Are Your Hands *too small* to Play Bass? (5 *BIG* Mistakes)
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 23 เม.ย. 2022
- 👉 My full beginner bass course: yeah.bassbuzz.com/smallhands
Are your hands too small to play bass? No, but… these five common fretting mistakes might be wrecking your reach.
If you watch this video, you run the risk of learning:
- How not to suck at fretting with small hands
- The manuever you should be doing regardless of hand size
- How to get flexibility gainz
- Does a short scale bass make it all better?
- How stretchy do your fingers really need to be?
You read all the way through this video description… you must really like bass lessons. Subscribe so you don’t miss the next one - yeah.bassbuzz.com/subscribe
#smallhands #beginnerbasslesson #NoobJoshApproved - เพลง
I'm almost a year into playing bass and I was genuinely surprised to find out that while not perfect, I do half the things on the list subconsciously already. My small hands didn't hold me back or make me look up how to play with small hands. It does make me a little smug though.
Awesome. Never stop practicing
MY HANDS ARE TOO BIG, IMPOSSIBLE TO PLAY OPEN CHORDS GADDAMAT!
@@BusinessZeus Sad
dude I started like a week ago and I like instantly put my hand in the right spot my hubris is insane
"My small hands didn't hold me back **or make me look up how to play with small hands**. It does make me a little smug though."
This sentence perfectly encapsulates the feeling I get when I happen upon a BassBuzz video and he mentions a tip that I didn't even look up but still use.
Ahh, I needed this. As a small girl with small hands... THANK YOU, JOSH!
About the pick vs finger debate, it's not a debate. Learn both. They are different tools that have different functions and can help you spot muting problems among both kinds of playing. Learning is fun!
This! Literally never used to use a pick, went through loads of different types til I found one I really like (Dunlop shark fins), still trash with pick or finger 😂 haven't been playing all that long, but it's so much fun both ways!
@@x_DeadPixels_x Agreed. Ive recently fallen in love with Boss 0.60mm picks. never slipped with my grip. very tactile. I feel the string through the pick. and speed playing is really comfortable
That and also bassists playing heavier genres tend to use pick for continuity and sometimes for speed. Probably 1.2mm or thinner picks might work for the most part. But yeah, if you play with a pick you can sort of check your own fretting hand muting technique more than picking hand .
@@x_DeadPixels_x Dude. I have been playing since I was 14 and I’m 50 now. The reason why I’m not so good is because I have never been religious about it. I was on a good role for a bit and learned to play with a pick. I’m having a hard time with the fingers because I have always played with a pick. Good day!
Maybe I'm broken or something but I've tried and tried playing with a pick but it's always a failure. I can't even play guitar with a pick lol even when I picked up my first ever guitar in high school. Always felt more natural to use fingers although I might try using a pick again soon and maybe it will click eventually.
I chose to go with a short scale one because the normal sized ones I felt were almost my height when I saw them in the shop. The short scale felt better for me and more comfortable and they're less heavy. Since I'm learning and I have back issues, I decided to go that route, so far no regrets.
I'm a short scale fan as well. Makes going back and forth with guitar easier, and even though my hands are big enough it just feels better. I have carpel tunnel syndrome as well. Bettering my technique has helped a lot, but the short scale bass just makes things that much better for me
How short is short? The 30" or 28.6"?
Good move
pp
I feel like I'll be able to slide up and down with my thumb, that seems pretty natural. But I would rather hold something lighter than some of the basses I've tried, if all else equal.
What he says about bad positioning is seriously good advice. I used to play the wrong way until I got tendonitis on the base of my thumb and couldn't play for months. After slow healing, I started paying attention to the positioning, and though it was awkward at first, I got used to it quickly. It feels easier, more comfortable, and I can play way better.
I've been playing for about five years now and when I first started, I avoided many basslines because I thought my hands were too small. Once I learned how to micro shift (and use my pinky lol), I went back to those "impossible" basslines and learned all of them!
