How do you warm up? - tight tendons and muscle aches are getting annoying

[tedmanzie]

I use light strings (045-090 DR round core), very low action, light-ish bass - but teaching myself two-finger picking for the past 6 months has flared up tendon issues in my inner elbow and wrist (normally I use a pick which seems to keep the aches down).  Not really bad at the moment but annoying enough to take a week off practising - I like to play a couple of hours a day normally - sitting down.

Does anyone have good tips for warm up routines, stretching techniques, good ideas/to be avoided ideas!?  

[Happy Jack]

 

[scalpy]

Big plus one for Happy Jack’s thread, he beat me to the link by a matter of seconds! I’ve found the advice very useful and has definitely helped me with similar issues.

A good strategy for me personally has been to run through some walking basslines with iReal pro. Kills lots of birds with one stone and is enjoyable, as formulaic scales/ based warm ups can be dull after a while.

 

[Coilte]

12 hours ago, tedmanzie said:

I like to play a couple of hours a day  

 

As well as Happy Jack's advice....

If you don't do so already, try keeping a practice session to no more than an hour at a time. Take a break and come back to it. Both your brain and hands will thank you for it. 😉

[Reggaebass]

Sometimes if you’re not relaxed when you play you can get tension in your arm because the tendons run from the fingers to the elbow. Maybe a short warmup routine like modes or scales or simple Basslines before going into technical exercises could help and have a break every now and again 😀

[bassjim]

Maybe not now but it will be cold again at some point.

Winter conditions:

If its cold or I'm just cold, I start by getting my hands warm. I fill the sink with hot water and place my hands in for a good 30 secs to a minute, maybe more if needed. Whenever possible if I'm on a gig and there's hot water running in the mens loo I'll do the same here. If its got a hot hand dryer then that's great too. If you touch the side of your face with the back of your hand and they still feel cold then repeat. Play very slowly and with as light a touch possible at first until your hands are thawed out. I've played some gigs where this isn't an option and its hard work but where ever possible I try to get/keep my hands warm before playing

In General regardless of the weather

To warm up I try and play things I know slowly and with a light touch and try playing high up the neck at first. Sitting down and playing for 5 minutes gives my left shoulder a chance to get going too. I play something I know or in style I'm familiar with to begin with rather than attempting something new straight away. You may already do this but I'd do a good ten minutes of pick playing to get your hands going first as that's something you can do with ease and relaxed without straining anything.

If its a fast two finger plucking line I keep my right arm straight as possible from the elbow down. If its a simpler line I can relax my right arm more although I'm constantly conscious about how much pressure I'm applying and adjust accordingly. In the 80s I was sucked into the bass round your tonsils approach and although I wear it much lower these days when standing up I cant get on with it being too low so I end up with my right elbow sticking up and out as and when it needs to. If that makes sense? If your plucking hand is draped at an angle  ala "hello sailor" (sorry if any offence caused to anyone!!) its a bad thing when playing fast or digging in. This will give you grief no end in the tendons.  Its not something I think about anymore as over the years I must have built up the series of interacting muscles, tendons and  whatever I'm using for this style of playing so I would say just keep at it and dont, if you are,bend your wrists.

 

 

[SubsonicSimpleton]

Might be an idea to get someone else to take a look at what you are doing, as bad posture can really aggravate certain problems and you might benefit from changing your physical approach - just because it didn't cause problems in the past doesn't mean that what you have been doing up till now was a good way to avoid long term injury.

[uk_lefty]

I'm the only one in my band who even considers warming up. I do some runs around the bass neck, play some of the tricker riffs or changes to ensure I don't mess it up on stage. This is to get my fretting stretches in  but also to get rid of any missed fingerings etc to start off with. In breaks I keep stretching out my fingers to get that balance of rest but keeping mobile. I have a can of red bull and I jump around/ move about a bit. I can't remember who but I read someone saying they jump around before going on stage to make sure they're not stood stiffly throughout the first half, if you've been bouncing around before you go on then you move more naturally on stage... 

[Happy Jack]

Surely the guitarists spend 20 minutes noodling aimlessly at full volume while you're trying to talk to the drummer?

[tedmanzie]

Thanks everyone, good info

[kevham]

I could've done with reading this before my gig tonight! I got bad cramp in my fretting hand and it locked up completely in the middle of a song near the end of our 3 hour gig. I had to resort to fretting with my thumb for half the song.

It freed up after some stretching but I need to warm up and possibly alter my posture to avoid this. It's never happened before - I'm starting to feel my age now!

[wayne58]

Thanks for the post Ted, I have long term back and shoulder and wrist problems so will start to change a few things.

Cheers Jack, very useful info there.