Hand/finger exercises when I'm away from my bass?

Simplest and most effective one is to put your palms on your leg or flat surface then lift and hold for about 5 sec each finger one after the other. Good for both hands and gives good exercise to a group of muscle otherwise ignored in playing but vital to to good movement. Pay attention to the ring finger on each hand but do not over work it.

Finger taping 4 to 3 This exercise is a brain one.
Pick one hand to use three fingers and one to use 4. place the both down on a flat surface or on your legs and starting from the fore finger side on both hand lift them together, then the middle finger, then the ring finger, now comes the change. Depending on what hand is doing the 3 as the other hand lifts the little finger the 3 hand must go back and lift the middle finger, then the next must be a fore finger and ring finger lifted together, then the two middle fingers, the ring finger and fore finger,etc etc till you end up back in sequence. Change hands with the 4 to 3 and repeat. This will help you brain understand better the coordination involved in playing. Because it is brain exercise it makes no difference if you play with your fingers or a pick, it is for the brain not the hands.

Open your fingers and spread them wide and hold, bring the together and repeat. The length of hold is different in each person, you will feel when it is right for you. This exercises your fingers lateral movement and helps develop good spread for the fingers.

Find an elastic/rubber band, here in the UK the red one used by Royal mail are ideal. you'll find them in the treets if you look. Hook it around your thumb and back of all the fingers about nail level. Open your hand so to stretch the band, feel what fingers are working it and what ones are not, adjust the fingers to suit till it is a balanced feel. Find a band with not to much resistance, the idea is to introduce gentle resistance not strain.

Take two or three medium squash balls and roll them about your hand like Chinese stress balls. The action of rolling them works all muscle groups and helps the fingers with gentle massage. Easy stored in pockets and cheap enough if lost not to be a problem. Do not squeeze them, wrong muscle action being developed.

Childrens play putty like plasticine or Play Doe is good alternative to the squash balls, squeeze it and manipulate in your fingers. Squeezing the putty is good as the pressure is minimal, it is not trying to resist and force the hand open as say the squash ball would do, it allows the hand to close fully as the putty squeezes out.

Just a few of many things that can be done, any questions drop me a PM or post them here.

Search for grip training on the net, there are lots of hand exercises for sports like football and judo.

BassAssault said:

Search for grip training on the net, there are lots of hand exercises for sports like football and judo.

Click to expand...

I would not recommend any type exercise, gadget, or hand power device to improve the hand unless it was physically so weak it could not function properly.

Developing grip power is not the object of any hand exercise to improve playing. Developing grip is a one way movement the strength to close and hold on, not the movement required to play. The movement of lifting off and on when required, the exact opposite in coordination and in muscle groups used, a more complicated use of motor neuron functions than just closing the hand or developing a grip.

Certain things that a player will try will result in the opposite of what they want or even damage or injure themselves.
Drop me a PM or post any problems here and i and others will try and help.

this is great. I am always looking for new exercises to help with my tendinitis and carpal tunnel. My left arm from knuckles to mid forearm feels like it's on fire if I slack off from my stretches, like I stupidly did this week. Thanks!

Distant Cousin said:

Cheers for those Fergie! I'll definitely give those a go. My hands/fingers definitely don't feel as strong as they could/should be so hopefully these will help!

Click to expand...

Let me take you though a way of thinking on open forum, so others can see what they should be considering in the playing lives?
If i could to show you how you how to view what your hands can and should do it may make your expectation a lot more attainable?

Point one in this is we were never designed to play a bass guitar, that is a compromise and with this compromise comes problems. Some have to compromise more than others so any player has to understand what the compromise is.

Point two is that we to a point grow and renew damaged or diseased tissue when we are young then that process slows down or stops as we get older. Things that we used to do to stay healthy will now hurt or damage us as the long term wear and tear takes its toll. Because of advancements in medicine and nutrition and the general welfare of life we live longer, much longer than certain body parts are designed for.

Just those two points alone mean that there has to be considerations in how we approach playing.
Not everyone has what it takes to play a bass to the standard they believe they should, just as everyone that has ever tried a sport does not have what it takes to be a pro or top amateur at it. No matter who much the desire is to play to a higher standard it may not be possible, this is a reality that some do not consider in their playing lives.

So what i would want to know is,
1/Age,
2/Job,
3/Have you ever injured your upper limbs? (neck through arm to fingertips)
4/The top ten most daily use your hands/fingers get. Start with the longest time to the shortest.

These four points are a recent hand history to build on whether anyone over-uses or miss-uses there hands. It is not unusual for players to start practice or playing with hands weakened from a days use and cause problems of injury.
Its like asking a 100m runner to train fully, then run to the start of his race, get in the blocks and perform his best when the gun goes.....he will fail every time.
His regime is correct but not in the best order to allow him to get the best out of what he wants...to run faster than the field.

If you or anybody else fancies it answer the questions and post the answers here and compare the variations in circumstances and what can be done to improve, if possible, your playing/practise regime.

