Hi All

[JohnJohn]

Thanks for having me on your forum. I'm a 57 year old guy living in London. Listening to music is a big part of my life but, I've never played a musical instrument and, honestly, I don't have much musical ability. I heard a guy on LBC telling James O'Brian that he 'escapes' each day for an hour to play bass along to the Stranglers, that made me smile and the next day I went to Argos and bought a cheap & cheerful bass kit. The following day I signed up for online lessons at talkingbass.net. Bottom line, my fingers are sore, I'll never play like Jean Jack Burnell but I'm having fun.

A couple of questions please.

My hands are small, I can't stretch across from fret 3 to fret 5 without moving my hand. - Is that ok, am I starting a bad habit, should I be looking for a bass designed for smaller hands? Obviously, men and women play well with hands the same size, or smaller, than mine so what's the answer?

When will woman start throwing their knickers at me?

Thanks in advance, mush appreciated.

[SpondonBassed]

Welcome John.

 

[Teebs]

Hiya John 

13 minutes ago, JohnJohn said:

My hands are small, I can't stretch across from fret 3 to fret 5 without moving my hand. - Is that ok, am I starting a bad habit, should I be looking for a bass designed for smaller hands? Obviously, men and women play well with hands the same size, or smaller, than mine so what's the answer?

Short-scale basses might be the answer - have a look at the Gretsch Junior Jet II - very reasonably priced & a good bass:

13 minutes ago, JohnJohn said:

When will woman start throwing their knickers at me?

Hahaha!

How long have you got?

Edited April 8, 2020 by Teebs

[Wombat]

Hi!

yes, short scale may be the way to go but you will find that as your hands build strength you will be able to stretch further. Just don’t over do it to start with!

oh, and the answer to your other question is Friday....

welcome!

[Ricky 4000]

On 08/04/2020 at 21:55, JohnJohn said:

I've never played a musical instrument and, honestly, I don't have much musical ability.

Welcome JohnJohn, you've found the perfect solution -- the bass! 😄

[Cato]

On 08/04/2020 at 21:55, JohnJohn said:

My hands are small, I can't stretch across from fret 3 to fret 5 without moving my hand. - Is that ok, am I starting a bad habit,

I wouldn't worry about it too much, you've only just started. Your fretting fingers will probably get stretchier over time.

I'd also guess that like nearly all beginners your'e not using your little finger much because you've not built up the required strength in it yet.

With a bit of practice that finger will be as strong and dexterous as the others and it will add a fair bit to your usable fretting hand span.

Edited April 10, 2020 by Cato

[Reggaebass]

Welcome John, you’re in the best place for advice, just ask away 👍

[TheGreek]

Welcome John

The trick is not to stretch your hand, rather pivot off your thumb. By doing this you have a reach of maybe 7 or 8 frets. When you know your way round the fretboard you'll see that you never need to reach more than 4 frets anyway.

Good luck

Edited April 11, 2020 by TheGreek

[Richard R]

Welcome aboard!

Others will give you far better advice than I, but here is my tuppence worth:

Start slowly play slowly. I started a couple of years ago, in my '50s, and it takes time to get your fingers to move and most people don't normally stretch their hands much. You will be able to cover 3-6, maybe even 1-4 over time, but don't stress now. Start further up the fretboard where the frets are closer together and life might be easier.

I found studybass.com really useful when I started, other sites re available and there are online tutors here too.

Oh yeah, one other thing, which a good friend of mine said. If it was dead easy, everyone would do it and it wouldn't be cool, right? 😎

[JohnJohn]

Hi,

 

Thanks for the warm welcome, I really wasn't expecting that, much appreciated.

Advice heeded, you all made interesting points which I look forward to putting into practise. It's daunting, with so much new information, but I'm really enjoying it, such a buzz! 

 

Thanks again

 

[P-Belly Evans]

Hi and welcome from another new member. 

Forget the rank old knickers, cash is what you want thrown at you by women...better still you need one that allows you to relieve the constant Gas and spend all your money on as many instruments you think you need (but don't really). 

 

You are welcome🙄

[Blues Rock Dawn]

Hello there, and welcome! I only started playing about a month ago at age 55, and all the advice given in response to you about stretching hands etc is fantastic for me too. I have fairly big hands for a woman, but got an inexpensive short scale Harley Benton for starting out (not too much of an outlay if the bass turned out not to be for me). What I have now found though after holding other people's bass guitars, is that a normal sized jazz neck is easier for me to handle (even though it is significantly longer) than my short scale! This surprised me no end, but now I'm after a Marcus Miller P7 Swamp Ash 4 White Blonde 2. This has a thinner neck and the precision style body, which is a nice compromise for me, plus, I LOVE the look of this baby!