Middle Finger too Long

[redwingxix]

Wow. I guess I never really looked at my fingers too carefully before, but my index is close to an inch shorter than my middle and my pinky is almost two inches shorter than the middle. I do often alternate index and ring finger picking for faster stuff, but I guess I always thought I was doing that to give my middle finger a rest. If I was playing trickier stuff regularly I could see that being a problem.

Best advice I can give is to look at your fingers when they are curled up with the nailsp pointing toward you. Then they are all the same length. \m/

 

[Bassique]

Yea I think that's a common "problem", my middle finger is quite bit longer than my index finger too. So I notice I use my index more often than my middle finger. But with enough practise you should be able to get them pretty balanced, in terms of playability and tone.

 

[OogieWaWa]

Sure makes doing double stops and 1-5-8 plucking/chords easy, I do that a lot, too. So it's an advantage!
3 piece band, everything helps.

 

[TNCreature]

 

[okcrum]

Finger drumming on a flat surface when you're otherwise unoccupied will perhaps annoy your friends, but it will get your left hand trained into the proper arch.

 

[Ross W. Lovell]

Hey peeps,

So I've started playing a lot more technically demanding stuff in the last few weeks, and one of the pieces I've learnt is Teen Town. Pretty tricky, a lot of fast runs and string skipping, etc. So in the course of playing through it, when I try to speed it up, I become super conscious of my middle finger being longer than my index finger. It feels super weird. I feel like it's either getting in the way of my index finger, or else dominating my plucking technique.

I guess it'll be fine with practice, but I just want to ask: is this something anyone else has experienced at any point? Or do I need experimental finger-shortening surgery?

Possibly you have "exercised" your middle finger over the years with Olympic quality extensions.

Really........thinking of surgery?

 

[devnulljp]

Unless you're an aye-aye, you'll be fine

 

[RichardW]

I become super conscious of my middle finger being longer than my index finger.

Isn't this is normal for virtually every person on the planet?

 

[BigBear77]

 

[Paul M]

I have long middle finger. And the same situation arose when I tried to learn Donna Lee. Without even being aware of it, I gradually switched to using my index and ring finger. This might be considered bad form but it works for me. I can pluck faster, stronger and, more accurately.

 

[AndyPanda]

See if you can get a job trimming sheet metal at the place where Toni Iommi worked.

 

[aprod]

Everyone’s middle finger is the longest, basic anatomy.

 

[rocu]

Stay away from my girlfriend.

 

[Jay2U]

Long middle fingers are very useful for controlling traffic.

 

[Jase The Bass]

Hey peeps,

So I've started playing a lot more technically demanding stuff in the last few weeks, and one of the pieces I've learnt is Teen Town. Pretty tricky, a lot of fast runs and string skipping, etc. So in the course of playing through it, when I try to speed it up, I become super conscious of my middle finger being longer than my index finger. It feels super weird. I feel like it's either getting in the way of my index finger, or else dominating my plucking technique.

I guess it'll be fine with practice, but I just want to ask: is this something anyone else has experienced at any point? Or do I need experimental finger-shortening surgery?

My apologies if this is a serious post...BUT.. BUAHAHAHAHA OMG... ok deep breath... ahhhh....BUAHAHAHAHA

 

[Jase The Bass]

MIne is too short. Sorry the picture is so large
View attachment 3176629

BUAHAHAHA, This is the funniest posts I've seen in a long time. Y'all got me gut bustin ova here.

 

[Lobster11]

MIne is too short. Sorry the picture is so large
View attachment 3176629

So obviously you need to lop off the end of your index finger to make them the same length, right?

[Hope you don't mind a little gallows humor....]

 

[NeckPickup]

I nearly started a thread with the same question a while back, as I wanted to increase the fluidity of my plucking hand, given a short index finger. My solution: just keep practicing and practicing, with the goal of always alternating fingers and being able to start a run with either finger. I found that my brain and body naturally compensated without consciously making any adjustments and my playing got faster and more balanced in attack. My point is that by focusing on the goal and not on forcing a specific positional adjustment, my body and brain found the best technique and “path of least resistance”. I can’t tell you specifically what changed in my technique, if anything, just that I play better now.

 

[JoeWPgh]

Press your middle and index fingertips to the desk in front of you. Adjust your wrist position to where the two fingers are near equally bent with equal pressure on the desk. Try attacking your strings with your wrist and fingers from this 'posture'. Raise/lower your elbow to make the angle of your wrist as effortless as possible

 

[topaxi]

Thanks for everyone's replies! I know it's a weird thread and I appreciate everyone taking the time to comment

Your finger are fine, check out the video and see if it helps you understand how your hands work when playing.

