Hi, I'm an an absolute beginner and have been told to keep left hand fingers curled in position over the frets. I'm finding this difficult with the 1st and 2nd fingers, which tend to involuntary straighten out in a bit of a spastic fashion when practising scales. Should I be concerned about this or will it naturally sorted itself out with practise. Will appreciate any helpful comments.
just keep practicing but try to stay relaxed. You probably have a lot of tension in your left hand.
Jamie Andreas has some excellent articles on this which was very helpful to me as a beginner.
This one in particular but all of them are good.
https://www.guitarnoise.com/author/jamieandreas/
Ps, it's nice to see some more bass players around GN, welcome.
A hoopy frood knows where his towel is....
Thanx for the tip. I printed the article out and am trying to follow the advice. I think this and practice is easing the situation already.
Now, I feel that the best thing would be to have a teacher, but unfortunatelly there aren't any around here. I was considering to buy a beginners course
and have checked Amazon.com and similar sites and found a few, but do not know which one would be the best for me, :) an enthusiastic new female bass player.
:D
Can anyone out there make any strong recommendations?
If you would add your location to your profile (the one at the top of the page), then perhaps one of us may know someone in your neighborhood.
I'm sure someone will post some books that they liked. I learned the bass before the printing press was invented. 8)
Is the bass your first instrument?
Welcome to GN!
Laz
Sorry, I should complete the information in my profile (even with GPS coordinates :D ).
Now, there is a challenge.
I'm British but working in Cairo, Egypt.
The bass is my first musical instrument and is the one which attracts me the most.
(Maybe now you understand my situation better.)
Thanks for taking the time to help, I really apprciate it.
I am not as informed as Laz. I only own one bass guitar now, and generally don't play it, but have only 'noodled' for nearly 40 years, when I got my first bass back then. I'm still interested enough to comment however, with my son playing since age 11, over 10 years, but he is not the guy in this Youtube video; and I have one of the daughters still on violin working up to another bass, which she shares with the bro.
So here's the video. I think it represents the craft and a simple technique very well, plainly and easily, in less than a minute.
I feel that your fingers will curl in or bend with practice, and believe that you should keep them in close proximity to the fretboard, which is another way of phrasing your concern.
So keep them curled and ready (lightly abducted), and if necessary, get a spongy squeeze ball and play with it, or exercise the left hand moderately, in an isometric way. :D
Minimize all discomforts and distractions, sit down, relax and do not be tense. Make sure the bass fits you, and when you're in the mood, you'll be in the groove. :wink:
Like a bird on the wire,
like a drunk in a midnight choir
I have tried in my way to be free.
Also use this video as a referral or a guide to many other videos which I have just been watching, too many to post.
And sorry, I do not have a particular book or course recommendation. There will be more replies most likely. And good luck with it, all the best!
Like a bird on the wire,
like a drunk in a midnight choir
I have tried in my way to be free.
On books. I started with a very good book on bass, here it is the link to a review:
https://www.guitarnoise.com/review/complete-idiots-guide-to-playing-bass-guitar/
And welcome to GN.
