Beginner Bassist Looking for Advice on Right-Hand Technique

[AhlyxMU]

Hey everyone!

 

I bought my first bass guitar a little over a month ago and have been practicing pretty regularly during my spare time. Although I feel like various aspects of my playing have improved these past few weeks, my right-hand technique still feels off. I should note that I’m currently trying to learn the floating thumb technique since it’s what feels the most natural and comfortable for me. With that said, I have some questions regarding my forearm position and how bent my wrist should be when using this specific technique.

 

I’ve found that the most comfortable position for me when holding my bass is when I’m resting my forearm on the body. This also allows me to create the counter-pressure needed to fret notes without using the thumb on my left hand. However, when looking into whether or not I should rest my forearm on the bass body on different forums and sites, most advise that I shouldn’t. If that’s the case, are there any ways that I can avoid resting my forearm when playing? Does it even matter?

 

Regarding the wrist, I’ve found that it tends to bend significantly when playing on the higher strings. I know that the whole point of the floating thumb technique is to keep your wrist straight to reduce strain, but I find this pretty uncomfortable, especially when trying to cross strings since my forearm is constantly shifting/sliding up and down the body. Are there any ways to address this issue? Should I think about changing up my right-hand technique entirely?

 

I know this is a pretty lengthy post and all, but I’d really like to gather as much information and advice as possible to improve my bass playing. I posted a link to a video of me playing for you guys to check out and critique. The angle is pretty bad and there isn’t any audio, but it should be enough to see my current technique with both hands.

 

Video: https://youtu.be/TmT3eV5gV-s

Edited March 31 by AhlyxMU

[Reggaebass]

Welcome Ahlyx 

[Paolo85]

I am not an expert but to me your wrist looks fairly straight. The problem though is that in order to achieve that you keep the bass very much on your side. Not sure there is anything wrong with that per se but a big problem I'd see is that if you play standing with a strap the difference in terms of where the bass stands relative to you is must be huge.

As for not resting the arm.. well, if I do not follow "the rules" and bend my wrist and rest the arm, I get pain. The way to avoid it is to lift the arm a bit. Hard work at first, but apparently not as damaging. If you do not have room to lift the arm as your shoulder gets all weird, then maybe that's another downside of keeping the bass on the side. Maybe try to have it pointing more toward your left

[itu]

I see problems coming...

 

When your arm rests against the bass' body, your hand's circulation will be affected. Later on you will find lots of lactic acid from your finger muscles, but you start to talk about CTS, which it actually isn't. A muscle hammer may help, then (and how do I know this?).

 

Playing is just like sports: repeated exercises, warming ups, lots of training. Use a mirror/video to check your position. Do trials with different strap lengths, with different strings. Find the right ones for yourself. (When the sweat of your fingers feels odd, check your menu.)

 

Do you have a teacher? Try few until you find one you feel comfortable with, and you can get exercises you need. Scales may sound boring, but they are good for warming up. Two beat, four beat, walking bass, after some time you can mimic many styles.

 

I would buy these two books right away:

https://www.amazon.com/Bass-Line-Encyclopedia-National-Workshop/dp/0739069853

https://www.amazon.com/Standing-Shadows-Motown-Legendary-Jamerson/dp/0881888826