Thanks for the video! That's actually really helpful. Plus the guy has a great accent.

Try alternating index and ring.

Same deal here, but no biggie. During songs I'll regularly change up which one I'm using;
I always try to make sure I can play about anything with a different finger. I try to be able to do running 8's with each of the fist three fingers in addition to "running" with the index and bird fingers and the bird and ring fingers to sound consistent. Some times ya just gotta give your plucker a rest!

Edit: the little guy is pretty useless for me because it's a lot shorter, but I use that guy for muting.

So, are most of your hands large like mine? Only XXL and larger gloves fit me.

I picked that tip up from reading an old Fernando Saunders interview; apparently he started plucking with his index & ring fingers for precisiely the reason OP is having trouble with his middle finger. On most people the index & ring fingers are exactly the same length.

tbh though I haven't noticed any advantage to using my index & ring as compared to index & middle...but then, I never felt the length discrepancy interfered with clean, consistent, predictable execution. Sure worth a shot though.

Wow. I guess I never really looked at my fingers too carefully before, but my index is close to an inch shorter than my middle and my pinky is almost two inches shorter than the middle. I do often alternate index and ring finger picking for faster stuff, but I guess I always thought I was doing that to give my middle finger a rest. If I was playing trickier stuff regularly I could see that being a problem.

Best advice I can give is to look at your fingers when they are curled up with the nailsp pointing toward you. Then they are all the same length. \m/

I have long middle finger. And the same situation arose when I tried to learn Donna Lee. Without even being aware of it, I gradually switched to using my index and ring finger. This might be considered bad form but it works for me. I can pluck faster, stronger and, more accurately.

The index/ring thing I might try as a last resort if I'm still not getting this in a few months. I've already put in a lot of work training my index and middle finger, they're calloused up, and know most of what I want them to do. But it's handy to have this as an option! I didn't think about doing this.

Between the rotation of your forearm, arch of your wrist, and bend of your knuckles, the tips of both fingers should be precisely long enough. If not, adjust the geometry of your hand and arm, and practice slowly until you can develop solid technique that feels natural. Speed will come with time. Best not to rush things .

OP, I share your pain. It does get easier after a while, but I'm with you on the "different" motion feel. One thing you might try is to take an approach like Stanley Clark, Steve Lawson (and others) - they tend to have their fingers pointing almost at the bridge when they play. This angle can help minimize e the finger length issues. I'm guessing Clark's approach came from his double bass technique, but it can be used outside of jazz.Of course this may more of an adjustment than bending your fingers, but it is a viable alternative. Just something to consider - good luck!

View attachment 3176630
These two seem to manage it.

Yeah, I've been alternating seeing how I feel with curving the fingers vs angling them Clark style. I had been doing the angle thing subconsciously before now, but it wasn't feeling super ergonomic on the more technical stuff. I didn't realise Clark did that! It's good to know a killer player can use this technique.

Oh wait, you're talking your picking hand. That's different. Yes, it is something you need to work with, and awkward at first when you start to use a second finger, but with time, it'l get easier.

you can always shorten it

measure twice, cut once!

MIne is too short. Sorry the picture is so large
View attachment 3176629

Possibly you have "exercised" your middle finger over the years with Olympic quality extensions.

Really........thinking of surgery?

Unless you're an aye-aye, you'll be fine
View attachment 3176772

Nothing wrong with a bit of backyard finger surgery.

See if you can get a job trimming sheet metal at the place where Toni Iommi worked.

:O That story freaked me out! I never realised

Stay away from my girlfriend.

My apologies if this is a serious post...BUT.. BUAHAHAHAHA OMG... ok deep breath... ahhhh....BUAHAHAHAHA

Haha not so much of a "what can I do about this" type thread, but more of a "can anyone relate" type thread. It just feels super weird when I try to play now, and I wanted to know if this was a normal part of bass-learning

I nearly started a thread with the same question a while back, as I wanted to increase the fluidity of my plucking hand, given a short index finger. My solution: just keep practicing and practicing, with the goal of always alternating fingers and being able to start a run with either finger. I found that my brain and body naturally compensated without consciously making any adjustments and my playing got faster and more balanced in attack. My point is that by focusing on the goal and not on forcing a specific positional adjustment, my body and brain found the best technique and “path of least resistance”. I can’t tell you specifically what changed in my technique, if anything, just that I play better now.

Haha practice is always the key! Yeah, I'll keep at it. Thanks!