Magnet Fingers

[TyNot]

Make a fist and squeeze tight for 30 sec. Do it now I'll wait...

Ok, "slowly " relax your hand. This happens to me in the middle of a song, smack dab in the mid of a gig. I call this magnet fingers.

If you tried the "squeeze test", after your hand is fully open, it's fine, but at a show I'll get my hand open, a quick shake it out and Bam! It goes back, can't use my fingers, it's straight panic, I sloppily try to just hit root notes, hoping for the end of the song looking down at setlist realizing there's 6 more songs left.

I need a cure for this. Any ideas? Have you experienced this? I have had it happen to my left hand as well though not as often.

Damn you Magnet fingers, damn you

[John Wentzien]

DRINK WATER....that is a sure symptom of de-hydration!!!...serious!!!!

[TyNot]

Originally Posted by John Wentzien

DRINK WATER....that is a sure symptom of de-hydration!!!...serious!!!!

Thx for the suggestion, not the cause though, I drink SO much water at gigs.

I messed up and posted this thread in two diff spots, not sure how to remove the extra

[John Wentzien]

Lower your action and lighten up on your fingering.

[TyNot]

Originally Posted by John Wentzien

Lower your action and lighten up on your fingering.

Lowering action is a good idea, will try, what do you mean exactly "lighten up on fingering?

[jzhobo77]

sound like Trigger Finger if you ever injured that finger you may need a hydrocortisone injection. And exercise your fine just before you gig.

[John Wentzien]

Originally Posted by TyNot

Lowering action is a good idea, will try, what do you mean exactly "lighten up on fingering?

When you practice...don't press any harder than you have to to produce the note without too much "buzz"
Relaxe when on stage ...and let it come out "naturally"....

[TyNot]

Originally Posted by jzhobo77

sound like Trigger Finger if you ever injured that finger you may need a hydrocortisone injection. And exercise your fine just before you gig.

Really

[John Wentzien]

Originally Posted by TyNot

Really

Nahhhh!...Just cut down on the "one-hits"..You'll be fine!

[TyNot]

Originally Posted by John Wentzien

When you practice...don't press any harder than you have to to produce the note without too much "buzz"
Relaxe when on stage ...and let it come out "naturally"....

Thx again, I still get nervous going on stage, I think this may contribute to some degree

[BgTckt]

I second what John said. My wife's a massage therapist & she has repeatedly advised me to drink water for cramping (I sometimes have issues with leg cramps as well).

I have been in the middle of a song and 'lost' a finger or two on several occasions. Once I lost three fingers and was down to bouncing around with one finger before the song ended. Almost amusing, and challenging, in an annoying and scary way. Remembering my wife's advice, I asked the singer to stall with a joke or something, and I drank as much water as I could choke down. Problem solved--and I mean just like that, before the punch line, and not to return.

You say you drink a lot of water, but do you also drink other stuff? Alcohol, coffee and tea, and some fruit juices are diuretics--they actually remove water from your system. Also consider the possible diuretic effects of your preferred foods before a gig. And consider the relative calm of not playing vs the effort, excitement, heat of stage lights, etc, that come with performance. (And if you sing, every breath carries more moisture out with it--I think--than if you are just breathing.) You may be losing water faster than normal when you play, so your normal intake of water--while it may be a lot compared to the next guy--might be inadequate for your needs.

The light touch advice is good also, not just for this issue but on general principles. And you might want to look at your set list; if this happens at about the same place night after night, are there several longer and more physically challenging songs leading up to it? Just rearranging the songs might give you the break you need.

I did notice this problem more when I was just getting back into playing; as I built up strength and endurance the problem occurred less frequently... but still happens every now & then. Good luck--& let us know what works for you!

[TyNot]

I do drink red bulls as well,

I am going to lower the action, drink more water and try not to be so nervous, no more one hits or redbulls before sets. I,ve got 3 one hour sets coming up this weekend. We'll see what happens.

[John Wentzien]

Originally Posted by TyNot

I do drink red bulls as well,

I am going to lower the action, drink more water and try not to be so nervous, no more one hits or redbulls before sets. I,ve got 3 one hour sets coming up this weekend. We'll see what happens.

You'll be perfectly fine!

[wagstaff]

Maybe by squeezing your fist your cutting off the blood supply.

Mark

[John Wentzien]

Originally Posted by wagstaff

Maybe by squeezing your fist your cutting off the blood supply.

Mark

Just don't cut-off the blood-supply to your head...You will adapt! I promise!

[BgTckt]

Originally Posted by wagstaff

Maybe by squeezing your fist your cutting off the blood supply.

Mark

Wait... what?

[BgTckt]

Originally Posted by John Wentzien

You'll be perfectly fine!

+1. Also, IMO, re action, I would make gradual changes, playing and evaluating over the course of a few gigs, rather than make a big change all at once. And I'm assuming you grok the interrelationship between saddle height, truss rod adjustment and saddle intonation adjustment. If you're not familiar with this stuff, I'd spend more time talking and learning before I changed anything. Again, IMO. Have fun at the gig!

[JimmyM]

and no whacking before a gig

[Ívar Þórólfsson]

No cross posting thank you.

You already have another thread on this in Basses.