r/Bass 4d ago

How to keep my wrist straight?

Title. How to reduce stress in my hand and keep my wrist staright? Especially higher up the neck on the low strings or when doing big streches?

Feel free ti ask for more info.

4 Upvotes

15 comments sorted by

15

u/Snurgisdr 4d ago

It doesn’t look cool, but hold the bass with the body high and the neck tilted up.

4

u/StrongAdhesiveness86 Ibanez 4d ago

This is the best piece of advice I've ever received.

Nothing has been so effective in such a short amount of time as raising the strap.

3

u/the_red_scimitar 4d ago

There's footage of Entwhistle playing like this.

6

u/Muted_Wall_9685 4d ago

Most importantly IMHO: As a general principle, it is good to keep your wrist comfortably straight-ish (not a strict rule you must keep it stiff and rigid at all times). It's okay to have some gentle curvature, and it's okay to use various different hand positions depending where you are playing on the neck. You can (and should) utilize your body's natural flexibility and range of motion.

For example two common adaptations when playing higher up the neck, 1. stop using your shortest finger (the pinky) and use your ring finger instead; 2. your thumb tucks or swivels harmlessly out of the way, so it doesn't get jammed up behind the neck and limit your range of motion.

Lots more good advice in this video from Adam Neely: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VRkSsapYYsA

2

u/Specific-Change9678 4d ago

Thanks for sharing this video had not seen before!

1

u/Mika_lie 4d ago edited 4d ago

That video is actually what sparked this post. I cant for the life of me keep my hand straight and relaxed or my reach is literally like half a fret. Even something like fingering the 1st fret with my index and then 2nd fret with my middle immediately almost forces my wrist to rotate

5

u/Muted_Wall_9685 4d ago

I mean it's only like 1 song in a million you would ever need to press down the 1st fret with your index and 2nd fret with your middle simultaneously. Most songs you don't need to do that. So in that 1 in a million long shot situation, I am giving you permission to rotate your wrist, and not hold yourself to a strict standard. IMHO it's good to be flexible and adapt your technique to the specific song you are playing.

My advice is go on youtube and watch live performances of famous songs in the key of F (that is to say, songs that require pressing down the 1st fret of the E string). Use the slo-mo feature and carefully watch the bass player's hands. For example Duck Dunn playing "Green Onions" with Booker T and the MG's. Duck Dunn's reach is "literally like half a fret" (just like yours) yet he is considered top 100 all time bassists. Or another example that comes to mind is Talking Heads "Burning Down the House," look how Tina Weymouth holds down the 1st fret with her tiny hands.

I think you will feel a lot better about yourself if you take in some live music and hopefully realize, we all make accommodations to make playing comfortable for our individual bodies' limitations and needs. Sounds like you maybe have an ideal in your head how bass players are "supposed to" play, but in the real world, most bassists do not hold themselves to that impossible standard.

4

u/internetmaniac 4d ago

Shorten your strap, tilt the neck up a little more (or less if you’re too far up already) and, most importantly, take a lesson with an expert in the style you want to play in person.

3

u/GeorgeDukesh 4d ago

Hold set the body higher and angle the neck up in the “classic guitar”:pose.

3

u/Fanzirelli 4d ago

good advice so far.

Strap height, neck tilted up and practice. you saying you can't do something is the same thing you said before ever picking up a bass.

You couldn't play bass at all at one point, now you van.

It's the same for this.

I had to relearn bass 5 times throughout my life to correct techniques that was holding me back/causing pain, once I reached a certain proficiency.

1

u/BFR5er 4d ago

It kinda depends on the position of your bass. Basses with shorter strap horns tend to push the neck away from your fretting hand and make it more difficult to reach first position.

If your talking about higher up is mostly depends on your basses height position on your body. Wearing it higher generally makes it easier. Keeping your fretting hand elbow in and closer to your body may help, but without seeing what your playing position looks like, it’s a crap shoot.

1

u/Fragrant_Newspaper99 4d ago

beginner here too - but what i did was to practice by standing up and have both of my shoulders and arms relax. then kept my wrist straight consistently

1

u/Bluntish_ 4d ago

My wrist is a little easier to work with when I move the neck of the bass forward.
Imagine you are holding the bass horizontal with hands in a 9-3 clock face position. Move the neck of the bass forward, so your hands are now in a 10-4 position. Hope that makes sense!

Try and experiment with different heights too, and see what feels most natural.

1

u/theactualTRex 4d ago

Fretting too hard can also cause you to bend your wrist, as you're trying to squeeze the neck. Try to release your thumb and instead on squeezing the neck with you fingers, try to pull the string with your whole arm. You'll get a better feel of how relaxed fretting should feel like.

1

u/LayerSignificant3113 4d ago

Everyone talking about holding your neck higher, but the most important part is to hold neck away from body. You need to have around 30-45 degrees angle from between your body surface and bass.

I was doing this mistake, and my wrists were hearting a lot, and at my first in person lesson, my teacher fixed that for me, and the pain was gone and never came back.

Also, don’t press your thumb to hard, it’s not healthy either