Question from a noob

[John Reale]

Good morning. I begin by apologizing if this has been addressed before. I’ve never been on a site like this and after my brain injury new things are difficult. And with that my question. I’ve never learned to play an instrument but I was recently gifted a bass and I have a lot of free time so I’d like to learn. As I stated above I suffered a brain injury do to a surgery gone awry. This resulted in my entire left side becoming paralyzed.
is it possible to play the bass, if you only have the use of your right arm and hand? If so, how would you begin?
Thank you in advance for your time and assistance. I hope you all have a wonderful holiday season.

 

[Oddly]

I'll say it'd be incredibly difficult and frustrating. If I was in your situation I'd be looking at a keyboard instead as a far more flexible way to go.

 

[Goatrope]

Welcome. A challenge to overcome is a worthy endeavor.

There's a local musician I see who, while not paralyzed, plays with just is left hand fretting notes, because he plays harmonica with his right hand. It appears his setup on the instrument allows him to basically tap the strings hard enough with one hand to get a good sound out of it.

If you google "one armed bass player" you'll see some vid of Bill Clements, who has a different liability, but may have a solution that may work for you. It looks like he's also using a mute/wrap to keep the strings from ringing unnecessary.

Check out the vids and give it a go. Hopefully you'll find them inspiring.

All the best to you and yours for the holidays!

 

[Lance Bunyon]

Might need a tapping bass set up for left handed play (meaning your right hand is the fretting/tapping hand).
Krappyguitars.com (no affiliation) builds these usually for under a grand.

 

[ProbablyTooLoud]

Lay it flat and play it like a piano.

 

[lark_z]

Maybe something like this?

Keyboard bass - Wikipedia