Cold hands

peaveyuser · #1 10-07-2007, 04:07 PM

Well fall is here and winter will follow, I'm already feeling it so I thought it would be the right time to post this and also a good subject.

So basically my hands are kinda weird they stay cold for a while and don't warm up easy, this can get to be a problem because my fingers aren't as fast and maneuverable when they are cold, which results in bad playing. Now I'm wondering if any of you fellow bassists have a similiar problem and have any knowledge on how to warm up my hands quick and stay warm.

i_got_a_mohawk · #2 10-07-2007, 04:26 PM

Fingerless gloves?

Sounds like you have poor circulation, stick your hands between your legs or sit on your hands to try and heat them up?

Brad Maestas · #3 10-07-2007, 04:32 PM

I used to smoke cigarettes and it no doubt affected my circulation. I'm almost back to my old self but sometimes I still feel it. I could tell when it was more of a circulation problem when my hands were cold when it was relatively warm out. Other times when it was genuinely cold, it was a combination of the two.

There was one particularly uncomfortable gig that I did in Montezuma, Colorado. It was in the Fall and that day there were big clouds drizzling on us. We were slated to play outdoors for this wedding party and they had a covered tent for us. Still, it was pretty cold and I knew it was gonna be a problem if I didn't prepare. Remembering some tips from my days playing in my HS and college drum line and drum corps, I busted out some thin black knit gloves and started doing jumping jacks. It might look silly just to get ready for a gig but it's an effective and fast way to get blood (and warmth) to your extremeties. It's relatively easy to control a stick when your hands are cold but to have full finger independence...that takes some more effort. So that's what usually works for me...do some jumping jacks for a minute to get your blood flowing and keep your hands in gloves before and after you play. I've even seen some guys, who play outdoors in cold weather a lot, cut the fingertips off their gloves (or just buy fingerless gloves) so they can play with them on. I never liked the feel of it though.

Another thing that has helped me in the past, but may or may not be readily available at gigs, is to soak my hands in warm water before a show. I've heard that Stanley Jordan, among others, swear by this and do it before every performance. Some guys won't even wash their hands before a show because they don't like the way it feels and others don't want to get all 'pruney'. The trick is to not leave your hands in there long enough for them to prune up. Between the warm water soak and the gloves on when I'm not playing, I can make it through just about anything.

Brad Maestas · #4 10-07-2007, 04:50 PM

Oh and one more thing...my mandolin teacher Radim Zenkl showed me a trick that he uses for hand and finger strength that also happens to improve circulation. You take some kitchen cleaning gloves (the rubber yellow ones) and cut the tops of the fingers off so that they end somewhere between your first and second knuckles. The different sizes of the gloves will determine the resistance that you'll be working against. It's usually wise to start with the least resistance and gradually work your way up. Once you've finished cutting and have the gloves on both hands, play like this for 20-30 mins. at a time and compare it to your 'ungloved' hands. It's akin to putting weights on your bat when you're on-deck. This is a quick and safe method to build up your hand strength and as a side effect, has helped cure the circulation problems I had in my hands.

Rugaar · #5 10-07-2007, 06:14 PM

Avoid caffeine and alcohol. Both dilate your capillaries which releases body heat.

Put a hat on. As your mother told you, you lose the majority of your body heat through your head and when your body starts getting cold it shuts off blood flow to the extemities. (hands and feet)

StanFan · #6 10-07-2007, 09:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by peaveyuser

Well fall is here and winter will follow, I'm already feeling it so I thought it would be the right time to post this and also a good subject.

So basically my hands are kinda weird they stay cold for a while and don't warm up easy, this can get to be a problem because my fingers aren't as fast and maneuverable when they are cold, which results in bad playing. Now I'm wondering if any of you fellow bassists have a similiar problem and have any knowledge on how to warm up my hands quick and stay warm.

