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Somebody gave me some WRONG advice

T

Thomas Kievit

Guest
May 19, 2012
3,614
1,906
35
#1
Or I don't play the bass on a ''right'' way. Let me clear this up : I was fooling around with an old friend of mine who plays bass for about 5 years now. He showed me some stuff with his fretting hand and he said to me : ''Always keep your thumb on the same ''line'' with you middlefinger.'' However, I don't because it hurts my hand a lot and I can play easier with my thumb just between my indexfinger and middlefinger or sometimes even to the ''left'' side of my indexfinger.


My friend told me this will increase the change to get CTS and should use his method.. But that can't be right (or does it)?
 
#6
kanonfodr said:
There's no "right" way to play a bass. If it sounds great when you smack your bass with a dead fish, then start investing in salmon ;)

Peace,
Greg
Click to expand...

...to a degree. However, bad technique can not only limit your abilities as a musician, but can lead to problems like tendonitis or overuse syndrome. If you ever feel soreness or discomfort, stop playing immediately.
 
#8
kanonfodr said:
There's no "right" way to play a bass. If it sounds great when you smack your bass with a dead fish, then start investing in salmon ;)

Peace,
Greg
Click to expand...

I disagree. If how you play increases the chance of injury, you're doing it wrong. There are proper ways to play that will lessen or eliminate the likelihood of CTS or other repetitive motion / posture related damage.

There are many articles written on the subject of avoiding CTS and other repetitive motion disorders.

It's simple enough, if something hurts, you're doing it wrong. This is why having a good teacher is so important.
 
#11
Jazz Ad said:
SO if it hurts OP to line up thumb with mid finger, he shouldn't do it.
Click to expand...

Yes. That's how I understand it. Perhaps the OP has small hands, and needs to use a different technique. My hands are large (I can span 5 frets from index to pinky with no strain), so playing with my thumb behind my middle finger has never been an issue for me.

But then teachers I've had say I have "piano hands" because I can reach intervals others strain for with ease. But, that's not everyone.

So yes, if it hurts, stop!
 
#12
I was always told, imagine that you're holding a baseball in the palm of your hand with your fingers loosely wrapped around it (palm up). If you remove the baseball but keep the hand position, that's the natural position that your hand wants to be in. Makes sense to me.
 
#13
fourstringdrums said:
I was always told, imagine that you're holding a baseball in the palm of your hand with your fingers loosely wrapped around it (palm up). If you remove the baseball but keep the hand position, that's the natural position that your hand wants to be in. Makes sense to me.
Click to expand...

The one thing I've heard from practically every teacher and pro I've talked to, read, watched, or listened to interviews with that discussed this all say the same thing....

If doing something hurts, stop doing it. I've also read this in books about practicing. Any unnecessary tension applied will lead to injury, period. If playing a certain way causes pain, even if that's the way most players play without pain it difficulty, then the person who experiences pain needs to alter their technique to something that doesn't cause pain.
 
#15
ProgRocker, thanks for the links.



INTP said:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VRkSsapYYsA

I don't agree with your friend.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the vid.


kanonfodr said:
There's no "right" way to play a bass. If it sounds great when you smack your bass with a dead fish, then start investing in salmon ;)

Peace,
Greg
Click to expand...

Clearly the OP was all about fretting-hand technique and you're going OT discussing plucking/thumping hand technique (though I suppose it is possible to smack the fingerboard with a fish in your "fretting" hand).

FWIW, I find Cohoe to be good for a Precision-like thud, and Sockeye (as its name implies) is better suited to bright Jazz tones. For a really aggressive MM Stingray tone (*no, Do not use a stingray fish as there's little-to-no articulation), a frozen Arctic Charr is da bomb.

Personally, I curl the fingers around the tail of the fish, but keep my thumb aligned with the spine of the fish, even when I'm using an overhand grip. Gripping at the opposite end behind the gills may be more secure, but I find the tail-grip variations to be better for practicing scales.
 
#18
"If it hurts...stop" is great advice. However, the trouble with the likes of CTS and RSI (we all know that the "R" stands for "repetative" which means the action has to be repeated a lot, before any problems are noticed) is that it may not hurt at this time. Often these problems can take years to become apparent, by which time the person is in constant pain. So prevention is better than cure, and good technique goes a long way in preventing these sort of problems.


As for where to place the thumb....check out this link.


 
#19
Most of the people I look to for inspiration play the bass wrong.

James was know for hooking. I think if you watch Jack Bruce does more than a bit of that. Paul Mac plays old thumb style. No slapping just thumbs a note.

Just because you listen to someone means you have to take their advice. But if you don't listen you will miss the chance to learn.

You are the Master of what enters your life. And check out all the different hands walking around. There's bound to be a variation in technique to deal with that.
 
#20
The video on left hand safety is really, really interesting.
However, I would say there is no one size fits all solution. There are general things you can do that work for most people but we all have different bodies. I did a strap length video in which I point out I have long gangly arms which makes the equal seated/standing bass height quite hard to achieve without bending my wrists over. Actually, a lot of different techniques and musical ideas are the result of physical idiosyncrasies. Allan Holdsworth and Django Reindhart are obvious examples.

As for ignoring the possibility of injury from bass playing (as is mentioned in the Youtube video comments), that is a ridiculously stupid attitude to have. I've known women that have developed fairly bad back problems just from carrying a handbag or wearing high heels all the time. So doing something as unnatural as playing an instrument and straining the small tendons and ligaments involved can certainly cause problems. I have a particular bee in my bonnet about this because I've injured my back quite badly from the rigors of touring and playing A LOT. I've also suffered hand problems in varying degrees and had to adapt my playing and posture many times to find what works right for me. Watching and learning from so called big name players is not always the best way since they might not have the same body/arms/fingers as you and don't fall into the trap of thinking they play as much as you. I went through a phase for maybe 6 years where I was playing on average six 45min-1 hour sets per night, every night (no nights off) with a few weeks break every 6 months or so. That playing was separate from rehearsals and practice time. I remember thinking at the time about how that would compare with your average 'rock star'. . As a result of having a heavy Fender Jazz hanging round my neck all that time, I now have serious lower back problems that are unlikely to heal or be fixed. If I'd known more about the pitfalls involved I doubt I would have the problems now because I now know the mistakes I made.

If you feel 'pain' then stop using that technique and modify your hand position until it stops hurting. If you just feel a bit of a muscular pull, don't worry about it quite as much. Your muscles may just need to adapt. Try a bunch of different positions until you find the one that feels right for you.

Mark
 

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