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Hand-strengthening excercises
- Thread starter MetalSearGolid
- Start date
No it isn't. If you have strength enough to fret one note then you have strength enough. I agree it's about doing those fine movements over and over again but it most certainly is not "point blank, end of discussion, strength."
I realize that some people take the hamfisted approach and I daresay that the best players in the business do not; I would look to them as examples of good technique.
There is no better exercise for playing bass guitar than playing bass guitar. Just play it and your hands will develop the correct amount of strength naturally.
Hand exercisers can injure you.
A few points being made here are wrong, and so are the theories being used to support them.
Strength is a word used to describe all the elements that muscles of the body use, so strong coffee is a flavour, and super strength beer is an alcohol content, bit we all just of what is meant.
So splitting hairs over the semantics of language does nothing but confuse the issue.
If you have the strength to fret a note....etc is the same as if you can take a step you can hike for miles......no you cannot because this does not adress the application on use, it just shows a single motion and does mot adress the issues.
So what is the Issue?
The issue is muscle coordination and the strength of that coordination,
players with a strong coordination connection will fair better than those with a weak one.
Within the coordination is dexterity, and within the dexterity comes stamina and with in the stamina comes fuel (food for energy)
Bass playing is what your brain defines the use as, to your body it is movement and as such the laws of anatomy will always out weigh what you think is happening.
What is happening is happening in your hand use?
The exact same as in a job where you use your fingers in manual labour, or are playing a sport that requires motion for example. The motion all works in the same way, but how you see it is different even though it is not.
Muscle tissue contains these four main properties;
Excitability, the ability to respond to stimuli.
Contractibility, ability to contract/change form
Extensibility, ability to be stretched/change form without tearing.
Elasticity, ability to return to its original form.
Depending on the functional characteristics, muscle tissue is classified into three types: cardiac, smooth and skeletal.
They have two functions, voluntary and in-voluntary.
And they have two tissue compositions, striated and non-striated .
So those combinations can have various results depending on many variables.
Muscle use has these two issues to facilitate, the length of time used and the intensity of use....playing bass also has these two issues to facilitate for the player.
So a high intensity use will fatigue faster over a low intensity use, as seen in runners that cannot pace themselves to ensure that the muscle use has a constant fuel source over the duration of their race.
But a sprinter can go for it, expel all the energy they have in a high intensity use, because the body muscles have neither the time or duration to fully fatigue.
Since our hands are governed by the exact same factors then they can be conditioned to work better, and that means if the use is to play bass they will play bass better by better coping with the demands involved.
Playing bass is not the answer to development, playing bass is the problem, we are not designed to play bass.....the bass was designed within in our capabilities to cope.
This is a broad capability, and again it will involves what the person wants to happen rather than what they can do. They will makes decision based on what others can do rather than what they can do, they will find ways to justify what works for others, and the correct way and will work for them and produce the same results.
So to cut a very long story short, you can indeed improve you bass playing with exercise away from the instrument because you improve your ability to cope with the demands.
Most important points are,
Warm ups and Stretches.
Diet, you need fuel and water for muscles to work best.
Rest, you need to mix high intensity use songs with low intensity use songs....pace your set, or put more of the earlier points in place so your body can better cope and recover.
Keep hydrated, muscles are approx. 70% water content, so to keep them working we need to take in water we lose those perspiration under lights, dehydration through alcohol (we all like a beer) and of course over use of our bladders.
Energy is best in small portions and frequent portions, hi energy foods and drinks are good in the run up to shows or practice....do not over eat or the blood supply your muscle need will go to your digestive system.
After playing replace what you have lost, eat and drink to give you back the energy you have lost. But good carbohydrates, and protein foods foods that have a slow release of energy over fast release foods.
Final point, hand exercises that squeeze are no good for playing bass unless you want a grip.
The most effective exercises are the exact opposite of squeezing it is opening the hand fully and exercising the extensors....not the flexors.
Extensors open and extend the fingers, this movement is very under used compared to the Flexors which close that hand. We are always fully closing the hand when we grip or hold daily things, but seldom do we fully open the hands so the extensor muscles never get fully used as much as the flexors.
When you hold something you hold it tight, so the flexors are being fully used, but when you let it go you just release it with enough pressure to allow what you were holding's own mass help......you never fully open you hands with your fingers fully extended we you put things down or let them go.
