Double Bass Should left hand thumb be bent or straight?

[robobass]

Never mind - forget I wrote anything.......
TG

Me too. Boy was I up on a tall horse last night!

 

[shwashwa]

maybe its because i sit when i play, but i can play without having my thumb on the bass at all. i dont actually do this, but it is possible, and when i was learing the "use the weight of your arm" concept i did do basic scales and stuff without my thumb on the bass to get used to using the weight and not squeezing. my arm is literally hanging from the bass with my fingers as "hooks" holding my arm from falling down. (since i sit my bass is angled back slightly). it is a very relaxed approach to the left arm and i can take my left hand totally off the bass and the bass doesnt go anywhere (because im holding it with my legs). i have tried this while standing and i cant really get it to work, which is why i dont stand when i play. i would be interested in seeing how it works with a laborie style endpin though. does anyone have an eggpin i can borrow?

I teach my students to make a "C", and also to think of gripping a baseball or grapefruit (depending on age and hand size) really tightly. This means curving the thumb and keeping it opposite the second finger in neck positions. While not intuitive to beginners, this maximizes clamping pressure without inhibiting finger spread. Straight or curved, if your thumb is higher than your second finger, your ability to stretch out your fingers properly will be comprimised. Furthermore, curving the thumb ultimately provides better strength and flexibility. I agree that the force applied to the strings should come more from the arm than from the thumb, but clamping strength in the hand is also very important.

Also, I wish people would stop saying "use the weight of your arm". Hearing or reading it grates my nerves as badly as when news commentators say "reaching a crescendo". Weight is a downward force.

 

[Eric Hochberg]

i can take my left hand totally off the bass and the bass doesnt go anywhere (because im holding it with my legs). i have tried this while standing and i cant really get it to work, which is why i dont stand when i play. i would be interested in seeing how it works with a laborie style endpin though. does anyone have an eggpin i can borrow?

The Laborie pin allows the bass to lean into you at an angle similar to that while sitting. The bass should be fairly stable, freeing up your left arm. There's an eggpin fs in the classifieds. Robertson's sent me one to try out gratis a while back.

 

[Square Bear]

i tried a bent endpin recently for the first time. i can see why people like it so much, it is very comfortable.

i have to agree with the consensus here... in the OPs pictures, the thumb is in a bad place wether or not it is bent. it should be loose and mostly relaxed, and not pointing up toward the scroll. the hand position shown in both pictures uses the hand as a lever and will torque out your wrist if you play like that a lot. if you can put the thumb so it is more in the "center" of your hand position it will help tremendously. then there is the issue of not "squeezing" or "clamping" down on the neck. i don't know how much of a problem you have with this, but as you do more shifting it becomes very apparent (i.e. you can't shift at all). i would suggest that you get your hand position set and practice slow, legato shifts (playing both notes under one bow). if you are squeezing with your hand, you will have to solve the problem in order to do this exercise.
good luck!

 

[nickbass]

"The Portnoi book I just read said to have the thumbprint on the back of the neck"

Is that the famous book Portnoi's Complaint?

Re the thumb, I like Gary Karr's idea that as well as being a marker for hand position the thumb is a large fleshy receptor of information about sound and intonation.

 

[Tom Gale]

Something that should be mentioned is the effect the height of the strings has on the thumb and hand position in general. High action usually means a stronger hand grip and some bad habits can come of that.
Tom Gale

 

[damonsmith]

I agree with the other that the thumb should be centered - thumb and middle finger together. Don't squeeze, either.
As far as bent or flat the answer is yes. I had two great bassists tell me both answers. the best way is to learn both then decide what is best for you, only then will you know.

 

[theweed42]

Looking at the photos in the original post, it looks like you have a lot of tension in that left hand. Especially with the straight thumb. Tension is what will give you carpal tunnel.

As others have said, it's important for the thumb not to be doing any squeezing. But it takes tons of practice to figure out how to hold the bass and play without choking the neck. My first teacher would talk about "using arm weight" like I should instinctively know what that meant, and it took me months to figure out how to make that work.

The most important thing is to remove tension, and make it as much like a natural motion as possible. When you open a door, you don't just use the muscles of your hand - you use your whole arm. Likewise with the bass, the power comes from your shoulder and back muscles and gets transferred through your fingers to the string.

 

[AndreyR]

Wow thank you guys, I now see that the angle of the thumb is more important then whether it is bent or not - and I have tested that when I play with my thumb pointing towards the scroll - I quickly loose dexterity and tone. When I point my thumb more horizontally, I can play longer, and the wrist pain is gone. If I want to teach someday, I will certainly remember the generous suggestions. I greatly appreciate your time for posting your comments, ladies and gentlemen.

Oh and btw - I found my new Idol.

 

[robobass]

I want to clarify my position on the thumb. I used the term "clamping pressure" which I realize is misleading. My teacher used the term "pinch" which he thought vital to good articulation. He explained that I should be able to snap my finger down with great speed and force at the point of attack. Exciting the string in this way in addition to what you do with the bow can greatly improve articulation in a fast passage. This doesn't mean that you have to create strong clamping pressure over the duration of the note, just during the first few milliseconds. But it does require a strong anchor against the thumb, which must be in the right place, and curved, to do this. I have practiced playing without touching the thumb to the back of the neck, but I find a much more value in practicing passage work with the left hand only, and seeing how much sound I can produce only by "snapping". Do a bit of this and you will see how much of a friend a properly shaped and placed thumb can be!

I still hate "weight of the arm", but to each his own.