Gripping too hard when fretting

[edr]

Hey, I've been in the process of recovering from carpal tunnel in my fingering/left hand, and have taken all sorts of the usual precautions in my daily life, and (sadly) even put the bass down for several months.
Since I've made everything else more ergonomic, I've been carefully examining my left hand technique. and although my form is not terrible (nor is it perfect), the biggest issue I'm having is that I grip way harder than necessary for fretting cleanly. I also tend to dig in too hard with my right hand, but that's less urgent and might get solved at the same time.
It's easy to use the appropriate amount of force if I'm doing simple exercises and not playing along to music, but if I'm playing with a band or along to a recording and I get into it, then the old habits can come back pretty fast. I'm in the process of trying out for a punk band and I need to get myself under control if I still want to be able to play without hurting myself!
Fixing this bad habit, in addition to saving my wrist, will also greatly help my stamina when it comes to practices and gigs.
If anyone's been through something similar, I'd love any advice you have!

 

[Lesfunk]

I’d say lower your string action and keep your thumb behind the neck. When your thumb goes over the top it can let you squeeze too hard
By lowering your action the bass will chart choking notes when you pluck too hard.it’ll force you to have a lighter touch. Turn your amp up and let it do the work.

 

[edr]

I’d say lower your string action and keep your thumb behind the neck. When your thumb goes over the top it can let you squeeze too hard

String action and intonation seem fine, but it's been long enough I might just bring all my basses for a fresh setup. I've done my own setups before but I don't trust my work yet.
As for the thumb, I actually don't have that particular issue. It's basically always on the back of the neck, facing the headstock.

In terms of overgripping (is there a better term?), it's my index finger that suffers the most, especially from carpal tunnel symptoms.

Edit to respond to your edit: That's a great idea, lowering the action to lower right hand force. For me the force in both hands is very much linked, so if I can back off on one it ought to help the other.

 

[smeet]

I’d say lower your string action and keep your thumb behind the neck. When your thumb goes over the top it can let you squeeze too hard

Yes, and here’s another exercise that really helps. It shouldn’t require much pressure to hold the string down. So do some slow playing where you take your thumb completely off the neck, just let it dangle near the neck. Only your fingertips should touch the neck. All the pressure should come from the weight of your arm pulling down and back. After a while you will get the feel of not really squeezing with your thumb, but just letting touch the back of the neck.

 

[Lesfunk]

Not entirely related, but when I had tennis elbow, I switched to a short scale bass for a few months and it actually helped.

It could be ergonomic? I wonder if adjusting the strap height might alter the geometry enough to help

 

[Wasnex]

String action and intonation seem fine, but it's been long enough I might just bring all my basses for a fresh setup. I've done my own setups before but I don't trust my work yet.
As for the thumb, I actually don't have that particular issue. It's basically always on the back of the neck, facing the headstock.

In terms of overgripping (is there a better term?), it's my index finger that suffers the most, especially from carpal tunnel symptoms.

Part of the solution is to practice using less pressure, and yes it will take time to adjust.

IMHO the hardest part is trying to gain independence between your left and right hands. Typically if you want to pluck a loud note , you will simultaneously squeeze harder with your fretting hand. With practice you can learn to at least reduce this tendency. IMHO, occasional maintenance practice to control this tendency will be necessary as long as you continue to play.

 

[IamGroot]

Yes, and here’s another exercise that really helps. It shouldn’t require much pressure to hold the string down. So do some slow playing where you take your thumb completely off the neck, just let it dangle near the neck. Only your fingertips should touch the neck. All the pressure should come from the weight of your arm pulling down and back. After a while you will get the feel of not really squeezing with your thumb, but just letting touch the back of the neck.

EXACTLY!!.

And a big finger to the guy who "corrected" me when I said it on TB years ago.

 

[fdeck]

Yes, and here’s another exercise that really helps. It shouldn’t require much pressure to hold the string down.

My cello teacher used to tell me that she should be able to sneak up behind me and slip a dollar bill between my thumb and the neck while I was playing. Now, that was kind of an idealized situation, and the cello is held differently, but still it suggests a way of thinking about it.

To the OP, how's the balance of your bass? My left hand technique improved when I learned how to manage neck dive (starting with choosing the right bass for your body), so I wasn't forced to use my LH just to keep my bass from taking a dump. I lived through that period during the 80s when it was sexy to have a bass with a tiny little body and long skinny neck, and that trend has mostly reversed itself.