So rather than tap a table, put the hand flat on it with the fingers fully spread open and lift them off the table one at a time. The object of the exercise is to be able to lift them higher off the table.
For a few more basic ideas follow the link, and pay attention to the finger spreads, again another under used movement of the hand, but having a strong spread is a stable spread, so again you increase your chances of coping with playing bass.
Any questions this post raises, please post and I will answer them if i can.
Strength is a word used to describe all the elements that muscles of the body use, so strong coffee is a flavour, and super strength beer is an alcohol content, bit we all just of what is meant.
So splitting hairs over the semantics of language does nothing but confuse the issue.
If you have the strength to fret a note....etc is the same as if you can take a step you can hike for miles......no you cannot because this does not adress the application on use, it just shows a single motion and does mot adress the issues.
So what is the Issue?
The issue is muscle coordination and the strength of that coordination,
players with a strong coordination connection will fair better than those with a weak one.
Within the coordination is dexterity, and within the dexterity comes stamina and with in the stamina comes fuel (food for energy)
Bass playing is what your brain defines the use as, to your body it is movement and as such the laws of anatomy will always out weigh what you think is happening.
What is happening is happening in your hand use?
The exact same as in a job where you use your fingers in manual labour, or are playing a sport that requires motion for example. The motion all works in the same way, but how you see it is different even though it is not.
Muscle tissue contains these four main properties;
Excitability, the ability to respond to stimuli.
Contractibility, ability to contract/change form
Extensibility, ability to be stretched/change form without tearing.
Elasticity, ability to return to its original form.
Depending on the functional characteristics, muscle tissue is classified into three types: cardiac, smooth and skeletal.
They have two functions, voluntary and in-voluntary.
And they have two tissue compositions, striated and non-striated .
So those combinations can have various results depending on many variables.
Muscle use has these two issues to facilitate, the length of time used and the intensity of use....playing bass also has these two issues to facilitate for the player.
So a high intensity use will fatigue faster over a low intensity use, as seen in runners that cannot pace themselves to ensure that the muscle use has a constant fuel source over the duration of their race.
But a sprinter can go for it, expel all the energy they have in a high intensity use, because the body muscles have neither the time or duration to fully fatigue.
Since our hands are governed by the exact same factors then they can be conditioned to work better, and that means if the use is to play bass they will play bass better by better coping with the demands involved.
Playing bass is not the answer to development, playing bass is the problem, we are not designed to play bass.....the bass was designed within in our capabilities to cope.
This is a broad capability, and again it will involves what the person wants to happen rather than what they can do. They will makes decision based on what others can do rather than what they can do, they will find ways to justify what works for others, and the correct way and will work for them and produce the same results.
So to cut a very long story short, you can indeed improve you bass playing with exercise away from the instrument because you improve your ability to cope with the demands.
Most important points are,
Warm ups and Stretches.
Diet, you need fuel and water for muscles to work best.
Rest, you need to mix high intensity use songs with low intensity use songs....pace your set, or put more of the earlier points in place so your body can better cope and recover.
Keep hydrated, muscles are approx. 70% water content, so to keep them working we need to take in water we lose those perspiration under lights, dehydration through alcohol (we all like a beer) and of course over use of our bladders.
Energy is best in small portions and frequent portions, hi energy foods and drinks are good in the run up to shows or practice....do not over eat or the blood supply your muscle need will go to your digestive system.
After playing replace what you have lost, eat and drink to give you back the energy you have lost. But good carbohydrates, and protein foods foods that have a slow release of energy over fast release foods.
Final point, hand exercises that squeeze are no good for playing bass unless you want a grip.
The most effective exercises are the exact opposite of squeezing it is opening the hand fully and exercising the extensors....not the flexors.
Extensors open and extend the fingers, this movement is very under used compared to the Flexors which close that hand. We are always fully closing the hand when we grip or hold daily things, but seldom do we fully open the hands so the extensor muscles never get fully used as much as the flexors.
When you hold something you hold it tight, so the flexors are being fully used, but when you let it go you just release it with enough pressure to allow what you were holding's own mass help......you never fully open you hands with your fingers fully extended we you put things down or let them go.
So rather than tap a table, put the hand flat on it with the fingers fully spread open and lift them off the table one at a time. The object of the exercise is to be able to lift them higher off the table.
