Forearm Soreness

[Sharkabilly]

I just recentley switched from electric to upright, and am having a tough time playing at a quick tempo without my arms getting really sore and tired.

I know this builds in time but are there any stretches or anything to do before playing that will help?

[Trevorus]

I'm going to avoid the sick jokes that are in my mind...

I will recommend stretching a bit. It helps me when I get playing fatigue. Make sure you're not straining your hands/wrists either, because obviously that will hinder you quite a bit!

[Kevin Hsieh]

Originally Posted by Sharkabilly

I just recentley switched from electric to upright, and am having a tough time playing at a quick tempo without my arms getting really sore and tired.

I know this builds in time but are there any stretches or anything to do before playing that will help?

last year when i was still getting used to playing, and sometimes now when i have long hours, I'd stretch the two main forearm muscles by pulling my fingers and wrist back as much as I can with my other hand, releasing and repeating. do that a couple times and then repeat it going the other direction stretch the other side.

wrist rotations help to lesson stress in the wrist.

massaging is good too

enjoy!

[LowBSix]

Relax your hands and keep your fingerboard hand thumb below half way (closer to the G string).... Stay loose, and yes stretch.

[Bruce Lindfield]

Originally Posted by Sharkabilly

I just recentley switched from electric to upright, and am having a tough time playing at a quick tempo without my arms getting really sore and tired.

I know this builds in time but are there any stretches or anything to do before playing that will help?

I switched a few years ago and it is a huge thing - I found that I just couldn't play any more at times - but as you say, you build stamina in time - but really this is a big part of why with DB, you can't avoid working with a teacher on a one-to one basis - who is looking at your technique.

If I hadn't had a good teacher look at how my playing action was - then I would have been very worried about injuring myself...

[thesneakyjesus]

stamina is a skill your develop.

What is the action like on your bass? A lot of guys that burn end up bringing the volume down, bringing the amp up and use less forearm and more finger for those tempos.

My teacher Viktor Dvoskin uses lots of forearm no matter what, but he uses his forearm in a way that I've not yet developed. He leans into it a lot with the weight of an arm like a drummer does with their left hand in traditional grip.

[thesneakyjesus]

stamina is a skill your develop.

What is the action like on your bass? A lot of guys that burn end up bringing the volume down, bringing the amp up and use less forearm and more finger for those tempos.

My teacher Viktor Dvoskin uses lots of forearm no matter what, but he uses his forearm in a way that I've not yet developed. He leans into it a lot with the weight of an arm like a drummer does with their left hand in traditional grip.

For each arm stroke he'll get two or three notes out by using two infer technique. Hope this helps. It's something I'm working on too.

Never stress your body too much though, you'll get their eventually!

[adbass]

Relax your thumb, try not to bend your wrist too much.

People often try to overcompensate for left hand weakness by pressing the back of the neck with the thumb. Remember, the fingers of your left hand are independent little machines that come UP as well as down. Remember to lift your fingers.

[Sahm]

Aikido has a series of wrist stretches that I find useful. It has a lot of wristlocks in it, so they stress warming up first. I don't have any good links, but I'm sure Google will help you!

[RoscoeKay'54]

maybe some one can shed some light on this topic....

I switched over to the DB about a year and a half ago and thought i had some decent calluses going on. I did a quartet gig in small quarters so I decided to go "acoustic" on it. By the 2nd tune my fingers felt different and eventually began to blister, and blister bad. The blisters covered probably all of my index finger's fingertip, most of my middle's fingertip, and finally a 1/3 of my ring finger. BTW the blisters were huge. I tried to let the fluid subside, which worked out. And once the fingers had got back to normal I thought it would become a good callus. But once I started playing the DB again the skin became loose and i had to cut off the excess. Now my fingers are fine and are building up the to be calluses again. I think it had to do with the position of my attack on the strings, since I was sitting this time as opposed to standing like usual.

What my question is ....
Will this happen often with the blisters even if I build up calluses?
What's the best care for something like that?
Is there anything I can do to avoid that it?

[Bruce Lindfield]

Originally Posted by RoscoeKay'54

maybe some one can shed some light on this topic....

I switched over to the DB about a year and a half ago and thought i had some decent calluses going on. I did a quartet gig in small quarters so I decided to go "acoustic" on it. By the 2nd tune my fingers felt different and eventually began to blister, and blister bad. The blisters covered probably all of my index finger's fingertip, most of my middle's fingertip, and finally a 1/3 of my ring finger.

Is there anything I can do to avoid that it?

I presume you are talking about your plucking fingers and if so - then it sounds as if your problem is that you are using the tips of your fingers rather than getting the meat of the side of your fingers.

This has the double disadvantage of a weaker sound and more wear and tear - have a look at a good DVD like Rufus Reid's "Evolving Bassist" - and you can see how he is pulling through sideways, using the sides, not tips.