Ive been playing bass for a while now. The whole time, i just played by ear and never really had any technique. I found this channel about 2 months ago and i have improved so so much. I cannot thank you enough for posting these videos, and for free. We love you!!
I'm a 5Ft2 54 yr old Australian Woman - grew up with piano but this year started teaching myself guitar - its very hard with small hands and I'm improving but sometimes its just so hard and not fun. I just bought myself a Fender Mustang Bass (in Butterscotch Blonde - so pretty) and I've been learning from your videos the past few days - I think I've found my instrument...I'm having so much fun and I'm in rhythmic love!!! Thank you, helpful, witty guy from the other side of the World
Haha small lady, much like my mother. :) But from down under. I'm happy for you. I'm sure it's just a matter of technique (skill issue), but I'm a 5'8 (and a half! 😊) guy with medium-sized hands and I find basses enormous.
63 years old and with small hands. I’ve been playing normal scale my whole life and I found this video very informative. Sometimes I have to be reminded to get back to the basics.
Probably the best video out there for us folks with short fingers and smaller hands. I've switched to bass from being a guitarist over 40 years and videos like this have been invaluable to helping me with a successful transition. Thanks for clearing up the myth that you have to have long ass fingers to play bass effectively!
This has got to be one of THE BEST channels for musical instruction on TH-cam. Not only is the information super practical, but the video production is tops. Thanks for your effort, gang.
Thanks so much, appreciate that!
I'm a girl with small hands (5'4" so semi-short lol) and I started playing bass in August, this video helps a lot! Thanks Josh! :)
Same here! 5'5" on a good day! Haha
I recently sprained my pinky so I couldn't use it for some time and limited my fretting fingers to the first three. This seriously improved my micro shifting and even altered some aspects of my playing afterwards. I am happy to have my little one back now but to be honest I can play almost everything with just three fingers. I have big hands but it is mostly about positioning and not the size. Don't use this last sentence on a first date ;)
I dislocated mine years ago and its never been the same since. I will say, those little hand strengthening devices help a bit.
@@absoluteai41 Luckily I only play bass and no real instrument :)
Same thing happened to me recently
I have ehlers danlos, my pinkies are shockingly my most frequent full dislocations. I’ve been working on guitar (my dads dreadnaught acoustic is a bit huge for my small frame and mobility issues. I’m gonna get a smaller guitar because I do still want to learn) and I’ve been playing violin for years. Even for violin I’d often microshift to not use my pinky when I couldn’t use it because of injury.
I’m gonna start bass soon and it’s nice to know that some of my skills will be helpful to be successful. My hands are child size 😅😅
Love that Josh used A Squire Bass. Showing that you don't need pricy stuff to get a great tone. my Squire Jazz has one of the nicest feeling playing experiences I have ever played. 2nd only to a Luthier's work and its only £219
My poor Affinity Squier needs to get frets polished and new screws (which don't affect playability anyway) but it still plays like a dream 😭😭
i've been playing bass for about 4 months now, your videos have helped me improve so much. i record myself playing the same song every month and can see a vast improvement. thank you!
Another great video to help us newbies out here struggling to sound half way decent! Thank you Josh!
My eyes have been opened! I've been saying for a long time that my hands were too small to play bass, now I want to start playing again. :)
Another great vid Josh, loved the dash of comedy you put into this i was laughing my heart out
Thanks for teaching me bass for the past few months and im glad to say i apply all the right techniques mentioned
Came for info on hand size and appropriate fretting technique, stayed for the warm-up flexibility practice move. Things can be so simple sometimes, if someone just points them out to you! That's what makes Josh's videos so valuable to me.
Thank you so much I started playing bass three weeks ago and you’ve helped me so much you really are the best dude
Thanks Josh! I’ve been playing bass with small-ish hands for around a year now. Your videos are always helpful!
