I have pretty small hands for a man, and fretting low down the neck has been a real stretching issue for me, and I’m noticing a problem now that I’m getting into arpeggios. In particular, playing the 12 Bar Blues, when I try to play at the medium or fast workout pace, I can create good notes on the root, 3rd, 5th then 3rd intervals, but because my hand is so small it really has to streeeeeeetch to get the pinky on the 5th interval, and the problem comes when I release pressure with the pinky to get my index finger to fret the final note at the 3rd interval, and the pinky sort of comes off the string with a bit of a slant instead of straight “up” from the string, if that makes sense. When the pinky releases the pressure at that angle, it sort of micro rubs the string and makes a kind string sliding sound, the same sound you get when sliding your fingers down a completely muted string to reach a different position on the fretboard.
I’ve been trying to correct it and condition myself to pull the pinky straight up, but so far no luck. Is this a big problem, or does the string sliding sound created by the pinky releasing the pressure just get lost when playing alongside other instruments? I’m concerned that by just carrying on like this that I’m baking in a bad habit. Any advice appreciated.
If it’s just the sound of your fingers sliding along the string while you’re changing positions/microshifting, that will get buried in the mix if you’re playing in a band. In fact, there’s really no way to eliminate it completely without doing other weird and wrong things with your fretting hand.
If you search out isolated bass tracks from pretty much any song, you’ll hear it happening on there, no matter the skill of the bassist. But then when you listen to the full song, you don’t hear it.
You don’t really need to be able to do this kind of stretch. As beginners we get this impression that the ideal would be do reach with all the fingers without microshifting, but in reality, most people don’t have hands as big as Josh’s, and many professional bass players and teachers do a little microshifting.
One way of doing microshifting even easier is to keep the thumb behind the neck in the same place, and pivot the hand around the thumb, I mean, turn the hand a little counterclockwise to reach the lower frets on the left, and turn it a little clockwise to reach the right. This way it is faster to microshift: while doing an arpeggio, having the thumb in place and just slightly rotating the hand around it, you have more reach, and can get faster, with more control, from one side to the other. Then just move the whole hand when doing an arpeggio up or down the neck. I keep the thumb kind of centered in the middle of the triad shape, so it makes it easier to microshift left and right. The thumb serves as a kind of anchor. And no pressure on the thumb, it is easier when the thumb is relaxed. I hope this made sense!
Stretching too much could put some strain on the joints, and it makes it more difficult to lift the pinky fast enough.
Like @Andrea_FI said, microshifting is the way to go.
It can be quite tricky sometimes though, especially for faster songs with triplets. Those are unfortunately quite frequent in Blues and it will even get worse once you start playing the 6th as well
The good part is that practice really improves your playing through those issues
And then there are some personal preferences. I tend to play the 6th up the neck instead of up a string if possible
Are you playing a 34” bass or a short scale? Taking 4 inches of that fretboard makes a world of difference for us little guys. It seems to me the frets are also a little closer spacing on a short scale vs. a standard scale.
+1 to micro shifts and not worrying about the stretches.
+1 to not worrying about the sounds your hand makes on the bass.
+1 to thinking about a short scale.
Everyone here is pretty rad, covered all the angles, high fives.
If the finger sliding on the string is bothering you a little another thing to consider is flat wounds. Though I’m not sure that’s the best justification for switching to them. Probably best to get the micro shifting first!
I have small hands, and stretching is a pain, due to arthritis in the wrist, but with practice and as everyone has said micro shifting, you will not notice the issue after a while. One thing I do do, is have my G-strings (no jokes) action a little higher, as when stretching if it is two low the bottom of my hand below my pinkie can hit the string causing an unwanted note to ring out. Most of my basses have Jazz Bass style necks that are more comfortable, apart from my Rickenbacker, but I can play that and don’t really notice any issues. I use to worry about it, but then saw videos of children playing full size basses and realised my worries were affecting my playing, si I stopped worrying and my playing has improved. If it sounds right, your playing it right. Oh I have a short scale bass, a Fender Starcaster, I find it awkward to play, because I am so use to full scale basses, it doesn’t feel right. I also found constant practice and playing everyday is a necessity for arthritis, it keeps your wrist supple. I agree with the don’t try to over stretch your wrist wont thank you.
