Listen to Dr. Greg here guys. I went through a decade of physical and occupational therapy for computer related RSI. By holding the Stick the way Greg shows you you shouldn't have pain or numbness. The first seminar I went to Greg was saying the same things the therapists were saying about arm movement vs. finger movement. The simplest way to explain it is to have straight wrists, maximize large muscle movement, and minimize small muscle movement. Your large muscles can take a lot more abuse than your small ones. I had to re-learn to type based on this and it saved my career. It also allowed me to start playing music again.

The Stick is the most ergonomic instrument, I believe. You shouldn't have to hurt to play it.

-Eric

Well, I just got a new laptop which is equipped with a web cam and Skype, so as soon as I figure it out, I'll be talking with you about scheduling one of them lessons. Right now figuring out Windows 7 after spending the last 8 years with XP is proving ... "interesting," as the Chinese proverb would say.

I've tried to keep my thumb on the bevel of the back of the fretboard, and it makes my forearm and wrist arch quite a bit. Guess I should just get used to it. I think that my pinkies are not very long compared with the rest of my fingers, so no matter what I do, the pinky is always going to stretch a bit.
But Greg...how in the world do your left fingers manage to stay so FLAT looking? I can't play like that; when I play on the 7th string, I have to arch my hand to get over string 6.

Greg, thanks for the offer to offer ways to fix my left-arm pain. I watched the video you posted, plus I took a run or two through your instruction DVD. I think I understand the basic concept of using large-muscle arm movement instead of small-muscle hand movement.

My problem is different from some of the other posters. It's not a numbness in the lower arm and wrist, but a pain in the elbow. Keeping it fully bent hurts after a short while. Holding the Stick in the traditional position is the worst case for left-arm bass. Touch your left shoulder with your left hand. Your elbow will be completely bent. On the Stick it stays that way as long as you are on the lower third of the instrument.

I wouldn't have this problem if I wore the Stick on my right shoulder. Touch your left hand to your right shoulder and you will see that the left elbow opens up a bit. Now that I think about it, is there any reason you can't wear it on the right? The left arm can open up. The right arm closes, but just a little, since the upper melody strings do not shift position so much.

"Wearing the Stick on the right"...interesting, don't see why you couldn't.

When I started playing a couple years back I had more frequent pain as you describe, in all the typical places i.e, wrist, elbow, thumb going numb etc...Overtime, these side effects start to wane. I'm not suggesting you play thru the pain, but I do believe that, if you are new to playing then you are using new muscles and playing positions that result in these aches. If you're using correct playing posture and technique, then over time you will become stronger and less likely to be as fatigued. At least that was my experience.

You make a good point. Proper technique will minimize the stress and strain. Unfortunately, my elbow problem has been around for a long time. I don't think it's going to go away no matter how perfect my form.

Turnley, I had EXACTLY the same issue; when I started playing, after a couple of weeks, I started noticing pain in my elbow. Let me guess...the pain is where your "funny bone" is, right?
My chiropractor was able to immediately diagnose it as strain in the tricep. He was able to do some deep tissue work on that tricep and it solved it pretty easily and quickly.
If you have a chiropractor that does deep tissue work, let him/her know about it. If not, and you can't find one, a massage therapist should be able to help.

By the way, Greg: yesterday I forced myself to really hang my thumb on the bevel, and although it was a little awkward (just because I wasn't used to having it there), there was a noticeable improvement. I think from this point it'll just be a matter of being consistent and getting used to having the thumb in that position, and developing all the muscles I've never used prior to this point.
THANK YOU!

Hi Luc,

You're most welcome.



Hi turnley,

The offer for photos analysis still stands, In your case a left side view with the arm in action would be very helpful. It sounds like you could either have your Stick leaning too far back toward the shoulder or the thumb is too far behind, which makes the hand and arm "collapse"

If you don't want to post pics here, do it via pm or email. Eric is right. The Stick is a very comfortable instrument to play if you approach it in the right way.

As to the idea of putting it on your right shoulder, you would probably develop even more of a problem with your right arm...

Turnley and Gerber,

I also got wrist trouble playing a grand although the 10 string didn't contribute to the problem as much what it did contribute wasn't nothing either. Greg's technique looks great but we're not all Greg. Even with more lessons it might just be that cranking your wrist over the top of the stick THE WAY YOU HAVE IT ADJUSTED is not a problem that can easily go away. I tried learning to play without looking at the instrument and rotating it more towards the hand to try and remove the extreme bend in the wrist. On a grand there's little leeway unfortunately I feel. Good luck.

My students know that what I propose for the left hand works very well, and they are not me.

It's all in the DVD.