Poor right hand pinky

[unclejane]

Originally Posted by SSINTENSE

I said that I really want to stand out and am willing to put in the time to become great. To this end, they've had me try some crazy stuff that isn't too common like this and some stuff that is common and useful. They try to challenge the hell out of me and put me on the spot, because in their philosophy that's how someone becomes great. The drummer for instance makes all new drumming students play on a left handed kit or whatever is opposite of their dominant hand to make their usual playing a million times better (and yes he is pretty incredible at drumming - easily best i've played with).

Er, I don't want to keep butting in and start a fight or anything but.... this is not the way to become great. Now, I'm not a great bassist either by any means, but I do knowa little about training and a lot about acquiring motor skills.

What these guys are telling you is NOT a mainstream approach and might actually be more of a hinderance than a benifit.

There's a concept in kenisiology known as "specificity of training" that's relevant here. The short version of this is that the best way to train for an activity is to do _that activity_. That is, if you're trying to develop muscles for playing the bass, the best available training for doing that is actually playing a bass. Squeezing cushballs or playing the guitar or etc., instead aren't optimal training methods for playing the bass and in fact may be completely ineffective. They may possibly have some periferal value, but none are as good as actually playing the bass.

Same thing with developing a motor skill. I.e., to learn how to fly an airplane, the best way to develop that skill is by actually flying an airplane (with an instructor of course), not by flying an R/C plane or something like that. Same thing with any other motor skill.

If you're right handed, you should play right handed drums. Playing lefty won't help you at all - same if you're left handed, etc.

The approach being taught here is probably uncommon because it's wrong. With anything you have to start at the beginning, work through that and then go on to the next step. Playing a bass isn't a revolutionary thing, we've known how to do it for a long time and there are already a good set of basic practices for learning how to do it.

There's no way around it either - you have to learn the basics and practice em!

Caveat Emptor,

LS

[bass player 48]

Originally Posted by SSINTENSE

I found that I can play a four string bass the following way: E string - index A string - middle D string - ring G string - pinky. There won't be too much use of this technique but i'm still going to practice it. Never know what it will lead to.

John Entwistle from The Who played this way. Rather than strumming, he'd "tap" the string with his finger tip to sound a note. This became known as his "typewriter" technique... and he could play fast and make it look effortless. YMMV

[Tyler C.]

Originally Posted by unclejane

Er, I don't want to keep butting in and start a fight or anything but.... this is not the way to become great. Now, I'm not a great bassist either by any means, but I do knowa little about training and a lot about acquiring motor skills.

What these guys are telling you is NOT a mainstream approach and might actually be more of a hinderance than a benifit.

There's a concept in kenisiology known as "specificity of training" that's relevant here. The short version of this is that the best way to train for an activity is to do _that activity_. That is, if you're trying to develop muscles for playing the bass, the best available training for doing that is actually playing a bass. Squeezing cushballs or playing the guitar or etc., instead aren't optimal training methods for playing the bass and in fact may be completely ineffective. They may possibly have some periferal value, but none are as good as actually playing the bass.

Same thing with developing a motor skill. I.e., to learn how to fly an airplane, the best way to develop that skill is by actually flying an airplane (with an instructor of course), not by flying an R/C plane or something like that. Same thing with any other motor skill.

If you're right handed, you should play right handed drums. Playing lefty won't help you at all - same if you're left handed, etc.

The approach being taught here is probably uncommon because it's wrong. With anything you have to start at the beginning, work through that and then go on to the next step. Playing a bass isn't a revolutionary thing, we've known how to do it for a long time and there are already a good set of basic practices for learning how to do it.

There's no way around it either - you have to learn the basics and practice em!

Caveat Emptor,

LS

I have to disagree that playing lefty has no benifits, it gives your arms completely different ranges of motion, on bass it could be helpful to have your right hand usd to moving in different ways, and that would be undoubtly helpful while playing drums.

