increasing fretting hand span

[amroach]

Does any one know of any effective exercises or stretches to significantly increase hand span for greater fret reaching capabilities.

Just written a new song which involves a stretch from the F at the first fret on the E string to the C at 5th fret on the G string and all the i can reach it, its difficult and sloppy specially when 'rocking out' in live situations.

Any help appreciated
Alex

[Ewo]

You talking about a double-stop? (Both notes at once?)

If it's an octave-and-a-fifth interval (notes in succession), just use the good ol' thumb pivot.

[amroach]

yeah its a double stop.

[Ewo]

Ouch.

My hand sure won't do it in the normal position, even on a 34" scale.

Fret the low F with the thumb (on top of the neck), stop the high C as normal, with pinky. The kind of thing double bassists do way up on the fingerboard, over the body.

But I sure wouldn't try to force my hand to stretch past what it can comfortably do. Sounds like a great way to cause orthopedic problems...

[Fergie Fulton]

There are many ways to do this, but the easiest and safest is having the right tools for the job.....5 string bass my friend and problem solved.

[nutso42]

Why don't you try hammer-ons? Either that or hit the C on the A string.

[Ewo]

Originally Posted by Fergie Fulton

There are many ways to do this, but the easiest and safest is having the right tools for the job.....5 string bass my friend and problem solved.

Ah. I get ya. It's across four strings, but only one fret wide.

The crab move: thumb on 6th fret B string, first/second finger on the 5th fret G string.

[HaVIC5]

There is no safe way to do that stretch. Either tap the high C, string your bass EADGC and play the open C, or get a 6 string.

[MusicBokonon]

It is possible, but I wouldn't recommend holding it for more than 15 seconds.

[Rocky McD]

I know a few guys who could reach that note but they are not bassists, they are pro basketball players.

[dmusic148]

Originally Posted by HaVIC5

There is no safe way to do that stretch. Either tap the high C, string your bass EADGC and play the open C, or get a 6 string.

Yep. I'd tap that.

[amroach]

...so.... I need to become a pro basketball player?

[Aged_Clayman]

You always can get a capo or just tune the E string to F.

[Fergie Fulton]

Originally Posted by Aged_Clayman

You always can get a capo or just tune the E string to F.

LOL

Serious answer time. Yes you can increase the span of your hand through carefull exercise, but not advisable for the purpose of playing what you want to to. The other advise posted is telling you how to achieve your aim safer and better.

Your hand span is dictated buy the length of your bones primarly, and since thay cannot be made longer the next point to look at are the joints. Now you do not what to stretch joints beyond what they are capable of doing in normal function, and what you want to achieve with the span is not normal function. tendons and ligaments can be stretched to achieve more span but the draw back is you would not have the strength and dexterity to control such a span. Think of an elastic band that has been over stretched. It loses its tension and strength and the ability to contract tight and stay tight, for its extra length it has paid a price, so in effect it is now no good as an elastic band.

Yes the gentle stretching of the hands and fingers will do you so much good and take away the tension of playing and the days work. But ultimatly the hand has to work within the confines of what it was designed to do. Span and power or span and dexterity are not it. Span is a weak position in the hand and will lead to easy injuries in it. The closer the fingers can stay together the stronger they are, so the safer they are.

So if you want to achieve the notes F and C double stopped, on the E and G string another bass or another technique is advised.
Did you ever consider looking at Jeff Healey? Jeffs Technique gave him increadible spans and chords.
Jeff played guitar on his lap and so fretted over the top of the neck so to speak. if you come over the top and play the F with your little finger, your thumb can easily play the C you desire on the G string with no extra effort??????????????????

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MJh3K...eature=related

[jschwalls]

I've practiced 3 notes per string scales from the beginning. My instructer Beaver Felton stressed the importance of being able to perform the 1st fret to 5th fret stretch from day one...
I have short fingers but over time have learned how to "open" my hand by practicing the 3 note per string major scale..

I would start with the pattern in a semi-comfortable position and push myself to play it cleanly through the octave.

