Palm mute technique and shoulder/hand pain

[mike313]

Hi,

I have a question for players who regularly use the palm mute technique, the one where you rest the side of your right hand on the string right next to the bridge and play with the thumb.

Ed Friedland talks about this technique here: [url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MP76f4XtlWk"]https://www.youtube....h?v=MP76f4XtlWk[/url]

I really like the sound you get with this technique, especially for playing reggae and jazz walking bass. The problem is I cant really stand to play with the right hand in palm mute position for long periods of time, as putting the hand in that position gives me a pain in the shoulder and/or in the side of the hand.

So after some minutes I have to switch to normal position, at least for a bit, to recover from the pain.

I was wondering if someone uses this technique regularly for prolonged periods of time. Do you have some suggestions on how to position my hand and arm in order to avoid pain and play in a relaxed state, like when playing normal fingerstyle?

Edited July 17, 2015 by mike313

[funkyjimbob]

Hi,
I use this position regularly for fingerstyle and palm-muted slap techniques. It did take me a while to get used to but I can play there for as long as needed now. Maybe try altering the height of your bass if you are bending your wrist into a weird position? I never got bad pain though so thinking you may be 'forcing' your hand into this position.

[ambient]

It's a technique I use a lot for playing jazz. It's definitely easier if you have the bass at the right height though. I don't use a strap, I play seated, which I find puts the bass at just the right level. I tend to use a combination of both my palm and forearm to mute, depending on whereabouts I'm playing (towards the neck, or closer to the bridge).

[enricogaletta]

As the same for all the playing techniques, needs a bit of time to get used, try to practice it more regularly and apply it to scales and arpeggios or even on some grooves or baselines you usually play with fingerstyle.
But it's also true that your pain can be a consequence of a wrong position of your bass or to the shoulder strap, try different positions and see how it goes.
Palm mute or muting bass is an amazing technique and when you start to mix it together your other skills, you can't imagine how many scenarios on your playing you can reach.
If you need any help just let me know. Below an example:
Cheers.
[color=#021EAA][font=Helvetica][size=3][u][url="http://youtu.be/dYbhVBGc7bo"]http://youtu.be/dYbhVBGc7bo[/url][/u][color=#000000] [/color][/size][/font][/color]

Edited August 5, 2015 by enricogaletta

[Burg]

As per the others. I'd add to be mindful of how much pressure you are using to mute the strings. You should be able to mute the strings just by using your arm weight and thi should feel relaxed and comfortable. If you're pushing down too much or holding tension in your arm or shoulder this could be the cause of the pain.

[gjones]

You can always cheat and put a piece of foam under the bridge.