Forearm posisition

[romac]

I was just wondering where you guys all had your forearms when sitting down playing your bass?? I've had some trouble with tendonitus in my forearm (plucking hand) and I think my forearm posisition is a problem. I started off (9 months ago) resting my forearm on the body of the bass, then after watching the Gary Willis video, I changed to having a straight wrist, thus my forearm was not resting on the bass. I started with this tendonitus around the time of the change over but everytime I go back to resting my forearm on the bass, it feels awkward.

So what do you do? And what do you feel is best to avoid tendonitus?

[Nuk3m]

Originally Posted by romac

I was just wondering where you guys all had your forearms when sitting down playing your bass?? I've had some trouble with tendonitus in my forearm (plucking hand) and I think my forearm posisition is a problem. I started off (9 months ago) resting my forearm on the body of the bass, then after watching the Gary Willis video, I changed to having a straight wrist, thus my forearm was not resting on the bass. I started with this tendonitus around the time of the change over but everytime I go back to resting my forearm on the bass, it feels awkward.

So what do you do? And what do you feel is best to avoid tendonitus?

If you rest your forearm on the body it stops the tendons from working at their best and strains them because they dont have full movement, your arm probably isnt used to the change over. Good tip: play standing up until it goes away but take a rest until your tendonitus.

[Joe P]

My more 'lazy' method is forearm-on-top, wrist sharply bent - I think it looks coolest too - but I start to get wrist pain if I do that for more than a couple hours. Lately I've been more-and-more lifting up my elbow and straightening my wrist more - I think I can play faster like this too. Actually, I've been tending to angle the bass neck up more also - this feels more natural on both wrists, but I kind of have to hold the neck up at that angle, so it tends to sag back down.

Joe

[Diowulf]

Originally Posted by Joe P

My more 'lazy' method is forearm-on-top, wrist sharply bent - I think it looks coolest too - but I start to get wrist pain if I do that for more than a couple hours. Lately I've been more-and-more lifting up my elbow and straightening my wrist more - I think I can play faster like this too.

Joe

+1, I've been wanting to play faster, and this method seems to do the best for me.

[CrazyArcher]

Tried to play the way Joe mentioned, dropped it. This way can be handy, but it doesnt allow the blood flow the proper way. When I sit, I play either in classic guitar position, or with my elbow to the side, keeping the wrist almost straight.

[um... yeah]

I had this problem too and the straight wrist approach is definitely the way to go. At first it was really frustrating bacause I was so used to anchoring my wrist on the bass. But I did notice after a few weeks that stamina and power definitely increased and my pains all but disappeared.

[CJK84]

This is not an issue for me for the simple reason that I play exclusively standing up.

I cannot get comfortable while sitting down.