The Perfect Bass Position... a must for all bass players! (L
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- Опубликовано: 25 окт 2024
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I’ve seen countless bass players struggling with their technique - they can’t seem to play faster type lines or make big stretches on the fingerboard… in fact stretching any more than 4 frets is a struggle for them.
In most cases bad positioning is at the root of all these problems.
Positioning your bass correctly whilst sitting or standing is absolutely vital. Not only could it hold your bass playing back in ways you may not realise, but even more seriously than that it can effect your health.
In this lesson I’m going to show you some techniques to help you find the perfect bass position.
As always, see you in the shed…
Scott :)
PS. If you enjoy this lesson and really want to become a “technique jedi” on the bass you should check out our full technique course within the S.B.L Academy. It’s over 2 hours long and includes the very exercises I developed working with hundreds of students over the years, and ultimately completely changed my bass playing.
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Against all odds... I'm releasing a brand new lesson today!
I got hit on the head by a falling branch this morning and was knocked clean out! 4 hours in hospital... stitches... and a very saw head!...
BUT - THE GROOVE MUST GO ON!
In this new lesson i'm going to show you a couple of techniques that will help you find the perfect position for your bass.
Groove on guys! ]
The Perfect Bass Position... a must for all bass players! (L#135)
Yet you managed to come up with the video. I'm impressed mate, the video deserves a like just for this detail haha !
You are powerful, thank you for all your lessons. Take care.
Hope You OK now Scott? Showing the old Churchill spirit !!!! Well done mate Paul
Get well soon buddy.
Great pointers, thanks.
How many stitches did you get? Hope you get better soon! After watching your video here I picked up my bass and stood up and I hold mine at exactly the same height and angles as you said works well. It has always just 'felt' right for me. Sitting down I do not do it well though, as the seats I sit on are always too short and I swap from rightie bass played left and leftie played left handed so I have the bass on the opposite leg than you do, I want to try and get used to it resting on the other leg but it feels weird...
Great technique I’m 56 and have played electric bass since I was 13 and enjoy watching the videos brings me back to the basics which we all tend to override or forget.
Rock the He** on!!!!! excellent tutelage.
i raised my bass up even higher last week, with my bass at the same position standing as sitting, i can get to all my techniques equally, i can finger pluck, slap, pick, tap whatever i need to do comfortably
This really solved my left shoulder cramping problem thanks! As a beginner you really tend to pull it close on the left so you can see the frets which leads to that horizontal position.
Black hardware and natural wood finish looks so cool!
By the way,great tips
Well done!! I most always practice standing up, cuz when playing live I'm standing.
It’s not about looks hanging the bass low for some of us bass players!
My perfered way of playing is full finger. If you’re using your palm as a resting point instead of your thumb it becomes a whole different story. Fast powerfull playing is so much harder if your cupping your hand like most bass players do. You have to engage the wrist by flicking it backwards as you play if you wanna maximize power, and keep the power up for a whole gig (Take as much load of the fingers as possible). Hence hanging the bass pretty low to keep the arm in a neutral/relaxed position, allowing the wrist to do the work. Steve Harris and Cliff Burton are two good examples of full finger players. Any live video/photo of them will tell you why they hang the bass low
Great lesson! It open many doors, even for me who has been playing bass for ages!
Thank you for providing these lessons Scott.
Great Advice... Easy to overlook something so small, but it winds up being a huge deal... Nice Educational Detail ....
Great lesson Scott! Was looking for a lesson like this one a couple of years ago and couldn't find! Thx and keep up the good work! cheers from Romania!
Mike Dirnt is one of the few punk bass players whose guitar isn't hanging down his knees
I totally agree but playability is only one aspect. As a live musician you often not only have to provide the service of bass playing, you also have to do a show. Green Day is a good example. Their fans are not interested in musically perfectly performed song, their audience is buying a life attitude with the ticket.
And The Sisters Of Mercy once said "A good live instrument has to look good, sound good, feel good. In that order."
So I don't agree with "a must for all bass players". ;-)
When the band and their fans are each as high as a kite, it really doesn't matter what they play. And that really sums up 3 chord punk bands and their fans in general.
If you plan on playing *music* (live or otherwise), learn how to put on a show only *after* you learn good technique.
i, and billy sheehan can put on quite a show with my bass strapped high thank you
agreed, standing position would NEVER be the same as sitting position even as Scott even demonstrates here!