[SSINTENSE]

Thanks for the advice everyone. I was practicing more with this last night since my blister lessened in pain. Here is what I found:

Using the pinky is really becoming easy, but i'm finding myself more inclined to just use three. Using the ring is really becoming easy. I felt as if I have been using three this whole time but I haven't! The pain in my blister is completely gone today and it has been replaced by a rough skin, so there will be no hindrances when I try more tonight.

I was doing a simple excercise where I play the root with my index or middle, play the octave (2 strings up...depending on how you look at it) with my pinky, replay root with another finger other than the one I played with before, then play fifth with pinky, replay root with other finger that wasn't used before other than pinky, then play a minor third with pinky. This helped my pinky dexterity and synchronization with other fingers immensely, but i'm beginning to feel I can accomplish the same results by just using three.

Now logic tells me that if I can get used to playing four fingers like I am used to playing 2, the only benefit I will get is super increased speed. Do I need that much speed? I don't know. But just playing with three fingers feels so easy. When I just play with three I feel like the ring is reserved the same way as the pinky - for octaves and sevenths if i'm playing within a four fret range. But it is easier to move the ring around anywhere than it is the pinky (because of size limitations of the pinky). So I don't know.

Regardless, I definitely got much better at playing with the ring through this. So if I ditch the pinky I still got something out of this.

I did notice one other thing, the tone of the pinky is less trebly, a little more quiet, and more bassier than the other fingers. It sounds good when I use it for octaves, 7ths, and 6ths. But since I woke up with a callous I don't know if that will hold.

[SSINTENSE]

Originally Posted by unclejane

Er, I don't want to keep butting in and start a fight or anything but.... this is not the way to become great. Now, I'm not a great bassist either by any means, but I do knowa little about training and a lot about acquiring motor skills.

What these guys are telling you is NOT a mainstream approach and might actually be more of a hinderance than a benifit.

There's a concept in kenisiology known as "specificity of training" that's relevant here. The short version of this is that the best way to train for an activity is to do _that activity_. That is, if you're trying to develop muscles for playing the bass, the best available training for doing that is actually playing a bass. Squeezing cushballs or playing the guitar or etc., instead aren't optimal training methods for playing the bass and in fact may be completely ineffective. They may possibly have some periferal value, but none are as good as actually playing the bass.

Same thing with developing a motor skill. I.e., to learn how to fly an airplane, the best way to develop that skill is by actually flying an airplane (with an instructor of course), not by flying an R/C plane or something like that. Same thing with any other motor skill.

If you're right handed, you should play right handed drums. Playing lefty won't help you at all - same if you're left handed, etc.

The approach being taught here is probably uncommon because it's wrong. With anything you have to start at the beginning, work through that and then go on to the next step. Playing a bass isn't a revolutionary thing, we've known how to do it for a long time and there are already a good set of basic practices for learning how to do it.

There's no way around it either - you have to learn the basics and practice em!

Caveat Emptor,

LS

Their point in switching to a lefty drum kit is not to develop the left muscles. It's because when people play drums they tend to let their dominate side "teach" or lead their less dominant side. I forget exactly what he said, but it has something to do with the left brain/right brain division. When people get used to playing lefty, their left side becomes more independent of their right and that person's possibilites expand and their predisposed limitations decrease.

I actually asked about the cush balls and muscle trainers, and they replied a with a big "NO!" Like you said, those muscle trainers train the wrong muscles that you use when playing bass. Best way to get RSI. Atleast that's the response I got.

[Fergie Fulton]

Originally Posted by SSINTENSE

I actually asked about the cush balls and muscle trainers, and they replied a with a big "NO!" Like you said, those muscle trainers train the wrong muscles that you use when playing bass. Best way to get RSI. Atleast that's the response I got.

Thats depends on how you use them. I would question what they base there information on as their understanding of it is wrong as far as RSI and other associated injuries. Exercises will reduce the chances of developing such injuries, by giving your muscles a completly opposite set of movements so that repeation of movement does not become one way and familier. And thats a fact....a big fact.