tauzero Posted August 17, 2022 Share Posted August 17, 2022 16 hours ago, Lozz196 said: I think I could adapt to all sorts of restrictions on my left fretting hand, but put a bass on me left handed and I’d be all over the place. I've tried playing left-handed. Not a chance. OTOH, a guitarist I used to play with was left-handed but learnt to play right-handed. For some reason, this niggled him, even though he'd been playing 20+ years and was very good. So eventually he bought a left-handed guitar and learnt to play it left-handed too. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodinblack Posted August 17, 2022 Share Posted August 17, 2022 There are at least three bass players on youtube that play bass with no hands, so I don't think a missing finger is that much of an issue. Heres one 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nail Soup Posted August 17, 2022 Share Posted August 17, 2022 Slightly off topic, but all this left/right talk got me thinking...... When I first stared to learn bass my dad questioned why the hands are that way round for a right handed person - as in his view the dominant right hand was doing the simple stuff (picking or strumming) and the left hand the complex stuff (fretting). I guess it's because the plucking hand is responsible for tone and timing etc... especially if you consider the whole string family. Any thoughts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dad3353 Posted August 17, 2022 Share Posted August 17, 2022 5 minutes ago, Nail Soup said: ...Any thoughts? Maybe historical..? Plucking and strumming are relatively new, for stringed instruments. The violin extended family have been bowed for centuries, and the left hand relegated to the slightly lesser role of simply holding down the string. Bowing required the dexterity of the dominant hand (and so 'right'...), and that has been carried over to the later members of the string family. Maybe..? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yorks5stringer Posted August 17, 2022 Share Posted August 17, 2022 Wasn't Ron Griffiths the Bassist with bad finger? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Russ Posted August 17, 2022 Share Posted August 17, 2022 1 hour ago, Woodinblack said: There are at least three bass players on youtube that play bass with no hands, so I don't think a missing finger is that much of an issue. Heres one Wow. Wondering how he does the little tapping part? Let's not forget Bill Clements, who shows us how it's done with only one arm! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fleabag Posted August 17, 2022 Share Posted August 17, 2022 I'm a righty, but use all 4 fingers of my left fretting hand, so i'd have a bit of trouble without the little finger, though the way humans adapt to such things as lost digits lost limbs etc , is amazing, so i would agree with the posters who say learn to play without the little pinky Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nail Soup Posted August 17, 2022 Share Posted August 17, 2022 33 minutes ago, Dad3353 said: Maybe historical..? Plucking and strumming are relatively new, for stringed instruments. The violin extended family have been bowed for centuries, and the left hand relegated to the slightly lesser role of simply holding down the string. Bowing required the dexterity of the dominant hand (and so 'right'...), and that has been carried over to the later members of the string family. Maybe..? That's what I figured anyway. The teenage me didn't say that to my dad though! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dad3353 Posted August 17, 2022 Share Posted August 17, 2022 2 minutes ago, Nail Soup said: That's what I figured anyway. The teenage me didn't say that to my dad though! 'Lefty-ism' is a bell-curve for the population as a whole, and most folks are, in any case ambidextrous to some extent. At each end of this 'spectrum' there are those who are 'totally' righty or lefty, and some folk are plumb in the middle, at ease either way round. The earlier one takes the opportunity to reverse things, the easier it is to assimilate the change; even more important is the realisation that one has the capacity to do at least something 'the other way around'. Often stubbornness will prevail, of course : 'I can't do it, so I'll abandon, as I'm [righty|lefty (pick one...)]. Necessity often dicates the change, but it's always useful to try things out anyway, just for fun. Most folk can do much better than they may have thought possible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulThePlug Posted August 17, 2022 Share Posted August 17, 2022 Playing bass with lost finger?.. Look for finger, and be more careful where you leave it in future... i have an old mug that i use for my keys, loose change, loose fingers etc... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bass_dinger Posted August 17, 2022 Share Posted August 17, 2022 10 hours ago, Woodinblack said: . Easier than a guitar or bass, a voilin is pretty symetrical so you only have to redo the nut and bridge and they are pretty low tech. Slightly off topic, but a violin has a bar underneath the bass side of sound board, a sound post between the top and back of instrument, directly under the treble side of the bridge foot. So there are internals that need changing, too. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Downunderwonder Posted August 17, 2022 Share Posted August 17, 2022 6 hours ago, Nail Soup said: Slightly off topic, but all this left/right talk got me thinking...... When I first stared to learn bass my dad questioned why the hands are that way round for a right handed person - as in his view the dominant right hand was doing the simple stuff (picking or strumming) and the left hand the complex stuff (fretting). I guess it's because the plucking hand is responsible for tone and timing etc... especially if you consider the whole string family. Any thoughts? I think your Dad never played a note or he would know there's a helluva lot going on with the plucking and muting. Same with bowing strings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nail Soup Posted August 17, 2022 Share Posted August 17, 2022 27 minutes ago, Downunderwonder said: I think your Dad never played a note or he would know there's a helluva lot going on with the plucking and muting. Same with bowing strings. True - he didn't play. He also had the disadvantage of observing my pretty basic (at the time, I like to think it's improved!) right hand technique. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rushbo Posted August 17, 2022 Share Posted August 17, 2022 Welcome to the weird and wonderful world of the bass! I have teeny, Trump-like hands, which means my pinky on my left hand gets used a lot - mainly for playing octaves - and if you don't know what an octave is, listen to almost any seventies disco tune and you'll hear plenty! Most adult males have regular sized hands which means that most of the notes they'll use can be covered without the pinky getting involved. This seems to be a more straightforward option than trying to flip your brain around to play left handed. I don't know any left handed bassists who play right handed, but Mark Knopfler and Nils Lofgren are lefties who now play guitar right handed, so it can be done. A short or medium scale bass may help you play passages which might ordinarily involves a "four-finger" stretch. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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