Help! I'm injured. What now?

deesonic · #1 08-01-2006, 08:40 PM

Well this is a bummer for sure. Last night while sanding down my hardwood floors I had an accident. While changing the belt on the sander, I accidentally knocked the switch on and the belt sucked my left/fretting hand in and sanded my 3 middle finger tips to mush and broke my ring finger just between the knuckle and tip. So, needless to say this puts a damper on my playing for a bit, probably at least a couple months. The doctor said my tips may never be quite right again which immediately made me think, "hey, Iommi adapted and overcame."

So, I have only been playing for about 1 1/2 years now and was just beginning to feel competent enough to start band hunting. But that's on hiatus now and I figure I could maybe use the time to do some good ol' right hand exercises to help me build right hand dexterity and speed. I'm wondering if anyone can suggest some good right hand exercises that I can do without my left. If not, anyone got any good bass related reading I could do?

This post has taken a good 30 minutes to type...ugh. Thanks in advance.

spudmaster34 · #2 08-01-2006, 08:52 PM

I broke my left ring finger, it does suck. People suggested that I should study up on theory and whatnot durring my period of injury

ihateusernames · #3 08-01-2006, 09:01 PM

Sorry to hear about that, those types of things can really suck. I cut halfway through my fretting pointer finger 12 yrs ago between the tip/joint in a CNC machine. Through all the blood and thoughts of lost fingers the only thing I was concerned with when it happened was being able to play guitar again! I got back to it quickly but had sensory problems for several years (normal for cutting through nerves).

My younger brother's friend had his fretting arm severed at the shoulder in a bicycle/car accident, it was reattached and he learned to play guitar only AFTER the accident! Absolutely amazing.

Moral of the story is hang in there, you'll be able to play again if you really want to. Work on your ear in the meantime, or you could work on fingerpicking technique/picking dynamics (yes, I know it will be boring as all hell)

Speedy recovery.

ScottyAx800 · #4 08-01-2006, 09:02 PM

Although this may like seem like a shortcoming, this left-hand hiatus will give you time to develop a more solid right hand, giving you a stable platform with which to delve in to more complicated left hand techniques.

What I would do:

Bust out the metronome! If you don't already have one (which you should) you can pick up a decent one for around 20 bucks. Practice steady eighth notes first, see if you can stay right in the pocket for as long as you can. It's alot harder than one tends to think.

Another great thing to practice is permutations of sixteenth notes.
Take every possible combination you can think of 1-ee-and-a:
Offbeats, leaving one note out of every cycle, etc. Again, see if you can stay in the pocket for as long as possible. No matter how much of a chop hound you become, every drummer will love you if you can easily lock into his or her pocket.

I had a similar injury happen to me recently as well. It wasn't with a sander, but I cut the tip of my left index finger with a window scraper. Those blades are sharp, man! So, for a couple of weeks I practiced only with my middle, ring, and pinky fingers. The difference was unbelievable. It just goes to show you can make the most out of anything!

I'll post again when I think of more exercises that can be done.

Good luck, and get well soon.

ScottyAx800 · #5 08-01-2006, 09:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by spudmaster34

I broke my left ring finger, it does suck. People suggested that I should study up on theory and whatnot durring my period of injury

+1! If you have access to a piano or keyboard, learn some chords and triads, scales and arpeggios with the right hand. And read! www.musictheory.net is a great resource, chock full of lessons and ear training utilities. From what I've looked at through the site, it seems to cover everything one would get in a freshman theory and ear training course at a public university. And if you're ever confused, you can always ask theory related questions over here at the talkbass forums!

steveb98 · #6 08-01-2006, 10:05 PM

I am a big believer in "Where there's a will there's a way".

Django Reinhart and old Jazz guitar play who not only play beautiful lines he had amazing speed. His fretting hand was burned in a fire and middle fingers fused together and other damaged. He played with two to three unique fingers and as I said amazing speed. So heal, adapt, and move on.

Good Luck.

ImaStupidBaby · #7 08-01-2006, 11:13 PM

play the **** out of open strings with a metronome maybe?

The_D · #8 08-01-2006, 11:24 PM

It didnt happen without pics

Only jokin man. Stick in there

andyroo · #9 08-01-2006, 11:30 PM

I had some surgery done on my plucking hand this winter, and had two pins sticking out of my hand for about a month and a half, so needless to say, I was out of commission for quite a while with the rehab and all of that crap. My hand was basically completely seized up from the swelling and was stuck with all my fingers bent (kind of in an L shape with palm and fingers). What I did to pass the time was to study a lot of theory, and work on the uninjured hand independently, I was amazed at how little I had lost when I was given the ok to play again, even my right hand caught up quickily, I was told by my therapist that I probably cut at least half a month off of my rehab time by playing so much lol. It sucks man, but you gotta find some way to keep the playing and the music up. Whether with theory or with simple exercises in timekeeping etc.....
Good Luck!!

deesonic · #10 08-02-2006, 12:54 PM

Thanks for all the well wishes and advice. I've already started working on the time keeping exercises with a metronome this morning. The good thing is I now can focus on those monotonous right hand exercises because it's really all I can do. So my right hand technique really may benefit quite a bit from this. I also have a harmonica that I've wanted to learn to play. So I guess I can work on that some too.

