71]

1) Push the neck out in front of you, instead of pulling it to your left. Your right elbow can help with this by tucking the body of the bass under its "wing".

2) Let the 3rd joints of your hands do the bending, not your wrist - your wrist should never bend more than 45° away from straight if you can help it.

3) Try rolling a brand new pencil between the fingertips of your left hand - 4 fingers on one side, thumb on the other, spreading your fingers apart as much as you can. It's harder than it looks. -- Once you can do that reasonably well (after a minute or so), try to make the neck feel like that when you play. You'll most likely find a lot of things change as far as what joints bend what way and such.

[LowBSix]

relax your fingers as if they were resting doing nothing...

[Vincent P]

Try pulling your elbow tighter into your side and you'll find that the hand/ wrist will follow through.

[varunkapahi]

i wasn't keeping the fingers curved because keeping them THAT way used to mute all other strings which really helped especially while playing slap style

HaVIC5, can you please put up a pic with you playing an octave low down? because when am playing what you show my wrist is kinda in a better position

[Bassic83]

One thing I did to help with extreme angles in the low position was to sit with the bass and see if I could easily reach the first position. When it was comfy, I adjusted my strap so the bass is in the exact same position standing.

Also, with your left-hand technique, try this- get an old tennis ball and cut it in half. With the domed side toward your palm, grip your neck. You could use some wadded-up paper as well, it's just to show you that there should be some clearance...if you can play an F major scale without the item falling out of your palm, you're getting it. Use ONLY your fingertips to reach the notes in first position. No "flat-fingering"! That will give you an idea of how you should have your hand placed. Don't play that way, it's just for demonstration. Keep your left thumb anchored along the "skunk stripe", or the midline of the back of the neck. Use it as a pivot point, rocking your hand if you need to reach for that low F...hope that helps!!

[Captain_Arrrg]

Originally Posted by Vincent P

Try pulling your elbow tighter into your side and you'll find that the hand/ wrist will follow through.

+1

[HaVIC5]

Well, this is me playing a low C on the B string and the C an octave higher on the A, a couple angles. Here's the front view.



And back.



Notice the thumb follows the contour of the forearm, whereas in this picture of how NOT to do it, it doesn't.

[bassrique]

Strap it up higher as well.

[1954bassman]

Looks to me like you simply need to tuck you elbow in towards your body, and raise the bass higher on your body.

[Stumbo]

Try pulling the back in of the strap up higher so the bass is near level.
Experiment with different positions.

[varunkapahi]

Originally Posted by HaVIC5

Well, this is me playing a low C on the B string and the C an octave higher on the A, a couple angles. Here's the front view.



And back.



Notice the thumb follows the contour of the forearm, whereas in this picture of how NOT to do it, it doesn't.

hey thanks dude!! that was exactly what i wanted more or less

[ZanaZulu807]

It looks like your thumb is right behind your index, try to keep it behind the middle, work on your curving fingers more than moving your hand, and most of all relax.

[varunkapahi]

am not getting it right.......really

[bassrique]

varunkapahi,

Let me ask you, how tall are you?