Do hand excersizers work??

I'm going to let you in on a little secret... Speed/dexterity/endurance has nothing to do with the strength of your fingers/hands. It's all about being as relaxed as you can be! Make sure your action is nice and low, too ;)

Start by playing scales. Pay attention to any tension you might have in your hands/fingers. Remember to keep the fingers loosey goosey! Try looking at your hands in the mirror while you play bass; They should look totally relaxed. Note: If you don't focus on getting rid of tension problems, you're well on your way to getting carpal tunnel or arthritis. This takes practice, but after a while, your fingers won't cramp up so much because you have cured any tension! On a lot of beginner videos, the players will tell you about the one finger per fret rule. I believe in this rule very strongly if you are talking about the frets AFTER the 5th fret. For me, the one finger per fret rule in the first 5 frets seems ridiculous. The stretching causes a lot of tension in my hands (I have small hands) so I ignore certain aspects of the rule for the sake of getting rid of tension. Most rules have their exceptions ;)

Now, make sure that you're fretting as lightly as possible. Creating an unnecessary struggle for your fingers to play will make you tired very quickly. It's like stomping your foot on the ground every time you take a step; Is that logical? For your fretting hand, try to fret a note as lightly as you can before you hear buzzing. You want to make every single note like this. When you are able to play with the lightest touch possible, you can fly all over that fretboard at will!

As for your plucking hand, only pluck as hard as you have to. If you dig in too hard, your hands will cramp up and lose their integrity! Remember: not every note has to be accented! Yes, it's important to use articulation as a tool to express yourself, but don't let lack of technique cripple your playing.

These tools should definitely help you with your speed/dexterity/endurance, and your overall playing. As Anthony Wellington and Victor Wooten say, "Don't try harder, try easier!"

Anyone care to add?
 
Well, yes, why not... Not the real deal, but they help. Be sure you chose a ligher one...

Google "Buddha Rope " :-)
 
Though I do not have first-hand experience (pun slightly intended) I would say that it doesn't. Firstly because people who did use it have told me so, and secondly because fretting speed isn't so much dependent on strength as it is on flexibility and technique.
 
da answer is actually pretty simple...give your bass to da biggest body builder in town and ask him to play a chord...;)
 
Trey that is a brilliant post. It all makes perfect sense. I'll be thinking about that when I pick my bass up later on today.
 
As a certified personal trainer, I would say it would not help bass playing, but grip, yes.
Those devices are meant improve your "crushing strength" or your ability to hold on to a heavy barbell.

I will say that years of being an avid Powerlifter has helped my general hand strength...But if I did not play for 3 days in a row my hands feel weak at bass playing.

You want to get your hands stronger for playing bass, play bass. If you want to be able to squat more weight, squat.
 
Dunno... but I just found out that for some reason my former post in this
thread was meant to be longer... maybe pushed da wrong button I guess...:confused:
Anywayz..this is what I wanted to say:

da answer is actually pretty simple...give your bass to da biggest body builder in town and ask him to grab a chord...I bet he won't even have da strength to hold a single note for more than a few secondz...(that is of course if he's not a skilled bass player at da same time);)

IOW...I fully agree with Trey... if you'd ask me, I'd save my munney for more useful thingzz 8:
 
You will find, most bass players / guitard players have very strong hands already. No and its not from THAT other excercise one uses a hand for, (except for a few people on Talkbass), Bass players usually use their fingers more than most people. Ask your non playing buddy to try one of these hand exercisers, then watch as you blow him away when you do it.

Scales & practise are the only way to "Speed up" your playing.

Rusty
 
More important than strength is coordination between left and right hand. And you cannot develop that with exercizers.
 
from what i know about muscle physiology (had a few exams ;) ) it's not like you would lose speed by building up muscles - not compulsary at least - and most likely you would gain speed (to some extent)
It wouldn't be true to tell you those exercizers won't do a job (any kind of).

BUT

If you want to gain speed in your bass playing, the best thing is to... play bass.
Speed is not only a thing of your muscles (springiness is a factor, nevertheless) - it has a lot to do with your motorical memory. By doing exercises on your instrument you are training both the same time.
There are training schedules (not in bass playing) wich maximize efficiency by seperating cognitiv and musclular skills, but maaaaaan... you wan't to make music - so do it!
I only would consider such things if I knew I weren't able to play bass for like... the next few months in order to maintain my strength.
 
Anyone has some alternative link for the Buddha Rope? video on youtube and official pages of Bill Dickens are all dead...

Can someone at least explain me the basic principle? (which fret is the rope supposed to be at)

EDIT: found it (not the original)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1-uHYr1vJO4



but I still dont get the principle of that.... it seems to me that separating your left and right hand isn´t very helpful for me since I have biggest problem with synchronizing the two....
 
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Remember, and this is individual of course, that some people, when they train their hands they will build more muscles and strength, but the hand might get less flexible because of this. Just like a bodybuilder will struggle with putting his overarms close to his body. I think getting a technique that allows less use of strength + a smooth neck (on the bass, mind) + low action (on the neck, mind), will allow you to put the effort where it is needed: moving your fingers faster across the neck, and focus more on your plucking. And volume...I forgot to mention volume. The less you have to rip your strings, the faster you`ll reach the next note.
 
Ok, so let me explain. I bought one of these, because after purchasing my first Wick I started practising for much longer then before. Lets say 4 hours 5 days a week (compared to 1-2 a day 3 times a week). I started to feel little pain in my (left especially) wrist(s), I told my instructor, he told me that angles of my wrists are ok, it just need some getting used to. To speed up the process I bought the excesizer... I think it helps with the cramps and tension of the wrist, I personally do not need to press so hard now to get desired tone.

PS: nice thing about excesizer is that after while you´ll find your fingers "armored" with calluses. Which is great for me, because I prefer string sets beginning with .50 and blisters were problems for a long time. This is no longer a problem with calluses protecting my fingers...
 
being relaxed is the key not only fingers, hands but mind and body too.. trying to hard to get it just how you want plays against you..have you ever done something without thinking only to say that was cool and try do it again..
this might sound stupid to some but i sometimes practice with a thin rubber band looped lighty around the 3 fingers on my plucking hand just so it offers a little resistance.its not for power building it helps me with keeping things even and level i belive it help me stay nice and smooth.the rubber band kind of highlights where and what finger needs less/more pressure.other things to think of for faster playing is the position of the bass on your body.your hand postion on the strings both left and right...for example if you sit when you practice the bass will be quite high and you devlope muscle memory for that position..then when you stand the bass now sits different more so if you wear the bass low down on a strap..there are no quick fixes its a matter of lots of things,practice and getting relaxed are the main things i think ..and just to and maybe ill get shot for this but some instruments just play better than others,it cant be explained by me its just my own personal view for what thats worth.....dont worry it will come it time:)
 
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