Compliments for the clip-on mic, the sound is very close an good even in larger rooms. The standing position is good, leg prevents the same angle while sitting down. Lying down it's possible to play, sleep a couple of hours and play again when waking up. $1 is a very good deal for deep diving lessons I must say.
Wrist angles, plus relatively short fingers (can only do a 9th on piano with my LH), plus all basses 5+: ended up with exactly same :) Including pushing neck up.
Practice: for exactly Scott’s reasons (gig how you practice) - sitting or standing, always with strap; bass never actually rests on the knee, just touches it.
Cosmetics/cool factor of it: not a factor, whatever the style :))) Jazzers don’t ask; rock/punkers - maybe they do, I pretend not to hear
Ohhhhh amazing Scott :) great lesson
If one analize....we have a lot of position to play the bass, the gag of all of this, is try to avoid the "bend" in the left and right hand
Greeting, Pat ;)
Hey Pat, thanks for watching man! :)
As a punk player, I wouldn’t be caught dead with my bass that high. To counteract this I practice with it low, so I’m used to it.
I think there's 2 approaches to this. Play as you practice or practice as you play. I'm more of the practice as you play guy.
If I try to play with my bass as high as Scott teaches I get tremendous pain in my right shoulder.
Punk player? Should you practice? :D
Also with the bass as high as in the video makes picking rather uncomfortable
In all honesty what's the point of having your bass as low as your waist? It's just fashion as it doesn't give any benefits other than looking as how the mass media showed us badass musicians should look like.
I mean, it's ironic for a punk player to go along with the system. Isn't it?
Track in the beginning is dope
I have always tried to avoid the bent wrist stuff. Very important. But, I have long arms, and my right arm/hand is in a more relaxed playing position with my bass just a few inches lower than if I am sitting. When I sit to practice, I find my wrist bends more so than when I am standing. Although, your hint of opening up my right elbow has helped a little with that.
Hey Mr. Devine... Resolvi escrever em português, para chamar sua atenção ; )
Aqui no Brasil, parece não ser nada fácil conseguir um tempo para estudar e dinheiro para comprar instrumentos/equipamentos decentes, de qualquer forma, seus vídeos, suas dicas e seu estilo, alegram meus dias musicais.
Gostaria apenas de agradecer.
Amo seu estilo e lhe tenho como referência de bom gosto.
Um grande abraço.
I've found that I bend my right wrist slightly because I think it sounds a lot better. However, I try to minimize the angle and keep my wrist very loose.
I also play 6-string bass and my hands are average size. You have to be careful.
I wasn't expecting this to be as useful as it was. Now I know I need to pay attention to my plucking hand position so I dont develope carpal tunnel. Thanks Scott :D
After watching this video I went to experiment with my strap height.
Thanks for the tips! ;)
Thank you for this...really informative.
4:51-4:56 Haha. Thank you for this because it helps a lot. Good job!
Hi Scott! Been tuning in to your videos for awhile now and I find that all the advice and lessons you give are absolutely great! I've just gotten serious about playing bass for about only two months and having you as my "online" tutor is just perfect :) I have a pretty lousy bass and was looking to upgrade after I've polished my skills a little bit better. May I know what is that bass you're using?
Hi from Dublin, this is an excellent lesson. I had serious issues moving from sitting (practicing) and then standing (playing gigs) as I was seeing the fretboard from a much different angle once I stood up. Now if I keep strap at same height sitting and standing (as u point out) the familiarity with the viewing angle won't be such an issue. Thanks so much
Thanks Scott!!!
As a physical therapist I'll correct you - it's carpal ligament, not bone, but everything else is spot on in this lecture. Keep up the good work bro!
get well soon.
I believe and feel free to disagree with me as i am still fairly new to bass playing but i think that really the height of the bass while standing is just a personal preference and it is really about body shape and comfort. see i like having my arms out nearly straight when playing bass but i have my guitar up about where you have the bass in this video.
Look at extremes - Peter Hook with New Order, nearly to his ankles - Mark King with Level 42, up under his chin. A lot of the 60s and 80s bassists played it high too although I suspect, as Scott mentioned in passing, it was supposed to be cool! As someone suggested further down the page, it boils down to what the player finds comfortable although I think Scott has it about right.
Yessss thx so much!
Fantastic... I have just been wondering about this very thing with regards to my technique - if the right hand is too bent, as you describe, would you expect a pain in the back of the hand/wrist?