As a PT student with a huge carrying angle who’s been trying to learn bass for years, this is super helpful!! Thanks so much!!
Glad it helped Mandy! I had to look up carrying angle lol, as I am NOT a PT student. :)
You are simply the best teacher. 😃👍 Love your content. Your Beginner2Badass course is worth every penny.
Just this one video has done more to improve my bass playing than all the ones I've seen so far. When the instrument doesn't sound good, you don't want to play it. Now when I do, I enjoy it. Playing clean notes and running up and down the neck having fun. Dude, you ROCK!🤘
I have a short scale bass and love it as I am a short scale dude...just picking it up again after 30 years and it feels great! Thank you for these lessons.
Excellent video and advice, as usual Josh. Your "Hey, no problem, you can do this" attitude in everything you teach is such a relief and I use it often when struggling with something. Keep the vids coming Josh, you're the best. And Holy Snykies!!!!! How tall are you and Victor Wooten?
For reference of how tall Josh is compared to victor wooten, victor wooten is supposedly 5’8. Which means Josh should be the lakers center right now. But victor isn’t that tall. He’s tall yeah but I’ve met him and he’s not incredibly tall. I’m 6’10 and my brother is 6’1 and my brother makes him look small. So he’s not small, people around him are just really yall. Hope this helps!
Absolutely love your videos! They are so fun and encouraging n just what I need when I am so discouraged sometimes. I am very early in my learning process and some days I'm like oh forget it! Once I revisit some of your videos or lessons, they seem to reenergize me to want to push on. Thank you. You're a great teacher ☺️
There is no need to quit playing bass. Pretty much every manufacturer makes at least one short scale bass now. Why get discouraged and make bass playing feel like a chore? Go have a look at short scale basses and play the bass that is most comfortable to you.
Excellent video! Everything here is spot on and I incorporate all of these techniques in my playing. There's no reason to make things more difficult than they need be, and it actually opens everything up for future progress. 👍🏾
This is SO encouraging! I’m originally a cellist, and started my bass journey on a Taylor minibass - such a sweet instrument, especially with acoustic guitar! But when I got my electric bass (a Fender P bass) I was disoriented and discouraged when I realized I suddenly couldn’t play a finger per fret anymore. Some lessons on the Fender app have helped, but your video has given me a welcome boost! I shift all the time on cello. I got this!
Wow, I've been playing bass for years and even though my positioning isn't bad, that simple exercise of lining up with the pinkie took some strain off my wrist which I didn't know I had. Super useful. I've got weirdo genetics; 6'3 with size 13 feet and big palms, but with these little stubby fingers attached. Thanks dad.
I've started watching your videos only recently because I want to start playing bass. I (a small handed person) appreciate these tips so much!
Thank you so much for making these videos. You have brought back my confidence and motivation to learn how to play instruments. I gave up on ukulele a while ago complaining my hands were too small and I didn't have rhythm. Thanks to your TH-cam channel and beginner to badass I've learned I can play anything with good form and practice. So glad I found this channel!!!
YAAAAAS a new vid!! This is so me (small hands). Thanks for putting new content out. Looking forward to your next course after “B2B.”
I was just trying to correct this issue today! Great timing! You’re a lifesaver!
It hasn't been long since I picked up the bass and I really started to feel it in my wrists. This video was so helpful and fun, I wanna get back into it and apply these tips! Thank you!!
Just grabbed my bass while watching this to try out the pinkification exercise, and it immediately helped me understand how to position my tiny hand and solved a lot of the problems I've been having!
I love your videos!! Its easy to follow and understand it’s my first day and i’ve been binge practicing with your videos 🤍
You have THE BEST videos!!! Thank you for this!!! As a budding bassist with small hands, this was sooooo freaking badass helpful!!!🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾
My main problem is not only the small hand, but also that I am a violinist, I play violin for... 34 years 😃 and I started playing bass one month ago. My left fingers are used to be rounded. Too rounded to bass, but I work on it! I realised it all by myself.
