do i have any chance with normal bass ?

[MEKer]

I'd say Jack Bruce did quite well in his "non-34" Gibson EB3 bass days. Get a short scale and you'll do fine! Once you have your bass, just practice. Start simple stuff until you feel that you can move around easily on the fretboard. Then go from there.

 

[wishforbass]

Three things:

1. If you want to play with a short scale bass, do it. There's no stigma and "real bass players" don't care what scale your bass is as long as you sound good.

2. If you want to play long scale but have small hands, it's absolutely doable. You just have to slide more and have different technique from people with big mitts for hands.

3. If you want to play long scale but have small hands, consider buying a bass with 5 or more strings that are close together, like a Schecter or an Ibanez. That way, you can stretch less and have more optimal hand position. I actually play a 35" scale 5-string because I largely play 5th fret and above.

If it was available in my country I would be happy but the problem is that in my country just 34" and 35" scale are available .
And about brand , ibanez (just sr serious and gsr) ,Ltd f Series ,fender (if you want squire jazz bass ,but p bass take 8 month till arrive and piece is so high 5x of Amazon )
Some Yamaha ,stagg , meher orang (it's Iranian brand make really expensive guitar and bass hard to afford ,price for cheapest is around $15000 ).


On guitar I can reach 5 fret easily ,I did a lot of stretch practice ,but some really hurt or give me a sore hand that can practice with it for days .

Over all I'm not into jazz or funk ,more into pop ,new wave ,rock and metal .

 

[The BurgerMeister]

I have small hands. When I started I heard the same stuff (but, thankfully, not from any of my teachers!) but I just kept wanting to play... So I played! 26 years later and I'm getting more not than ever playing bass. Have fun!

Oh, and I've always played 34" scale. It's not about stretching. Stop stretching your fingers to reach frets! Instead of stretching, just move your hand! Don't worry about stretching!

The only stretching to do is basic hand stretching before an after playing, like with any exercise.

 

[joebar]

I still have my first bass which is a tad less than 34 scale. it plays like butter and always sounds good. I didn't play a 34 scale bass until 5 years ago

 

[SplinteredSkull]

Truly, your fingers aren't really that much smaller than mine, and I can play 35" scale fine, so... Sounds like your teacher is just a *(insert offensive word still acceptable to your social climate)*

 

[BillWright]

I haven't read this whole thread yet so I don't know if anyone has said this yet but - who says you have to stretch or do any of these 'large-handed' techniques? Just play how you can play, work with what you can do, devise new ways of playing that fit your hands and your outlook. There is no 'right' way to play - and that includes thinking you have to have big hands to play bass, to execute certain runs or play like someone else. Django and Iommi didn't even let lack/partial lack of fingers stop them from playing.

Just PLAY, man. And let 'YOU' come out in the playing. It'll be what it is. Good luck, and have fun!

 

[iTzPrime]

I have smaller fingers than you, and I even play a Dingwall (34-37 multiscale bass). and i have no problems. I can even play harder stuff like Instrumedley from Dream Theater. It is all about shifting your hand and your thump rather than streching your fingers.
It is quite hilarious when someone asks me about where you should position your fingers and they recognize i can't even fret the frist 4 frets with my fingers.

And to your teacher: Is Bass Fun for you? Continue playing and get a new teacher. People improve at different speeds. In my first year, i was barley able to play something like californiacation despite putting in about 3 hours a day.
But suddenly it made click and i improved so quickly a teacher even asked me, if i wanted to join music university

 

[pcake]

if you can get ibanez, can't you have the dealer order an ibanez mikro bass in for you?

If it was available in my country I would be happy but the problem is that in my country just 34" and 35" scale are available .
And about brand , ibanez (just sr serious and gsr) ,Ltd f Series ,fender (if you want squire jazz bass ,but p bass take 8 month till arrive and piece is so high 5x of Amazon )
Some Yamaha ,stagg , meher orang (it's Iranian brand make really expensive guitar and bass hard to afford ,price for cheapest is around $15000 ).


On guitar I can reach 5 fret easily ,I did a lot of stretch practice ,but some really hurt or give me a sore hand that can practice with it for days .

Over all I'm not into jazz or funk ,more into pop ,new wave ,rock and metal .

you seem to be cherry picking which posts to respond to, and i'm wondering if you're reading the many posts of others here who have small hands and play 34" and 35" scale with no problems. i played metal on a 35" scale bass for years with no problem, and my hands are smaller than yours (i'm a 5' 3" woman). sometimes at the fourth fret, i'd simply start over rather than using the fourth position - it worked just fine. i was a very fast player doing that and scale length gave me no issues.