For a few more basic ideas follow the link, and pay attention to the finger spreads, again another under used movement of the hand, but having a strong spread is a stable spread, so again you increase your chances of coping with playing bass.
Any questions this post raises, please post and I will answer them if i can.
- May 30, 2000
- 4,707
- 256
- Disclosures
- Creator of: iGigBook Sheet Music Manager
Risk of CTS is closely related to general physical condition
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8509465/?
High body mass index is a risk factor for CTS
Invalid Link Removed
Invalid Link Removed
I'm sure general physical condition and high BMI are risk factors for carpal tunnel syndrome. No doubt about that.
What I said was that grip strengtheners can (also) cause it. I've seen it happen. That's anecdotal, but I never said it was science. It makes sense if you think about it. Grip strengtheners, especially the kind with a hard piece that presses into the heel of your palm right where the median nerve exits the carpal ligament, can damage that nerve. Heck you can hurt yourself clenching too tight on the steering wheel for that matter.
Well now a pinched median nerve is not exactly the same as an inflamed carpal ligament, but there are a bunch of conditions that get lumped together under the term "Carpal Tunnel Syndrome". A pinched nerve in the shoulder, neck, or even brachial plexus can refer pain all the way down the arm into the hand.
or so they say...
What I said was that grip strengtheners can (also) cause it. I've seen it happen. That's anecdotal, but I never said it was science. It makes sense if you think about it. Grip strengtheners, especially the kind with a hard piece that presses into the heel of your palm right where the median nerve exits the carpal ligament, can damage that nerve. Heck you can hurt yourself clenching too tight on the steering wheel for that matter.
Well now a pinched median nerve is not exactly the same as an inflamed carpal ligament, but there are a bunch of conditions that get lumped together under the term "Carpal Tunnel Syndrome". A pinched nerve in the shoulder, neck, or even brachial plexus can refer pain all the way down the arm into the hand.
or so they say...
I agree entirely with the above.
Leaving aside the dangers or otherwise of using the grip strengtheners for a minute.
From a bass playing aspect, grip is not required. How often here on TB have we seen beginners being advised to loosen their grip, and keep the hand relaxed ? Obviously it can't do this while gripping. What is required is quite the opposite of gripping, i.e. the lifting of the fingers off of a fret and placing it on the next required one.
Gripping gadgets may have their uses elsewhere, if used sparingly, but playing the bass is not one of them.
I think you will find most medical complaints are closely related to your physical condition....you only seek help when you are physically run down (ill or injured).
If you are over weight,then CTS is the least of your problems, to my knowledge CTS is not one of the fatal conditions related to being over weight.
Playing bass and health is about state of mind as much as any physical injury or risk of injury. I have had players talking to me about what sort of things they can do to stay healthy while smoking away without a care in the world..........now what do you think my first answer will be.
I talked to a guy at a gig last Friday who was in a wheelchair with a bandage on his neck after throat cancer surgery, smoking a cigarette. I told him, "dude, you gotta stop smoking!!"
His answer was, "I always smoke when I drink."
His answer was, "I always smoke when I drink."
I think you will find most medical complaints are closely related to your physical condition....you only seek help when you are physically run down (ill or injured).
If you are over weight,then CTS is the least of your problems, to my knowledge CTS is not one of the fatal conditions related to being over weight.
Playing bass and health is about state of mind as much as any physical injury or risk of injury. I have had players talking to me about what sort of things they can do to stay healthy while smoking away without a care in the world..........now what do you think my first answer will be.
I don't disagree with any of that. Get fit, stay fit and everything's easier.
This is the best answer. There isn't anything else that will develop your finger independence and dexterity other than simply playing bass.
Its true, but it is a catch 22 situation. The very act of playing bass will bring issues at some pont. The act of doing exercises away from the bass introduces different movements, so different muscles groups and is low impact. These sort of exercises will tone, develop and lessing the strain a player will recieve from muscle use.....and since playing bass is muscles use it will help there.
Yes a player needs to play bass to get the two hands and fingers melded and synced with the thought process, but that is another level of playing bass, not physical exercises.
How much player needs or should do is in the form of warm ups, stretches and warm downs. You will find players that have done none of these things and have no issues, but that is a personal reference and does not fit in a physical profle of muscle use and how to get the best from your body......just saying.
