Members LateGreats Posted January 16, 2006 Members Share Posted January 16, 2006 Are there and exercises I can use to strengthen my fingers? The stretching is getting better, but my fingers (especially my pinky) just aren't strong enough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members tim_1002 Posted January 16, 2006 Members Share Posted January 16, 2006 i play trills(sp) and tap ons when i play the modes of scales. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Fran da Man Posted January 16, 2006 Members Share Posted January 16, 2006 Just keep practicing on the one finger per fret technique, string skipping, and holding chords...and keep working on that spread.I don't those artificial finger strength gadgets; as they will make your fingers stronger for "using them" not your bass. You want to develope strength + dexterity at the same time, this happens naturally with practice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members seraphim7s Posted January 16, 2006 Members Share Posted January 16, 2006 Chromatic fingers exercises. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 1 2 3 4 - - - - - - - - - - 1 2 3 4 - - - - - - - - - - 1 2 3 4 - - - - - - - - - - 1 2 3 4 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Going across the fretboard up to the 12th fret. Then alternate 2-3-4-1 / 3-4-2-1 / 4-1-2-3. Start at 60 BPM and go up at intervals of 10 BPM up to about 120 BPM (for a beginner). You are playing 1/8 notes here (semiquavers for us UKers) that is, 2 notes per beat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bruto Posted January 16, 2006 Members Share Posted January 16, 2006 I have an old Yamaha acoustic guitar with medium gauge strings on it. Playing that is a good workout plus it keeps my callouses harder than the bass. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Emprov Posted January 16, 2006 Members Share Posted January 16, 2006 Do some simple blues walking to a metronome. Keep turning the tempo up untill you hand aches and you want to scream....then turn it up 5 more clicks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bassplayer7770 Posted January 16, 2006 Members Share Posted January 16, 2006 Bass Fitness by Josquin des Pres has MANY fretting hand exercises. It should keep you pretty busy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bassplayinguy Posted January 16, 2006 Members Share Posted January 16, 2006 yup, walking bass lines and 1 finger per fret exercises will get you stronger in no time Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bigby Posted January 16, 2006 Members Share Posted January 16, 2006 When I first started playing back in the dark ages, I'd walk around all day with a gripmaster in my hand. (Go to musiciansfriend.com and put "gripmaster" in the search field). Also work on apreggios and test yourself by learning some songs that require strength and stretching ie. Tom Sawyer (Rush) Pulling Teeth (Metallica)..yes, I was a metal head when I first started! If you're working on strength, stay away from falling back on playing notes in the open position. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Moody Johnny Posted January 16, 2006 Members Share Posted January 16, 2006 There's an interesting finger strenghtening exercise on Warwick site HERE . I noticed that and started doing that a week ago. And on the lowest 4 frets. It's really demanding and surely toughens up your fingertips. Especially pinky. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members willsellout Posted January 16, 2006 Members Share Posted January 16, 2006 I use to set my action high and play it like that. Once it became easy, I lowered the action and found that my strength and speed both increased. I like my basses action really low now so that I don't have to fret hard..It's all about fatigue and ergonomics now. The less work I have to do to play equals longer playing times and less stress on my fretting hand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Rusty the Scoob Posted January 16, 2006 Members Share Posted January 16, 2006 To strenghten your pinky, first you must understand that most of your strenght and control on that finger comes from the same muscles that control your third (ring) finger. You must isolate the pinky to really strenghten it and gain independence. There's a simple excercise I use for that - I may have gotten it from the Bass Fitness book mentioned above, not sure. 1. Choose any fret, somewhere in the middle of the neck. 5th is a good choice. Anchor your index and middle fingers on the 5th and 6th frets of the G string. Anchor your ring finger on the 7th fret of the D string. Anchor your pinky on the 8th fret of the G string. Then do a trill (repeated hammer-on/pull-off) of the G string with your pinky and your middle finger. Keep your ring finger anchored on the D string, out of the way but firmly on the string. This is a lot harder than it sounds (nearly impossible at first!) but will get your pinky equal to your other three fingers pretty quickly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Richie Mcdonald Posted January 16, 2006 Members Share Posted January 16, 2006 Practice properly, try placing your fingers next to the fret, the note is formed when the string touches the metal, by placing your finger next to it you will find that you need little pressure to form the note likewise if you fret in the middle or closer to the other fret a lot more pressure is required. You will also find that with lighter pressure on the string stretching your fingers are a lot easier Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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