Bad Bass Habits You Should Kick Today

When you’re learning to play bass, especially when you’re learning on your own, you may develop some undesirable habits. These bad habits can often lead to difficulty in playing and prevent you from being the best bass player that you can be.

When not corrected immediately, these habits can be hard to break, so it’s important to check yourself early on. So what are these bad bass habits and common mistakes that you need to unlearn and avoid?

Bad posture

Poor form when playing limits your ability to play in a comfortable and relaxed manner. Bad posture can also lead to back, shoulder and wrist injuries that can prevent you from playing and making progress.

Avoid hunching over your bass when you’re playing sitting down and make sure you’re positioning your arms and wrists in a way that does not make them twist or bend unnaturally. If your hand/wrist angle is causing you pain, stop and rest. Lift your elbow higher instead of resting your forearm on your bass so that your wrist will be straighter as you play.

Rushing during practice

Playing fast doesn’t make you a virtuoso; it can make you a sloppy player. For beginners it’s important to practice slowly and correctly at first then increase the tempo gradually. You have to learn rhythm and timing correctly at slower speeds before you can increase your speed. Use a metronome

Take things one note at a time and give your muscle memory enough time to do its job. Don’t rush! If you take things slow and play properly right from the beginning, you will have an easier time playing at faster speeds because your muscle memory will be at work.

Not using your pinky

The pinky of your fretting hand is not just an accessory. If you can train yourself early on to use it and build pinky strength, we highly recommend you do so. If you have a “working” pinky that has enough strength to hold down notes, you will be able to expand your reach in your fretting hand. This is especially helpful if you have small hands and you’re playing a full-scale bass.

If you don’t use your pinky when learning to play the bass, it will be weaker than your other fingers – so play with that pinky, build its strength and avoid using your ring finger when your pinky should be in play. If you need extra pinky strength to hold down a note (like the notes on the B string), you can put your ring finger behind your pinky to support it when fretting. Using your pinky can feel tricky to do at first, but do it consistently and you’ll get the hang of it.

Not unplugging cables after playing

When you’re done practicing, make sure you tidy up afterward. Don’t just put your bass on its stand – unplug the cables from your bass and amp. This is extremely important especially if you play an active bass, which uses a battery. If you leave the cable in, this will drain the battery. And if you don’t have a spare, you’ll only be able to play in passive mode.

These are just some of the bad habits bass players can develop that you need to be aware of and avoid or correct early on. Remember, if you do things right the first time, you won’t need to struggle with kicking bad habits down the line.

Learn more at:  https://www.knowyourinstrument.com/