Because of serious Injury how can i still improve WITHOUT playing?

cire113 · #1 08-28-2009, 12:05 PM

Ive severly injured my right hand from plucking too hard for months despite playing through pain ... I know stupid..

But now im forced to rest it for months...

What are some things i can still do everyday to get better...

If i just sing bass lines all day i will improve right?(obviously my playing techinque is gonna suffer with months off) You know singing bass instead of playing........

Ive only played for 1.5 years but bass has become my life... I dont work or anything just play all day and now i just sit and watch youtube videos of my favorite bassists and just sing what they play

Fergie Fulton · #2 08-28-2009, 12:11 PM

Hi cire113, what is the diagnosis from the doctors on the injury, and how does it stop you playing?

Matt Dean · #3 08-28-2009, 12:21 PM

I wouldn't worry about not playing for a while... I would get committed to working a physical therapy program. If you don't have a physical therapy program to do, get a referral from your doctor for a physical therapist and get on a rehab program.

Also, get thee to a good teacher to teach you proper technique. I'm 52... been playing since I was 16... never had a hand problem cause I play with good DB technique learn from DB lessons when I was young. I know a number of bass players my age who have trouble playing now (tendinitis and repetitive motion problems like carpal tunnel) cause they didn't develop a good technique when young.

(PS: sorry for coming off preachy, but if you want to keep playing into your midlife, start now.)

cire113 · #4 08-28-2009, 12:24 PM

im devestated by my injury but its my own fault...

i see dr and therapist next week...

basically i was plucking with my 2 fingers WAY too hard on my right hand and im no DR but i assume ive got real bad tendonitis.... im getting MRI today...

I hope i will be able to play again someday... I was really progressing fast..

This has been a lesson of Acceptance for me..

now i know to pluck softer turn up the amp(and get technique lesson) and listen to my body im 24

standupright · #5 08-28-2009, 12:24 PM

sit down and practice with just your left hand.

Ed Fuqua · #6 08-28-2009, 12:28 PM

Work on ear training and transcription.

Matt Dean · #7 08-28-2009, 12:30 PM

...or study music theory.

JTE · #8 08-28-2009, 01:00 PM

Can you name in your head (no instrument, no paper) the correct notes in all 12 diatonic major scales? Can you name the notes in the seven diatonic chords you get when you harmonize the major scale (all the way out to the 7th for each one). Can you tell where to put your fingers for each of those notes? If not, that's some good stuff you can work on that'll help you later.

Listen to LOTS of different musics. Sing the bass line to the songs. Sing the melody while keeping the bass line in your head. Listen to a lot of versions of the same song- there's a LOT of different ways to approach the Gershwin song "Summertime" for example. Work on rhythm training. Get thee a metronome and work with it NOT clicking on every beat. Can you sing the bass line to "I Want You Back" while the metronome is only clicking on 2 and 4? That's a good one to practice with!

Just off the top of my bald head...

John

BillyC · #9 08-28-2009, 01:04 PM

play with a pick

Fergie Fulton · #10 08-28-2009, 01:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cire113

Ive severly injured my right hand from plucking too hard for months despite playing through pain ... I know stupid..
Ive only played for 1.5 years but bass has become my life... I dont work or anything just play all day...

Hi cire113, on these two points above they your first mistakes, so make them your last. See what the results of your scans are and see what your doctors says. You are young enough to shake this off if it is just a short term injury. Pain is the bodies way to make you aware of something and make you stop, if you don't it goes to the next level, then the next level till, you stop or the damage it was trying to prevent happens, then you stop.

Here's some links for you to consider

http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?f...ogId=507420416

http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/3.12/mccarthy.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tLi8pOa6zYk

http://www.littleguitarworks.com/torzal/

suraci · #11 08-28-2009, 01:08 PM

All suggestions here are good.
There is plenty you can do. Do not worry about not playing for x amount of months... it will come back in its own time. In the meantime

Study the weakest aspect of musicians- rhythm. Study it in any of a number of ways- bass playing involves all manner of styles- too many!! So each style is its own unique universe... the rhythm's are unique to a degree.
Polyrhythm and polymeter are important.... eg feeling 3 AND 4 at the same time.
or in funk, feeling rhythms that have an upbeat eighth note on 4, versus an upbeat sixteenth on 4 ( 4/4 time ) . I have played songs that switch between these 2 unique grooves.

I encourage you to sing bass lines. but harmony lines as well, and melody too.. melody is king. Singing is terrific for the ear... when a thoughtful musician is singing intelligently.. eg i sing a harmony to Stan Getz bossa nova record.. to his masterful, highly melodic improvs on the melody, so you sing a spontaneously heard harmony ( 3rds 6ths, contrapuntal ) to his improv. Getz is a genius, his improv lines are very melodic ( in contrast to some Coltrane things- another genius ) . It is a hit album with Astrud Gilberto singing Girl from Ipanema , So Danco Samba, Grande Amor etc. Sing his solo, then sing a harmony to it... fun.

Study counterpoint.... not easy, but great training. Study harmony from classical pov, later jazz harmony.
Sightsinging is great for you.
This is a time for the glass is half full- you will make great progress trust me.

Jim Nazium · #12 08-28-2009, 02:16 PM

You might be able to play a keyboard. It's pretty easy on the hands, and it's a good way to acquire general music skills (ear training, theory & harmony).

cire113 · #13 08-28-2009, 06:41 PM

thanks for all the great advice guys..........

u are all the best!!!!

I got some hope......

Man youtube really is amazing tool

Dark Horse · #14 08-28-2009, 06:55 PM

Years ago some scientists did a test. They took 30 men and split them into 3 groups and had them shoot baskets for 1/2 hour and recorded the results.

THE TEST

Group one - didn't shoot baskets for 30 days
Group two - shot baskets for 1/2 hour each day for 30 days
Group three - IMAGINED shooting baskets for 1/2 hour each day for 30 days, really thinking through and visualizing the motions

After the 30 days, they had each of them shoot baskets for 30 minutes...

THE RESULTS

Group one - No marked improvement
Group two - showed a 33% improvement
Group three - showed a 32% improvement !!!

The mind is a tremendously powerful thing. Exercise your mind by visualizing your practices, and you WILL improve. Perhaps not quite as much as if you actually practiced each day, but it will help.

**john turner** · #15 08-28-2009, 07:03 PM

there's a lot you can work on until your picking hand gets better.

1). learn the neck - your fretting hand is ok, right? practice fretting each fret while singing the note name in key, or as best as you can. you don't have to fret hard, just fret as if you were playing normally.

2) similar exercise, you can work on scale shapes, again singing each note name as you play it, transposing the scales up the neck.

3). you can work on your reading, again, by just fretting the notes you read. start with something relatively easy, get some kind of click going (metronome, or whatever) and set it very slow, and keep it slow until you can play through the passage without hesitation. have a few different pages of music to start with, and swap between them fairly regularly so you don't just end up memorizing the passages.

those are just a few - really the only thing you're limited from working on is your timing and right hand technique, and even there, you're going to get some timing training in just by working on your left hand.