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Bass Glove/Ring Weights, Finger Exercises?

S

skaerkrow

Apr 4, 2011
20
0
Detroit
#1
I've seen a few exercises for strengthening fingers..

Place your fret hand on the neck and with your attack hand, hold down a finger with your index and middle and try to pick them up one at a time to the same fret on the string as above or below or string skip or however you wanna do it.
or
Place your hands together in a praying sort of style and press push back and forth one finger at a time.
I've even seen a rubber band technique.

I figured since drummers have their ankle weights, why don't bass players have weighed finger armor, or a glove, whatever. I can't take/play my bass everywhere I go, but to have something on my hand for when I'm driving (cause I do that plenty) or for whenever, I think would be ideal. I've tried using EMT couplings when I've been working, but those were useless.

I know they have the finger springs, press one down at a time, but that's only good for one direction tension and doesn't seem like it'd help with the quickness. I'm looking to speed up my attack hand with 4 fingers and I just figured if I'm sporting somethin Michael Jackson style, I should be able to fly after taking it off.

If anybody has seen such a tool or even has some other type of finger exercise (speed or otherwise), please let me know.
 
#3
I was just curious if there were a sort of finger weight out on the market.

Much like someone training to throw shot-put practices with a heavier ball then what's going to be used, so when competition time comes, the ball he's throwing is dramatically lighter.

I want to practice my 4 finger technique with weight, so when the resistance is gone, my fingers will fly.

And maybe "You don't really need much finger strength to play any of the guitar instruments" but in building strength, you are also helping build endurance..
 
#4
That you don't need much finger strength also means that you don't need much endurance. Good technique doesn't require much effort.

If you practice with extra resistance, your muscle memory will be used to unnecessary tension, which means they won't exactly fly.
 
#5
Luff said:
That you don't need much finger strength also means that you don't need much endurance.
Click to expand...

Strength and endurance are two different things. A weight lifter could not run a marathon, and a marathon runner could not lift the same weight as a weight lifter.

You don't need much strength to fret a string, so things like finger weights etc are a waste of time and money IMO. Where fingers need to be developed for playing the bass, is in lifting them off the frets and moving them to the next note, without them getting in each other's way. This is agility and independence, which is a different thing altogether from strength.
 
#6
Its also worth noting that the runner and weight lifter are using appropriate muscles...ie large muscles which are naturally adapted to heavy repetitive work. The muscles and ligaments which allow finger movement are not like this, so its not worth risking an injury or RSI over this.
 
#8
If Jeff Berlin walked in here right now....

But seriously there are some good exercises out there. The Spider Technique and things like playing chromatic riffs with one fret per finger will loosen up and strengthen your hands.
 
#10
You know, I could've sworn I read in an old bass player maybe or some other similar magazine that Entwistle used to practice wearing heavy rings on his fingers, not sure if it was his fretting hand or picking hand though.

I googled but couldn't find any mention.

That said, I don't think it's necessary.
 
#11
I was told by a long-time pro that the ring finger is the weakest. He was talking in terms of string bending techniques on acoustic guitar, where a lot of players use another finger to assist the ring when necessary for tough bends. He also said that some piano players wear heavy rings on ring fingers to compensate......FWIW.....wonder what the DB players have to say about this.....anyone?
 
#13
edmidlifecrisis said:
I He also said that some piano players wear heavy rings on ring fingers to compensate......FWIW.....wonder what the DB players have to say about this.....anyone?
Click to expand...

Yea, yea long time DB and electric player here ...

**** the rings, the weights and all this other crap.

It's all ********. Go practice. As long as you're relaxed when you play your instrument you will develop all the strength and dexterity needed to do so and you won't hurt yourself doing it.
 
#15
Don't waste money. Just practice. That's free.

Also if you feel like you need to get weights or take steroids or whatever just to play your bass, you might consider the possibility that your bass is set up extraordinarily poorly.
 
#16
edmidlifecrisis said:
I was told by a long-time pro that the ring finger is the weakest. He was talking in terms of string bending techniques on acoustic guitar, where a lot of players use another finger to assist the ring when necessary for tough bends. He also said that some piano players wear heavy rings on ring fingers to compensate......FWIW.....wonder what the DB players have to say about this.....anyone?
Click to expand...

If you're looking for the DB perspective, here it is: the double bass is not a giant electric bass; it is, in fact, a totally different instrument. The only thing that they physically have in common is that they have four strings tuned in fourths. Because of how you hold the DB, you actually use a lot of your shoulder with your stopping hand.
 
#17
skaerkrow said:
I've seen a few exercises for strengthening fingers..

Place your fret hand on the neck and with your attack hand, hold down a finger with your index and middle and try to pick them up one at a time to the same fret on the string as above or below or string skip or however you wanna do it.
or
Place your hands together in a praying sort of style and press push back and forth one finger at a time.
I've even seen a rubber band technique.

I figured since drummers have their ankle weights, why don't bass players have weighed finger armor, or a glove, whatever. I can't take/play my bass everywhere I go, but to have something on my hand for when I'm driving (cause I do that plenty) or for whenever, I think would be ideal. I've tried using EMT couplings when I've been working, but those were useless.

I know they have the finger springs, press one down at a time, but that's only good for one direction tension and doesn't seem like it'd help with the quickness. I'm looking to speed up my attack hand with 4 fingers and I just figured if I'm sporting somethin Michael Jackson style, I should be able to fly after taking it off.

If anybody has seen such a tool or even has some other type of finger exercise (speed or otherwise), please let me know.
Click to expand...

Any exercise such as this is considered foolish and dangerous to the hand. parctice and stretches are the way forward. Increase the demand that music puts on the hands and the necessity for the hands to function better will eventually follow.

If you want the best way to exercise yout hands on the move use an elastic band. Elastic bands come in different sizes and thicknesses so it is crutial you get the right one. In the UK the red ones that postman discard around the streets are ideal.

I believe it is a size 8 so do some searches on that size.
What the elastic band does is offer resistance, and that resistance needs only be slight or gentle.
just put the bands around the base of all the finger nails, thunb included and just open the fingers till resistance is meet.
Care has to be taken that it is the fingers resisting againt the action of the thumb, not the thunb doing all the work. As the thumb is the more powerfull of the hand muscles it can doninate the others, so make sure the opening is well balanced and distributed among all.
Individual finger can be done using the finger in question and the thumb. Again it has to be the finger moving away from the thumb, not the thumb iniciating the action.

There are many more but these are the two best for general use if any exercise is needed away from the bass.
Muscles work in pair that offer tension and resistance, they always pull against each other. That is why elastic bands are ideal as the offer a bit of extra resistance or tension in the plane required, rather than build strength or grip. The last thing you need is to develop a grip so all exerices are about the hand/fingers extending or opening to counter the natural tendency of the hand to grip. :)
 
#18
Try looking up the "buddha rope". Basically it is something you place under your strings to raise them up and make them harder to press down. Im not big on weird exercises but I just used a rolled up dish rag and I liked it alot. I wouldnt do it all the time but I found it helpful leading up to a gig. This is just all my opinion and YMMV.
 
#20
JTE said:
I've found over 30 years of playing and teaching that the best exercises for playing bass (and guitar) are to play the instrument. I used to do stuff like the spider, chromatic exercises, etc. But I found that the best way to get better physical control was to simply play music on the bass.

John
Click to expand...

The elastic band exercise described above by Fergie can be done away from the bass, watching TV, on a lunch break, etc, and only takes about 5 or 10 minutes. So no practice time is lost, the exercise is beneficial to the task required of the hand...and it is free. ;)
 

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