My wife said that it looks uncomfortable, but actually I was able to hold that pattern with no problem.. so again practice and it WILL happen.

As an example I measured my middle finger from the palm joint and it measures 3 1/4 "

[peterbright]

Evolution or practice. Practice is faster.

[Aged_Clayman]

Originally Posted by Fergie Fulton

LOL

Sorry, but what`s wrong with my answer?
If I needed to play something like this I would just change the tuning (EADA or FADG, why not?), or change the key of the song. I mean, some install hipshots just to do it mid-song.

[Fergie Fulton]

Originally Posted by Aged_Clayman

Sorry, but what`s wrong with my answer?
If I needed to play something like this I would just change the tuning (EADA or FADG, why not?), or change the key of the song. I mean, some install hipshots just to do it mid-song.

LOL sorry but nothing wrong with it just laughing at the common sense and simplicity of what you said as another way to find and use the corect tools rather than risk injury.

Originally Posted by jschwalls

but actually I was able to hold that pattern with no problem.. so again practice and it WILL happen.

There is a reason why you may be able to do this and there are many reasons why other can't or won't.... no matter how much they practice.
here's some links to just one reason

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypermobility

http://www.hypermobility.org/

http://www.arc.org.uk/arthinfo/patpubs/6019/6019.asp

http://www.medicinenet.com/hypermobi...me/article.htm

[Ewo]

[quote=jschwalls;7976117
I've practiced 3 notes per string scales from the beginning. My instructer Beaver Felton stressed the importance of being able to perform the 1st fret to 5th fret stretch from day one...
[/QUOTE]

Hey, it's one thing to reach five or six frets on one string, playing single notes. That's doable, without messing up your hand: the thumb pivot, just like the double-bass players use.

But a double-stop across four strings with a four-fret span? I ain't gonna try to make my hand do it.

[HaVIC5]

Originally Posted by jschwalls

I've practiced 3 notes per string scales from the beginning. My instructer Beaver Felton stressed the importance of being able to perform the 1st fret to 5th fret stretch from day one...
I have short fingers but over time have learned how to "open" my hand by practicing the 3 note per string major scale..

I would start with the pattern in a semi-comfortable position and push myself to play it cleanly through the octave.

My wife said that it looks uncomfortable, but actually I was able to hold that pattern with no problem.. so again practice and it WILL happen.

As an example I measured my middle finger from the palm joint and it measures 3 1/4 "

I repeat what I said before, there is no safe way to play those notes. I never once said that there isn't a way to play those notes. I could just as well contort my hand and bend my wrist to stretch from F to F on my 35" 5ver's C string. That isn't a problem.

What is a problem, however is what the hand is doing by holding these extreme angles. The first, and foremost problem, is the angle of the wrist. Tendonitis in the wrists are caused by the tendons in the wrist rubbing against the sheaths in the wrist that leads them to the muscles in the hand. When we play bass, we use these tendons in the movement and control of our fingers, which ultimately lead back up to the forearm. If you ever stick your arm straight out and wiggle your fingers, you should see the tendon in your forearm move. If the wrist is bent while we're using the tendons in our hand, the sheath rubs up against the tendon, and very bad things (RSI's) happen. Here's a Gary Willis video explaining the importance of straight wrists -

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_oBJlE5qNc

On top of that, look at the position of your pinky. When you lock the joints together like that, you loose all control of how your finger moves on the string, and you're ultimately exerting far too much stress on the joints. "Locking the fingers" becomes a real issue for upright thumb position technique, and a lot of developing safe and efficient thumb position technique comes from learning how to position the arm/wrist/body so you don't have to lock your fingers to play in that position.

I have no idea why people stress 5-fret spans, its completely unnecessary and goes against what the body naturally does. Upright bass players have essentially what's a 3-fret span, and they can get around just fine. Shifting is a vitally important aspect of fingering technique, and forgoing that in favor of ridiculous, unhealthy stretches is a very unfortunate decision.