If only I could learn this when I was young and fresh :)
fresh
young
That is exactly how I wear my bass...like it is while sitting. Stand up and point that neck up slightly, just like our pal Scott. Check out how low Christ Novoselic from Nirvana wore his back in the day...his left arm pointed straight down to the ground so his wrist was just jacked while attempting to fret. Was he going for the 'punk' or 'cool' factor? Then look at bassist for Rage Against the Machine; I forget his name right now but that band rocked and he wears his up. Comfort, access and longevity. '):
Mark Williamson it's about the genre bro, when you play punk or grunge that height is ideal, here are the reasons; firstly you %90 use a pick if you're playing those genres and not only picks in any actual plucking method the lower your right (or plucking) hand the more comfortable you will be, Krist was a long guy and his hands were big too he could reach the E string with his middle finger and middle finger only and that stance gave him that sound, a sound that has a lot of slides on the E string and quick attacks at the other strings, go listen to Lounge Act for example (I recommend watching the second one that comes up when you search it) and Krist started as a guitarist too so I think he was going for the punk factor, basically he forced himself to get that sound.
Mark Williamson AND if you do your practice enough that way you can even play at your ankle so no perfect stance is there
Mark Williamson you must think highly of krist novoselic if you call him Christ.
Ben Shepherd from Soundgarden used to play with his neck straight up at times, and bent over his bass would be at his ankles. I'm thinking of a festival performance from Pink Pop in 1992 - ruclips.net/video/FSGiMAhMkkw/видео.html - kinda like Novoselic used to, but with perhaps even more madness to his playing.
Excellent information
Thank you Thank you
Hey, thanks again Grampz :)
the same exact position as when I'm sitting down, well, except I would get an obscure bend in my wrist so it's NOT the same as sitting down and will be totally different, so exactly the same, but totally different :) All kidding aside, I personally like the strumming/plucking hand to also not have a weird bend at the wrist, and so lower the bass a bit when I stand. So, no, don't wear your bass the same as when you are sitting.
Always found Sting's strap length to be about right. If playing fingerstyle by the neck feels weak, your bass is too high...If your left hand can't comfortably reach all frets, it's too low.
Subbed off the back of this vid…cheers
🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻
I teach basic bass to kids during summer and they tend to not listen to me when i talk about properly mounting the bass. The always have it dangling and their fretting hand tends to choke the neck and complain about how hard it is for them to reach the notes on the c major scale.
Thank for the info, this is why Is had to drop by bass some inches in order to get my wrists straight(er)
Hey Scott what strap do you use? Also what straps would you recommend for a heavy bass? Thanks
What do you think of playing in the classical position?
I was thinking about this as well
Ergonomically it's the best posture, especially for your wrists. But you'll look like a dork :P
@@aaronscott4015 F*** that.. Rather take care of my wrists than look "cool".
@@cristiansosa1512 This, it’s comfortable and no one sees me when I’m at home practicing anyway.
thanks
Scott, your vids have been super helpful in getting started! Anyone know what the song in the intro/outro is?
Just starting out and having problems with right hand technique. I don’t want to bend the wrist. Unable to coordinate with height of strap and get comfortable. I will invest in a padded strap to help with left shoulder fatigue, but still don’t know proper right hand placement. Suggestions?
Whatever I watch one of these how-to's on holding Electric basses I always think of Bill Wyman...
hi :) im a new bassist and i have a habit of holding the very bottom of the neck with my fingers when i play instead of plucking :( how do i fix itttt
Great tips! I feel I angle the neck of the bass less when I play with a plectrum/pick, because otherwise I have to bent my plucking/picking wrist more, is this a common thing to do?
Hey Scott. Are you still going to do the album of the week thing?
What type of bass is that? It looks really nice!
That's an Overwater SDJ signature bass!
Great Scott !!! What is the name of Scott's band ? They sound Great !!!
Hi Scott , just a question ...why that glow? tkxs for alll your vidz& jobs !
I don't think there's a right way to hold a bass/guitar. A bass player should hold his bass to feel as comfortable as possible. I hate to bend my right wrist so I carry my bass much lower than you do. That is not a problem for me because I don't spend so much time practicing on a seat. That's only my point of view, thanks for your vids!
I'm kind of in the same school of thought you are. I play mostly standing up, even if I practice because that's how I gig. I also bend my fretting wrist slightly more than he recommends because it allows my thumb to pivot with a bit more agility. Regardless, this is a well done video that's super informative.
I don't play at all in the positions he recommends. xD My thumb is over the fret board to mute the 4th string (that's what happens when you start playing bass listening to punk rock, grunge and metal ^^). Now I got used to play in this position so it's hard for me to change... Anyway, I agree his videos are really informative!
