Finger size discussion.

[ding_man]

Generally most people will either say big fingers are better or that its the player and not the fingers.

To be a great bass player you should be able to stretch from the 1st fret to the 5th fret.

I have small hands.
Pinky - 5cm
Ring - 7.5cm
Middle - 8cm
Index - 1cm
I also have a large ammount of webbing between my fingers.

I still manage to stretch 1 to 5 frets and can play mostly. I wish I had 1 or 2 more cm on each finger cause I feel like thatwould make a lot of things that much easier.

What are your opinions on finger sizes?

[Ibanezzer]

Everyone is unique. Some people with big hands are clumsy and likewise some people with small hands are great musicians too. It may cause some frustration but try not to obsess with it, its more about the motivation of the individual that relates to their ability than physical characteristics.

[Depth_Charge]

I think it doesn't make as much of a difference as the desire to succeed.

Originally Posted by ding_man

To be a great bass player you should be able to stretch from the 1st fret to the 5th fret.

May I ask where you gleaned this pearl of wisdom from?

[fettbass]

Originally Posted by ding_man

Index - 1cm

Your index finger is 1 cm long?

[gnergaard]

I've seen great bassists with huge hands, great bassists with tiny hands, bad bassists with smallish hands, and of course, bad bassists with huge hands.
This leads me to believe that (hand) size really doesn't matter.
Speaking for myself, I have average sized hands in finger length but very thick (perhaps "sausage-like") fingers. Maybe just because I am my own harshest critic I would say that I'm not an amazing player- but I get by. I play electric and lately more and more, upright, which is much more of a physical challenge than electric IMO.
I've never ever measured my fingers and I would encourage you to never measure yours again. Don't think about it. Just think about the music.
There's a bassist here in Chicago that I respect very much named Chris Clemente. He is a professional musician and earns his living playing electric bass. He has very small hands compared to mine. He smokes. He has an endorsement from Warwick, if that means something to you. He does things technically that I can't do very easily. He plays extremely challenging music. He's a great musician. One band (of many) that he plays in is called "Kick The Cat." I play with a few of the other musicians in that band and I assure you that Chris is playing with musicians that are the absolute best at what they do. He wouldn't be in that band if he wasn't at the top of his game. I just know that if you saw Chris Clemente play you'd never worry about the size of your hands again. And if you saw me play you'd never wish you had my hands- you'd want his! Better yet, practice, focus and learn to love and live with the hands that you have.
Look up Chris Clemente's MySpace page if you like.
Hope this helps you.
-Greg

[ding_man]

I figured the discussion would go in the direction of size doesn't matter. Which I agree with for the most part really.

[Koki]

size doesn't matter. Its about thickness lol

No really, it's all about technique.

[62Walnut]

It's not the size of the boat......it's the motion in the ocean!







Are we still talking about basses?

Walnut

[Depth_Charge]

Ahh, we never were? We were talking about finger size

[cowsgomoo]

those dudes in the special olympics didn't let the fact they were in a wheelchair stop them playing basketball, and by comparison, playing bass with small fingers is nothing!

it's all about the desire to succeed... the fact he was a dog with a menial janitor's job didn't stop Hong Kong Phooey holding down a successful second career as a crimefighting kung fu expert

[Deacon_Blues]

I've always believed I have rather small hands, as they don't look very big (piano-like). These are the lengths of my fingers (rather difficult to know how to measure them but anyhow):

Index: 8,5 cm
Middle: 10 cm
Ring: 9 cm
Pinky: 7,5 cm

I don't think size matters too much, but it feels like the length difference between my index and middle fingers is not the optimal for steady eights, but for octaves it's good I think.

My bass teacher a couple of years ago said it should keep my fingers more straight when playing, to be able to play faster. However, I have not been able to do that very well, probably due to the length difference.

It's always good to have something to blame when your playing isn't working for some reason...

[Alec W. Conway]

Index : 9
Middle : 11
Ring : 10
Pinky : 7.5

I have piano-hands, long and thin fingers. Sure it helps me a lot, mostly for long stretches, but some girls I know play guitar and/or bass, when we put our hands palm to palm, I can wrap my fingertips around theirs. Never stopped them from kicking asses with their instrument.

It does make a difference to some extent, but most of it is simply a matter of wanting to do it.

[Eli_Upright12]

It doesnt matter all that much on electric, cuz theres not much strength involved and its just as easy to shift as it is to stretch your fingers out. However on an instrument like Upright, or Piano hand size can make a big difference, I have small hands but I can still play upright pretty damn well but theres times when I notice that if I had bigger hands it would be a hell of a lot easier for me ot play. On electric I never have that feeling. But in the end its all practicing and determination, but theres a reason you never see little kids on Upright bass.

[Koki]

so I have let's say small hands so what. It never stopped me from doing what I want

[Charling]

my hands are dwarfed by most teenage girls', its never stopped me doing anything I have wanted to, in some cases I believe its helped. I compensated for long stretches by developing a great deal of accuracy in moving positions quickly and these days I can play pretty much anything I want to!

dont worry about it mate

[TOMANO]

Tell it to Tal Wilkenfeld.

TOMANO

[Joe P]

Originally Posted by Charling

my hands are dwarfed by most teenage girls', its never stopped me doing anything I have wanted to, in some cases I believe its helped. I compensated for long stretches by developing a great deal of accuracy in moving positions quickly and these days I can play pretty much anything I want to!

dont worry about it mate

Yup - my last wife was a classical-style guitarist, and for about 25yrs was a pro bassist - also for years, a guitar and bass teacher. She has very small hands, even-though she was a firm believer in 'one finger per fret'! She rocked her hand around a lot when she'd play back-down the neck, on-finger-per.

Remember that you can also go with a shorter-scale bass, or go with a low-B 5-string, and play farther up the neck. I guess I'm sort of lazy this way: I use a 33"-scale bass AND usually play above the fifth fret on my low-B 5-string!

Joe

[Pilgrim]

I started on upright bass in a high school orchestra, and managed pretty well. I wear a men's size large glove, but my fingers aren't as large as many others listed in this thread.

Index finger: 8 cm
Middle finger: 8.8 cm
Ring finger: 7.9 cm (measured on middle finger side)
Pinky: 6.7 cm
Approximate span from the center of the tip of my first finger to the center tip of pinky: 15.5 cm

But you know, when you are pressing down with all your fingers on the neck of a bass, you can span wider distances. And as noted earlier in the thread, on an electric you don't need to generate the pressure on the string that you do on an upright.

[iamlowsound]

Technique is all that matters. Once you have that, small hands should be just as good as large hands. I have smallish hands, but great technique so it doesn't matter.

lowsound

[DeanT]

How exactly do you get four fingers to spread over five frets? That's a pretty good trick. I think you mean stretch over four frets.