This is a great vid, super useful. I find my short, 30", scale bass makes the shifts and positioning even easier/more intuitive.
I still like the small scale bass (as does Paul McCartney, Tina Wymouth, and Bill Wyman).
Yes.
Thank you so much for covering this topic!!!
yessss!! such a necessary video... I struggled a lot in the beginning, but it gets better with practice
I've been binge watching your vids, also subbed :)
Currently looking for my first ever bass and will definitely be following along. Can't wait
Great information. As a guitarist, I purchased a Sterling Stingray SS-4 and I'm really enjoying learning all the old Motown bass-lines, along with classic-Rock and Reggae. It plays and sounds amazing. oNe LoVe from NYC
Thank You so much for this video. EXTREMELY HELPFUL!!!😊
Actives streches are the best! I love your fretting exercice. And again, you got me at the guile theme. You have something for it lately.
As always great advices with a really laid back demeanor that justs make me wanna play 😊
Cheers from Switzerland 🇨🇭
Easy fix. I switched to the Sterling short scale basses. Played standard six basses for years. Never again. Theses basses still have 22 frets. Not missing anything. Even have an ibanez short scale fiver. There is simply no need for standard size bass if you choose not to play one. Easier on my shoulders too. I actually never had a problem playing the standard scale bass. I have small hands too. It’s the weight of the bass I did not like.
I recently purchased his DVD course. I'm in module 2. I really, really like this course. The pace is excellent. Bass is awesome! Cheers! (Ellen is the reason I decided to give it a try... I don't have alien fingers. )
This vid is awesome. Many years ago my brother said that my hands were way to small to ever play the bass. Well, now that I have returned to playing the bass, those words still echo in my mind. Thank you so very much for this vid! I can now start playing again without anything holding me back!!!
Brilliant video. I don’t play bass and don’t plan to😊, but I loved this video with great tips that I could see using today.
Josh, you have a warm and encouraging teaching style. I see why you are a great instructor.
Another great video. I started playing bass years ago as therapy due to autoimmune diseases that have destroyed my hands, fingers, joints. I loved music and the bass so decided to try to learn. Needless to say with my small hands and painful fingers that don’t work or have feeling it was a chore and I wanted to just quit many times. But I’ve adapted through the years. My technique looks ridiculous but my goal was to play the bass no matter what I had to do. I simply cannot stretch, and it only has gotten worse. Thank you for these tips and info, they’re helping me get around better!
Excellent video. I am always learning something of great value from you. Thx.
I play a Fender and I have another bass that is a 24 fret long scale bass and I don't have long fingers like Josh. An exercise that helped me was keeping my 1st, 2nd, and 3rd finger in place on the corresponding frets and placing my pinky on the 4th and then stretching it to the 5th fret without moving the other 3 fingers. I took me about a month to be able to do this where it felt natural but it really improved my reach.
Aweseome video! I’d love to see a Geddy Lee bassist breakdown! Thanks again!!!
Yay, you're back! I missed you :)
Hand size definitely doesn't matter, and thank you for pointing it out. You touched on stretch briefly, but I'll chime in an anecdote. After playing bass for most of my teenage life, I realized my fretting hand stretches almost an inch more than my picking hand when I fan my fingers out naturally side by side. I picked up a short scale bass earlier this year to teach my elderly mother how to play bass (by doing the Beginner to Badass course with her). She was really struggling with my jazz bass due to having smaller, older hands. So far she's doing really well after switching to the short scale. For her, it's more about having fun than trying to become a gigging musician. I love how the short scale bass sounds; honestly, I love the sound of the $200ish short scale more than my fancy Fender jazz bass. However, my hands are too big to comfortably play the short scale. I can fret 1-6 with the reach of my giant hand that is used to playing 34" scale.
