"Using the minimal amount of pressure needed to fret"

[LotusCarsLtd52]

My bass teacher recommended that I learn how to fret using as little pressure as is necessary. I never really learned how and often find myself pressing quite hard into the fingerboard (followed by a good "shake out the left hand" routine )

What exercises might I try to remedy this?

[guroove]

Relax. Take some deep breaths - slowly, before you practice. Lay off the caffeine and sugar. Maybe practice some "Ohms."

[JPaulGeddy]

Try playing without using your thumb on the back of the neck. (Just for this exercise).

[electracoyote]

It is a habit you will have to form. For a time, you will have to be conscious of the amount of finger pressure you are exerting and consciously ease up. After awhile it will become second nature.

One of the biggest impedements my students face is digging in too hard with either fretting or picking hand. It is wasted energy, slows you down, and can result in tone/intonation problems in the end. At its worst, it can cause hand/finger strain and injury.

Fretting hard can also cause intonation problems as you play. You're squeezing the string into the space between the frets and actually pulling it sharp.

Relax, focus on a light touch, and give your hands a chance to re-learn fretting.

[Valerus]

Originally Posted by JPaulGeddy

Try playing without using your thumb on the back of the neck. (Just for this exercise).

what!

[Jim Carr]

Originally Posted by LotusCarsLtd52

My bass teacher recommended that I learn how to fret using as little pressure as is necessary. I never really learned how and often find myself pressing quite hard into the fingerboard (followed by a good "shake out the left hand" routine )

What exercises might I try to remedy this?

Practice the material for your lessons with the focus on your left hand. A gentle relaxed hand is a faster and longer lived hand.

[standupright]

Originally Posted by electracoyote

It is a habit you will have to form. For a time, you will have to be conscious of the amount of finger pressure you are exerting and consciously ease up. After awhile it will become second nature.

One of the biggest impedements my students face is digging in too hard with either fretting or picking hand. It is wasted energy, slows you down, and can result in tone/intonation problems in the end. At its worst, it can cause hand/finger strain and injury.

Fretting hard can also cause intonation problems as you play. You're squeezing the string into the space between the frets and actually pulling it sharp.

Relax, focus on a light touch, and give your hands a chance to re-learn fretting.

+1 that about sums it up.

some of the exercises that you should do when developing technique can be incredibly boring, but extremely important.

[LotusCarsLtd52]

Originally Posted by electracoyote

One of the biggest impedements my students face is digging in too hard with either fretting or picking hand. It is wasted energy, slows you down, and can result in tone/intonation problems in the end. At its worst, it can cause hand/finger strain and injury.

I agree. I just recently remembered that "my fingers aren't amplifiers" and I started to pluck much more lightly with my right hand and I've noticed a difference.

Fretting hard can also cause intonation problems as you play. You're squeezing the string into the space between the frets and actually pulling it sharp.

Yup and I really want to avoid injuries!

[Fergie Fulton]

Originally Posted by Valerus

what!

LOL its a great way to feel that the fingers do the work, not the thumb and the fingers to grasp or hold.

If you touch any one of your finger tips of one hand with the thumb of that hand, chances are you move both to make it happen. That is not the same as moving the fingers to the still thumb, as soon as the thumb gets invoved we get into the many motions of hold and grip. So by not using the thumb in an exercise or two you get to feel that the thumb is a guide and the fingers move to it, rather than some sort of grip or hold on the neck.

If you play a song or two that you know take the thumb off the back of the neck. The first thing you will find is that the neck moves back towards you as you fret...to much pressure, wrong muscle groups being used.
As you learn to use the forearms to move the fingers the shoulder plays a role, a small one, but a role all the same in stablizing the neck of the bass against the fingers motion of fretting. It is this balance you need to develop, it takes only a little while with practice to get the feeling.
Now just a bit of technocal info on what you are doing in body mechanics with the hand, the grip force/load force ratio must exceed the slip ratio, itself determined by the coefficient of friction between the skin and the object.

