Gripping too hard when fretting

[jthisdell]

One thing that helped me was playing an upright. My fingers are pretty short and when I switched to a 42" scale upright I had to adapt my technique by letting my fretting hand be more mobile and fluid. Other than that I would say lots of practice including running through all the scales in a key and playing along with many different genres. Not to disparage anybody but hammering out 1/8th and 1/16th notes will make you grip too hard. Can't grip that hard if you are moving around the fretboard.

 

[Durham52]

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.

I have some carpel tunnel issues in my left elbow and also some damage to my left thumb, index and middle fingers, I found that relying less on my thumb ,adjusting my elbow and wrist angle helped a lot, especially when combined with using my right forearm to lock the bass against my body. I've also played guitar and slide guitar for years, so I applied a sort of slide guitar approach to using my left hand when playing bass too. Slide playing on a six string is all about touch, to heavy and you fret out. I can play bass without having my thumb behind the neck at all, though generaly it is, but it's just gliding, not griping. ( I also play up and down the neck a lot on bass, probably due to guitar and slide playing) All I can really suggest is to keep practicing, play slowly at first so you can concentrate on what your hands are doing, once things get a bit frantic it's too easy to start griping and playing harder. (If you're joining a punk band, that cold be a bit of a challenge...)

 

[mambo4]

Gary Willis has a good way to practice lighter left hand fretting

 

[boombloom]

Just for fun, go to a good guitar store and play many basses. See if you feel more or less pressure on any of the instruments. I'm sure a good deal of this is technique, but trying a bunch of other basses could shed light any role the instrument is playing. Oh, and try not to buy anything.

 

[Paul New]

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.

This!!!

 

[GreyBeard]

The narrower and thinner the neck, the less stress you'll have on your wrist.

 

[lamarjones]

If your issue is when you are playing with a band, and you're going for punk stuff, then I'd wonder if the issue is how much you hear yourself when you are playing. I finally quit digging in when I went to in ear monitors because I had control of how much I can hear myself and I could finally play using a light touch in what I found to be energetic situations (all I do are energetic situations). If you find yourself competing, you tend to dig in to get a more aggressive sound, but that shouldn't be how it is. If you don't want to get a system that puts you first in your ears, make sure you got a system where some speakers are really close to head level and pointed right at your ears. That should back you off.

 

[RedMoses]

I had a teacher who would put his finer in between my thumb and the neck while i would play some challenging practice lines, he said that i should not squeeze his finger hard enough to for it to make him uncomfortable. When you are playing try to keep reminding yourself of that someone's finger and loosen it up a little.

 

[SoonerBill]

I'm glad I saw this. I grip too hard also. The no thumb exercises are something I'm going to work on.

 

[Dynomuttasaurus]

I have ulcerative colitis and it causes joint inflammation. I've had issues with cramping and trigger finger, which is different but maybe somewhat similar too.

The things that have helped me were a combination of sticking with thin, narrow necks - and most of all note/technique choices.

• Relax and play an open note when possible to give your hand a rest.
• Limit the chord playing. Holding multiple strings/notes at the same time is a lot more strain.
• Look up and smile. Don't forget it's fun. Relax the face and the body relaxes too.

 

[makz]

Probably your bass needs a good setup. It's not just the action, if the truss rod is not set properly the strings are going to have a higher tension than they should. Also nut slots filled to proper height, leveled frets and finally action. All of that should improve playability so that you don't need to press as hard. Finally you can try lighter gauge strings. If done properly you'll feel like you have a new bass.

 

[drumvsbass]

Literally practice without your thumb on the neck. It's there for placement, not leverage.

 

[easyj]

Switch to the lightest gauge strings you can, for a while.

 

[LBS-bass]

I have this problem due to years of playing a bass with very high action. I currently have an issue with my fretting hand which is forcing me to address this. Simplest fix for me is to turn up a notch louder than I usually want to be. I turn up to my usual level (which is never that loud) and then I go a little higher. That forces me to play more softly if I want to blend correctly.

My biggest problems come in when I am in a situation where I can't hear myself or also if I just get excited from adrenaline. But I'm learning to dial it back in those situations. My basses are setup very low, so it really does not take a lot of pressure to play. It's just a bad habit i need to break.

 

[newwavefrank]

Not a solution most of us want to hear, but a good clean diet can do wonders for joint issues. No grains, No sugars, Mostly vegetables and some grass fed meats. Not an easy solution, but it can help tremendously

 

[kmon]

Great, correct suggestions here. For me it just took practice to "trust" that a feather light fretting touch will work. With a good setup it works great, and it feels amazing. Nothing like playing that feels almost effortless.

 

[KeepItMoving]

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.

This approach is something that helped me a lot. Both Carol Kaye and Ariane Cap mention it in their books; it's really a question of using leverage to your advantage. After you get used to it your left thumb really doesn't have to do much. Importantly, though, it requires a strap for best results. Here's how Ms. Cap put it in Invalid Link Removed:

What happens is that the weight of the right arm can take a load off the left hand. You feel three points of connection: right arm resting on bass body, left hand fingers pressing down strings and the strap. Between those three points feel a connection and feel how that can releave your left hand thumb. Also: check your strap length, shoudl be like when you are seated.

 

[GodPlayedBass]

Yeah see i think that comes down to practice and style of bass. I use more grip on the fretting when i play a p bass or something with flats. Smaller necks allow you avoid the need to grip super hard. Also practice will over time Teach your hand to use less grip over time.

 

[Leonid Nidis]

In my case gripping too hard went hand in hand with digging in.
Relaxed the right hand and the left followed.
I just keep reminding myself that playing should be effortless and both hands relaxed.

 

[lark_z]

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.

More ++ for this advice. It really helps. You can feel the tension move from your hand into your forearm immediately.