angle will be required from your fretting hand wrist if you want to maintain a perpendicular finger position across the strings . Something you can try is to point the neck of the bass higher , which then raises your fretting hand arm higher and alleviates the sharp angle . Keep in mind this does also change the hanging angle of the bass , so your plucking hand may have to adjust slightly , as well .
Another thing you can try is to just raise the height of your bass by adjusting the strap . This accomplishes the same result but does not change the hanging angle of the instrument , which some players might prefer . You will need to experiment with both approaches to see what is most comfortable for you .
Sharp wrist angles are not just something the fretting hand deals with , however . They can negatively influence the amount of tension you carry in the wrist of your plucking hand wrist , as well . A lot of bass players rest their plucking hand arm on the body of the bass and bend the wrist into position over the strings to pluck them . The more extreme the wrist bend , the more it can agitate your tendons under tension and cause problems over time . ( Yet another lesson I learned the hard way ...) See FIGURE 2 . raising your shoulder and focus on how that feels . It may seem strange at first , but you don ’ t need to move it much at all to alleviate the sharp angle . We ’ re not going for perfectly “ angle-less ” wrists ; we are just wanting to take away the potential for tension .
Another solution is to adjust your strap , just like we did for the fretting hand , but moving in the opposite direction . As with the fretting hand , the height of the bass affects how much of an angle your plucking hand will adopt . The higher you hang your bass , the greater the wrist angle required of your plucking hand . So , in this context you can try lowering your bass a little to see if that takes care of the issue . Incidentally , the best overall height for your bass is one in which you maintain a nice compromise between what ’ s best for both wrists . For me personally ,
that puts the body of the bass somewhere in the vicinity of stomach level , but obviously your
results may vary .
I hope that these simple tips will help you to find the most comfortable positions for your bass playing ! Let me know if you like this type of content , and if you do , I ’ ll be happy to share more tips .
Until next time , keep on groovin ’!
Adam Nitti Nashville-based Adam Nitti balances his roles as a solo artist , sideman , and educator . He has filled the bass chair for Kenny Loggins , Carrie Underwood , Dave Weckl Band , Michael McDonald , Susan Tedeschi , Steven Curtis Chapman , Mike Stern , Brent Mason , Wayne Krantz , and Christopher Cross , while also releasing five solo CDs to date . As a Nashville session bassist he has played on multiple Grammywinning and Grammy-nominated albums , and is also the founder of ...
AdamNittiMusicEducation . com
Notice in figure 2 how the bending or “ hooking ” of the wrist creates a sharp wrist angle . The angle itself is not a problem per se , but if you introduce consistent tension in combination with an angle like this , you can introduce pain over time and if gone unchecked , can cause injury .
FIGURE 2
Once again let me offer a couple of ways that you can avoid this . The first way is to lessen the wrist angle by allowing your plucking hand elbow to point more outward and away from your body . See FIGURE 3 .
This is a super effective way to lessen the angle and the potential for tension , but you must be careful not to introduce any tension in the plucking hand shoulder when you make this move . Just point the elbow slightly without FIGURE 3
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