I’ve been plagued with CTS (carpal tunnel syndrom) for many years. It all started when I played guitar a lot 10 years ago or so. I developed intense CTS in my fretting hand. It was so bad, that I had to get surgery at some point after having quit playing guitar. After recovering, I still could play again, I just could not play for hours in one sitting.
I was always aware that I had CTS tendecies in my picking/plucking hand as well. But since I always played guitar with a pick, it was not such a big issue. CTS really comes into play if one moves the fingers a lot while having a bent wrist.
Since I started playing bass a few weeks ago (playing finger style, without a pick), I seem to develop noticable CTS symptoms in my plucking hand (numb fingers, burning sensation of the back of the hand etc.). To prevent this, I’m using the “teapot” technique where I raise the arm/shoulder of my picking hand so my wrist is nearly straight. I can even force this by using one of my many wrist orthosis that fixates the wrist and makes it impossible to bent it. I did not know the term “teapot” until I saw a Youtube video the other day where it was declared that his is bad technique and one just should rest the lower arm on the arm rest of the body, shoulder down, and bent the wrist of the plucking hand like 90°. While this is surely relaxing for the arm/shoulder, it is an absolute deal breaker due to my CTS.
I was wondering if some other people might have CTS in their plucking hand and if/how they deal with it.
I have wrist problems since a long time, because of working on a computer the whole day. Both hands, so left hand and right hand, but more in the right hand.
I have since adjusted some things that are computer related, but might help you too:
One of the biggest issues is: never relaxing your hands in between. When working on a computer, it is good to let your hands just hang every 5 minutes for a few seconds. Totally relax them, don’t do anything. Also, if you are reading some text on your screen, do NOT hover your hand over your mouse, just to be ready to scroll at any time. Take the hand away from the mouse and relax it.
What you can do on the bass is: Play standing up and lower your bass. Doesn’t have to be Robert Trujilo low, but, well, he doesn’t need to angle his right wrist, does he?
And always try to relax your wrists whenever you can.
Also, no harm in switching to using a pick now and then.
I’ve seen lots of people play like that. I don’t understand why anyone would recommend it. That’s a repetitive stress injury just waiting to happen. I would have to quit playing if I followed this advice.
I think I might be plucking the wrong way then. While resting the guiar body on my right leg (and it is a right handed bass guitar) I can’t rest my arm on the guitar body while maintaining a straight wrist AND being able to pluck.
The lower I have the bass while standing, the more straight I can keep the wrist of my plucking hand, that is true. But the lower the bass hangs, the more I have to bent the wrist of my fretting hand to properly play. Right now, I have the strap at a length were the bass is at the same height relativer to my torso when standing up and when sitting down. If I straighten my back completely while sitting down, the body gets ever so slightly lifted from my right leg. That’s my current strap length setting.
Yes, it is kind off a tradeoff, so you have to dial in the right strap length for yourself.
I began with the same height as you, I think that is a good base to start out from, and then later found that for me it is better to lower it a bit. I haven’t lowered it by much, approx 7 cm.
Try the floating thumb technique. Your wrist will stay straight at all times, and you have the added benefit of muting. I’ve been playing this way since I started, and it’s quite helpful for CTS.
Here’s how I learned it.
Does this work with the same strap length sitting down as well? If the strap is too long, the bass sits quite differently for me relative to the torso and arms when playing sitting down.
I’ll give this a try, I currently anchor the thumb and had noticed exactly what he points out on the video with the consistency… also I press a lot with the thumb sometimes, this might help me to keep the right hand more relax
I’m wondering how to play quick octaves and string skipping with that technique. Say, I play mostly on the A string and the want to play a quick note on the G string once. Would I move my whole hand for a 16th note on the G string?
It feels awkward at first, but once you get it down, it’s quite natural. I can’t go back to anchoring my thumb, I tried it and its like my first day of playing bass LOL.
