“Hey, it doesn’t hurt when I do that. Far out!”

By Jon Liebman
July 29, 2022

Have you ever experienced pain while playing the bass? Maybe it’s in your hand or your wrist, or somewhere else…?

You always thought playing the bass was supposed to be fun. It’s not supposed to hurt.

Well, you’re right!

I had a phenomenal conversation recently with Dr. Randall Kertz, published as this week’s FBPO interview. Dr. Kertz is not only a chiropractor and acupuncturist, he also happens to be a bass player. So who better to ask about how the body is affected by playing the bass?

Pain is your friend (no, really)

“Pain is your friend,” Dr. Kertz says, which caught me a little off guard, at first. “It tells you something’s wrong. Listen to it. Try to figure out what the problem is.”

As a bass player himself, Kertz knows the importance of proper bass technique. At the same time, he stresses the need for awareness of how your bass playing is affecting your body. If something hurts, he says, more often than not, there’s something you can do about it.

Someone might say, “’Hey, when I bend my wrist this way, it hurts,’” Kertz observes. “But most people don’t know they’re allowed to straighten the wrist out and still play. By pointing that out, showing them that it’s not going to change their technique, it’s going to stop it from hurting. They’re going to be able to play well and play better. (It) changes the game.”

I bet you didn’t know this…

According to Kertz, some of the greatest bass players in the world have made adjustments, usually undetectable, to the way they approach the bass.

“You’ll see that a lot in some of our favorite players,” he says. “You’ll watch somebody like Victor Wooten, you’ll watch somebody like Christian McBride. They’re doing things that you’re not aware of while they’re playing. They’re turning the instrument a little bit, they’re taking little micro breaks, dropping their hand to the side. They’re doing things that they have figured out.”

First, learn it correctly, then do what you have to do.

As someone who understands the requirements of a bass player, Kertz knows the importance of learning the fundamentals of playing the instrument, like practicing scales and modes, developing good bass technique, etc. He also underscores the importance of getting a good teacher or a guide to show you how to do those things properly (citing For Bass Players Only as a good example). With those foundational building blocks in mind, he says, there are various ways to modify your approach to the instrument without putting undue strain on your body.

Kertz says, “All the long-term players who didn’t have people to guide them in this way, our favorite players that we watch, have figured out little things to do or little tricks to do or ways to get through it, whether it means just stopping for a moment and dropping the wrist behind the instrument – you don’t see that, but it breaks up the action and gives them a little rest – or maybe turning the instrument to the side a little bit. Or maybe it’s the way that they’re holding their arm or their shoulder. There are certain things that you can do to get through it that aren’t obvious, but that they have figured out over the years.”

Remain aware, always

Again, the most important thing, according to Kertz, is awareness. “Don’t just power through,” he says. “Stop. Look at what you’re doing.”

Once you become aware of the problem, he says, there’s often a solution at hand you may have never realized existed. “The lightbulb goes off,” says Kertz, “and the proof is, ‘Hey, it doesn’t hurt when I do that. Far out!’ And everybody’s happy.”

Your turn. How about you? What kind of adjustments have you made to your hand position, finger movements, the way you hold the bass, or anything else in order to alleviate pain while playing bass? Leave a comment below and let me know. In the meantime, watch my interview with Dr. Kertz here.