Distant Cousin said:

1. I'm 20 years old.
2. I'm a music student, but currently have no job.
3. I broke my right wrist when I was 16, but it doesn't affect my playing so far as I know. The only thing I can't do with it is hold things flat (boxes, plates etc.)
However, I have got a bad back and neck (I have a spasm in my Trapezius, and general neck/back strain/discomfort/pain if I have to sit upright or stand for too long, 15 mins or more I suppose. Pretty bad for my age!) I play a Stingray too, and the weight of that is killing my back and shoulders at the moment.
4. I think in order from most to least it would be: Computer keyboard/mouse > bass > video games > carrying stuff? I'm not sure what else would be relevant.

Click to expand...

Great stuff and a question straight back,
have you seeked out medical treatment for the back and shoulder problems? IF not why..why do you tolerate this problem?

You have pretty much a young persons modern hand usage and the problems that it brings, the neck problem is part of it.
Compare me to you at 20. Back in the 70s playing bass was the most hand usage i had, so it developed pretty much un-involved with other things. No video games, mobile phones, no push pads or touch pads of any type, no computer keyboards, no mouse, no remote controls...so pretty much it was just bass for an hr. or so a day.

You probably have more hand use in a day than i would have had in a week, and not good hand use at that.
Take out the bass and your hand use is one way, using one action in your fingers. Because this action needs you to visualize you neck and shoulders are always positioning the head to cope with this so your neck and shoulders are what we say in the "up position" a position many will carry and hold after they finish the task. You have to be aware of keeping everything down, that is relaxed. Find a mirror and look at yourself and make you shoulders go down, relax them, and your breathing and take the tension out. Learn to keep them down, it takes practise, the first step is to be aware that it can happen, then you can correct it when it does.

For you the hand stretches of opening your hands wide and holding it, then relaxing, and the hands flat and lift the fingers up alternately are what you need. You need to un-do your day before you play, like the sprinter in the analogy you are already tired before you try and play/practice. You need a warm up to help you do this.

Below are some links for you to watch, see if you see your problems in there and take the relevant exercises to form part of a warm up you repeat every day and before every time you play or work and when you finish. It should be a short
un-intrusive routine easy to repeat and addressing the points you have. Just on what you have told me i see your problems not as needing more exercise, but the opposite, you need to stretch more to take the tension out of you muscles in order to make them soft and supple and able to work to their best.

Never suffer pain, it is there because something is wrong, see a doctor or physio about such things, because when you get older you will soon realise that you should have acted sooner.
But that is what being young is about shrugging of things and getting on with it so you can tell to other young people when your older about how you now realise your mistakes and never listened to those who warned you.....it is an ongoing cycle as i am proving here. Any question drop me a PM or post, happy to continue to help you understand your situation.

Here are some links,

neck stretches

Fergie Fulton said:

I would not recommend any type exercise, gadget, or hand power device to improve the hand unless it was physically so weak it could not function properly.

Developing grip power is not the object of any hand exercise to improve playing. Developing grip is a one way movement the strength to close and hold on, not the movement required to play. The movement of lifting off and on when required, the exact opposite in coordination and in muscle groups used, a more complicated use of motor neuron functions than just closing the hand or developing a grip.

Certain things that a player will try will result in the opposite of what they want or even damage or injure themselves.
Drop me a PM or post any problems here and i and others will try and help.

Click to expand...

lol.

Distant Cousin said:

Thanks for those! The shoulder stretches you linked to aren't a part of my shoulders where I feel any pain. I tried the neck ones, and the stretch where you put your hands on your legs and look up, I get pain right down my spine to about halfway down my back. It's pretty damn painful, and feels like something needs to crack.

Click to expand...

As i said you need to have these problems seen and diagnosed by a medical professional. Part of the problem in these matters in referred pain or symptoms are never where the real problem is.
If we look at the body as a whole then all main muscle groups need to be stretched to keep a balance. So try all the stretches and remember that it all connects up.

Fergie Fulton said:

1. Simplest and most effective one is to put your palms on your leg or flat surface then lift and hold for about 5 sec each finger one after the other.......

2. Finger taping 4 to 3 ...............

3. Open your fingers and spread them wide and hold..................

4. Find an elastic/rubber band......

5a. Take two or three medium squash balls and roll them about your hand .....................

5b. Childrens play putty like plasticine or Play Doe is good alternative to the squash balls ......................>

Click to expand...

Fergie, thanks for this post. Minutes after you posted it I numbered the exercises for my own use. I then worked through each. My main interest was and is to increase the spread between the middle fingertip and the ring fingertip on the fretboard, (and I have large hands with long fingers). I tend to roll my middle fingertip to facilitate placement of my ring fingertip, especially when near the nut. So far exercise #3 most closely addresses this issue. Probably because I never considered stretching before or during "warm up".

