Try this
Sit with bass on your thigh, right forearm resting on top to hold it steady. The neck out at an angle (about 45) not against your chest.
Use third and fourth fingers together (simandl or upright fingering)
Now lightly pull the strings into the fretboard with your thumb off the back of the neck. It doesn’t take much. Use index finger on one fret middle on next and ring finger and pinky together on next fret.
Start in the middle of the fretboard where your hand easily connects with it.
You want to get the feel of pulling the strings into the fret without clamping.
Then bring your thumb back for balance
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Stamina will come with time and as you start playing more relaxed you won’t cramp up anymore. Don’t overdo it at first as it may lead to injury. When you cramp up, take a break and get back to it later.
I would also recommend picking one course and seeing it through. Then go on to another one. B2B really works.
It happens to me sometimes when I have taken a few days off or if I’m trying too hard…. When you catch yourself doing it, stop, and consciously let go, I take my thumb of the back and play slowly to relax… this is an ongoing thing for me, clamping like that slows me down, and makes jumping strings sloppy… the key is in relaxing your hand, not in making your muscles stronger… it’s a mental thing mostly
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Play comfortably!
There are ways to shift the hand instead of stretching fingers.
@howard had the nice link to the Death Grip forum thread which probably has me saying the same thing…
Play for comfort and relaxation.
As you get stronger and more comfortable playing, you’ll be able to explore the stretches and the reach for different fingerings.
But I’d play with the 3-fret reach for now, and not worry about it.
That’s how I set up for most practical playing.
The 1-finger-per-fret thing has great benefits and qualities, but if your hand is suffering, then leave it alone for a bit.
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There is one more thing worth checking: action (and proper setup in general)
I left my bass with a pro guitar engineer recently, as I wanted to learn on a properly set up instrument.
I was not complaining about my bass before. But man, this guy made it so much more comfortable to play. He even adjusted the nut height.
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Absolutely! A pro setup is worth its weight in gold. The ease of playability after a good setup is a must-have, for a beginner or a seasoned pro.
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I play a modified version of left hand double bass fingering. It’s hard to describe without being in person to show how I do it.
One example is when playing root to fifth, I use my index finger for the root and my pinky for the fifth. I shift using for different positions such as playing the root-fifth for Bb major, then root-fifth for D minor, etc. Instead of using my middle finger and pinky for the Bb major, then index finger and ring finger for the D minor, I just shift and keep using my index and pinky finger.
It would be easier to show this in person…….
Maybe I should consider advertising to teach………in person makes explanations so much easier.
My point is feel free to apply what you are learning as a “newbie”, but if you think of a better way FOR YOU to finger, then don’t be afraid to use what is comfortable for you.
Remember, you are playing the bass……no one else……….so play it with what is most comfortable for you.
Trust me, no one in the audience is going to look at you and say, “Holy crap!!! He just used his middle finger to play the root of a D minor in the key of Bb major!!! What the hell was he thinking!!!”
I learned in the prehistoric days before the internet and YouTube, so a lot of what I do playing my bass was developed through simple necessity, ease of playing, and what I was comfortable doing. It’s not right or wrong because I still play the correct note at the right time…….it doesn’t matter. I learned the basics, of course, but did what I had to do to make it easy on my hands and keep from getting carpel tunnel!!
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That is hilarious I was going to say the same exact thing, I have polish sausages attached to a hunk of ham myself. haha.
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+1 on what everyone has said: do some warm up & stretch, get the action checked by a pro & it’ll lessen over time.
I’d get the claw like crazy when I gigged out many many moons ago. In a 12-15 song set, around song 7 or 8 I’d start to feel it. By song ten it hurt and I’d play the last songs with one finger, usually very poorly, hoping the end was near. Basically I was pressing down on the strings unnecessarily hard because I was hyped up playing a live gig. I should have done stretching and warm ups, and position my hand as instructed by B2B. Good luck, don’t stop.
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Hey @Soids, glad you’re with us. You ought to jump on https://forum.bassbuzz.com/t/introduce-yourself to introduce yourself to the group! As you have seen, we are a bunch of players with diverse experiences, and we love to help each other however we can. Keep thumpin’!
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Ellen Alaverdyan…cute as a button, just started School of Rock in Vegas. She rose to prominence when Geddy Lee showed her playing Tom Sawyer. She’s on Facebook (her dad Hovak runs the page since she’s only 9).
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that’s the one.
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I’m not sure which one she plays…it’s either an actual Musicman or it’s a Stingray…she changes the strings a lot. Her dad has a home studio (he’s a guitarist in a band) so she gets a lot of practice in. Oddly enough, she’s only been playing since summer 2020.
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She is EXTREMELY good for a young girl without much experience. I am amazed! I just checked her out.
That girl inspires me. She also makes me little jealous. She can play, her future is pretty brought.
Yo @MikeC , thanks. I assume I did when I joined in November but will go back and check. The lessons and the forums are both great!
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She’s been playing music since she was 3, she played uke, drums and piano before bass. Her dad played music for her since she was an infant and always let her play with his guitars without worrying she would break them… he’s friends with Victor Wooten too :-). She has her own song on Yousician called “Ellen’s Groove”.
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When your hand “claws up”, this MIGHT help: soak it in warm water.
There is also a school of thought that says that it helps to “pre-soak”: before playing, soak your hands in a bowl or bucket of warm water. Allan Holdsworth, who would play chords often described as “magical Holdsworth clusterfucks”, did this when he got older. Your mileage may vary, though. But to get the post-playing cramp attacks, warmth is probably beneficial.
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While i do agree she is good and very talented (which never hurts) i bet she has hundreds of playing hours and has probably had good teaching from scratch which, again, never hurts ofc…
That is by no means meant to diminish her prowess, but I will always remember what a former piano teacher of mine (she was very good, playing regularly in concerts every season and was a very good teacher as well) always used to say about Russian young pianists who usually were top in piano contests at the time and that was their secret was simply: thousends of hours spent at the piano with good teachers. I wish I were strong enough to listen to her back then…
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