Wondering if my right hand angle is ok.

[BassApace]

I have been play bass for a couple years and I decided to take a lesson. My teacher pointed out that the top of my hand was not as forward as most players. I think this is a wrist mobility thing, I always just tried to feel as comfortable as I could. Now I'm in my head about it. Is there a reason this could be detrimental? Am i over analyzing? under analyzing? should i move my therapy session up in the month?

I tried to take a picture,

I feel like sometimes it is more extreme than this. like my wrist is closer to the top of body.

Any tips or thoughts are appreciated.

 

[Wasnex]

Hard to say from this picture, but the angle of your wrist looks fairly extreme, as if you are holding your elbow tight to your body. If the angle of the wrist is too extreme, it increases your risk of certain types of injury over time.


IME the height of the bass is a significant factor. Raising the bass tends to benefit your fretting hand and technique. Lowering the bass tends to benefit your plucking hand and technique. There is no position that is best for both; so it's necessary to decide on the preferred compromise IMHO.


Regarding the position where you pluck the strings. The choice depends on the tone you want. Skilled players change position to modulate their tone. Closer to the bridge tends to be punchier, more focused, more midrangy, and leaner down low. Plucking closer to the neck tends to be more mellow and full. You can make the sound more aggressive closer to the neck by striking the strings against the fretboard. This will produce a sound similar to using a pick. Some players constantly bounce the strings off the fretboard. While I consider it a valid technique and totally appropriate for certain types of music, it's something I rarely do as it does not suit most of the music I play.

IMHO one should be able to pluck a variety of ways in order to get a variety of articulations and tones.

 

[Karl Kaminski]

ultimately the way you 'adjust your hand' is up to you (for comfortable and playability) as each person is different.

that being said (and NOT knowing exactly the full context of the conversation —as often in retelling, bits of conversation are glossed over or lost) Here are some generalities to get in/or out of your head

• when playing your wrists for the most part should be 'straight' —that is to say (almost) flat from the back of hand up to the fore arm. Extreme bends hinder flexibility to shift and move.
• your playing/practicng position will change/alter the way your body interacts with your instrument. So, as shown in your pic, sitting in that position (with the bass pulled away from the body) emphasizes the bend in your wrist. Again, not knowing you or your posture, I'd suggest sitting more upright with the body of the bass closer to your chest/torso.

Once you start to notice and adapt your posture, you'll notice the playability of certain 'setups' are better than others. I also like having my playing position the same standing or sitting. This can be done using a properly adjust strap or something like the GuitarLift.

 

[Karl Kaminski]

PS> along with the above comment, consider how the bass neck is angled. By raising the neck (away from the floor) the body contour will offer more space for your wrist to reach over the body.

There are many little things I cover with my students about ergonomics of playing, but in general try to broaden your perspective of "why is this cramped/uncomfortable/difficult". Your body will lead ultimately you in the right direction if you follow good basic posture and playing principles.

 

[RattleSnack]

Looks fine to me.
The most important thing: can you play comfortably? Do you feel pain or discomfort in your forearm?
If no, just keep playing.

 

[Lobster11]

Hard to say from this picture, but the angle of your wrist looks fairly extreme, as if you are holding your elbow tight to your body. If the angle of the wrist is too extreme, it increases your risk of certain types of injury over time.

This is what I think too. With the right strap length and neck angle, you should be able to maintain a straight line from your elbow to your fingers with little or no bend in the wrist. This is important to avoid repetitive-motion injuries such as CTS, as @Wasnex said, but will also increase the dexterity of your plucking fingers. To illustrate this, try just holding out your arm, with your wrist straight, and wiggle your plucking fingers; then bend your wrist as far as you can and try wiggling those fingers. You'll notice immediately how constrained (and fatiguing) the finger motion is with a bent wrist.

BTW, notice that if you were to push the top of your hand further away from the bass, as your "teacher" seems to want you to do, it would make the bend in your wrist even worse.

Yeah, some guys play that way, but some of them have short careers.

 

[Lobster11]

Looks fine to me.
The most important thing: can you play comfortably? Do you feel pain or discomfort in your forearm?
If no, just keep playing.

Disagree. Just because it doesn't cause pain or discomfort now doesn't mean that it won't be harmful in the long term. Keeping the wrists straight as much as possible now can reduce the likelihood of problems later.

 

[Wasnex]

BTW, notice that if you were to push the top of your hand further away from the bass, as your "teacher" seems to want you to do, it would make the bend in your wrist even worse.

The OP appears to be using floating thumb. It's possible the instructor is an anchored thumb advocate. IME, anchored thumb tends to produce a more severe wrist angle.

 

[RattleSnack]

Disagree. Just because it doesn't cause pain or discomfort now doesn't mean that it won't be harmful in the long term. Keeping the wrists straight as much as possible now can reduce the likelihood of problems later.

Agreed that straighter wrists are in general better, but it's about wider picture. Straightening wrist can make changes elsewhere, maybe raising elbow or moving it away from body. You don't want to keep your whole arm in uncomfortable position just so your wrist can be straight.
I believe any position that does not feel uncomfortable (that is, asks for constant muscle effort to hold) is not problematic. Relaxed arm is best position.
If OP's using minimal effort and efficient plucking, switching technique to avoid repetitive motion injury, chances he'll hurt himself are minimal.
In the end, this is personal opinion from couple of decades of playing, but I could be wrong.
Maybe someone who has experience with lots of students will be best to answer OP question.

