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Errant Middle Finger

#21
BBQisgood said:
Your wrist is far too bent. Holding it in flexion like that will create needless tension.

Straightening it (see pic of Jaco above... wrist straight but fingers bent) will make lots of what @Mushroo advises fall into place naturally.

You may also use the Segovia style wrist (wrist still straight, but elbow and instrument in different position to body). Lots of pics of this.

Bottom line is that extensor tendons of hand won't like a wrist in constant flexion and your fingers will tend to bunch up.
Click to expand...

Thanks, will try to straighten things out. Can see a slow couple of weeks of reprogramming coming up.

Smoove-Groove said:
Click to expand...


Thanks for the video, but that exercise is the one I explained in the OP. It's helped my ring ad little finger, but as it was hving little effect on the middle finger I was looking for an alternative. Thanks for taking the time though :)
 
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#22
The key is to relax the hand and the fingers will follow. The fingers curl up because of muscle tension in the hand. Another way to get the hand and fingers to relax is, move the hand and arm more and move the fingers less. There should be a balance of movement between the arm, hand, and fingers. If your playing puts more stress and tension on any one of those, your ability to relax is compromised.
 
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#26
MrBassManG said:
A decade of the horn you say? I think I've got that one covered ;)



Nope. Just lousy technique by the looks of it.
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Don't diss yourself man. I'd say you're learning and going through everything everybody goes through.

I learned the same way.

Two other interesting tidbits: a straight wrist is easier to keep if the bass is angled properly about the long axis of the body.

If the bass is rotated too far to the right so the headstock is too far out, you'll have to flex and supinate your wrist awkwardly thus creating tension. Google Marcus, Esperanza, Vic, Bunny and you'll see their bass headstock is at around 15-25 degrees forward from parallel with their chests. Strive to keep it in the same and as your chest and let it naturally lean a bit forward.

Secondly, experiment and find out the angle elevation of the bass Headstock that's most comfortable to you. This will vary depending on how high it sits on your chest.

Your problems seem to lie in trying to conform your body to how the bass is situated instead of conforming the bass's positioning to your anatomical needs. From your pics it doesn't look like you like BBQ as much as me so that should be easy.
 
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#27
Alright, remember all of that "proper finger position" horn players hear as they're developing?

I dunno if you played jazz or chamber music but I'd crank up my practice with the old "speed is precision" thing they subject kids to in music class.
 
#29
somebrains said:
Alright, remember all of that "proper finger position" horn players hear as they're developing?

I dunno if you played jazz or chamber music but I'd crank up my practice with the old "speed is precision" thing they subject kids to in music class.
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The controlled flexion and supination of the left wrist is one of the toughest things for a string player to learn. That's one thing that is a special challenge just for the string family.

I can tell you personally from a great deal of pain and frustration that it's one of the things that sets the violin apart, for instance. Look and see how the wrist has to go. Same goes for other members of the stringed family.

Luckily the fretted electric bass is a bit more forgiving than some instruments but it's still more than challenging.

OP is striving for that "proper finger positioning" and he's asking very intelligent questions. He's delving into the whys and whatnots of what's best for him.

I can also tell you that my training on a horn did help with coordination, phrasing, rhythm, time, thinking, etc. but compared to what I had to put up with on bass and violin there wasn't much help there in the way of left hand strength and flexibility.

Of course to be fair I was really, really bad at it.:D
 
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#33
Go find a good massage guy, I prefer random Chinese dudes at the mall.
Go thru a bunch of them until you find "the one".

Eat right, exercise, get plenty of rest.

Oh, the 89 earthquake happened and both of my grandfathers put all of us to work under my iron worker uncle.
I got so full body strong moving concrete debris, using a demo hammer, and riding a pneumatic jackhammer.
You can simulate this in a gym, I'd rather take side work bc then they have to pay me.

Then take the $ and pay for lessons working:

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
https://www.amazon.com/Tradition-Excellence-Chamber-Music-Electric/dp/0849706351

bc I think you want to get here with all of your fingers:

The Bass Whisperer - Concerto for Electric Bass - Conni Ellisor
 
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#35


No two people are exactly alike, so what is considered "proper" technique for one person could be the worst possible thing for another.

At no point should you hurt yourself in playing bass. and students who struggle with finger-per-fret in first position are just pushing themselves in the wrong way because very few of us have a finger span that can accommodate that.

Now finger per fret up around the 7th fret and above makes a lot of sense. You need to experiment with changes in thumb position and fingering until you find out what seems like the most sensible way for your hand.

To me it looks like your index and pinky are too flattened and you are playing on the pad of your finger. You should shoot for an in-between angle that keeps your fingers arched and the point of contact is an average between the tips and pads of your fingers. a 45 degree angle in other words (most of the time) There are natural variances because of individual finger length and how far the finger is reaching. But all of the knuckles in your fingers should form an arc and at no time should a joint be bending backward.

Good luck in your progress.
 
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#36
I'm not playing tonight and I got no life so I'm hear reading about middle finger technique... :laugh:
But it got @two fingers and @JimmyM 's attention! That's good enough for me...
Now back to American Ninja Warriors....

Sorry to the OP, I'm not trivializing your issue. There's already lots of good advice here and I'm just happy to be among my bass brethren.
 
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#37
alaskaleftybass said:
I'm not playing tonight and I got no life so I'm hear reading about middle finger technique... :laugh:
But it got @two fingers and @JimmyM 's attention! That's good enough for me...
Now back to American Ninja Warriors....

Sorry to the OP, I'm not trivializing your issue. There's already lots of good advice here and I'm just happy to be among my bass brethren.
Click to expand...

You're more than welcome just to hang out!

Thanks everyone for your responses, a lot of different things to work through, so surely one or a combination of will work. I'll be back after some shedding...
 
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#38
Tommyc said:
http://www.dystonia.org.uk/index.ph...ystonia/musicians-dystonia-musicians-crampnot

I'm not an alarmist but all musicians need to be aware of focal or musician's dystonia. Read the article. I wouldn't have mentioned it if you hadn't said your finger is curling involuntarily. Look for someone who then knows Alexander technique. Don't eff around with your hands.
Click to expand...

Link not working but found this article.

Musicians' Dystonia

Is it the same? It sounds different to what I'm experiencing (I hope!!), my finger tends to curl as the hand moves down the strings, I can still use it fine.

Food for thought, thanks.
 

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