My hands are small for the bass

[allonesound]

I play keyboards ect but just got an interest in the base, hafta find someone who gives lessons, and my sis wants to play too. ive been picking up some stuff by ear but i think my hands are too small for all that movin around is that possible, or do i just need pratice?

[MikeGee]

Practice, women and children alike can play bass, A 5 foot 1 inch woman can drive an 18 wheeler. Besides all that, the moving around and fancy stuff is not important and bass can be played without that "movement".

[Mysteryman]

Most bass players I have seen keep their fingers together anyway. Even though I usually use one finger per fret lately I have not. I have been using finger 1 on fret 1 and finger 4 on the 3rd fret.

[Torch7]

You can do it... my 10 year old is learning...  Try different basses if you are buying a new one...some have different width necks that make it easier to move around the fret board(neck) and some necks are a little off center to help with the fingering.

Welcome, and keep us posted on your progress.

[Miss_V]

I think as you practice you will be fine   

[mr.dj]

My friend told me once that if your finger can't fit in between the strings of your bass, kinda like wearing a pair of shoes if your foot is a size 8 you don't sqeeze it into a size 6 or 10 you get what fits you.  So like Torch7 said shop around and find whats right for you.

[mr.dj]

What I was trying to say is if your finger don't fit comfortably between your string, maybe the bass is not made for you.

[bigblackdrummer]

Thats "BASS" come on! Yes it takes time to get your hands in shape...Just work on stretches, warm up, and focus on technique!!!

[Mysteryman]

You can get a short scale bass.

[bigblackdrummer]

You can get a short scale bass.

Ah you dont need that! Just work on technique!

[ladybass]

You can get a short scale bass.

Ah you dont need that! Just work on technique!

I agree stick with the standard length bass, you'll do fine ... part of what messed me up in the beginning was that student-sized bass and improper technique.    I didn't know anything about what type of bass to get, back then.

Just because you may have short fingers doesn't mean you can't play bass ... my pastor is a short guy with short fingers .. but he can play that bass ....      be encouraged

[B3Wannabe]

Yea. Your thumb placement will determine how far you can stretch too. If you wrap your thumb around the kneck, your fingers won't reach that far. To get the most reach, you need to place your thumb about midway behind the kneck. I'm not an expert player, and my hands aren't big, but I have no problems reaching any of the frets on my 8-string, using this method.

[corbro007]

I believe only in full size basses, don't ever ever ever get a smaller bass because its not practical.  If my five year old cousin can play a five string bass and sound good at it, you can to!!!

[ddwilkins]

Victor Wooten hands are small, look at what he can do with a bass!!!!!!!

[BluAngel]

I just started on bass last year. I'm 5'1 with small hands too. Gretsch Electromatic is a nice short scale bass that won't break your pocketbook. 

[Angua]

This is a great exercise to strength your left hand

 The Spider exercise

1=first finger 2=second 3=third 4=four
G ------------------------------------
D -------------------------------------
A ------33-------44------11-----22
E 11-------22--------33------44---


G -------------------------------------
D ------33-------44------11-----22
A --------------------------------------
E 11-------22--------33------44---

G ------33-------44------11-----22
D--------------------------------------
A --------------------------------------
E 11-------22--------33------44---


This exercise is specifically designed to help you control excessive left hand movement when playing the bass. It helps you keep your fingers 'Low" over the fingerboard. Sometimes the fingers on the left hand can 'Jump" off the fingerboard creating extra unneeded movement there by preventing good economy of motion and good technique. It again is an exercise designed to help you apply this 'Low over the fingerboard" concept to the rest of the things you play.


If you do this every day, starting a fret 12 and going all the way down to 1 in not too much time you will be able to do 1 to 12 not matter how big your hands. Remember with God all things are possible 

Blessings
Angua (hope it makes sense)

[allonesound]

Thanks ima have to pratice that !

[The Dojz]

Yea. Your thumb placement will determine how far you can stretch too. If you wrap your thumb around the kneck, your fingers won't reach that far. To get the most reach, you need to place your thumb about midway behind the kneck. I'm not an expert player, and my hands aren't big, but I have no problems reaching any of the frets on my 8-string, using this method.

Speaking of 8 strings,  What is the lowest string on that bad boy?

[The Dojz]

I play keyboards ect but just got an interest in the base, hafta find someone who gives lessons, and my sis wants to play too. ive been picking up some stuff by ear but i think my hands are too small for all that movin around is that possible, or do i just need pratice?

A good practice for you to do...   go to    http:gospelchops.com      click on shed 4 (at bottom), then scroll to "Gospel Bass" and click on the video lesson with  Marcus Phillips.  He gives a great hand exercize for you to use to stengthen your fingers and help them in playing down your frets.

[B3Wannabe]

low F#, high string F