Slap bassing and shoulder pain

[drewsky2004]

I'm fairly a novice at slap bassing. Whenever I do it, my shoulder gets tired quickly. Am I doing something wrong perhaps? Maybe I should be using the arm far less?

[Chris K]

A few questions:
1. do you slap with thumb pointing up, down or parallel to the strings?
2. on bass height: is axis of the neckpocket above or below your belly button?
3. in what angle do you keep your UPPER arm with the horizon?

Especially a bass strapped high plus a high upper arm may cuase the problems you describe. For general tips on healthy posture, strapping and slapping, click on the link below.

[HillBillyWannaB]

You're a wigwam, you're a teepee, you're a wigwam, you're a teepee - you're 2 tents. (Sorry, my drummer used to say that to me when I was nervous before our shows when I first started playing).

I'd guess your just tensing up, I used to do it all the time. Still do a little bit (20 years later) when I'm practicing challenging parts. STay loose, relax your shoulder and your arm when you're practicing and I'll be you notice a difference.

[fearceol]

Originally Posted by Chris K

For general tips on healthy posture, strapping and slapping, click on the link below.

Great site Chris. I have ear marked it for future reference.

[Ewo]

IME, the fit of your body and the bass are critically important! I've played around with strap construction/materials, strap adjustment, and the inherent balance of the bass.

It took me a while, but I found a combination of those factors which works just right for me: the Fbass BN5 (which balances with the neck aimed higher and the nut a little closer in than other basses), and a Neotek strap adjusted fairly short.

YMMV, of course! But I've got it so that I can play slap comfortably and switch to fingerstyle instantly without needing to adjust anything other than the angle of my right elbow. (Because I slap near the end of the fingerboard and pluck near the back pickup.) I don't need to push down on the upper edge of the body with my forearm (something which drove me nuts about Fenders) and my right wrist is straight when playing both styles.

I'm not an orthopedist, but I'd suggest paying some attention to the bend in your wrist and if you're weighting the body with your forearm. True enough, tensing up can cause pain--what I'm saying is that the tension may be the result of the way your picking arm and hand are addressing the body of the bass. Buying a new bass may not be feasible, but it doesn't cost much to buy a strap and play around with your right arm positioning!

[nickbass79]

I try to position my bass a little higher for slapping, that way I'm minimizing my arm movement to be more efficient. My bass is positioned about the same as if I'm sitting. I end up basically twisting only my forearm when slapping instead of banging my entire arm on the bass. Look at the technique differences between Victor Wooten and early Flea. Vic is very efficient with his arm movement and Flea is MUCH more aggressive. Hope this helps.

[Chris K]

Originally Posted by fearceol

Great site Chris. I have ear marked it for future reference.

Thank you, sir!

[dystopiate]

Unless you have a pre-existing shoulder injury or sub-clinical problem that's about to hit threshold, you probably just need to relax.

When you're slapping, you're movement really shouldn't be coming from the upper trap/shoulder (deltoid)/scapula (shoulder blade) area. It's pretty much all elbow, down (elbow, wrist, hand). Focus on staying completely relaxed through the upper part of your arm/shoulder/neck, and use the lower half of the arm. Don't worry about your technique while you do this, just try to perform the motion for a little a while. If you are completely relaxed and are still getting the pain then there's something more serious going on.

[drewsky2004]

Thanks for the info guys. I do play fairly tense, which must be my biggest problem.

[T-MOST]

The technique comes primarily from the wrist. So if your shoulder is hurting you are using the wrong area of your arm. try to focus on wrist rotation only. Your shoulder and elbow pretty much be in a locked position (unless you are trying to be flashy like L Graham or L Johnson).