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How long will this last? ? ? pain from playing.

1SHOT1HIT

1SHOT1HIT

Guest
Feb 17, 2012
1,865
244
USA
#1
I've now been playing bass since maybe Mid march and seriously trying to learn since early April. So I guess a little over a month.
Since the first week I've noticed that I have started going through similar pains that I experienced as a beginner guitar player years ago. Typical hardening of my fingertips on my left/fret board hand and blisters/raw areas on my right/playing hand. Up until today I have been fine with it, actually almost proud of my tips getting stronger allowing me to hold more pronounced clean notes. Yesterday I got a bit carried away and was kinda in a groove I guess and played for 6 hours straight literally stopping only to light a smoke or grab a drink.
I hooked up my old pedal I used to use for the guitar and used the drum tracks from it and just played different scales and practiced different techniques like triplets slapping, chords and different genres of bass music to the best of my ability.

Today I tried to play and couldn't even make it 5 minutes into it before I had to stop.
My index finger is numb and has absolutely zero feeling in it whatsoever and my ring finger is the same, and the middle and pinky aren't far behind.
and to avoid any further mundane unimportant details my right hand is pretty bad too.
How long is this going to last? I honestly expected this to have been over in the first few weeks, I really didn't expect to be not playing almost 5-6 weeks due to finger pain.
I know I should toughen up and play through it and quit being a wimp but I'm honestly concerned about the lack of feeling I never experienced this with playing guitar. I did get hard fingertips and some mild blisters right in the beginning but not nearly to this extent.

Has anyone else dealt with this recently, to where they can remember how long it was before it stopped being such a obstacle to play day to day. Or any tricks so that I can play my bass today? I'm considering maybe using some band-aids or something around my fingertips.

Really wanna play right now and can't :bawl:
 
#3
dude your just starting ... 6 hours is a bit much when you're not use to it.

I couldn't do a marathon tomorrow nor could I do it in a month, I'll to work a lot to get to point I could do a marathon without any risk of muscle injuries etc.
 
#4
Sounds like you may have some ergonomic issues at play, check your playing position and strap if you are using one.

You want to be sure to play in as comfortable a position as possible, no going for some fashion pose. The instrument should be comfortable to hold and reach all positions. Not too high or too low. You also want to have the angle of the instrument so you don't have top make extreme bends with your wrist.

Strap should be wide and padded if possible, the heavier your instrument then the wider and better padded the better.

Be sure to stretch and warm up- young or old it really matters.
 
#6
Clef_de_fa said:
dude your just starting ... 6 hours is a bit much when you're not use to it.

I couldn't do a marathon tomorrow nor could I do it in a month, I'll to work a lot to get to point I could do a marathon without any risk of muscle injuries etc.
Click to expand...

Just starting bass yes but guitar for 8 years or so,
I know that I'm talking apples & oranges here but I honestly didn't expect to be going through this much finger tip pain having already worked through it with the guitar years ago.

For the record though playing 6 hours is definitely not in any way the norm, I try to do about an hour a day maybe two but with a long break In between.

I know this next statement will make me look dumb but I had the numbness before yesterday just not nearly as bad.
I know I know, then why play 6 hours?

Well I'm sorta obsessed with my bass at the moment and regret not starting years ago.
 
#7
bassbrad said:
Sounds like you may have some ergonomic issues at play, check your playing position and strap if you are using one.

You want to be sure to play in as comfortable a position as possible, no going for some fashion pose. The instrument should be comfortable to hold and reach all positions. Not too high or too low. You also want to have the angle of the instrument so you don't have top make extreme bends with your wrist.

Strap should be wide and padded if possible, the heavier your instrument then the wider and better padded the better.

Be sure to stretch and warm up- young or old it really matters.
Click to expand...

Yes I'm using a strap it's a nice pretty thick leather strap not a cheap one. It's sturdy and comfortable.
Position wise I've kinda found the most comfortable position for me and try to alternate between sitting, standing, and a 3 foot high stool.

I'm not experiencing any body pain beyond my finger tips, well not now I was getting a very sore shoulder but that was from using a cheap strap on one of my other basses. I've corrected that issue with better straps.

I'm almost curious if trying a set of flats may help a bit.
Currently have round wounds on all three basses.
 