Though my main objective is to improve technique, I am considering playing fretless, but won't be gearing up until this issue is resolved. Any further thoughts?, and thanks again for the post.

A tempo said:

My main interest was and is to increase the spread between the middle fingertip and the ring fingertip on the fretboard, (and I have large hands with long fingers). I tend to roll my middle fingertip to facilitate placement of my ring fingertip, especially when near the nut. So far exercise #3 most closely addresses this issue. Probably because I never considered stretching before or during "warm up".

Click to expand...

The hand due to its design loses width as the fingers bend closer to the palm. To see this spread your fingers wide then try and keep them spread as you bend the them back towards the palm....you will find it impossible in a healthy hand. Understand this point then it stands to reason the the less curl there is in the fingers the wider the spread. But in this there are stresses and strains put on to joints because we need curl in the fingers for a bass technique to be safe.

So the problem becomes two fold how to increase spread and be safe and one i cannot really help with over the web.
What i can tell you your hand span is made of many things and the gentle stretches you find in no.3 will pay dividends over time so be patient with it. Remember that the fingers have the ability to stretch sideways individually. When spread open the middle finger can move to either the fore or ring finger. At first it is hard to stop the fingers coming to meet each other so look at what is actually happening, what fingers are actually moving and what ones are stay still. From this develop the fingers so they all have good movement.
If rolling the fingertip of the middle finger helps place the ring finger when near the nut then use it if it is not a problem or affects your playing.

A tempo said:

Though my main objective is to improve technique, I am considering playing fretless, but won't be gearing up until this issue is resolved. Any further thoughts?, and thanks again for the post.

Click to expand...

Fretless requires different skills than a fretted, a more accurate technique if you will. Rather than put it off i would embrace the fretless playing sooner rather than later. Because the fretboard requires exacting finger placements because there are no frets, the technique dictates the smaller the area used to fret the better the note. So finger tip playing is desirable but not necessary as the "feeling around" for the note is what give the instrument its life and a player his technique.

Fretless and upright players can move effortlessly to the fretted bass but it is harder for a fretted player to move the other way because they lack the accuracy on the neck.
All stretching, warm ups and such are part of a rounded practise routine remember warmed up muscles work better than "cold" ones. Rather than add time on for any warm up/stretching in a practice routine, just reduce the playing time by 5-10 minutes the benefit is better because many tend to practice to long and with tired hands.

great tips! i use my hands alot (All day long for work). what would be a good way to relax them before i pratice?

whatitstrue said:

great tips! i use my hands alot (All day long for work). what would be a good way to relax them before i pratice?

Click to expand...

It depends on your job and i what way do you use your hands.

So some basic info will see if i can help you. So post it here and i'll see if i can help.

1/Age,
2/Job,
3/Have you ever injured your upper limbs? (neck through arm to fingertips)
4/The top ten most daily use your hands/fingers get. Start with the longest time to the shortest.

Fergie Fulton said:

It depends on your job and i what way do you use your hands.

So some basic info will see if i can help you. So post it here and i'll see if i can help.

1/Age,
2/Job,
3/Have you ever injured your upper limbs? (neck through arm to fingertips)
4/The top ten most daily use your hands/fingers get. Start with the longest time to the shortest.

Click to expand...

1/ 34
2/ mail man/electrician
3/ broke my left wrist 22 years ago( no ill effects )
4/ as a mail man and electrician i us my hands for most of the day whether im sorting or throwing mail, lifting heavy packages or pulling wire and twisting wire nuts. Plus the computer, driving and any yard work that needs to be done.

My hands are usally tense by the end of most days and i find it hard to relax them sometimes for bass practice.

whatitstrue said:

1/ 34
2/ mail man/electrician
3/ broke my left wrist 22 years ago( no ill effects )
4/ as a mail man and electrician i us my hands for most of the day whether im sorting or throwing mail, lifting heavy packages or pulling wire and twisting wire nuts. Plus the computer, driving and any yard work that needs to be done.

My hands are usally tense by the end of most days and i find it hard to relax them sometimes for bass practice.

Click to expand...

The hand and forearm massage is where i would start. You just need to get the days stress out off you hands. See the links below. What i recommend is that anyone looking to use such techniques take the best of the exercises and make up a routine that fits you. The beauty of this is you can do it when you find some time either at breaks or a quiet moment.
Once the techniques take effect maintaining them becomes easier so the hard work is at the beginning to bring the hands up to scratch to allow the exercises to work at there best.

Fergie Fulton said:

The hand and forearm massage is where i would start. You just need to get the days stress out off you hands. See the links below. What i recommend is that anyone looking to use such techniques take the best of the exercises and make up a routine that fits you. The beauty of this is you can do it when you find some time either at breaks or a quiet moment.
Once the techniques take effect maintaining them becomes easier so the hard work is at the beginning to bring the hands up to scratch to allow the exercises to work at there best.

Click to expand...

Thanks Fergie! I'll give them a try for awhile.