LOTS of players never do stretch exercises at all and some play very well without them.

 

[TheSeagoats]

You could try playing a five string in the fifth position. The fret spacing would be smaller than in first position, it would just take some getting used to.

 

[radioface]

Maybe a piccolo bass or a baritone guitar might fit you better?

 

[ariwax]

I don't care how good your teacher is, he's wrong and you don't need him. You like rock and pop and similar genres - there is no reason on earth you can't do what you want on a 34" scale bass. It doesn't matter if you have small hands. Just play - play along to your favorite songs or a drum machine, and develop your own technique. Got it?

 

[wishforbass]

I don't care how good your teacher is, he's wrong and you don't need him. You like rock and pop and similar genres - there is no reason on earth you can't do what you want on a 34" scale bass. It doesn't matter if you have small hands. Just play - play along to your favorite songs or a drum machine, and develop your own technique. Got it?

Yes ,I will try my best .

 

[Old Blastard]

If it was available in my country I would be happy but the problem is that in my country just 34" and 35" scale are available .
And about brand , ibanez (just sr serious and gsr) ,Ltd f Series ,fender (if you want squire jazz bass ,but p bass take 8 month till arrive and piece is so high 5x of Amazon )
Some Yamaha ,stagg , meher orang (it's Iranian brand make really expensive guitar and bass hard to afford ,price for cheapest is around $15000 ).


On guitar I can reach 5 fret easily ,I did a lot of stretch practice ,but some really hurt or give me a sore hand that can practice with it for days .

Over all I'm not into jazz or funk ,more into pop ,new wave ,rock and metal .

If you WANT to play bass you can do it. Yamaha and Ibanez make good instruments, even at the very cheap beginner level. Find one you can afford and play your favorite songs, listening always for the basslines to get familiar with them.
Find a good book and you can teach yourself to read. There were no bass teachers where I grew up so I taught myself.

 

[Roberto Nunez]

My fingers lenght is similar to yours, I´ve been playing for 17 years, I´ve own 2 basses and they were both 34", it can seem kind of difficult at the beginning but it isn´t a reason to stop playing. BTW Ibanez SRs are very comfortable IME.
And you totally need a new teacher. Just play, if you like it just keep on practicing.

PS Sorry if my english is unnatural or wrong I´m not a native speaker.

 

[Old Blastard]

My fingers lenght is similar to yours, I´ve been playing for 17 years, I´ve own 2 basses and they were both 34", it can seem kind of difficult at the beginning but it isn´t a reason to stop playing. BTW Ibanez SRs are very comfortable IME.
And you totally need a new teacher. Just play, if you like it just keep on practicing.

PS Sorry if my english is unnatural or wrong I´m not a native speaker.

Your English is fine and better than my Spanish. And you're right.mInhave an Ibanez Gio 205 and it is fine

 

[pbass2]

I concur--fire that teacher!!!!

 

[MindinAction]

My fingers are about the same lengths as yours (some a tiny bit longer and some a tiny bit shorter). I play 34" scale basses with no problem. I like 32" medium scale basses, too, but I mostly play 34s because there's more variety available. For some reason, 35" gives me some trouble though it is only a tiny bit more distance from fret to fret. What causes me actual pain is basses with thick necks from front to back. I prefer an 11 - 12" neck radius. I don't mind wide boards so much, so I do play five string basses. There are people with small hands that don't have trouble with thicker necks and there are people who don't like the reach they have to make for a fiver. Obviously everyone's different. I'm saying all this just so you know that you may need to try some things to find the right fit. If you're concerned about your development as a player getting another instructor's help and direction will likely be more positive for you.

Edit: I realize I just said what a lot of other folks have said. Mostly I hope you keep playing.

 

[red_rhino]

Define "normal bass".

 

[Sub-hoo-fer]

Your English is fine and better than my Spanish. And you're right.mInhave an Ibanez Gio 205 and it is fine

So out in the "real world" the European Union is coming apart at the seams but in here bassists from all around the world are rallying around a brother bassist from Iran. I think that is pretty cool.

 

[Gnal]

My fingers are about the same length as you stated. 34" scale shouldn't be a problem, you just need to work on position shifts.

I play 34", 34.5" and 35" scale basses and while it can seem difficult on a longer scale at first, using position shifts instead of trying to stretch will make things easier, less fatiguing, and likely allow you to play cleaner.

If you really want to play bass, don't let someone that calls themselves a "teacher" tell you that you cannot. Not everyone learns at the same pace, it may be that you need to practice more but it will come in time if you put in the effort.