For all you new and experienced bassists out there I thought it would be a great idea to write down this simple yet effective technique for training those hard to reach muscles in your fingers and forearms that you don’t use everyday, except when playing your guitar. Just as real athletes and sports men and women the whole world over do their stretching and limbering up exercises before a performance, it is essential that, as a bass player, you do the same. Whilst overall fitness for playing long sessions is a given, it is very important to work out those small muscle groups in your fingers, wrists and forearms before you practise or play.
This short exercise will stretch and tone up your fingers and arms and you should complete it ten to fifteen minutes before your session.
Beginning with the E string, with your index finger on the first fret, hold it down for a SLOW ten count. Next move on to your middle finger positioned on the second fret doing exactly the same, holding it down for a slow ten count. Repeat for the third and fourth fingers. Third finger on the third fret, count to ten. Fourth finger on the fourth fret, count to ten. Then move on to the A string and repeat the previous exercise with the exact same SLOW count. The first finger on the first fret, count to ten. The second finger on the second fret, count to ten, etc. Proceed to the D string and then the G string.
For the next stage, repeat the process backwards from the G string with the fourth finger on the fourth fret. Third finger on the third fret. Continuing until you reach the first fret on the E string again, counting SLOWLY to ten on each fret.
By now you will be feeling all the muscles you are working in your forearm, wrist and hand. It is common sense really but if you feel any discomfort or pain at any time with this exercise or when playing, STOP and take a rest. If you feel that you need more of a warm up, or want to turn this into a work out, you can continue the same exercise but further up the fretboard by moving your index finger up to the second fret and repeat the exercise using the same pattern as before. See just how many frets you can climb and remember to keep your timing count SLOW!
This exercise is a combination of stretching and pseudo-weightlifting for your fret hand. Used as a part of your daily warm up it will increase your hand strength, hand speed and your endurance. You can vary it by jumping from the first fret to the fifth to the ninth or indeed, any combination you decide works best for you.
This exercise will also work well for working on your weak areas. Often the third and fourth fingers can be a little weak so you can adapt the exercise to just use these particular fingers. Remember to keep the the count SLOW!
I hope this article helps you to develop your bass playing skills.