I really enjoyed this video! I have small hands, yet after learning some piano I took up the bass at age 15 in 1980, before there was the internet to help me find my way, so I had to discover a lot of things on my own. Through trial and error I taught myself every technique you describe in this video, and have since played in many kinds of bands (including pit bands for musical theatre), but it sure would’ve been helpful to have had it clearly explained to me back when I was starting out. So in a way, this video explained to me “why I do THAT,” because it’s become so automatic that I don’t think about it anymore - it’s just the way I play. Today, I make my living as a cocktail lounge pianist, but now, after hardly playing bass since the pandemic lockdown in 2020, I’m really getting back into my bass, and videos like yours are helping me get my head back into it. So thank you, and I’ve subscribed!
superbe info, presented very well.
i thought i'd fail on bass due to those damn small hands.
learning about microshifting was a revelation and prevented me from steering away from learning bass.
a big thank you to you, sir ❤
josh coming through with that motivation as usual 🛐
This has given me the confidence to play bass again. Thank you very much
This is totally true for the double bass too. Great video.
As an average sized older person i find a short scale bass more manageable, not just for old creaky finger stretches, but also for nut width, neck thickness, and sheer weight. I tried a full size squier jazz and it was like an anvil round my neck. I chose comfort.
I was taught the hand positioning many years ago, been in bands through the years played various basses and it has served me well along with the sliding. Have to stay in playing shape to play bass with small hands for me.
My mother was a working/touring bassist throughout the 60s and 70s and she has tiny hands.
She played Vox Apollo, and that thing has giant hollow body with the smallest, skinniest neck on earth!
She’s 75, but she still plays that old thing whenever the muse descends. 🤘🏻
Good no bullshit video that leaves more questions than answers thanks man
These lessons are helping me soooo much, I am just learning to play the bass and have violin positioning stuck in my head. Thank you
Thanks I needed this bro 🫡
Learning not to force your hands to stretch has helped me tremendously over the years. And the interesting things, now I can stretch more than I used to be able too. Big hands and long fingers are not Necessary to play bass.
It feels like my little hands grew after watching this video. Right now I'm feeling ROBERT JOHNSON LIKE, YEAH! Thank you, Josh, for all the lessons (and laughters)!
Josh, your videos are great. I do most of my practice on my long scale jazz but when i play with others, i play my Mustang.
This is such a helpful video!
I'm more of a guitar player, basically everything you covered here is why I never stuck with the bass. something about it did not feel natural, but after watching this video (multiple times with bass in hand) now I know EXACTLY what to do to get around with accuracy. i dont have small hands, theyre quite adept to piano playing (octave +2 stretch) however my hand angle to the neck was causing a pinch in my wrist before, now its fine. the micro shifting is something I do on guitar but didnt think about it with bass, now my accuracy is better, feels more natural, not hurting my hand even on my massive triple neck instrument "The Galaxian Trident" I'm having a much easier time. Thank you so much for this video breakdown. I can now play on my bass guitars better, now im off to go through your whole channel learning everything I can.
Every one of your videos is an improvement for anyone wanting to learn the bass.
Love me some short scale basses! The current Squier Mini P bass is awesome, especially if you go back and forth between bass and guitar a lot. P bass tone out of a small and light guitar sized body with a slim neck, thats a win/win. My issue is more my shoulder than my hands. There are some fills in quite a few rock songs where they will slide up to 11th or 12th fret for a fill and back down to the 2nd or 3rd really quick. If you have smaller hands, you are older with shoulder problems etc..why struggle? Something like that is a breeze on a short scale. Bottom line is play the bass you are the most comfortable with. Dont let anyone tell you that you NEED to play a 34 inch scale bass. There are many great bassists who have played and still do play short scale basses.
