Hi,
My name's Mike and I'm 23.
I really need some help/guidance.
I picked up the bass when I was about 14 when I was at school. Had some lessons at the time but I really need some help and guidance, please hear me out...
Recently in my fretting hand (Left, I'm right handed) I've been experiencing some pain in my wrist. It often clicks a lot and is very weak/tired. I mainly think this is due to poor technique and bad habits I've managed to pick up since I st. Naturally I tend to fret and pluck the bass quite hard when I don't want too (I do this without thinking) and I think over time this has started to show.
I find playing the bass recently very awkward and have done in the past from memory (especially playing in bands whilst playing live etc) and it's really, really started to bring me down. I feel like I've been playing wrong all this time! I hate the fact that something I love so much is becoming a painful experience. I've really started to doubt myself and think that the way I'm put together means I'm just not able to play the bass with any sort of comfort. What I mean by this is I'm quite tall (6'2/6'3) with long arms but have small hands with short fat fingers that are not in proportion to the rest of me. I find it very difficult and awkward to position the bass on me (standing and sitting) so I am unable to feel relaxed. I'm constantly reviewing my strap height and fretting hand technique, trying to follow online videos and tips but am still experiencing pain and difficulty playing. There are so many conflicting reports on what is wrong and what is right, whether the thumb should go here or the it should go there, I never know what to follow. I've read a lot about keeping the thumb behind the neck pointing up between the middle and index finger. After trying this "correct" method I still found it painful, and found my wrist was bending at all sorts of horrible angles, even whilst sitting down. This confuses me a lot as a lot of my bass idols (John Paul Jones, Jack Bruce, Geezer Butler etc) seem to play with there thumb coming over the top of the neck. I seem to find that this can be restrictive though and I'm not sure how they tend to play so fluidly and well. When trying to do this (as an experiment) with my Right hand. It doesn't seem to hurt. Have I buggered up my natural fretting hand so much that i'll never be able to play in the correct way even if I start now? Will I never be able to play with maximum fluidity and comfort? This makes me think back to my point that I'm not designed to play bass, which is an awful thought as it's all I think about/want to do.
Besides dealing with the pain I also want to be able to play cleanly and with fluidity, which is something I feel I lack in due to this on going issue. I want to be able to play with no pain, relaxed and be able to easily reach the frets I need to play. Both sitting down and standing up. The first thing people always say to me is "raise your strap up high" which is fine (I don't have my strap particularly low anyway, almost never below my belt) but due to my tall build with long arms, I feel raising the strap can really cramp up my right plucking hand and it gets tired/numb very easily. I find then that my shoulder becomes really tired and starts to hurt a lot from the bass being so high. It's not the strap either as I have a really good, wide padded strap that is designed to distribute weight.
For a long time I thought I was playing the wrong bass. I've been through so much gear (basses, strings, amps etc) as I think that could be the problem. I thought that I needed a short scale bass due to my smaller hands. I got myself a Fender Mustang but in all honesty I find this even harder to play, whilst still experiencing the same issues. Again, I come back to the fact that I have small hands but I'm a tall guy with long arms and feel I'm just not built to play? I just hope this isn't true. I find whatever bass I play I get the same feeling of awkwardness and lack of fluidity in the fretting hand. At the moment I play an American Standard Jazz bass. I also own a Rickenbacker 4003 as I love the look of them and always wanted one, so naturally I worked and saved up for it however I find this the hardest to play. What I'd love and dream of is to be able to play relaxed and fluid on a vintage Precision bass, I just love the look and sound of them. I feel they just sit in the mix beautifully.
On top of all this I'm currently in a band. We play gigs often and always practice. I love it and it's exactly the sort of music I like playing (Rock/indie) and we all really want to push it and get out there. As you might imagine these issues I've highlighted to you make it very difficult for me both physically and mentally. My worst fear is the guys in the band deeming I'm not good enough or consistent enough and go find a new bass player. Playing bass is everything I want to do and has been since I was in my early teens, and playing in my current band with the music we're doing is exactly where I want to be. I just want to feel more relaxed with they way I'm playing and feel like I'm not being held back with my technique in terms of creativity and comfort.
Basically what I'd really like is some proper advice from someone who I can trust will help me develop and teach me the necessary practices I can use to improve my technique and dexterity in my fretting hand, all the while maintaining a relaxed method of playing where there is no pain.
Thank you for taking the time to read my post and I hope to hear back from you guys soon.
