Quote:
Originally Posted by Tupac  I recently learned that raising your forearm off the bass is very comfortable and gives you more strength to pluck with, since the tendons aren't being restricted. But the problem is, it's very hard to use moveable anchor with it. That's because difficult to control your hand with enough precision to move it between strings quickly, and I find that if I have my thumb on the A string, it's angled upwards, and doesn't mute the E string. How do you deal with these problems? |
hi tupac-
the way i deal with this is by simply changing the angle of my elbow... let me elaborate. many years ago, i was resting my forearm on the bass on the bass regularly, but with enough weight to where i was restricting blood flow to my hands, etc... combined with the height i had the bass set at hanging from the strap, it was also causing a sharp wrist angle which caused pain in the wrist over time. i realized that i could alleviate the sharp wrist angle and constriction with one simple step: pointing my elbow more to the side instead of directly behind me. try it, and you'll see what i'm talking about... put your plucking hand in its regular position 'resting' on the bass. make sure that your shoulder is relaxed and that you are not introducing any other tension. now simply take your plucking hand side elbow and point it slightly outward. you'll see that it takes pressure off of the bass from the forearm, but leaving the same exact plucking position for your hand. i hope this makes sense. it took me a couple of days to get used to the new elbow position, but it was so subtle that it made it easy to transition. hope that helps-