My hands often get colder around this time of year and I can't play well until I warm up my hands. Often I'll just sit on my hands for a while to warm them up. Don't sit on them for too long or they'll "fall asleep", making your hands more useless than if they were cold

.

uethanian · #7 10-07-2007, 09:51 PM

i had that problem when i was playing upright early in the morning. cold hands + high tension strings = ouch

if its cold outside (and your hands are cold for that reason) i wouldnt recommend getting them wet. they'll only get colder once they dry off. for me, playing with fingerless gloves worked really well. your hands will be warm enough in a few minutes to take them off. plus it looks bad@ss to play with gloves

Fontaine · #8 10-07-2007, 09:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by peaveyuser

Well fall is here and winter will follow, I'm already feeling it so I thought it would be the right time to post this and also a good subject.

So basically my hands are kinda weird they stay cold for a while and don't warm up easy, this can get to be a problem because my fingers aren't as fast and maneuverable when they are cold, which results in bad playing. Now I'm wondering if any of you fellow bassists have a similiar problem and have any knowledge on how to warm up my hands quick and stay warm.

i have this problem all the time, before i play EVERYTIME i wash my hands in really hot water, helps a lot, but keep in mind not to hot or it will burn...but for me it gets the blood flowing long enough so that when it wears off my fingers warm up naturally without any ill affects, works well for me.

ROON · #9 10-08-2007, 03:17 AM

Lucky me, I live in Australia, so no cold hands when I want to play.

Unfortunatly, I have to put up with getting extremely hot when playing, having your arm sweat when it rubs against your bass, blah blah blah. It sucks. I'd much rather be cold.

MakiSupaStar · #10 10-08-2007, 01:50 PM

Got the same problem. I keep my hands in my pocket and once during a rather cold gig I went out and got those hot snaps things that you use for snowboarding. Worked great. A hot coffee works too.

bassguppy · #11 10-09-2007, 01:16 AM

1. sit on hands

2. get a couple microwavable hot packs. Some will stay warm for 20-25 minutes. You may be able to pick up some mini sized hot packs & put them in your pockets. If you have a minute between songs put your hands in your pockets may help temporarily.

3. put hands under warm/hot running water.

4. drink something hot

pretty much what everyone else suggests.

There could be worse scenarios but mine is doing an outdoor gig in upstate NY in late November. No snow at the time but it was a cold wind.

Just J · #12 10-11-2007, 09:49 AM

I have a gig outdoors saturday and it looks like it's gonna get pretty cool. I was looking for a thread like this as my hands get cold easily and it becomes very difficult to play.

spudmaster34 · #13 10-11-2007, 03:23 PM

The hot water thing really does work, it can also wake up your hands if they fall asleep (it does for me at least). Be sure you dry them off well if you are outside though, or you can end up even colder.

Brad Maestas · #14 10-22-2007, 05:38 PM

Just saw these while shopping for classical strings:

"Wristies"
http://stringsbymail.com/acsub.asp?t...gerless+Gloves

They look like they would be pretty cool. Not very expensive either.

funkalicious101 · #15 10-22-2007, 05:59 PM

move somewhere warm?

IconBasser · #16 10-22-2007, 06:04 PM

stick your hands down your pants. No joke, it works great!!

funkalicious101 · #17 10-22-2007, 06:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by IconBasser

stick your hands down your pants. No joke, it works great!!

Then you got a great shrinkage excuse for after the gig aswell.

"well you see.... my hands were cold and....."

Asa Samuel · #18 10-22-2007, 06:07 PM

Well you could always take BellBottomBlues' approach and set your hand on fire...

Rugaar · #19 10-22-2007, 07:46 PM

Saw a commercial for these on TV a few days ago. Looks like it might work since the fingers are free.

Disco_Gee · #20 10-22-2007, 10:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by peaveyuser

Well fall is here and winter will follow, I'm already feeling it so I thought it would be the right time to post this and also a good subject.

So basically my hands are kinda weird they stay cold for a while and don't warm up easy, this can get to be a problem because my fingers aren't as fast and maneuverable when they are cold, which results in bad playing. Now I'm wondering if any of you fellow bassists have a similiar problem and have any knowledge on how to warm up my hands quick and stay warm.

I have the same problem. Where I live gets cold during winter so it's an issue for me. I usually just wear gloves on the way to the gig. I keep them on while I'm setting up and moving gear, etc. I only take them off when I'm ready to play. I also wear hobo gloves (fingerless ones) as I can play with them on.

I find this helps quite a bit.