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Fingers will not arch no matter what I do
- Thread starter Surveyor87Fan
- Start date
I do rubber band stretches per my Dr........just very light tension and work the fingers all the way in and all of the way out.
I also had to go to 30 scale partly because of tension....sometimes my 62 year old fingers arent functioning well (especially the cold midwest) so rubber band warmups are a MUST for me!
DEFINITELY study setups, possibly lighter strings...but get the action optimized as suggested...good luck!
+1
These are a much better and lower impact choice for exercise and dexterity. If you can rotate these backward and forward with equal facility, you're on to something. If you can rotate one set forward in one hand and another set backward in the other hand, well that's some Jedi level dexterity!
I taught myself electric bass, after a few years of cello lessons. Predictably, I played like a cellist trying to play bass. By the time I took bass lessons, I had been playing for 5 years, in the school jazz band, and a rock band, and had already played some gigs.
My teacher took one look at my technique, and said: "You're doing it all wrong, you've got to start over."
Nothing sucks more than already knowing how you want to sound, and being committed to playing in groups, but suddenly having no technique. But my teacher suggested going "cold turkey" and focusing on the new technique at the expense of everything else. The good news is that the worst of sucking lasted only a few weeks, after which I made rapid progress and was playing at a much higher level within a few months.
My teacher took one look at my technique, and said: "You're doing it all wrong, you've got to start over."
Nothing sucks more than already knowing how you want to sound, and being committed to playing in groups, but suddenly having no technique. But my teacher suggested going "cold turkey" and focusing on the new technique at the expense of everything else. The good news is that the worst of sucking lasted only a few weeks, after which I made rapid progress and was playing at a much higher level within a few months.
I started playing upright bass in college and then switched to electric. I never use my ring finger without my little finger too. My ring finger just isn't strong enough by itself on upright so there you go. What I'm saying is that there are a lot of players that are like me and never even use their ring finger alone in fretting.
+1. I lift weights and have very strong grip...I actually had to learn to not use my strength when playing to improve technique and fretting speed.
devnulljp
Supporting Member
Keep a squash ball on hand and roll it around & squeeze it (gently) between the pad of your thumb and those two fingers -- the ring and pinkie. It'll strengthen the fingers. Make sure to consciously use the tips of the fingers, and it'll help the arch. I started doing that decades ago due to a wrist injury and it had a lot of benefits.
+1.
OP, if you must use a gadget use a simple rubber band. To play the bass efficiently we need to exercise and develop the tendons that open the hand...the polar opposite to gripping. To do this, we get a rubber band (start with a low tension and gradually increase if required) and wrap it around the fingers at the finger nails. Then slowly open and close the hand. As with all "gadgets" a little is a lot. One or two minutes before a practice session as a warm up, combined with gentle stretches is ideal.
Thank you! I am 62 and have damaged fingers, basically wear and tear from my occupation...you do NOT want to damage fingers trust me! It aint fun but i manage simply by making sure my hands are warm and stretched.
Where i have an issue is my thumb on my fretting hand....you do not want the thumb to be applying too much pressure and it should move easily....however, i cant always keep the thumb 'behind the neck properly' at times because of continuing pain and numbness in the thumb.
I see lots of bass players wrap the fretting hand thumb 'over the edge' instead of keeping it behind the neck....i cannot do this and it seems it is not ideal.
I struggle to use my little finger....my ring finger is much longer than the pinky/little finger and in my case i can use the ring finger alone.....i normally use 3 fingers; index, middle and ring finger but the pinky does follow along because of it being connected i guess to the ring finger?
They are called 'Boading Balls', or sometimes meditation balls. They come in a range of sizes. I have a set of 2" and a set of 1¼"
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baoding_balls
If you watch ANY of those players actually perform a gig, you'll see numerous situations where they are in fact using proper arching technique to allow multiple strings to ring. Just because they ALSO have the control to mute the strings cleanly with the left hand doesn't mean they never developed the skill to play any other way.
Go watch Victor Wooten play a thumb solo and you'll see lots of flat-finger barring and muting. Then go try to learn his arrangement of Norwegian Wood, or You Can't Hold No Groove. Both songs require very clean arching so you can play one or more strings while other harmonics ring out underneath.
Op, for real you should do this exercise here every day.
Don't be afraid of the simplest exercises.
Make 'em perfect.
Also, re. this:
"so to improve like my motor skills and flexibility it would like to help to stretch more?"
Yes, a thousand percent. Relaxation and range of motion is the key to smoother, easier, more efficient, and faster execution of anything you do with any part of your body.
And lower that action!
It looks to me like your hand position isn't ideal. Your left wrist should be turned slightly so your fingers are (mostly) parallel to the frets, perpendicular to the length of the neck. The back of your hand should be parallel to the floor (if the neck were held perfectly horizontal/level to the floor). If your left wrist is turned so your fingers are diagonal to the frets, it will tend to cause the ring finger to collapse and it makes it harder for the pinky to play any notes.
Don't 'fret' about it. It took me 20 years to properly bend my fingers. I played literally flat and it seemed to drive other bassists nuts as they would stare at me wondering how I was playing. Check out how Rocco played. Damn near flat on the fretboard. I say whatever works for you. Not everyone plays 'properly'.
Everybody take a pause and read Rufus Reid's "The Evolving Bassist" book.
When you play an electric bass the way he suggests, all you can do is go up from there. YMMV
Peace. Bracing for impact...
When you play an electric bass the way he suggests, all you can do is go up from there. YMMV
Peace. Bracing for impact...
This whole "it's illegal to prevent editing or deleting posts in the EU" sounds very strange/suspect. Especially when you consider there's a good few forums that prevent editing after a certain period. I may be wrong, it would not be the first time
but i sounds like a misunderstanding of GPDR.Any relevant link?