In other words you need less pressure to hold something effectively if it is rough, and if it is smooth you need more pressure. The bass is on a strap and supported so minimum pressure is needed, as in piano playing where the thumb not required to grip, that is true in bass playing. Don't be put off by the instruments design, which lends itself to being gripped/held, rather use the thumb as a guide or a back stop and have the fingers come to it.

[Audiophage]

Relax, stretch, and try to be your left hand.

[sub~waver]

I found that applying this technique to my day-to-day activities helped cement it in my mind as well. When grabbing a cup of coffee, or something, just hold it with as much pressure necessary...amazing how much force is placed in minute tasks around the house or in life outside of bass playing. Notice how tight we grip things. Loosen the grip on the object so that is just enough to barely hold the object in place. I found this helped me transition to a lighter touch on the bass as I was practicing it outside of the rubric bass-playing...ex..interacting with objects at work, around the house...then picking up my bass...

[PunkRocker5693]

Lol idk why...but I think I press mine sorta hard...intonation problems can occur like stated before...watch out for that.

But if you're squeezing the dear life outta ur neck...just press it til it hits the neck and be done. Don't squeeze it to death.

[rabassaf]

just listen to the sound. truely listen (not nesseceraly to the bass&amp thing- more to the music you are taking part it while you play and practice) . your grip is getting better when you are truely listening. it takes care of itself.
and yea, record yourself.

[Billnc]

I got this I believe from Jim Hall. Practice with the amp fairly loud but play quietly, with as light a touch as possible. This works for both hands, you'd be suprised how much extra noise you can get from an unrelaxed fretting hand. Practice slowly! You will probably not play too hard if playing very slowly. I don't know why I say that, I don't think one student has ever followed that advice Took me many years to practice slowly.

[INTP]

I find that if my fingers don't land in the right place, I end up fretting harder to make up for the inevitable buzzing. The best placement for me is just behind the fret. Not in the middle, and not on top of the fret.

A good setup will well dressed frets helps, too.

[dave64o]

I've recently realized how hard I've been fretting notes all these years and have just started concentrating on playing more relaxed. When I'm actually doing that, I notice that my speed and accuracy both improve, as does my endurance (IOW my left hand doesn't get nearly as tired). It's something I still have to consciously work at because it's not a habit yet, but it's looking like it's paying off.

For some reason my right hand has always been fairly relaxed and it doesn't seem to have similar problems. Go figure.

This topic kind of reminds me of a section I read in Harvey Penick's "Little Red Book" (a book the golfers might know about). He suggested that to get the feel of properly holding a golf club you should try pretending the grip is a live bird that you're trying to hold. You have to hold the bird tight enough to keep control of it in your hands but not tight enough to hurt, strangle, or crush it.

[Stumbo]

I started on guitar which doesn't require much pressure to fret. I transferred the technique to bass. +1 on a well set-up bass (or guitar). Pressing harder, IME, doesn't make you play better. I suggest you play slowly and lightly press the strings just enough to get the note. Repeat until you've exchanged one habit for the other.

[251]

+1. Press with your right forearm on the bass body & the neck will rise to your fingers. You will not need your thumb. I think that is why Leo put the chamfer on the top bout of the Fender Bass. A sharp angle would be less comfortable.

I once alternated thumbless & left thumb while comping a poet for 20+ minutes.

It also helps to find the 'sweet spot' in the fret. Below the 7th fret, the center of the fret is not always the best place to get a clean note.

[Jazz Ad]

Originally Posted by JPaulGeddy

Try playing without using your thumb on the back of the neck. (Just for this exercise).

+1.
It is the best way to practice this.

[behndy]

i'm with you. i'm taking lessons seriously for the first time and trying to fix SCADS of bad habits. the stuff is boring to do, but i can tell the difference after only a month.

didn't your teacher recommend any exercises?

i have a problem with "throwing my pinky out" when i'm fretting with non-pinky fingers.

good luck!

-0behn desu0-