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What's Your Biggest Playing Handicap?

#81
For me I guess that's playing bass the right way while being left. ;)

Well nah, right now it's my pinky that isn't cooperating. Last night we played at an opening for an exposition and it was a bit on the cold side for me so my fingers were stiff. Before I was able to kind of reach for it with the pinky, but with stiff fingers I kept missing and was treated on a lovely *twaink* here and now.

I've upped my training regime to work more on my fingers and where to put them. Normally I would just walk them up and down the neck a a few times and that's it. So now I'm putting a lot more effort into working my left hand for about 30 to 45 min.
 
#82
Playing with others & ear.

When I was little I was told I couldn't sing and that discouraged me from exploring music and disliking music lessons at school.

So after I picked up the bass at the age of 18 I've been mostly playing home, alone.

Small exposure and general discomfort around music gave me underdeveloped ear and I'm trying to compensate with theory. And that makes me mad :(
 
#85
Reading actual score [tabs are fine], Slap and pop, using effects [I can use distortion fine, but have no idea what to use all those other effects for], Playing instruments other than bass [I really suck at guitar and piano especially], Tapping [I would love to learn] and using all 4 fingers on my plucking hand [I usually use 2, but can just manage 3].
 
#86
Wow! I was worrried about starting bass this late(?) in life (49, I think... I can't remember) but it's great to hear of others starting even later. I only started 4 months ago but I'm really enjoying the hell out of it, even though my fingers ache and my left thumb joint has a bit of arthritis, which sucks big time, but I just drink a beer and take some pain meds and I'm good to go! Oh, sorry, this it about Handicaps... ok, aching fingers, arthritis, starting my bass career as an older teenager, back problems, fat freakin' belly from enjoying my beer, damaged ring finger on right hand so I can't play 321, (yeesh what a whiner!). I'm just happy as **** to be playing. I'm also the recorder/producer in my current band (using Ableton Live), and I sing too, although I haven't kept up with it for years so it needs work (handicap), but loving that too. Hmm, I'm trying to be negative here but having trouble with that. I started playing piano when I was 4 and got classical training, and in my teens taught myself guitar but in recent years was worried that I wasn't really a musician because I didn't think about it every day. You know, if you're meant to be a musician, you go to sleep thinking about it and you wake up thinking about it... well, I wasn't. But NOW that happens to me every day! And it's nice to know that bass players are in demand!

Oh, yeah, the drummer's a pain in the ass!

Eric
 
#91
I have no problem slapping and popping, muting and 16th fingerstyle.

My handicap is that i am uncomfortable using a pick. Though not crucial, it woud be nice to even have the option.
I also dabble in DB so that leaves even less time to play with a pick on BG.
 
#92
I've finally reached a point in my life where I don't care too much about chops anymore. After years of punk and metal, my main weakness is tone and rhythm - sitting in the pocket and playing with groove and feeling, plucking the strings with greater nuance and variation, allowing space between notes, etc. In other words, I want to learn how to play bass lol.

I listen to recordings from band practice and still hear myself rushing or playing too many 8th notes, almost leading the drummer sometimes.. bleh.

A good drummer can reign me back in.. some drummers make me rush... seems that the better musician in the group (regardless of instrument) can raise the level of the whole... unless they really don't understand the particular music style.. then all bets are off lol.
 
#93
I was born with VERY double-jointed rubbery skinny fingers. My fingers actually bend backwards at the middle knuckles before they bend forward or closed. This makes it impossible for me to play in some ways "by the book" effectively when it comes to proper technique. I have strengthened my hands over the years but I do oftentimes (a lot) play with my thumb over or above the fretboard, like Entwhistle, and of course most guitarist do. I have discovered I can fret the notes quite adequetly and am a decent player,and don't worry what I won't be and do the best I can. I am sure there is somebody out there that has other physical weirdnesses like I do! LOL!
 
#94
BeyondFiredUp said:
I was born with VERY double-jointed rubbery skinny fingers. My fingers actually bend backwards at the middle knuckles before they bend forward or closed. This makes it impossible for me to play in some ways "by the book" effectively when it comes to proper technique. I have strengthened my hands over the years but I do oftentimes (a lot) play with my thumb over or above the fretboard, like Entwhistle, and of course most guitarist do. I have discovered I can fret the notes quite adequetly and am a decent player,and don't worry what I won't be and do the best I can. I am sure there is somebody out there that has other physical weirdnesses like I do! LOL!
Click to expand...

Wasn't Jaco Pastorius double-jointed? ;)
 
#96
I had a motorcycle accident 5 years ago which damaged my ulnar nerve in my left arm, meaning I have little strength in the pinkie. In January I started playing again after a long interruption following the advice of a friend who had a similar injury.

He used bass guitar to reeducate his arm. He use to play the horn in HS.

Anyway, his advice was good, it helped a lot but... I never stopped playing.

So now, I have decided to sell the dirt bike. It was fun, but hey.

I manage to play with 3 fingers 1/2 but I have to strap my pinkie with tape.
 
#97
My biggest problem is that I cannot let myself go and play freely. I guess it's a psychological issue, whenever I play with someone and we tend to improvise I keep a lot of reserve from my side and always have a tendency to organize the stuff we're playing in certain circular thing, a groove, in other words to "put it in a folder", where I feel secure. It's a very difficult thing for me 'cause my band is trying hard to break out of rules and standard use of each instrument and the other two guys have embraced this freedom much faster and much more then myself and I have a hard time because I feel I'm not giving them enough. If it were a technical issue I'm sure I'd be able to overcome that by practicing hard enough, but I think there's much more to it then just being able to play licks. My band mates and I are all getting pretty impatient and if someone has any kind of similar experience and can help with an advice please do. I've even thought of starting to practice yoga or something like that to finaly let myself go.
 
#99
I have trouble moving around on stage. I get into my zone and forget i'm supposed to be helping to engage the crowd and am just focused on the song; when I play the bass I just go into said zone and block out everything but what my drummer and guitars are doing and how i'm meshing and blending. The band manager gets on to me all the time for it but is that really a handicap?
 

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