 

[KenSmithFan]

Well, it's true that everyone isn't built the same, but it's also true that we're not all the special little snowflakes we think we are. The "standard" way didn't come from a bunch of teachers sitting in a room deciding what's best for everyone, but from a bunch of teachers OBSERVING what works best for most students. As @Lobster11 pointed out - just because it doesn't hurt today, doesn't mean that it can't cause issues down the line.

I would suggest two things - try what your teacher is suggesting. If it causes pain, stop, but give it a real try. The other thing is try the classical guitar position (photo below). I had problems with my shoulders until I switched to this position. I don't have my left leg so high and the angle of the neck is more horizontal, but it's in the ballpark of this. The main thing is that my instrument rests on my left leg, not my right. Now I can practice pain free for hours. It's a matter of finding what works for you, but try what works for the vast majority first.

 

[Five or Six]

If you are comfortable with the way it is,,,then it's fine! You do you!

 

[jholling]

Every body (and I do mean “body”) is different. What works for some, may not work for all. In the last three years, I have lost over 100 pounds. The bass used to rest on my belly, and the placement of my hands fit very naturally. Now I have a lot less belly, and I started to get pain in my wrists, shoulders, and hands. I had to overhaul my entire approach to playing. Obviously, my straps had to shorten up, but I also had to rethink how I sit/stand, the angle of my bass, my hand placement, you name it.

The result is that I’ve changed how I start beginners to try to take into account each individual’s body ergonomics. The goal is to play with as little tension as possible. Tension kills tone and leads to pain. I also work to ensure that future technique isn’t hindered by bad body mechanics. When speed and timing become an issue, I look at hand placement to see if it is causing problems. If you have no tension and good technique, you’re golden.

I would ask your teacher if they feel that you hand placement is a tension issue or a technique issue (or something else). A conversation with a guitarist friend got me on my current path. I feel great and I have been happy with my playing. Good luck.

 

[Mikeyfretbuzz]

Check out progressive basics by Gary Willis on YouTube.

 

[BassicJazzy]

Strange angle, almost looks like you are crossing the butt of the bass with your forearm. Perhaps it's just the picture? Also, your hand is very flat against the body of the bass, no arch to it.

 

[Goatrope]

OP, it appears you're sitting in that pic, correct? IMO that's a really poor wrist position. It may not bother you now, but it will later. Straighten that out.

@Karl Kaminski mentioned maintaining the same position sitting or standing. I'm going to guess that when standing, and the bass hanging on a strap, your wrist is much straighter.

When sitting, use a strap and let the bass hang over your leg vs it resting on your leg. Get that right arm stretched out.

If my assumptions about you sitting vs standing are incorrect, clarify what you're doing in that pic.

Be well, bass brother. Don't hurt yourself.

 

[ximun]

I don't know if the point is about the wrist or the fingers here but I generally try to have more arched fingers (my elbow raises to follow and be confortable).
With the fingers too flat parallel to the strings I tend to push the strings down and get clac clac when I dig in a bit.
If I rotate a bit my wrist my sound is cleaner

 

[mambo4]

I would Stand up , and lower the bass/ lengthen the strap a bit so my wrist did not bend as much. I would position the headstock higher up, angle the neck, so the left hand also was not required to bend.

Bridge down, nut up is how I roll.

 

[Les Fret]

other thing is try the classical guitar position (photo below). I had problems with my shoulders until I switched to this position. I don't have my left leg so high and the angle of the neck is more horizontal, but it's in the ballpark of this. The main thing is that my instrument rests on my left leg, not my right. Now I can practice pain free for hours. It's a matter of finding what works for you, but try what works for the vast majority first.

View attachment 7408277

Good position. But the left leg raise is not ideal for your back either. Better keep both feet at the ground.

 

[Queue]

Look at getting a strap with "right height" adjustment. It is really nice to be able to adjust bass height on the fly to dial in ergonomics from song to song.

 

[Brad Maestas]

Well, it's true that everyone isn't built the same, but it's also true that we're not all the special little snowflakes we think we are. The "standard" way didn't come from a bunch of teachers sitting in a room deciding what's best for everyone, but from a bunch of teachers OBSERVING what works best for most students. As @Lobster11 pointed out - just because it doesn't hurt today, doesn't mean that it can't cause issues down the line.

I would suggest two things - try what your teacher is suggesting. If it causes pain, stop, but give it a real try. The other thing is try the classical guitar position (photo below). I had problems with my shoulders until I switched to this position. I don't have my left leg so high and the angle of the neck is more horizontal, but it's in the ballpark of this. The main thing is that my instrument rests on my left leg, not my right. Now I can practice pain free for hours. It's a matter of finding what works for you, but try what works for the vast majority first.

View attachment 7408277

I'm going to chime in on this one because I was a classical guitarist before I became a bassist. Today, hardly anyone in classical guitar advocates for a footstool anymore because it causes many problems. For the last 10 years or so instructors and conservatories have been advocating for a guitar rest that elevates the guitar off your leg. In essence, the photo you posted has the correct ergos for the upper body and the positioning of the guitar but instead of the left leg highly elevated, imagine them both flat to the floor.

This posture has been adopted by some of our electric bass brethren such as Hadrien and recently Janek, among others. It puts the back, shoulders, arms, forearms, and hands in a natural, ergonomic position that reduces the possibility of injuries, particularly for those of us that put in a lot of hours. Here's a snapshot of the same guitarist using a support with their feet flat to the ground.

I've been trying out this position with electric bass with mixed results, depending on the instrument and its dimensions. But for larger instruments like Fender Jazz and Precision basses, it works pretty well without a support of any kind. Live I usually play standing up so that's not as much of an issue but when I'm practicing at home or recording in the studio, I'm usually sitting and that's where the ergonomics can really make a difference in the long run.