Disheartened

[risingson]

[quote name='Twincam' timestamp='1390241300' post='2343053']
Measured my hand ok from first to last little finger full stretch is 15 cm. But if I turn my hand like I was holding the bass my stretch is 12 cm uncomfortable max. I don't know how that measures up to others lol.
I guess I'm impatient and a bit competitive.
Anyhow good replies. Feeling more positive
[/quote]

One piece of advice, put your tape measure away and never measure your hand again. I'm a bass player of 12 years, I've played professionally for much of this time and I have small hands. I can't remember the last time I struggled to stretch as far as you seem to be describing, it's a complete red herring so put it out of your mind. If you worry about stretching in your hand then check out Tal Wilkenfeld, a female bass player who has tiny hands but no limitations in her abilities!

What you'll notice over time is that some of the more difficult stretches become much easier in your left hand when you develop a better technique. It's advisable for you to be looking to a competent teacher to show you the ropes of the finger-per-fret technique and such but for the time being stick to your routine of playing. Jumping the gun on stuff will get you hugely frustrated.

Edited January 20, 2014 by risingson

[skankdelvar]

[quote name='Twincam' timestamp='1390242058' post='2343079']
Unless you get a load of fret buzz right?? haha [/quote]

That's a good point, actually. Action, relief and string gauge all have a part to play. If you get a tutor, ask him to check your bass over and suggest any adjustments that might help.

I mean, here we are worrying about finger-spreads while your action might be high enough to limbo dance under.

[Twincam]

[quote name='chris_b' timestamp='1390242039' post='2343077']
You shouldn't be stretching anyway!

You should be moving your hand so that you place your fingers over the right note.


Have a listen to this. No stretching here.....

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X6x--c9SZak[/media]
[/quote]

Yeah thats pretty much how i play, and i guess i could play that too. However in some songs moving your hands rather than stretching or having fingers close doesn't seem to work as well.
I honestly am very critical of myself.
Ok this is what started it of i watched a learn to play vid of how to play the clash london calling. ok in the vid the guy stretches from the 7th fret on the A string to the 10th on the A string and does a triplet. which works well however i can't get near making that stretch so move my hand and that millionth of a second to me ruins the timing, and to me i should be able to play that tune, perfectly.

[xilddx]

I'd suggest that if your fingers are where you'd prefer a couple of extra inches, you should have been a guitarist

[Twincam]

[quote name='skankdelvar' timestamp='1390242553' post='2343086']
That's a good point, actually. Action, relief and string gauge all have a part to play. If you get a tutor, ask him to check your bass over and suggest any adjustments that might help.

I mean, here we are worrying about finger-spreads while your action might be high enough to limbo dance under.
[/quote]

I set up my own bass and i don't get any buzz (can't stand it), and while i have a med to high action its certainly not high unless 2.5 to 3mm max is abnormally high lol. My epiphone eb0 is a nightmare to adjust when i change from flats to rounds or to different gauges, that 3 point bridge looks cool but is infact crap

[Twincam]

[quote name='xilddx' timestamp='1390243265' post='2343099']
I'd suggest that if your fingers are where you'd prefer a couple of extra inches, you should have been a guitarist
[/quote]
Cant make chords or change quick enough lol played guitar from age 11 till my late teens. And i wasn't happy then either haha

[HowieBass]

Remember, it's not what you've got; it's what you do with it that counts!

Now, where have I heard that said before...

[chris_b]

If the energy was there and the feel was right then the Clash were happy.

I don't think they put much store in the idea of perfection.

[yorks5stringer]

Make sure when your new Bass arrives the first thing you learn, ( if you don't know it already) is " Mustang Sally"!

[xilddx]

[quote name='Twincam' timestamp='1390243566' post='2343102']
Cant make chords or change quick enough lol played guitar from age 11 till my late teens. And i wasn't happy then either haha
[/quote]

You missed the implications of my post but never mind

If you played guitar for 7 years and you couldn't learn some chords and change quickly between them, there must be something you are not telling us - for example, that you are actually a Venezuelan Poodle Moth.

[bumnote]

I have been playing first guitar, and then from about 1968 bass. I am left handed playing right, which gives me an advantage on my fretting hand, but I am pretty slow on my right using a pick or fingers. I play in three bands, and I concentrate on locking in with the drummer and doing the right thing for the song. I get immense satisfaction from that. I cant slap, or do fast runs but I play fairly regularly and enjoy myself.
I sometimes see these guys at shows where they they are playing 100 miles an hour, and I think to my self where can they play that.
As I write this I am listening to the great Otis Redding singing my girl, the bass line is simple, Im sure you could play it, and it perfectly suits the song. I am an old codger so you may not be familiar with these songs but I am sure there are songs in your selection where the bass isnt a million miles an hour.
Dont be discouraged, just keep practising, and remember you will get better, but you will get better, faster with a proper tutor

[Twincam]

[quote name='xilddx' timestamp='1390247700' post='2343167']


You missed the implications of my post but never mind

If you played guitar for 7 years and you couldn't learn some chords and change quickly between them, there must be something you are not telling us - for example, that you are actually a Venezuelan Poodle Moth.
[/quote]

Lol I might of missed your implications but think you missed my sarcasm lol. I definitely missed the implications of a poodle moth I looked it up and still missed your implications of the moth.

