Jellyfish

Over time, as someone with small hands also (my little finger is under 2 inches ) I learnt to make up the shortfall by applying less pressure to the back of the neck with my thumb which helped me move my hand more freely and really helped with the one finger per fret. Practice will also help you get a slightly better hand span without it being too much of a strain.

Have it in book form and it is a fantastic book. One of the few i've ever seen that's ever been useful to me.

I think you're right. And I think complaining about a B string is as silly as complaining about fret buzz or string height. It takes no effort to get it changed.

[quote name='bubinga5' timestamp='1341133590' post='1714042'] sorry Chris i have to respectfully disagree with your first comment.... i have a theory that most things that are good never come easy... a good left hand technique or finger/hand position is not necessarily right for the body... and going for the most comfortable position is not always the right way... falling in to that trap can lead to lazy techniques imo... sounds very strict but music accommodates music not the body.. [/quote] I understand your point, but i've never thought about it that way. I don't really know about other players, but i'm in the category where as long as I can play the notes I need to (and get a good sound while doing so) i'll always pick the most conservative/lazy technique I can. Especially with 5 strings and small hands. I know it does differ for some people though. I know a lot of bass players and guitar players will also tell you that to fret a note, you only need so much pressure, and overexerting the pressure on each note will just make your hands more tired when they don't need to be. One of my favourite bass players, John Myung, is often seen using a vicious left hand technique that makes my hands tired just looking at it. But then you look at someone like Brian Bromberg who promotes a 'naturally hanging' right hand technique when slapping, but also carries this over to his left hand technique and if you look at any video of him jamming or anything, he makes it look effortless. If the problem for Mr Fretbuzz is fingers flying off when fretting other notes, then my advice is relaxation and to slow down. I still have problems with my little finger flying off and then being too far away when I need to do fast runs, but through a lot of concentration and watching myself, I managed to get it under control.

It is a gray area, and like most of the techniques in bass playing, I think the technique that feels most comfortable and is able to give you what you need (e.g. being able to play fast/slow etc) is the one you need to find. My personal experience was always thumb over the top in most cases, unless playing higher notes. I've since been taught by a very competent bass teacher to fully relax the thumb and try playing the notes on the neck without applying any pressure with the thumb. I was taught a technique where you sort of pull from the shoulder and hit the notes that way, giving you more freedom to move up and down the neck. It also leaves the wrist fully relaxed and hanging while playing sitting down and standing up. I've also found, since doing it, that the neck barely moves as well which really helps as you always know where the notes are going to be. Hope this helps.

Second time i've dealt with this gentleman and was impressed a second time when he sent me a gig bag extremely fast and well packaged!