I’ve been doing a lot of practice lately focusing faster high endurance songs to build consistency in my three finger picking technique (think Symphony X, Helloween, Angra, Iron Maiden).
One thing I’ve noticed is wrist angle becomes more important when you’re attempting high speed high endurance stuff - generally the less of an angle the better.
This becomes an issue when you’re sat down because my natural inclination is to rest my forearm a little on the bass which itself is resting quite high up on my thigh.
What’s the best way to overcome this? Holding your elbow up high to keep your forearm and wrist aligned? Getting comfortable with a bent wrist at high speeds? Would love to hear any thoughts.
Totes agree that it’s important to maintain consistency and not risk getting a repetitive injury if you’re in an unnatural position for your arm and hand. Ideally it would be great if you can find a sitting position where your bass is almost identical to when standing.
I managed to do this but for context I am 4’11”, play a 34” scale Ibanez jazz and practice while sitting on a drum throne. Your mileage may vary! Instead of resting my bass on my right thigh it’s shifted more centerline with the bottom horn partially balance on my left thigh. The body of the bass hangs down in front of the stool mostly supported by the strap. It’s naturally comfortable for me to sit in a wider stance (I sit cross legged most of the time). It’s a bit goofy, but it’s comfortable and there’s very little shift of the position of my bass when I do occasionally stand to play.
Exactly this in my experience. Most (right handed) players seem rest the bass on their right leg but this places it much further over to the right than it is ever going to sit when standing. Resting on the left leg puts it in almost exactly the same position as standing.