[Twincam]

[quote name='yorks5stringer' timestamp='1390245693' post='2343137']
Make sure when your new Bass arrives the first thing you learn, ( if you don't know it already) is " Mustang Sally"!
[/quote]

Lol. I like to name my basses and decided im going to call her Sally and I shall certainly learn the tune too.

[yorks5stringer]

[quote name='Twincam' timestamp='1390248779' post='2343191']
Lol. I like to name my basses and decided im going to call her Sally and I shall certainly learn the tune too.
[/quote]

[Grangur]

Here's a good vid on the subject. Dave Marks is a good guy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eXkxu_7Tn48

I'm sure what you're doing is fine. I've been playing almost 4 years, but I'm 54. When my teacher was trying to tell me on day 1 that I MUST do 1 finger per fret from day 1 at the bottom of the neck (at the nut) I binned him. I'm 54, my joints are stiffer than a 15yrs old. There's no way I'm going to be able to keep that up. My stretch might have got bigger now, but Its still only 15cm from finger to finger; same as you.

Make mates of other musicians and talk about your worries - like you're doing now. Keep on at it mate!

[oggiesnr]

I can't do half the stuff I'd like to do on a bass, I have small hands and hand damage but I've got past the point of caring. What I can and do do I do as well as I can and I try to make it as musical as possible. The rest of it I leave to other people, they're welcome to it.

On a more serious I also play double bass (again as my hand allows) and I've found that the 1st, 2nd, 4th finger usage also works a lot better for me on a bass guitar than trying to stretch too far.

Steve

PS one of the best bass players I've seen had one arm, another had only two fingers on his fretting hand, you adapt to what you can do, limitations are there to be used to to be limiting.

[Thunderbird]

I get really down in the dumps at times as my hands are medically F---ked lol so I am pretty much having to relearn everything my fretting hand once knew I know it in my head but my hand don't wanna know but all I do is keep plodding on and trying and I have nothing to prove to anyone, I know I am not the best bass player in the world and I never will be but I enjoy playing and that is what keeps me going and enjoying it so just carry on at your own pace and stop beating yourself up it really aint worth it and feeling down will only make your playing worse or force you to give up if I am having a bad bass day I stop playing go and make a coffee sit and have that and a smoke calm down a bit then pick the bass up again and start a fresh, maybe you are pushing yourself too hard? anyway I don't get down and keep on smiling

[steve-bbb]

[quote name='Twincam' timestamp='1390238752' post='2343000']
Ok so I'm going to order a nice new Fender Mustang hopefully next Monday. My first quality bass, so to say. Which has made me question what warrants me spending that much on a bass.
As the other day I realised how bad my fingers are while watching bass playing vids. I can't make certain stretches which others make look easy and I play a short scale bass! seriously for some reason my fingers do not stretch well. It's literally physically impossible rather than me just needing to stretch them.
Certain parts I have to play slightly different and can most of the time get away with it but others I just can't get.
A few people said I play ok. But to me I'm crap and though I've not played long, I'm starting to worry that time and practice now won't be enough.
I'm not gonna stop playing and I'm still gonna order a awesome bass.
But I do feel disheartened.
Anyone else ever feel like that?.
[/quote]

first of all....

if youll believe you are crap then your subconcious will spend most of the time developing that idea until you seriously believe it enough to the point where you do actually give up

stretching is not everything and neither is flashy fast fly off fingers - there is no rule book as far as i am aware that says to be an accomplished bass player you need hands like shovels - after time you will develop a sense of economy with your playing style and you will come to realise you can play fast and slow with absolute minimal amounts of digital thrashing about and a very satisfying economy of movement

if you find that your fingers dont move well then your hand/elbow will do more moving to compensate - try not to fall in to the practice of keeping yuour hand position fixed too rigid (thus making your fingers over-stretch) and allow your elbow/forearm to move to make small movements to your hand position so that your fingers dont do all the stretching

Edited January 20, 2014 by steve-bbb

[Myke]

[quote name='Twincam' timestamp='1390243097' post='2343097']
Ok this is what started it of i watched a learn to play vid of how to play the clash london calling. ok in the vid the guy stretches from the 7th fret on the A string to the 10th on the A string and does a triplet. which works well however i can't get near making that stretch so move my hand and that millionth of a second to me ruins the timing, and to me i should be able to play that tune, perfectly.
[/quote]

Play the same note in a different place. 7th fret A and then 5th fret D?

Also which fingers are you using for the frets?

Edited January 20, 2014 by Myke

[xilddx]

[quote name='Twincam' timestamp='1390248690' post='2343188']
Lol I might of missed your implications but think you missed my sarcasm lol. I definitely missed the implications of a poodle moth I looked it up and still missed your implications of the moth.
[/quote]



Seriously, just keep at it, and get a decent teach to set you on the right path. Best of luck, and may joy be unconfined.

[muttley]

[quote name='Grangur' timestamp='1390249121' post='2343203']
When my teacher was trying to tell me on day 1 that I MUST do 1 finger per fret from day 1 at the bottom of the neck (at the nut) I binned him.
[/quote]

Interesting. From day 1 my teacher told me I was [u]not[/u] going to learn 1 fret per finger but instead he has taught me db fingering technique. Fingers 1 to 2 are a semitone, 2 to 4 are another, 1 to 4 is a tone. Finger 3 gets used further up the neck when the spacing between notes is shorter. There's more hand movement but for my tiny violin player's hands (I'm 48, BTW) it has worked a treat (with the added benefit that I can also play db ). If this sounds like it may be of some help, look up some db tutorials on Youtube.