My name's Mike and I'm 23.
I really need some help/guidance.
I picked up the bass when I was about 14 when I was at school. Had some lessons at the time but I really need some help and guidance, please hear me out...
Recently in my fretting hand (Left, I'm right handed) I've been experiencing some pain in my wrist. It often clicks a lot and is very weak/tired. I mainly think this is due to poor technique and bad habits I've managed to pick up since I st. Naturally I tend to fret and pluck the bass quite hard when I don't want too (I do this without thinking) and I think over time this has started to show.
I find playing the bass recently very awkward and have done in the past from memory (especially playing in bands whilst playing live etc) and it's really, really started to bring me down. I feel like I've been playing wrong all this time! I hate the fact that something I love so much is becoming a painful experience. I've really started to doubt myself and think that the way I'm put together means I'm just not able to play the bass with any sort of comfort. What I mean by this is I'm quite tall (6'2/6'3) with long arms but have small hands with short fat fingers that are not in proportion to the rest of me. I find it very difficult and awkward to position the bass on me (standing and sitting) so I am unable to feel relaxed. I'm constantly reviewing my strap height and fretting hand technique, trying to follow online videos and tips but am still experiencing pain and difficulty playing. There are so many conflicting reports on what is wrong and what is right, whether the thumb should go here or the it should go there, I never know what to follow. I've read a lot about keeping the thumb behind the neck pointing up between the middle and index finger. After trying this "correct" method I still found it painful, and found my wrist was bending at all sorts of horrible angles, even whilst sitting down. This confuses me a lot as a lot of my bass idols (John Paul Jones, Jack Bruce, Geezer Butler etc) seem to play with there thumb coming over the top of the neck. I seem to find that this can be restrictive though and I'm not sure how they tend to play so fluidly and well. When trying to do this (as an experiment) with my Right hand. It doesn't seem to hurt. Have I buggered up my natural fretting hand so much that i'll never be able to play in the correct way even if I start now? Will I never be able to play with maximum fluidity and comfort? This makes me think back to my point that I'm not designed to play bass, which is an awful thought as it's all I think about/want to do.
Besides dealing with the pain I also want to be able to play cleanly and with fluidity, which is something I feel I lack in due to this on going issue. I want to be able to play with no pain, relaxed and be able to easily reach the frets I need to play. Both sitting down and standing up. The first thing people always say to me is "raise your strap up high" which is fine (I don't have my strap particularly low anyway, almost never below my belt) but due to my tall build with long arms, I feel raising the strap can really cramp up my right plucking hand and it gets tired/numb very easily. I find then that my shoulder becomes really tired and starts to hurt a lot from the bass being so high. It's not the strap either as I have a really good, wide padded strap that is designed to distribute weight.
For a long time I thought I was playing the wrong bass. I've been through so much gear (basses, strings, amps etc) as I think that could be the problem. I thought that I needed a short scale bass due to my smaller hands. I got myself a Fender Mustang but in all honesty I find this even harder to play, whilst still experiencing the same issues. Again, I come back to the fact that I have small hands but I'm a tall guy with long arms and feel I'm just not built to play? I just hope this isn't true. I find whatever bass I play I get the same feeling of awkwardness and lack of fluidity in the fretting hand. At the moment I play an American Standard Jazz bass. I also own a Rickenbacker 4003 as I love the look of them and always wanted one, so naturally I worked and saved up for it however I find this the hardest to play. What I'd love and dream of is to be able to play relaxed and fluid on a vintage Precision bass, I just love the look and sound of them. I feel they just sit in the mix beautifully.
On top of all this I'm currently in a band. We play gigs often and always practice. I love it and it's exactly the sort of music I like playing (Rock/indie) and we all really want to push it and get out there. As you might imagine these issues I've highlighted to you make it very difficult for me both physically and mentally. My worst fear is the guys in the band deeming I'm not good enough or consistent enough and go find a new bass player. Playing bass is everything I want to do and has been since I was in my early teens, and playing in my current band with the music we're doing is exactly where I want to be. I just want to feel more relaxed with they way I'm playing and feel like I'm not being held back with my technique in terms of creativity and comfort.
Basically what I'd really like is some proper advice from someone who I can trust will help me develop and teach me the necessary practices I can use to improve my technique and dexterity in my fretting hand, all the while maintaining a relaxed method of playing where there is no pain.
Thank you for taking the time to read my post and I hope to hear back from you guys soon.
