Uncomfortable and Frustrated

[stephanie]

I have a feeling this is affecting my technique and how well I play...

I've been focusing a lot lately on my positioning (body position, how I hold my bass, etc. I'm quite short at 5'1 99lbs so I find I have to make a lot of adjustments.) and it seems no matter how I position myself I'm just plain uncomfortable. It's becoming quite frustrating. Here's an overview of some problems:

Sitting - At my lesson there aren't any chairs that my feet touch the floor, so it's very hard to find a proper body position. Thank the gods I got a chair at home a year ago that my feet touch the floor! That used to be a major problem, but I got an office chair that's quite comfortable and has a back rest.

A big dilemna for me is that if I wear my strap when sitting it's uncomortable, yet I need it for control. I have it at the highest setting. I have to have the bass resting on my leg, but when I rest it on my leg I have to hunch over to play. If I sit up straight, even with the strap, I don't feel I have much control over the bass. I have to cross my legs to get better control as well, but lately I'm finding myself sitting like a guy would (ya know, heel on the knee kind of sitting...my position goes from legs crossed to that) and my legs fall asleep.

Standing - I don't practice standing too much, but when I do I have my bass set around my chest area and the neck held at an angle. The only problems I really have (and I know this can be resolved by buying a more decent bass for my stature) is that I have trouble reaching the first few frets b/c of my small arms and also the bass weighs me down after a while.

Anyway, I also have another question while I'm at it, and I thought maybe because of improper body position this has been affected: My playing just seems rather choppy and sloppy (I like using those words hehe) and I can't seem to make transitions smooth enough. I've been playing for 3 years and this has always been something that annoyed me, that my playing just doesn't sound "clean". Sometimes my brain tells my fingers to move and where to move, but my fingers don't listen LOL. Any tips or suggestions on how I can improve this? Is this caused by my improper body positions? Or is it just something that just plain needs to be practiced at (believe me, I practice with a passion)?

Thanks,
Stephanie

[Phil Smith]

For your sitting situation, you can go to Walmart of KMart and by a folding stool that should be at a height where your feet will touch the floor.

For your standing situation, sometimes the stretch is a lot but I find that leaning back at times makes it easier to play the lower notes. Me'shell NdegeOcello is about your height and she plays like she has no problem with a Fender Jazz bass.

As for smoothing up your technique, the first part of fixing that is realizing that it needs fixing, really. After that, you just have to be concious of it when you play and work toward being smooth and play with other people in as many situations as you can which helps to increase your comfort level in a live situation. Lastly, 3 years isn't a lot of time.

[thrash_jazz]

Also, a Squier P is not the smallest bass on the planet, nor is it the most comfortable to play if you aren't very tall (I'm 5'6" myself). Have you tried any other basses that feel more comfortable?

[stephanie]

Originally posted by Phil Smith
For your standing situation, sometimes the stretch is a lot but I find that leaning back at times makes it easier to play the lower notes. Me'shell NdegeOcello is about your height and she plays like she has no problem with a Fender Jazz bass.

When standing, I do find myself leaning back to reach certain frets.

As for smoothing up your technique, the first part of fixing that is realizing that it needs fixing, really. After that, you just have to be concious of it when you play and work toward being smooth and play with other people in as many situations as you can which helps to increase your comfort level in a live situation. Lastly, 3 years isn't a lot of time.

Yeah, this is one thing I do try to pay attention to when playing a song or exercise. I will play a measure over and over until it sounds 'smooth' to me. It used to be that when I played a song and made a mistake that I just let the mistake go b/c that's what you'd have to do in a real playing situation, but I've learned that doesn't help me much. I need to stop and fix it, b/c I know if I don't I will end up always playing it sloppy, you know what I mean? And sometimes if I make a mistake (say in a measure at the end of a line or part) I will play the whole line over b/c it helps to make the transition from measure to measure smoothly, esp. if the measure is hard to play. Hope I'm making sense LOL.

Originally posted by thrash_jazz
[B}Also, a Squier P is not the smallest bass on the planet, nor is it the most comfortable to play if you aren't very tall (I'm 5'6" myself). Have you tried any other basses that feel more comfortable?

Yeah, that Squier is definately not for me and I will be buying a new bass when I can afford it. I've played a few basses at the music store, including a Spector. I eyed the Spector from afar because of it's smaller body, until the music store got this one that I fell in love with, so I tried it out. While the Spector would be a wonderful bass to play standing up, I thought the body felt a little too small to me sitting down. Maybe just b/c I was so used to the bigger body of the Squier *shrug*.

