wrists are tired during practicing of the Garrison Technique

[Lincoln]

Hi gang,
I've just started adapting my right hand technique to the four finger pluck....slow going and I don't have a ramp either. I'm finding that my right wrist and forearm are really tired. I'm massaging them down every night, but they're still tired. I've been putting in about 2 hurs a day of just right hand technique. Am I over practicing or just not practicing properly. I'm going fairly slow, but they'tr still tired. And I'm playing really lightly, as well. I'm open to advice, please help!

[Kobaia]

i cant imagine doing it without a ramp, i've tried, no way no how. as always if it hurts stop. otherwise get a ramp

[Lincoln]

Are your fingers resting on the body of the bass or would they be on the ramp? I started mixing in the floating thumb and my hand was fairly relaxed. I'm wondering if I'm just using different muscle groups and they aren't happy....

A ramp on a 33 yr old jazz bass is probably not a good idea or I would...

I am saving up for a Wilser Ramirez 5 string eith a ramp, though.

Thanks for the suggestions, though!

[Kobaia]

i have no fingers resting on the ramp everything is done as a floating perspective.

[Lincoln]

Thanks for the pics - I'm an artist by trade so visual is always helpful to me. i often stand in a mirros as I practice to examine technique and thi looks like what I'm doing, as I am floating the hand. i think that I'm just using certain muscles that don't get used. Not having a ramp has forced me to focus on relaxing my arm for a lighter than normal touch. It might take twice as long to master....but I need to relax when i'm playing anyways

Thanks!

[cnltb]

Keep practising.
As slow as you need to.

[Lincoln]

how long do practice technique in your practice time? And how slow is slow for you?

[cnltb]

Everyone has their own pace.
"Long" is -as long as it takes.
I am not talking about 20 hours per day but regular excercise . Every day a little.
Each day a little more.

If I do a four hour session of practising , I tend to start with a warm up . Then I recap what I did in the last practise session and see if it is all good. If it is not, I'll practise it until it is.
Once that is done I progress to the next part of the piece ( if it is a piece) I am working on. I first read it slowly, figuring out where the harder bits are and mark them .I practise those and then play the whole thing slowly, until I got it under my fingers. From there i run it a number of times to work on tone and phrasing. Once I am happy with that, I play the previously learned part connected to the new.
I then do scales( it helps to do a number of different things during practise as it is easier(for me) to focus on shorten partials, then it would be to focus on one thing for a long time) , arpeggios and chord changes.
I'll open the realbook at a randon page and read( walk) the changes with a metronome on to keep me focused. ) I'll also improvise on the changes.
Once that is done ,I go back to the piece I am currently working on.
My practise routine obviously varies according to what I am doing at a time.
Always make sure your posture is good and relax your shoulders and neck from time to time so you don't tense up too badly.
As said before Many people practise in many different ways.

The one thing I feel is universally true is that a certain routine helps. everyday a little...
If it hurts,I'd say, take a little break and check your posture.
There are also a numbr of good excercises that halp to relax.
Always be thorough
Have fun!!

[Lincoln]

Thanks for the advice....it has been a while since I worked with an instructor who gave specific things gor me to work on and in time my routine has eroded ( full time job, freelance and family have also bit into that). But it makes sense to approach practices like this. I've been working on breathing in full lung breaths while I practice and exhaling through my mouth. it relases every part of the body including the forearms and shoulders.

Thanks again!

[Kobaia]

i was playing for about a year and a half. and when i finally got to play with it as second nature. Matt himself worked with me to get it down and figure out different patterns. but id say over a year to really get comfortable.

[Lincoln]

yes it's definately a technique that takes committed practice. I've been playing for about 17 years, so it's going to be quite the project reprogramming how I approach the instrument...

Do you live in New York? Or did you see Matt at a clinic?

[Kobaia]

Originally Posted by Lincoln

yes it's definately a technique that takes committed practice. I've been playing for about 17 years, so it's going to be quite the project reprogramming how I approach the instrument...

Do you live in New York? Or did you see Matt at a clinic?

i was at berklee last year. i studied with him for like 4 months

[cnltb]

...a lot is down routine and discipline, and to being thorough in al one does, and to realizing ones own pace, I think.

[Lobster11]

I don't claim to be an expert here, but it looks to me from your second picture (the one on the right) that your right arm position is such that your forearm is resting heavily on the body of the bass and (consequently) you wrist is bent fairly severely. Many teachers emphasize that you should hold your elbow further from your body so that you make a straight line from your elbow through your forearm and wrist to your fingers, to reduce the strain in your forearm muscles and wrist caused by plucking notes with the bent wrist. It make sense that you might not have noticed any problem with this arm position until you started the four-finger technique, which would be harder on more muscles. So, maybe a slight adjustment of your right arm positioning would fix the problem? Just my $0.02 worth.

[Lincoln]

Yes, I noticed that in the photos, as well. And in my practice routine I've been making a concious effort to keep my arm straight. When I first starttd working on the technique my arm wanted to lay on the body, but that's when I noticed the real strain....so clearly that wasn't going to work. I've also been working on finger independence exercises in the car. I have a 50min commute to work. And I work on right hand fingerings in the car. I keep my arm straight and lightly finger against my leg as if it were the strings...

[Kobaia]

Originally Posted by Lobster11

I don't claim to be an expert here, but it looks to me from your second picture (the one on the right) that your right arm position is such that your forearm is resting heavily on the body of the bass and (consequently) you wrist is bent fairly severely. Many teachers emphasize that you should hold your elbow further from your body so that you make a straight line from your elbow through your forearm and wrist to your fingers, to reduce the strain in your forearm muscles and wrist caused by plucking notes with the bent wrist. It make sense that you might not have noticed any problem with this arm position until you started the four-finger technique, which would be harder on more muscles. So, maybe a slight adjustment of your right arm positioning would fix the problem? Just my $0.02 worth.

oddly enough thats the only string thats like that. i extend my elbow on any string higher than that. and lift my arm any string lower. so its completely by coincidence.

[dulouz]

Could someone explain what the Garrison Technique is. Also what is a ramp, and what purpose does it serve?

[Kobaia]

1aw1 1urk m0r3 u n00b. u53 t3h 53arch A (Somewhat) Definitive Guide To The Matthew Garrison Technique And Playing Ramps