pushing down on bass with right hand?

[tuBass]

I'm 42 years old, been playing bass for 22 years, and regularly the last 10 years.

i'm about to say something that is a little embarrassing...

I JUST LAST FRIDAY realized that I push down on my bass when I play, I have a slab body t-40, and the weight of my right hand on the bass probably turns my 12.5 bass into a 25 pound bass.

No wonder my shoulder hurts at the end of the night!

now that I'm aware of it, I think I can change. also, I just cut a forearm and tummy cut into my bass, so it's closer to my body without as much horizontal surface to push on.

I'm looking forward to seeing how this helps me, anybody heard of this before?


LOL you can even see it in my avatar... I wonder if part of the problem is that I'm HUGE (6'8") and have really really large hands? this may not be a problem for anybody else...

[Clef_de_fa]

So in other words you have a fixed thumb anchor and you push down ...

I think being less stressed will help a bit, floating thumb, you don,t need any strengh to play bass

[tuBass]

No, i was pushing down on the side of my bass with palm.

[Clef_de_fa]

ohhhhh

maybe a more vertical position

[tuBass]

Yep, I was thinking of dropping my strap a couple of inches to see that changes anything

[Skitch it!]

Originally Posted by tuBass

Yep, I was thinking of dropping my strap a couple of inches to see that changes anything

I would try that to extend your arm definitlely. 6'8, you're not exactly a small fella

[tuBass]

I think three things will help me kick the bad habit

1. lower the bass a little
2. my modded t-40 has a pretty extreme forearm conture so it's much for difficult to rest my palm there
3. just being aware of it and changing my habits.

I started the thread wondering if anybody else had that problem, but after thinking about it, I'm not sure if it's even physically possible for somebody to rest their palm on the side of the bass while playing, unless you have hands as large as mine, and that's very very rare. (10" from base of the palm to the tip of my middle finger) so I guess the thread was a a waste

[jthurston]

I can see it happening, though. When I first started, I developed the habit of pushing down on the bass with my thumb. Not exactly the same thing, but there it is. I don't do it any more, but I don't think it hindered me that much.

I've met guys from all over, who have their own bass style. Some play with their thumb, some play with the left hand on top of the fretboard instead of under it. I'm sure the idea of other guys pushing on the bass with their right hand isn't all that rare. Is it?