 

[Pings Bass]

I have a similar problem gripping the bow playing double bass. It's fine until I'm struggling with a passage, then I start to really choke that poor frog.

The solution for me in any similar scenario is to stop, relax, and go back to fundamentals. In this case it would be bowing open strings with a proper light grip.

When I taught guitar, I would have students finger notes and chords without their thumb touching the neck, just bracing the guitar with their body and right arm. That teaches that the thumb is not for gripping. On DB I always warm up with slides, which likewise require a non-grippy left hand.

HTH

 

[Wood and Wire]

All the pressure should come from the weight of your arm pulling down and back. After a while you will get the feel of not really squeezing with your thumb, but just letting touch the back of the neck.

If you're playing it like an upright bass.

I can't get my head around how that would work playing electric bass guitar - unless I'm completely picturing what you're saying the wrong way.

 

[Pings Bass]

If you're playing it like an upright bass.

I can't get my head around how that would work playing electric bass guitar - unless I'm completely picturing what you're saying the wrong way.

Brace the instrument against your body with your right arm. This counters the force of your left arm pulling back and applying pressure to the strings through your fingers. Then your left thumb can relax, and the rest of your hand completely. Let your arms to the work.

 

[basslayer]

I tend to press too hard. If I find I'm pressing to hard with my fretting hand, I will brace the bass against my body and completely remove my thumb on my left hand from the fretting process. I find that I don't need too much pressure to cleanly play the notes. Once I get my grip eased up, I bring the thumb back to the neck.

 

[MCF]

String action and intonation seem fine, but it's been long enough I might just bring all my basses for a fresh setup. I've done my own setups before but I don't trust my work yet.
As for the thumb, I actually don't have that particular issue. It's basically always on the back of the neck, facing the headstock.

In terms of overgripping (is there a better term?), it's my index finger that suffers the most, especially from carpal tunnel symptoms.

Edit to respond to your edit: That's a great idea, lowering the action to lower right hand force. For me the force in both hands is very much linked, so if I can back off on one it ought to help the other.

Not sure what you mean by your thumb "facing the headstock." If you mean your thumb is pointing toward the headstock and not pointing up toward the ceiling, the movement of your fingers is restricted. Here's a good video re safe technique.

 

[mntngrown]

I was always impressed watching the Ford blues band on you tube. I don't know the bass player's name,(not Larry Carlton's son) but the guy when the family band played. He does not even seem to use his left thumb. You can see it at the bottom of the fret board. His fretting and plucking seem so relaxed and he must have great setup on the bass.

 

[IamGroot]

If you're playing it like an upright bass.

I can't get my head around how that would work playing electric bass guitar - unless I'm completely picturing what you're saying the wrong way.

Climb into bed with your bass, lay flat on your back and and play. Feel how your fretting hand doesn't need your thumb any more. Your other arm will need to put some pressure on the bass to keep it from turning but that goes away when you stand up.

 

[EatS1stBassist]

Climb into bed with your bass, lay flat on your back and and play. Feel how your fretting hand doesn't need your thumb any more. Your other arm will need to put some pressure on the bass to keep it from turning but that goes away when you stand up.

Cool!

 

[el murdoque]

First of all, get a compressor. Get one with LEDs that show you what's going on, like the MXR M87 or one of the Becos ones. Set that to a brutal ratio (20:1) and fast attack, so once you reach the threshold, nothing gets past.
Now sit down and play into that pedal. Set your threshold so that light playing is just shy of activating it. As soon as you hit a note only just a bit harder, the lights should come on.

There you go. You've just amputated the possibility of raising your volume by playing harder. All the (heavy) lifting will be done by your amp from now on. Use that when you play with others. Try and play just below the threshold so the lights are not flashing nonstop. When you can't hear yourself properly, turn up your amp.

You can have your dynamic range back when you learned that lesson ;-)

 

[Dana R Gregory]

A lot of good advice here. One more thing, If you are going to play punk then you need to play with a pick, down stroke style like Dee Dee Ramone played. This will keep you from tearing your right hand apart from digging in too hard. Good luck on the audition.

 

[sawzalot]

People often ignore the nut. Make sure the nut slots are filed down properly. New basses often have them cut shallow from the factory so the first owner can have them filed to their preferences, which is often never done.

 

[dab12ax7ef]

Make sure strap is at a correct height, which is at the same place when standing or sitting on a stool. So that the fretting hand wrist stays straight as possible and not bet forward too much.