Yeah playing metal punk grindcore and metal your not going to have the bass up to your chest like that you can't head bang like that probably smack yourself in the face lol
I had a WAL back in the '80s, great sound and tonal versatility but the whole thing was two inches too far to the left when standing, made playing the first two frets quite hard work and octaves (which were all the rage back then) were literally a pain so it had to go. Sold it for what I paid, £500, they are now going for £5k! But I wouldn't buy one because of the ergonomics which I think were designed for the "bass body under the armpit" period of bass playing
Must have good posture, neck and hand position to master the fretless bass with accurate pitch. That discipline leads to amazing control. Jaco was right.
Although that position certainly is nice for the left hand, I find a position that high quite dreadful for the right hand when using a pick. You kinda have to go sideways. A good picker should know how to enable both downward arm strength, not just wrist strength, into the playing. That position invites wrist usage only (in my experience). I usually have my bass 5-6 cm lower than that.
I hear what you're saying about strap height, I understand, but no I'm not going to wear it like that. As you said it comes down to style and while that might be fine if I was playing Jazz or something, I'm playing Alternative Rock which is pretty much cover your crotch
Hi there! Im getting a lot of fatigue in my left thumb (the fleshy muscle on the inside of the hand). It started again since I started practicing bass a lot- any activity fatigues my thumb muscles and makes it mildly spasm.... any advice? Thanks!
Hey Scott. I was wondering about something with my technique. I've been a guitar player for six years now and I have made the transition to bass. One thing I have been having trouble with is getting enough power out of each finger pluck. If I do the right hand technique correctly, I can't get enough power throough thus making really quiet notes. But if I bend my wrist like a T-Rex, I can get a lot more power into each pluck. You said that that is a bad thing to do. I want to correct this, but be able to add power to my notes. How do you think I should go about fixing my T-Rex hand?
my bass little lower then the "sitting position" when standing....really feels more natural and less hand arm strain.
Scott, how often do you change strings and intonate?
Great lesson Scott, as always! I have a problem with keeping the bass in the same position as the neck on my cheap Encore B4 is heavier than the body, so the neck "dives" down and I have to keep it upright all the time, which strains my fretting hand quite a lot. Is there any solution to this, other than getting a new bass?
I hadn't read this comment when I posted mine, i have the same prob. Please feedback! Thank you so much.
Re3Ns tale something heavy to the body or join the knee stance masterrace
What if you're a big person with large mid section?
Krist Novaselic is the only player able to shred down by his knees !
ruclips.net/video/FSGiMAhMkkw/видео.html
first time I see a glove, is that for playing? pls shed light thx
I have rather long arms, så when i stand up my bass hangs a little lover. It feels uncomfortable to have it that hight. if i gets higher, my right arms position just feels wrong
I also have long arms and when I'm sitting, which is almost always how I play, the bass sits too high for me and my arms feel as if they're folded up into an unnatural position that inhibits my playing and may be straining my shoulders, elbows and particularly my wrists. If I stood up to play, I'd lower the bass with a longer strap length. I'm building a cheap bass kit to play for my regular practicing, and I'm thinking seriously about removing some material from the bottom of the body so it can sit in my lap and be an inch or two lower to improve the comfort and playability.
I appreciate that Scott explained the ergonomic goals behind the bass position recommendations so people with different body shapes can adapt the concepts to achieve the desired results in each individual case.
i am 11 and bass is kinda hard for me but i never give up
I have quite short arms because I'm small (4ft10), so when I'm in a sitting position I feel like I can't reach the 1st, 2nd frets without overstretching, should I pull the neck closer to my body in this case?
Maybe try that, trying a short scale bass might also be an idea!
What are your gloves for?
Does your intro have a specific music name?
I remember when I first started playing the guitar (not bass) the Fender online teacher had the guiatr straight parrel to the side and tried this and injured my wrist lol like some of the instructors on the program look robotic and stiff
Question - why not classical position? i.e. put the curve of the bass on your left leg? That's how I do it and it automatically pulls your elbow off your ribs and you have immediate full access to all neck positions.
That's a good point, although electric basses are longer scale than most classical guitars, so I would find the classical position to be too far to reach comfortably for the lower parts of the neck. If you're playing mostly upper register however, the left leg position may indeed work better.
POSITION IS PERSONAL. DO WHAT'S COMFORTABLE FOR YOU.
This just doesn't work with my Ibanez. The cable will brake of when I raise the neck like this, because it is bent so much :(
Where can I buy one of those gloves?