Watching you play the trooper with just one fretting finger made me visibly gasp. Bravo
This has definitely encouraged me to go ahead and get myself a bass despite my small weak hands
I find the Harris Box shape is the best time to learn fretting with your pinkie finger. It's easier, for me at least, to switch to the pinkie finger when changing strings while still keeping rhythm. Flight of Icarus is a song I just learned to play a few days ago, and using my pinkie to get that swing from a higher string to lower has been a godsend.
I plan on starting to learn bass after graduating (I don't have time nor money right now to start lmao) and I was afraid that my small hands would be an obstacle
Thanks man! Your channel motivates me to learn bass even more!
Very good explanation! 👍
Nice vid, and great editor!
I have small hands, possibly the smallest. I have a grand total of 7 fingers: both my thumbs, no pinkies, and no index on my fretting hand. I've been playing bass for 40 years, can play most things I hear (Victor and Stanley give me troubles, but they give everybody troubles) I've found that a long scale (35") with a narrow spacing is easier reach further on than a short scale with a wide spacing (like my electric stand up). I prefer something tighter than a standard Fender Jazz Spacing (17.5mm to 18mm between strings at the bridge). Spectors have been my most recent brand of choice, they're about 17mm, but most are 35 scale. (They do have short scale, but I'd like to find a 34). My point is that narrow spacing may help more than a short scale, although both make moves like octaves, chords, and other long reaches easier.
the best video intro! My small hands thank you!
i have the same belief, no matter who you are you can make art, music included, and guitar/bass is a great example where some people are born with some advantages, yet still need a lot of training to get good. also i love the daft punk shirt
super good advice!!!
This video like others are very reassuring. I just picked up my first bass this past Saturday and I'm eager to learn. Yesterday I was reading tabs to psycho killer but noticed that I struggle fretting due to small hands and smaller pinky. Not gonna stop learning though
Maybe not the hand size, but my daughter couldn't reach to use the first fret at all because her arm just wasn't long enough. She was also unable to reach the tuners. To be fair it was a Thunderbird which is quite a big bass, but it shows that you CAN be limited by the size of your body.
How old was your daughter at the time?
Thunderbird is, ergonomically speacking, the worst bass in history 😅
@@grindguz it's kind of ungainly, I will grant you, but I actually find it more comfortable to play than a Precision.
Nah, standard scale basses are probably not the best for your kids if they have small hands and that's where you might wanna get a short scale or mini Fender bass for them instead.
Love your channel
thank you, thank you, thank you!!! I use short scale basses due to extremely small hands (I cant even find gloves my size) and when I get any good on my short scale, short fret basses I practice the same song on a regular size Fender! Works out and boosts confidence.
Microshifting works perfect for me! Working on "closing the gap"technique.
You have saved my wrist health this feels so much better thank you so much
Great video!
Man,Iplay regular 6string guitar since 1982,and I just spent ages of doing the exercises and focusing on the shoulder-elbow_wrist alignement you recommend,and each time on demo(family,friends,whatever...)people always say:"how can you stretch your finger to reach that?"Gotta know that i'm of average size and got chubby hardworker fingers.So I say:all you explain is totally relevant+my girl started playing bass guitar a while ago,and loves your way to teach(there's a bass and an amp at home,and lots of other things...
Trouble is:she really has tiny tiny hands,even with a proper position and good stretch it's pretty hard+she's absolutely not confident,alongside with technicall advices,how would you dare her to play?????
thank you so much for your help god bless you and your family
I LOVE Precision basses, but I never got one because I always thought they were too big for my hands, so I played a short scale jaguar bass. This video convinced me to go buy one, thank you!!
The Squier Mini P (or the Fender P JR made in 02-06 if you can find it) is awesome. P bass tone in a bass not much bigger that a guitar. Why struggle with a heavy bass and thick neck just to play a P bass? You dont have to.
Thanks, this is helpful.
This video was right on time. My bass is coming today and Ive owned one before and trouble with how my fingers were positioned on the neck.
I knew this was possible. I just didn't know 'how'. Thanks 🦋