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My fingers hurt after some serious slapping

P

Petro0Os

Nov 18, 2009
13
0
Athens, Greece
#1
Hello!
2 days ago i was practicing my slap technique as usual.:bassist:
I came by a bassline i wanted to play in certain speed so i started playing it over and over again.I started by playing it slow and i gradually increased speed.
After nearly an hour non stop i could play it exactly like i wanted and kept playing and improvising (or at least trying :p) at the same speed.
After i stopped playing my index finger (right hand) was quite on pain and still is cause i also played yesterday and today.
The pain is internal..Im not sure if it's the bone or a muscle.
Im sure everyone goes through pain with the bass but this is the first time my right index finger hurts for so long.
Now the question is..
Should i keep playing, should i play less, or should i stop playing at all for a while until the pain goes away?:help:
 
#4
Slap is a physically demanding technique, no doubt. But, make sure you aren't hooking your index finger entirely up and under the strings to pop them. You only need to bend your fingers enough to pull it away from the fretboard so that it'll snap back, that's it.

I see a lot of inexperienced players slapping too drastically, and popping way too hard. This may not be the source of your pain, but it's a good thing to keep in mind, and it'll help you practice for a lot longer in the future once your pain is gone.
 
#5
thumblypeg said:
Soak it in cider.
Click to expand...

For real?? xD

Soverntear said:
stretch the finger out, sounds like something might have pulled a bit
Click to expand...

I've stretched it a lot but pain still remains..:/

Skygoneblue said:
Slap is a physically demanding technique, no doubt. But, make sure you aren't hooking your index finger entirely up and under the strings to pop them. You only need to bend your fingers enough to pull it away from the fretboard so that it'll snap back, that's it.

I see a lot of inexperienced players slapping too drastically, and popping way too hard. This may not be the source of your pain, but it's a good thing to keep in mind, and it'll help you practice for a lot longer in the future once your pain is gone.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the advice but that's not the case.. :)

I've heard it's good to soak your hands in salted water.
Will that do any good?
 
#7
That used to happen to me sometimes when I was first getting used to slapping. In my case i was pretty sure it was just a sore muscle - you really dont use the muscles in your fingers the same way you do to play bass as anything else. Its probably a good thing since good chance you are building up the strength in your fingers.

Slap through the pain bro. After a while you can play that line from 8-5 and it wont bother you.
 
#9
I never feel any pain since I started 10 years ago. Yes when I did too much of the same ( like slap did some blister on my thumb, index and middle finger ). But I never feel any muscular or tendonitis pain.

if I would I'll stop right away, you shouldn't feel any pain. If you do, you did something wrong.

Always have a very good warm up. Don't overdo anything. When I learn slap, I always let few days to a week between practice. When I come back to the slap line, I have a better approche or strangely I have it.

But well ... the key thing is, you shouldn't feel any pain. Maybe blister but nothing else.
 
#10
Petro0Os said:
Thanks for the advice but that's not the case.. :)

I've heard it's good to soak your hands in salted water.
Will that do any good?
Click to expand...

No worries man. It's been a loooong time since any amount of playing put me in serious pain, so about the only thing I could think of is that you're doing it harder than necessary.

At the end of the day, I wouldn't worry too much about it. It's normal to get some weirdo aches and pains when you're learning. You're using muscles that you don't use very often in this way; and they're going to let you know how they feel about it! ;)

Give yourself some rest, and come back at it when you're healed up.
 
#11
The only pain you should experience should come from tender fingers that have not toughened up with callouses yet - otherwise, you shouldn't end up in pain after playing. If you are, you're technique is either bad or you're putting too much effort into it.

After your finger heals, I'd recommend you look closely at your technique and see where you can lighten it up. Slap 'sounds' like a lot of work, but it's really not. Slow down, check your technique, lighten up a bit and maybe avoid the hour-long slap sessions. No one plays slap for an hour straight in real performance situations...
 

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