A bit of a problem with my fret hand

[jamisonsalamand]

I've been playing since about the beginning of August, and I started working on the "spider" exercise today to try and make my pinky work better. The problem is, my pinky doesn't curl naturally like my other three fingers. I did the exercises for about ten minutes, and when I was done my pinky kind of "locked up." The joint that's next to my knuckle would be locked up so it was pointing straight, while the joint next to my finger nail was curved. When I went to bend it into a normal position, it was like popping it back. I could even hear it. This position is how I have to use my pinky to play because it's the only way I can, but I don't think this is normal at all. Any ideas about what's happening and if/how it can be taken care of?

[DudeistMonk]

Without seeing your playing its hard to make corrections...I'm double jointed and I can lock and unlock that joint with my finger straight on purpose (I don't do so while playing though).

Here is some stuff to try....

It takes a while to build up strength in your pinky, play for a few minutes then give it a rest and do it again. DO NOT PLAY IF IT HURTS. Its like weight lifting you rotate your muscle groups to give them time to regenerate.

Also if you are playing in the lower registers its going to be much harder to use your pinky. I would start on the A (fifth fret of the E string) and do the pattern there. Once you are comfortable there work on doing it anywhere.

I would also just learn the major and minor scales and practice those, you will be absorbing some useful stuff while working your pinky, instead of just playing chromatic notes (but I'm sure some would disagree with me).

Start slow, you don't need to play really fast right of the bat...Use a metronome start slow at like 60 bpm and work your way up 5 or 10 bpm at a time till you can do 8th notes at like 120, that will get you through most tunes. If you don't have a metronome http://www.metronomeonline.com/

[mambo4]

my fingers do the double jointed locking thing too, but these days it never comes up while I'm playing.

A few things I do
-keep my left wrist as straight as possible, adjusting my neck angle/strap height to help
-keep my left hand in a "C" shape with all my fingers nice and curved
-always back up my pinkie with the rest of my fingers behind it
-most importantly, i believe, is not being afraid to move my left hand when needed. My smallish hands would need to stretch a ridiculous amount to achieve a literal 1 finger per fret spacing in lower position, so I just keep my thumb planted on the back of the neck as a pivot, and slide my palm up to make reaching that 4th fret easier. With my thumb anchored it's easy to 'return' to the basic position. Why spread out all your fingers uncomfortably to when the only note you need to hit is the one under your pinky? I may lose a marginal amount of speed, I suppose, but I have yet to see that impact anything I've been required to play.

when I got my URB, I was killing my left hand trying to make the stretch on that neck, wondering "how do these guys do it?" Then I got to see Ray Brown (RIP) live. I noticed pretty quickly that when he was down in first or second position, his left hand was moving to help his finger reach (tho certainly less than mine.) I'm pretty sure that Carol Kaye also espouses this "thumb pivot" method for reaching the hard to get notes.

Monk's advice above is also good : Major scale (in all keys), slow metronome practice. Waaaaaay more useful in the long run than "the spider"

[Methodis]

Just out of curiosity...whats the spider exercise?

[roberthelpus]

Originally Posted by Methodis

Just out of curiosity...whats the spider exercise?

The itsy bitsy spider...

Bor or is the spider...

But seriously folks I subscribed to find out too.

[tZer]

Originally Posted by mambo4

-always back up my pinkie with the rest of my fingers behind it

I agree with everything but that.

I think that not only is his pinky weak due to lack of use, the reason it's locking up is probably due to him playing too hard.

Lightening up his touch (along with all the other 'correct hand position' things mentioned) will go a long way toward preventing such unwanted things.

He'll need to practice the one-finger-per-fret exercises and NOT rely on the rest of his fingers to back up his pinky in order for that finger to become as useful as the others.

He may have to consider getting his action tweaked so that he doesn't have to work as hard to fret notes.

