Picked the wrong bass or my hands need more training?

[villarddefender]

I'm 5'11" and got to move my hand a bit when my index is on the 1st fret and I want to play a note on the 4th fret with my pinky. The scale length of my bass is 34"

I know a popular bassist named Tetsuya Ogawa from japanese group l'Arc-en-ciel who's 5'6" and the scale length of his bass is 35"...

This makes me wonder if I should go for a small/medium scale bass OR if I just need more "stretch training" lol

 

[Gilsdorf]

Prolly just need some "stretch training" as u called it but also be sure to only stretch as much is comfortable. It shouldn't be uncomfortable, and FWIW I'm 3 inches taller than u and I'll still typically kinda move my hand up from moving from 1st to 4th

 

[villarddefender]

I'm 3 inches taller than u and I'll still typically kinda move my hand up from moving from 1st to 4th

so we could say it's kinda normal then

 

[Mushroo]

Generally, when my index is on the 1st fret, my pinky is on the 3rd fret. If I want to play a note on the 4th fret, I move my entire hand. Some of the names for this technique include "1-2-4 fingering," "upright bass technique," "Simandl method," or "shift; don't stretch!"

That said, there certainly are players who stretch all the way from the 1st to the 4th fret. I'm not saying they are "wrong" by any means, but if you can't make that stretch comfortably, my advice is, don't force it or hurt yourself.

 

[villarddefender]

Generally, when my index is on the 1st fret, my pinky is on the 3rd fret. If I want to play a note on the 4th fret, I move my entire hand. Some of the names for this technique include "1-2-4 fingering," "upright bass technique," "Simandl method," or "shift; don't stretch!"

That said, there certainly are players who stretch all the way from the 1st to the 4th fret. I'm not saying they are "wrong" by any means, but if you can't make that stretch comfortably, my advice is, don't force it or hurt yourself.

Thanks for the advice I'll take it! Thanks for making me discover the "shift; don't stretch" technique: I'm learning bass by myself and haven't heard of that technique before. Thanks as well for making me feel more "normal" by mentioning that your pinky is on the 3rd fret!

 

[Paulabass]

I'm a woman who plays a 36" scale 5 string. All you need to do is practice. You're allowed to move your hand, even playing 'one finger per fret' (which is not a rule, by any means)

 

[nostatic]

Thanks for the advice I'll take it! Thanks for making me discover the "shift; don't stretch" technique: I'm learning bass by myself and haven't heard of that technique before. Thanks as well for making me feel more "normal" by mentioning that your pinky is on the 3rd fret!

Best thing would be to find a good teacher to get some of the basics down. Bad habits are hard to break.

1-2-4 vs. one-finger-per-fret is somewhat of a religious battle. I use both techniques depending on where I am on the neck and what I'm trying to accomplish.

 

[villarddefender]

I'm a woman who plays a 36" scale 5 string. All you need to do is practice.

I'm impressed & what a relief to hear that

 

[chris_b]

Never stretch. . . . . ever!

Move your hand to place your fingers over the note you want to play, every time.

 

[villarddefender]

Best thing would be to find a good teacher to get some of the basics down. Bad habits are hard to break.

Know any good teachers in Montreal?

 

[villarddefender]

Never stretch. . . . . ever!

Move your hand to place your fingers over the note you want to play, every time.

Noted

If we should never stretch then the people who get medium/small scale basses simply don't like to shift?

 

[MordBass]

Like others have said, just keep working on it and it'll get more comfortable to stretch. A big factor is how you hold the bass though.... try adjusting your strap up or down... when sitting try placing it on your other thigh (classical style). It tends to make for a more natural hand position.

 

[pomegranesis]

If we should never stretch then the people who get medium/small scale basses simply don't like to shift?

I still shift (thumb pivot?) on medium/short scale basses Moving my whole hand >>>>> pinky injury.

 

[nostatic]

Know any good teachers in Montreal?

No, but you could do skype lessons with Ant Wellington. He's awesome. Invalid Link Removed

 

[villarddefender]

Like others have said, just keep working on it and it'll get more comfortable to stretch

if I can stretch comfortably between the 1st and 4th fret I win then: that's where the biggest gap is + I don't think anyone would stretch from the 1st to 5th fret haha

No, but you could do skype lessons with Ant Wellington. He's awesome. Invalid Link Removed

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhh isn't Ant Wellington Victor Wooten's friend? Must be expensive to have him as a teacher

 

[MordBass]

if I can stretch comfortably between the 1st and 4th fret I win then: that's where the biggest gap is + I don't think anyone would stretch from the 1st to 5th fret haha

agreed. I have a bass player friend that never played with a finger per fret... said he didnt see the point when you can just move your arm. Yea, that was like 20 years ago and he's still stuck on it. Makes larger necks and erb's almost unplayable for him, not to mention any complicated runs or chords. all he had to do was work on it for like 15 minutes each night and he's have corrected it in like a month.

 

[Slater]

Rocco Prestia didn’t stretch. He just moved his hand up and down the fretboard, and he played some pretty busy bass lines.

Sometimes top achievers have unconventional methods.

Try to find and develop a style that works for you. Just don’t disregard advice or instruction that may help you avoid discomfort or injury.

 

[villarddefender]

all he had to do was work on it for like 15 minutes each night and he's have corrected it in like a month.

I like that 15 mins a night for a month good thing we're december 1st! I'll try it and if on January 1st 2018 it's not comfortable to have a finger on each fret from the 1st to the 4th I'll give up stretching and shift instead!

I still shift (thumb pivot?) on medium/short scale basses Moving my whole hand >>>>> pinky injury.

interesting so even a smaller bass wouldn't necessarily fix everything

 

[MordBass]

I like that 15 mins a night for a month good thing we're december 1st! I'll try it and if on January 1st 2018 it's not comfortable to have a finger on each fret from the 1st to the 4th I'll give up stretching and shift instead!

another piece of advice is to start at frets 8-12. I do that running a few scales/patterns up and down the strings... after I get back down to the B string, I move the whole deal down a fret... then repeat till Im at frets 1-4.
Sometimes its easier to learn it on the smaller frets, then adjust to the bigger ones rather than trying the biggest stretch right away.

 

[villarddefender]

another piece of advice is to start at frets 8-12. I do that running a few scales/patterns up and down the strings... after I get back down to the B string, I move the whole deal down a fret... then repeat till Im at frets 1-4.
Sometimes its easier to learn it on the smaller frets, then adjust to the bigger ones rather than trying the biggest stretch right away.

I love how you start from frets 8-12: that's my limit! I try not to mess around too much with frets above 12 for now...even to play a simple melody just for fun I'll play it with low notes