#9
It will get easier. The more you play, you'll subconsciously learn how to fret with the least effort possible. The very first day I got my bass, I had to press so hard just to fret a single note. A month later, I was flying down the fretboard.
 
#11
I usually take the day off after a gig; unless there is another gig ;)

We tend to play four or five 45-60 minute sets. At the end my fingertips usually hurt a bit. I tend to play harder at a gig than practice. We gig once or twice a month.
 
#12
SteC said:
Why do you have 3 basses if you've only been playing for a month?
Click to expand...

Was there a limit I was supposed to stop at?

My first bass was a 1962 Fender Jazz Bass, naturally that was not going to be my primary learn how to play bass, as I didn't want it getting beat to hell.

I bought a Squier Jazz Standard series Antique burst , off of Craigslist and found that I just didn't like it much at all. It's okay but just didn't feel right.

So after talking to a few people I decided I'd try the Classic Vibe series and found a Classic Vibe P Bass in Sonic blue for a decent price. I love it and will keep it.

But now I need the Classic Vibe Jazz Bass.

So if I'm allowed, I will soon have 4 :hyper: and then more, and more and more and more.


What does it matter how many basses I have? I will learn to play, I will get good, I don't give up easy and typically don't loose interest easy. So why go into it cautiously like I'm scared I may not like it? I am truly obsessed with playing guitar, now I am obsessed with both. I don't see that changing.
 
#13
Tupac said:
It will get easier. The more you play, you'll subconsciously learn how to fret with the least effort possible. The very first day I got my bass, I had to press so hard just to fret a single note. A month later, I was flying down the fretboard.
Click to expand...

I will say that it takes much less effort now than it did a month ago, and I cna actually play a few things now w/o fumbling all over the place.

I think trying to get used to the almost huge strings and frets compared to my guitars was the hardest part.
Now it's sorta funny I'm playing the bass better and fumbling all over the guitar.
Hopefully over time I'll find a happy balance.
Right now I just want my fingers to stop hurting. :crying:
 
#16
Other than blisters turning to calluses, you should never have pain when you play, even after a marathon. If you have pain, you are doing something wrong. Get with someone who knows pain-free techniques who can show you how to play without pain. They say "no pain, no gain," but that is so not true for playing music.
 
#17
Yeah I was very anti lessons when learning guitar and regret it more and more.
Fortunately I'm older now and could care less if getting a few lessons is cool or not.

Yeah I really thought in my early 20's that if I got guitar lessons and didn't just learn on my own it wasn't as cool.

So I definitely plan to get some lessons very soon, I kinda have to stop buying basses and misc. stuff though first.
 
#18
JimmyM said:
Other than blisters turning to calluses, you should never have pain when you play, even after a marathon. If you have pain, you are doing something wrong. Get with someone who knows pain-free techniques who can show you how to play without pain. They say "no pain, no gain," but that is so not true for playing music.
Click to expand...

I'm pretty sure it is blisters turning to calluses I just didn't expect them to be so bad, my index finger on my left hand is hard as a rock but it's also the one that's numb and hurts the worst.

Nothing else is a problem, the bass is set up low and I'm not sure if maybe I'm just overdoing it when I hold the notes, I guess I'll try tomorrow and lighten my touch up.

And maybe start looking more seriously into a lesson or two to prevent any bad habits.
 
#19
I've been playing since January and like you have amassed 3 basses. Funnily enough, since Saturday I've experienced pain in my knuckle on my index finger and my whole middle finger.
I know what caused it. I was venturing into finger style funk music and was fretting too hard (unnecessarily) as I was concentrating too much on speed. I didn't play at all yesterday (wanted to though) and it feels better today. I will give it a tickle today. I'll be paying close attention to the pressure I use. Hope you get to the root (get it?) soon because you sound like I feel and it's just too much fun to stop.
BTW if anyone is interested the instruments are:
Fender Standard Jazz Bass (love it)
Yamaha RBX 374 (love it, keeps the Fender from being trashed)
Epiphone EB 3 (hard guitar to make friends with, so I use it to practise at work during breaks)

I too would have loads of basses. If you can afford it so what.
Happy playing my friend!
 
#20
Flats are easier on your fingers, so if your happy it is just strings ripping up your fingers then you could put flats on one of your basses. The tone is different, but since your just starting out you should be experimenting with different stuff anyway :)
 

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