Fretting hand technique

[Kügel]

Hey everyone,

I've been playing bass for about 4 or 5 years now. I'm mostly self-thought though and now my bad technique really needs to change.

I've been having alot of wrist pains and I know these are caused by my technique, so I started playing more carefully (wrist behind the neck and the first and second finger, relaxed position, one finger per fret, ...) and that's been going great except...

When I'm in first position (around the open and first 4 frets) my frest *EDIT: obviously my wrist* always has a crooked angle. This corrects itself when I go higher up to the fretboard but I'm not sure how I can change this angle when I'm near the first frets of my bass.

Any opinions?

 

[Timmy-Watts]

I think you mean you WRIST has a crooked angle?

What kind of music are you playing?

BTW, I have been playing 20 years electric bass, 18 years upright, been formally trained and have a conservatory degree, for what it's worth.

If you play a strict true first position (or half position-index finger at first fret) on electric, unless you have ape-long arms, your wrist will be bent. A few things you can do:

Play an upright first (or half) position. First fret index, second fret middle, third fret pinky (with ring supporting it).

Angle your bass neck higher when playing lower.

Slightly pivot as you change notes so the finger per fret thing is loose. Still have each finger assigned to a corresponding fret but don't hold them strictly there when not in use. Slightly pivoting from the thumb as you move to different notes in that position can help you relax.

Most importantly: if the line you are playing down there does not require a strict position like that, just don't do it. It is more important to play the music as relaxed and comfortably as you can do you don't exacerbate an injury. It would suck to have to give up playing because you kept a strict first position.

After all my years of playing one thing I have learned is that technique should be means to articulate musical ideas on your instrument. Technique for its own sake can hurt your music and hurt your body.

 

[tom_20]

I'd say adjust your wrist so that it's comfortable, no matter how bad it looks technically, it's not worth hurting yourself over. Also maybe try adjusting the height of your bass when you play, this will change things pretty dramatically, i tend to find it's pretty comfortable sitting up high.

 

[kevteop]

When I'm in first position (around the open and first 4 frets) my frest *EDIT: obviously my wrist* always has a crooked angle. This corrects itself when I go higher up to the fretboard but I'm not sure how I can change this angle when I'm near the first frets of my bass.

It's a common problem with bass guitar - the neck is just too long. It's worse on basses that have the strap button nearer to your body (Warwicks are pretty bad for this). What bass are you playing?

I'd say adjust your wrist so that it's comfortable, no matter how bad it looks technically, it's not worth hurting yourself over. Also maybe try adjusting the height of your bass when you play, this will change things pretty dramatically, i tend to find it's pretty comfortable sitting up high.

The wrist position he's talking about does cause big problems for some people though - I got really badly swollen tendons from it myself. I can play double bass all day because my wrist is straight, but playing ostinato patterns in the lowest positions on bass guitar will cause me problems in just a couple of hours of rehearsals.

 

[Phalex]

Raise or lower your bass so that BOTH of your wrists are relatively straight when you play. Your wrist should NEVER be at an awkward handle unless you're doing something stoopid and showy.

 

[fearceol]

This clip form a fellow TB'er is worth checking out.

Developing Safe Left Hand Technique for Bass Guitar - YouTube

 

[tom_20]

The wrist position he's talking about does cause big problems for some people though - I got really badly swollen tendons from it myself. I can play double bass all day because my wrist is straight, but playing ostinato patterns in the lowest positions on bass guitar will cause me problems in just a couple of hours of rehearsals.

Yeah, I was just trying to give him suggestions, he said that thumb behind the neck is going great for him except in the first position, thus the suggestion to move technique to the side for a second and try and get more comfortable. Then as his left hand gets stronger/use to difficult techniques, try and improve his technique around that part of the neck.