Stretching left hand over four frets? Really?

[nsmar4211]

I do one finger per fret most of the time and i'm 5' 5.5" )) and a woman with errrrrrr womanly hands.

+100 to the post that said you don't keep all four fingers down at the same time! OFPF makes block playing a lot easier, you never have to look down once you've figured out the pattern.

That said, if my hands are tired I will shift my hand position around on the lower 4 frets. Or if I'm doing a reggae/pop number with lots of octaves I use my pinky for the octave even if the third finger is supposed to be there. But I learned OFPF, and use it......

Don't overthink it too much. Just let your hands figure out whats comfortable.

 

[wemmick]

And another +100 from me for not keeping all four fingers down at the same time. Somebody on this thread pointed to a video showing the thumb pivot. I've been working with that and I can feel the difference .

Thanks all. Nice supportive bunch here.

 

[unclejane]

sorry to hear that, but i must admit i think there was something else going on with your technique that made ofpf difficult. oh well, hard to say without seeing you play back then, so fair enough. i still think if you have good thumb placement, it shouldn't be damaging at all, but i can't argue with you at this point. glad you're feeling better, though.

Well, for me, the evidence is that abandoning 1FPF, at least down in the lower registers, is specifically what has stopped the advancement of injury. There were other contributing factors such as improved instrument fit (going to a balanced bass like my Bunny) and low-tension strings (TIJFs) that have helped, but nothing has helped more than doing away with 1FPF.

In fact, I now have that kind of "claw" that you see Ed Friedland use down in the 1st fret position. 1-4 most of the time and occasionally 1-2-4 or a shift.

I still use 1FPF everywhere else, tho, with no problems.

I should say tho that it's not bad for _everyone_ and in fact a lot of players can use 1FPF down there their whole careers and it won't hurt them.

But if your particular anatomy doesn't allow it, it can be a lot of years down the road when you finally realize your gigging career is over. So it's definitely something to consider not using down in the lower registers (unless you really have hands like a mountain gorilla).


LS