Anyone knows how to achieve the bass tone on the intro?
I never use the strap while sitting. It's bad?
No Franco, it's cool to play without the strap while sitting... groove on! :)
I don't know why, but I'm not able to play with the bass resting on my right leg. I have to rest it on my left. I've been playing like that for almost 3 years now.
theothertroll Obvious troll is obvious.
perfect position with perfect bass teacher ;)
hi guys, i begin bass, very interesting vid! thanks ! My problem is that the neck/head of my bass (squier jazz vint 77) is heavy. the balance is not as in the vid so i have to hold it with my left hand (otherwise it 'goes down). Is it normal? what can I do? Tx!
+Yannick DM Try putting a piece of rough leather around the part of the strap you want to sit on your shoulder. Once you have the right position attach the piece of leather to the strap. You can use rivets or if you have a strong enough sewing machine you can sew it in place.
+Ian Barrett tx!!! I'll try that.
Nice bass
hey scott
what bass u got?
whatthefuck - it's an Overwater bass, custom made for Scott. Overwater is located in the UK somewhere...nice, QUIET basses! '):
How to tackle neck dive when sitting? It drives me mad. And I have short scale bass. How is this even possible I dont get
Neck is tricky when we're seated. Angling the neck a little higher is one way, having a fairly short, grippy strap (neoprene for example) is another, but a lot of basses do neck dive when they're sat on your leg.
@@devinebass thanks man. Really appreciate your videos. You coming back replying a comment to a 9 year old video shows how much of a wonderful person you are.
how to fix neck dive?
genio Scott! Lastima que no se ingles... :(
How Can I do it if I have an explorer bass? Please help!!
Fiódor Bukowski you could lift your arm a little bit, i think. thats a very uncomfortable bass for finger playing
When I play with a pick I tend to hold my bass qute horizontal to the floor to avoid any scraping noises from the pick hitting the strings in an angle but that causes me to have that awkward hand wrist poisition on my fretting hand.
I'm quite new to pick playing so if anyone has any tips I would be thankful to hear them
Lauttero
I would say try different picks. Different materials and thicknesses can have more or less of those weird noises so just try things out and see what you like both in terms of sound and feel. I find thicker picks tend to have less weird noises and also give a little more low end so I tend to prefer those. I’m also quite heavy handed and have broken a few thinner picks so yeah, I stay away from those.
Also, flatwound strings have almost 0 problems with those noises so you might want to try them out as well, but not everyone likes the sound.
@@cammarc Thanks for the tips. I found out that the scratching noises came from a bad playing position.
Lauttero watch Peter hook on live he’s a master at that most teachers will tell you not to do that but a lot of pros do it
but what if you play a thunderbird
Then you have to carry it next to your knees ;)
Speed
I always practice standing up with my left foot up on the coffee table pretending its a monitor
🤯🤯🤯
@@devinebass great video, very informative 👍
It is better to have the the bass on the left leg, it is more ergonomic!
When youre holding the bass the way you are in this video whilst sitting down, I can't help but not understand how you're suposed to be able to play those higher string above like the 8th fret without doing some serious bending of the wrist
Tilt the bass' head further upwards
Having your thumb in the middle of the fretboard's back, pointing towards the head is also important
The posture thing makes sense...sorry about your trip to the hospital. Some aspirin and you're ready for the shed!!!
Lol... my heads in one piece... i'm ready for the shed! :)
I raise my neck when I'm standing like you do.
Hey Muggles... thanks for watching :)
Scott's Bass Lessons No problem. I find your lessons extremely helpful.
really like it ,i love it thank you so so much i don t have a local bass teacher but not like you.god give us opportunity.Now i ll try to get visa card to pay u for bass academy .i would like to have backing track how can i download it sir. Thanks
franco from Myanmar
This is the best comment I've found in a long time
I cannot play sitting
Hey man why do you wear a glove when playing? Just curious. :)
Why do you were a glove on your fretting hand.
There's a video that explains that
This a very general and loose guideline with some good points. BUT no bass player technique/taste/body structure is the same and there’s no fits-all-sizes approach to bass position or strap length. Do what YOU feel confortable with. Period.
And definitely no gloves.
He wears gloves because of a problem with the nerves on his hands, it's not an aesthetic or technique thing.
Lily Arciniega
I see. Sorry about that Scott. I did not know.
PETER HOOK IM GONNA END THESE MANS WHOLE CARRIER
Ben shepherd: pathetic