Along with the spider and scales exercises, he should try playing them as LIGHT as possible - even allowing fret buzz on every note - literally play almost so light that the note doesn't play, but it does - with buzz... Also running these exercises with his thumb completely off the back of the neck - finger only - light as can be - will go a long way toward making all of his fingers that much more useful - including the little one.

[mfgl]

I have the same problem as a newbie, I think the pinkie is just not really used for much so its much weaker then the other fingers, I use it alone for as long as i can each sesion, then i back it up with ring finger when i cant, but i never stop using it. Also when my fingers get tired of strecthing i move further down around the 12th fret and play scales there, i play a five string, and i have a real problem getting the D on the B string down there with my pinky withought shifting my whole hand position. Im about to give up trying to keep my thumb centered on the back of the neck, most of the videos of pros on the net dont do this anyhow. Im toying with the idea of bringing my thumb over the top for these notes.

[mfgl]

ps. do you practice sitting down ? or standing up? when i practiced sitting down i coulndt get a good angle on the neck at all and my fretting hand got tired in general much much faster. Now i practice standing up with the bass at like 130 angle and both my wrists are much straiter.

[tZer]

Originally Posted by mfgl

ps. do you practice sitting down ? or standing up? when i practiced sitting down i coulndt get a good angle on the neck at all and my fretting hand got tired in general much much faster. Now i practice standing up with the bass at like 130 angle and both my wrists are much straiter.

Try strapping up so that your bass is in the same position regardless of whether you are standing or sitting.

What happens when you get a gig where you are sitting? Do you just accept that you won't be able to play as well that way?

[mambo4]

Tzer, I would agree with you if his pinky is weak form lack of practice, then specific 1 finger per fret exercises would help build strength...and definately agree on playing lightly. Almost all newbies will fret with far more pressure than needed for the note to ring.

I suppose there is a distinction to be made between finger strength that applies the downward pressure vs finger strength that gives you better coordination...when I focus on my LH technique, I try to think of my whole hand as applying the downward pressure on the string, with my individual digits more concerned with lateral, side-to side motion needed to reach the fret. Of course, that's just when practicing, the idea being to get it to be habitual, so NONE of this crosses my mind while actually playing a gig...

For those who asked about the "spider" exercise: its a simple finger warm-up /strength builder.
start on the E string (for 4 strung bass) and play frets 1234, one finger per fret. then Move up one string and play one fret higher:

1234 on the E
2345 on the A
3456 on the D
4567 on the G.

Then go down the strings, but keep moving up 1 fret every 4 notes:

5678 on D
6789 on A...

etc. keep going back and forth across strings ,moving up the neck, then reverse going back down.

good physical exercise, but little musical value.

[tZer]

Originally Posted by mambo4

... I suppose there is a distinction to be made between finger strength that applies the downward pressure vs finger strength that gives you better coordination...when I focus on my LH technique, I try to think of my whole hand as applying the downward pressure on the string, with my individual digits more concerned with lateral, side-to side motion needed to reach the fret. Of course, that's just when practicing, the idea being to get it to be habitual, so NONE of this crosses my mind while actually playing a gig...

In re-reading his original post, what I get from it is what I got - that he's having trouble using his little finger - and that he's apparently double-jointed and his LH technique is adversely impacting that middle joint.

To me, it sounds very much like the reason his middle joint is kicking into 'double' mode is probably due to pressing too hard and to weak finger strength.

If his action is too high - adjusting that could make the problem significantly reduce. If his action is OK, but his technique is causing him to grip too hard - he needs to modify his touch.

Regardless of action, having a strong left hand and a good touch is most important in keeping that little finger from collapsing - but I think it's likely both that need work since he's only been playing since August.

[onlyclave]

Sounds like a candidate for 1-2-4 technique.

[DocBop]

Originally Posted by onlyclave

Sounds like a candidate for 1-2-4 technique.

+1 work on using 1-2-4 low on the neck and 1-2-3-4 up the neck. Especially since you are just getting started. If something is painful stop and let your hand dangle to get blood back down to the hand and fingers. If it continues see a doctor then a good bass teacher.