question for bass teachers or any experienced player, bow arm hurting

[natselection]

after practicing dragonetti or any other extended playing, my bow arm (the side of the upper arm) aches as if i've been doing some heavy excersise. im guessing this is abnormal and my technique is improper? should it more be the weight of my arm pressing into the strings than my muscles?

[Jeff Moote]

I'm no teacher, and not that experienced, but...

Originally Posted by natselection

im guessing this is abnormal and my technique is improper?

Quite likely.

should it more be the weight of my arm pressing into the strings than my muscles?

Precisely. No use of the muscles except to draw the bow.

[jsbachsonata]

not normal. You are too tense, and I imagine with all that aching you can't really play very fast. Learn to use your back muscles to draw the bow for long notes and wrist movement for fast notes (at the most basic level). Take a look at how cello players play (btw i am a french bow player) I do not have muscular arms at all and with the proper technique i have never experienced pain. It has happened sometimes to my left arm during extended period playing rabbath pieces but never ever to my bow hand.

[reedo35]

I suffered with this problem for a long time, and my teacher kept telling me "Relax! Relax!" But he never said exactly WHAT to relax. It turned out, it wasn't my arm at all that was tense, it was my shoulder,that I was tending to hunch up, which caused a chain reaction all the way down to my hand. A little bit of Alexander method helped me a lot.Your arm is more than heavy enough on it's own as dead weight, than squeezing down with your muscles to push the bow into the strings.

[natselection]

thanks guys, when i get practicing i'll impliment some of the suggested ideas

[bassist1962]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oayAMjVyaFk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5XwzA...elated&search=


Try watching these two videos. They have helped me considerably with arco technique.

[kid_squanto]

do you play german or french??


I noticed when I switched to german grip that my bowing arm had no aches or pains in it after practicing.

[Rob Sleeper]

Hey alex did u get my pm?

[lloccmttocs]

One thing to make sure is that everything is arced. From your fingers on your left pushing down on the strings to the arm arc of your right hand and all the way to the fingers holding the bow they all need to be an arc because if it is a straight tense segment the pressure used on the strings will not transmit between your arm and to your chest and back.

A funny thing will probably happen to alot of bassists who play alot of arco, even if you're right handed, you will only see any muscle development in your left arm biscepts. I know after a long 2 hour concert or 3-4 hours of practicing at home I can see the spiderweb veins up my left arm, but my right arm is relitively the way it started. A bow is alot lighter that you may make it out to seem, it doesn't take much strength to support it.

[Davidruby]

A relaxed approach to playing is always the best policy. This may be a long term approach for something you may want a faster solution, but here goes anyways. Swimming is the very best activity you could do to understand, control and coordinate your own body. As well, if you took a look at the muscle design of the human body in Grey's Anatomy (the book, not the show) you woulkd appreciate how your entire body is connected from head to toe. Everything from how you stand (or sit) to if or how you are turning or angling your head to read music affects the presence (or lack of) stress and strain on your shoulders, back and arms. While students of various teachers will claim amazing solutions to a variety of muscle and other physical problems, it boils down to the players' responsibility of personal growth and eternal learning.

[Dave Whitla]

+1 use weight, not muscle

This can be harder than it sounds because it involves releasing your arm and learning to think of bowing side to side and not worrying about pressing into the string to get volume. Often it means being satisfied with playing less loudly for a while while you work it out physically. It'll be worth it in the end because playing with weight will give you more volume and projection with a more open sound.

"Relax" can be a misleading instruction. IMO it shouldn't mean 'loose'. Effectively it means 'not tense' . To clarify, the right arm and hand are very active in a muscular way, but the key is to be flexed, not tense.

[thedbassist]

watching the art of the bow would help so much, its so worth the money.