By the way, "ihateusernames," when I was at ER that's all I kept thinking about too. "How long until I can play again?" The ER doc even gave me a referral to an orthopedic surgeon who specializes in hand injuries and therapy to make sure I'd get the best care to get playing again soon.

Unfortunately I attended a visitation last night for an old high school buddy who died of a heart attack at the young age of 32. He left a wife and 2 young children behind. That really puts my piddly injury and worries in perspective when I think about it. So I'll be fine and maybe even better in the long run.

Thanks again everyone.

vindy500 · #11 08-02-2006, 12:58 PM

learn how to tap

once i had a anephelactic reaction and passed out in the ambulance. first thing i asked when i woke up was, will i still be able to play bass tonight? i did

tplyons · #12 08-02-2006, 03:24 PM

So you shredded your fingertips and broke your ring finger on your fretting hand?

Honestly? IMO, bandaids and practice. Double bass players use a 1-2-4 approach with fretting on a 41.5" scale. I do it problem free on a 34" as well.

62bass · #13 08-02-2006, 03:32 PM

Man, that hurts. I had the same accident with a belt sander last week but luckily only lost skin. That'll teach me to stay alert.

As tpylons said, using the 1-2-4 approach will get you back playing. I actually prefer it and use my thumb to pivot. Beats getting tendonitus from overuse of the 3rd finger and trying to stretch the fingers sideways.

Ludwig's Left · #14 08-02-2006, 03:42 PM

That's awful, sorry to hear! I have to agree with the references to Iommi and Django.

I had a tendonitis in my right wrist about ten years ago and had to stop playing for a couple of months to let it recover properly. During that time I worked hard on my left hand, learning scales, modes and bits and pieces and riffs without the right hand.
When the right hand came back into play, it was a slow but rewarding process, I was able to relearn technique and take out some of the bad habits I'd had before, and the focus on left hand paid off in the long run!

So don't give up, and don't let it get you down. If you attack this right, you will be a better player for it!

deesonic · #15 08-02-2006, 04:23 PM

Hey tplyons. I appreciate your youthful enthusiasm for dealing with my injury with band aids and practice

. After all, I'm an Army National Guard officer and a high school football coach, so I'm a big believer in the "suck it up" way of dealing with pain. But while the broken finger is bad enough, it's the shredded fingers that are the major issue. My fingers tips look like bloody oozing ground beef. So I'm afraid toughing it out is not an option. They're simply not useable for now. The break would probably only have set me back a few weeks. But if the tips heal quickly enough I might give that 124 approach a try if I still have trouble with the broken ring finger. And yes, I have pictures of the crime scene and my hand after my wife helped me change the dressings the first time. But I'll probably spare everyone.

Meanwhile, I'm becoming one heck of a one handed (plus a thumb for shifting) typist

62bass · #16 08-02-2006, 04:36 PM

There's no way my enthusiasm is youthful. Naturally you have to give your hand time to heal and you can't just suck it up (although I played once with a broken left hand finger for two nights without knowing it was broken. I was young then.)

The 124 approach is used a lot and much easier on your hand. With the proper thumb pivot you can get around fine. Use the 3rd finger for fast, light passages in the higher register.

Hope you heal up fine.

SLaPiNFuNK · #17 08-02-2006, 08:45 PM

I broke my arm, so learned how to read music...

I spoke out the whole chuck rainy bass book both rhymically and speaking the notes...

E F G A B C etc .. pain in the ass but I can read

ihateusernames · #18 08-03-2006, 05:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by deesonic

Hey tplyons. I appreciate your youthful enthusiasm for dealing with my injury with band aids and practice

. After all, I'm an Army National Guard officer and a high school football coach, so I'm a big believer in the "suck it up" way of dealing with pain.

Well then you should be aware that white athletic tape will get you back in the game in about 3 seconds....heck, our high school coach led us to believe that stuff cured cancer and a strip on the helmet reversed a concusion on the spot. Try it on your fingers!

deesonic · #19 08-04-2006, 11:44 PM

Ice is another great football cure-all. I could have severed my fingers and I think my old HS coaches would have told me to take a couple plays off, ice, tape and get back in.

Chopsrr · #20 08-05-2006, 09:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by deesonic

And yes, I have pictures of the crime scene and my hand after my wife helped me change the dressings the first time. But I'll probably spare everyone.

Yes, please spare us. I for one have a weak stomach for that kind of thing and will do just fine without seeing that mess.

On a brighter note (no punn intended, well maybe a little), I hope you have a speedy recovery!