Left hand Fingers Hyper-extending

[rabid666]

I'm having an issue where, while holding chords on my acoustic bass, (which is a challenge anyway) my left hand ring finger will straighten the middle knuckle will hyper-extend backwards. Let me better illustrate: normally my left hand will keep a bend in each of it's knuckles as it holds down a fret, but my ring finger will straighten between the first and third knuckle like when you see particular people do the finger trick where they bend their last knuckle without bending either of the others. After about three years of playing I've just noticed this as the major flaw in my form.

Is this really such an issue? and
What exercises can I use to retrain my hand not to do that?

I've already tried a few exercises such as holding certain frets for a long time, paying close attention to keep the knuckle bent, but as soon as I look away it snaps backwards.

bye like, and thanks for any advice

[kr0n]

I'm no doctor nor a pro of any sort, but it sounds like a weak finger to me I had that problem with my last joint with both, ring and pinky fingers. All I did to fix it was A) Learn to use less pressure (when you get better and play more, your strength increases and the pressure needed feels less) and B) Strengthen the weak fingers. Play ONLY with the weak fingers your regular practice patterns, licks or just noodling around. Of course, concentrate on it.

Minimal pressure, accurate fretting and thumb in the right place behind the neck.