Thanks
Stephanie

[Chris Fitzgerald]

Originally posted by stephanie
I have a feeling this is affecting my technique and how well I play...

I've been focusing a lot lately on my positioning (body position, how I hold my bass, etc. I'm quite short at 5'1 99lbs so I find I have to make a lot of adjustments.) and it seems no matter how I position myself I'm just plain uncomfortable. It's becoming quite frustrating. Here's an overview of some problems:

Sitting - At my lesson there aren't any chairs that my feet touch the floor, so it's very hard to find a proper body position. Thank the gods I got a chair at home a year ago that my feet touch the floor! That used to be a major problem, but I got an office chair that's quite comfortable and has a back rest.

A big dilemna for me is that if I wear my strap when sitting it's uncomortable, yet I need it for control. I have it at the highest setting. I have to have the bass resting on my leg, but when I rest it on my leg I have to hunch over to play. If I sit up straight, even with the strap, I don't feel I have much control over the bass. I have to cross my legs to get better control as well, but lately I'm finding myself sitting like a guy would (ya know, heel on the knee kind of sitting...my position goes from legs crossed to that) and my legs fall asleep.

You are wise to be thinking about these issues. posture is one of the most important issues relating to instrumental technique, and it never seems to get talked about enough. Behind any instrumental technique that uses finger/wrist motion extensively, there is the issue of larger muscle groups versus smaller muscle groups. In my opinion, it is important to base your technique on controlling the larger muscle groups rather than the smaller ones. This will be increasingly important as you get older.

Even though I have 13" in height and 90 lbs in weight over you in this case, I can still honestly say that I find BG one of the most severely uncomfortable instruments to play with faulty technique that I've ever attempted. The length of the neck, the span of the half steps (especially near the nut), the tonal choice of many players to play near the bridge, all of these things make the BG an absolute beast to play if you can't find a comfortable playing position. My best advice is to find a position that allows free motion of the left elbow and shoulder, and also allows a not-too-severe angle of the right wrist.

When it comes to left hand technique, I believe that the best technique involves as little motion of the fingers as possible, with the motion coming instead from the wrist, as controlled by the shoulder and elbow. Use elbow motion to make the hand pivot around the thumb - this motion really originates from the chest and back, but is easier to describe as a motion of the elbow. Don't make the mistake of letting your left elbow EVER rest on your left leg, as this cuts off your best range of motion.

Standing - I don't practice standing too much, but when I do I have my bass set around my chest area and the neck held at an angle. The only problems I really have (and I know this can be resolved by buying a more decent bass for my stature) is that I have trouble reaching the first few frets b/c of my small arms and also the bass weighs me down after a while.

These are only some of the reasons why I only play seated at this point. For both BG and DB, my current position is seated on a barstool, which for BG means having my right leg elevated on the highest rung on one side and my left either on the floor (good if you have long legs), or on the lower rung of the adjacent side. The bass gets wedged comfortably between my leg, chest, and right arm, and allows me to point the neck out at something approaching a 45 degree angle, which relieves pressure on both arms. It takes a bit of getting used to, but I have no pain whatsoever since adopting this posture, and I couldn't always say that. I'm not saying that it will work for everyone, only that it worked for me.

Anyway, I also have another question while I'm at it, and I thought maybe because of improper body position this has been affected: My playing just seems rather choppy and sloppy (I like using those words hehe) and I can't seem to make transitions smooth enough. I've been playing for 3 years and this has always been something that annoyed me, that my playing just doesn't sound "clean". Sometimes my brain tells my fingers to move and where to move, but my fingers don't listen LOL. Any tips or suggestions on how I can improve this? Is this caused by my improper body positions? Or is it just something that just plain needs to be practiced at (believe me, I practice with a passion)?

Thanks,
Stephanie

Sounds like a combination of both physical and mental relaxation issues. Without hearing specifically what you are describing, my best advice would be to record yourself playing and then objectively listen back and analyze what your weakest spots are. Once you have found them, focus on improving them. Good luck.

[stephanie]

Wow, thanks for all that advice, DURRLFRIEND.

[WillPlay4Food]

My wife (bless her soul, she puts up with me ) bought me a drummer's seat last Christmas. This is the perfect practice seat for me because the height is adjustable (so you can get your legs at the perfect angle to sit your bass on). Also, since it's just a triangular wedge, the seat never gets in my way when I'm practicing since there are no side arms or chair back.

Try one out the next time you're at a music store. You may be surprised at how comfortable these chairs can be.