Kepping left hand relaxed

[Funkbass796]

I find it to be really hard for me to keep my left hand relaxed. Most of the time when any of my fingers are fretting, they're about 3 inches off the fretboard. Anyone have any tips on how to keep the left hand calm as I know it's a detrimental technique to develop.

Thanks

[goolimari]

one of the the BEST articles i have ever read. internalise all advice given here and you will see a huge difference in how you play..playing light isnt as easy as it seems..we often tend to cover up poor technique with brute force..

http://www.guitarnoise.com/article.php?id=490

[ZGotts]

few things..

make sure your action is as low as possible. Take it to a pro if needed to get the neck straight, frets dressed, etc. Once that is all set...

Check this out. Most of us fret a lot harder than we need to. Pick a fret, any fret, and pick a harmonic there. Now, slowly apply more pressure until the note develops. See how little pressure it actually takes to make a note sound? Not much at all.

I would recommend lightening up on your picking hand as well. Some would argue, but I believe that while you're learning how to do this, its very difficult to be tense in one arm and relaxed in the other. Just relax in general. Remember, you're not doing vector calculus, and you're not lifting weights. You're playing music. Lighten up.

Hope this helps. Soon you'll be playing circles around the guitar player The speed that comes with playing light is amazing.

[Funkbass796]

Originally Posted by goolimari

one of the the BEST articles i have ever read. internalise all advice given here and you will see a huge difference in how you play..playing light isnt as easy as it seems..we often tend to cover up poor technique with brute force..

http://www.guitarnoise.com/article.php?id=490

Wow, that is a good article. Thanks alot.

Originally Posted by ZGotts

few things..

make sure your action is as low as possible. Take it to a pro if needed to get the neck straight, frets dressed, etc. Once that is all set...

Check this out. Most of us fret a lot harder than we need to. Pick a fret, any fret, and pick a harmonic there. Now, slowly apply more pressure until the note develops. See how little pressure it actually takes to make a note sound? Not much at all.

I would recommend lightening up on your picking hand as well. Some would argue, but I believe that while you're learning how to do this, its very difficult to be tense in one arm and relaxed in the other. Just relax in general. Remember, you're not doing vector calculus, and you're not lifting weights. You're playing music. Lighten up.

Hope this helps. Soon you'll be playing circles around the guitar player The speed that comes with playing light is amazing.

Well how much lower should the action be? I will admit the action on my bass is pretty high, but what's a good setting that allows for easy fretting with minimal fret buzz?

[goolimari]

Originally Posted by Funkbass796

Wow, that is a good article. Thanks alot.



Well how much lower should the action be? I will admit the action on my bass is pretty high, but what's a good setting that allows for easy fretting with minimal fret buzz?

if you dont know the basics of set up, get it done professionally, (will cost you around $25)..learn how to do set up yourself, then measure everything the luthier has done to your bass, and the next time you want to do a set up, you can use the measurements fromt he first time around..

[Liko]

Originally Posted by Funkbass796

Wow, that is a good article. Thanks alot.



Well how much lower should the action be? I will admit the action on my bass is pretty high, but what's a good setting that allows for easy fretting with minimal fret buzz?

Well, just for reference, my Jazz bass' strings are all 1/8" off the last fret (8/64" by my precision straightedge). Most would actually consider that action high, though that's pretty close the Fender's recommended setting. It all depends on how heavy a hand you have. If you have a light touch on both hands and rely on the amp, you can get away with a lower action because you don't need the extra string height to avoid buzz. However, the lower the string height, the greater the chance that imperfections in the fretboard will cause buzz intermittently, and the greater the overall chance you'll get buzz on the top frets, especially when playing slap-pop. You want the minimum string height at which you can slap-pop normally without buzz.