My Left Hand Problems

[johnvic]

I have a couple of left hand issues that I'm sure people have dealt with. Any suggestions are welcome. My action is as low as I can get it on a precision. I'm wondering if they're all related.

I squeeze the neck too tight. This makes shifting difficult and I get hand fatigue. I feel like I'm supposed to not squeeze but have the fingers press independently. By the way, I am having the same problem now that I'm trying the double bass. But I can't just seem to make it go away by will.

This is related to the previous problem. I'm having a real tough time playing notes in 1st position. I use 1 finger per fret on electric and if I'm playing an F minor scale or arpeggio it gets a little buzzy.

I have the floating pinky problem, i.e. my 3rd and 4th finger are not independent. This makes arpeggios tough and slows down my playing.

Lastly, for now, I have a real tough time playing legato, I'm too staccato.

Any exercises or videos to watch would be welcome.

Thanks!

 

[Mushroo]

I'm having a real tough time playing notes in 1st position. I use 1 finger per fret on electric and if I'm playing an F minor scale or arpeggio it gets a little buzzy.

I have the floating pinky problem, i.e. my 3rd and 4th finger are not independent.

Try using 1-2-4 fingering instead of 1-2-3-4 fingering. So if you are playing F Minor in 1st position, then you shift (not stretch) your hand to reach Ab at the 4th fret.

The 3rd and 4th finger aren't really wired independently in 90% of human hands. If you combine them as a unit working together, then you will have a strong, comfortable, and relaxed hand position.

Another thing to check is the position of your thumb. I recommend that you do NOT place it on the back of the neck opposite your palm and middle finger (as many teachers recommend) because I find this gives me a cramp at the base of the thumb, where it meets my palm.

Here is a player who I consider to have excellent left-hand technique. Notice first of all how efficient his 1- and 2-fret shifts are (so he doesn't have to stretch) and second how his thumb is pointing slightly toward the headstock (rather than opposite his palm).



Using these techniques, it looks like he can groove comfortably for hours.

 

[MalcolmAmos]

I think you have identified the problem. Time to sit with an instructor, or another bass player, and let him/her see what you are or are not doing.

Perhaps this same post on the upright section, I do not - wish I did - play the upright, but, I would think the left hand would be different for each - the angle of the neck especially in first position would cause different problems.

 

[fearceol]

All good advice above from Malcolm. To try and rid yourself of the habit of gripping too hard, I would recommend as part of your warm up, to press down very gently on a string until it sounds clear. Lift finger(s) and repeat for maybe five minutes or so. Repeat this again for a minute or two during a practice session. In time, your fingers should "get the message" as to how how much pressure is required to fret a string.

I agree with Malcolm about using 1-2-4 on frets 1-5, and also about letting the thumb go where it naturally wants/needs to.

This clip may be of help :

 

[t77mackie]

Is your action too high or are your strings to thick? As for the legado thing, try doing some slidey stuff moving between positions on the DB.

Good luck!

 

[fearceol]

Is your action too high

My action is as low as I can get it on a precision.

 

[johnvic]

I use a standard gauge string. Yesterday I did what fearceol suggested. I was able to play without squeezing for a good bit of my practice. I started watching that youtube video, very enlightening.

 

[Yashkoo]

Work toward getting up on the tips of your fingers on the strings. It doesn't have to be exaggerated. Then, start playing around with not putting your thumb on the neck at all using your forearm through your chest to pull back on your hand and apply pressure on the strings. This works on both guitar and double. The object here is not to play without your thumb on the neck but rather to teach the muscles in your arm and chest how they can help. This is especially important on double. Using only the muscles in the grip and wrist gets painful real fast. Pay attention to where your fingers land in regard to the frets. Just behind the fret and even touching is where the least pressure is necessary. This is also great practice for those who want to go fretless or double. Legato/marcato/staccato may be a timing issue with your left hand. Your fingers both press to achieve a solid note and mute (not pressing but touching the string). I really can't think of an exercise for that. That came to me intuitively. Maybe open string exercises where you use the left hand to mute the string after sounding to achieve different length of notes. Play "Road House Blues" about a million times where you have to mute the open E to get that bouncy feel. In regard to the 3 vs 4 fingers per whole step. Do what is comfortable for the riff. On a four note chromatic figure it is perfectly legal to "crab walk" or "roll" from finger to finger eliminating the whole hand stretch. On both guitar and upright it is perfectly legal to use 4 fingers at the nut and three as you get closer to the bridge. Floating pinky; work on it slowly. Make it part of a practice ritual. Gotta train the brain not to do that. I find mine floating away sometimes and have to remind it to stop that. You have chosen some great things to work on. Make it comfortable. It becomes effortless. Then the music starts flowing.