Are Your Hands *too small* to Play Bass? (5 *BIG* Mistakes) 

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.

This has got to be one of THE BEST channels for musical instruction on RU-vid. Not only is the information super practical, but the video production is tops. Thanks for your effort, gang.

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!!

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!

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! :)

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?

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.

Ahh, I needed this. As a small girl with small hands... THANK YOU, JOSH!

Thank you so much I started playing bass three weeks ago and you’ve helped me so much you really are the best dude

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!

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!!!

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.

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.

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 ☺️

I still like the small scale bass (as does Paul McCartney, Tina Wymouth, and Bill Wyman).

This is a great vid, super useful. I find my short, 30", scale bass makes the shifts and positioning even easier/more intuitive.

You have THE BEST videos!!! Thank you for this!!! As a budding bassist with small hands, this was sooooo freaking badass helpful!!!🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾

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.

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!

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 has definitely encouraged me to go ahead and get myself a bass despite my small weak hands

The GREAT Rocco uses 2 fingers for fret and 2 for muting but he was fenomenal

For a man I have small "lady" hands. I found this actually caused me to utilize my pinky finger more. Also keeping your thumb in the middle of the neck(back) makes a huge difference. Love short scale here. Have a 2004 Squire Mustang re-issue. Squire really upped their game. I find the fit,finish,and overall quality to be excellent. (And all that for like...$240 w/free shipping.)

I struggle with the neck - I am glad this vid exist!

I have very slender hands, but the size of my hands/fingers has never gotten in the way of playing, and I play a pretty big bass (Spector NS5, 34-37" multi-scale). My biggest problem is just having enuff hand/wrist strength to keep going thru certain songs all the way to the end. And some songs are definitely harder than others. Like "Sex Machine" by James Brown. Easy to learn, but hard AF (literally painful) to play at 100% tempo for the entire song.

I tried a 3/4 bass for the first time yesterday, I’ll admit it did feel so much easier to play.

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

the best video intro! My small hands thank you!

A flatter fret board radius can help a lot too

Great video and excellent points made about how difficulties can be overcome. But even Stanley Clarke felt more at home playing his "crazy technical riffage" on his short scale Alembics. I noticed you used him as an example of superhuman reach at 7:44 in The Huge Stretch Myth. Ellen, whom you also mentioned, can get around perfectly well on long scale, but gave the Glarry guitar scale "kids' bass" a glowing review because it was so much more comfortable to play. The question for each player besides comfort would be which scale length sounds adequate for a given situation. Highly subjective of course.

I sustained several wrist injuries from playing sports over the years which led to constant discomfort playing with the standard bass. I saw Joe Dart play a short scale bass in one of Vulfpeck's videos and decided to try it out. I got a Squier Jaguar SS and I haven't gone back to the standard since. It felt much better for my wrists. Seeing this video though made me think maybe I was just trying too hard to stretch my fingers across the frets. But honestly I love my SS bass and plan to stick with it. It's a lot easier to carry around and much more convenient to store. I've never had any issues playing with the ss. I also think it looks pretty cool lol

You have given me hope ❤❤❤❤

I never could stand the thickness of many Fender-style bass necks. I call them Louisville sluggers. I'm a Rickenbacker player because I like the flattened back of the neck. Along with micro-shifting (never knew that had a name, just what I did to play the full scale), I manage just fine.

Excellent tips and video! I use short scale bass guitars exclusively. A lot more fun and less frustrating to play for a small-fingered vulgarian like me. Yeah, they're not magic, they're a shortcut. I get it. I'll definitely work on the techniques you suggest here. But I don't turn my nose up at a good gear-based assist when I can get it.

Glad that I now know that size doesn't matter

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.

Hey nice video man! Im a drummer who's learned to play some guitar, had a precision bass once and now im giving bass a new chance with a squier jazz bass, let's see how i do, nice videos (Y)

4:13 this transition to the G# lmao

my man... i hope this comment finds you well :) over the years you helped a lot with my bass guitar studies MUCH LOVE from Romania

I am missing my left pinky and the very edge of the hand as well. Birth defect. I'm also VERY small, only about 5'3" and male. I mostly play drums but like to tinker with synths. Recently started to tinker with guitars for the first time. I'm in my mid 50's. It's very challenging and disheartening trying to overcome the difficulties I encounter playing most instruments. I had seen ellenplaysbass on youtube before and I use her and the tips in this video for inspiration. I just love music too much to not at least try to play some.

2:26 that picture is awesome. I realized I don’t know how old victor wooten is.

Excellent that this is being acknowledged, finally. Rather less impressive that it has taken so long to cancel the one-fret-per-finger-and-big-stretches people, who confuse technique with musicality.

I was discouraged, and now I’ve found this video. I’m a little optimistic now (crossing my fingers)

That one finger Ytsejam never gets old. lol

Excellent video. I am always learning something of great value from you. Thx.

Love the channel! My hands aren't small, but arthritis is really doing a number on my playing ability. I think it's time to purchase a smaller scale bass with a thinner (not nut-wise) neck for easier fretting. Any suggestions would be helpful.

2:20 example of good positioning 4:41 that some serious microshifting

Thank you!

I agree with you regarding the 30 inch scale thing. But, what about fingerboard radius ?

I play buitar, but I also dabble into bass when recording my own demos. The thick strings of the bass are tough, man! Microshifting could be a big help.

Thanks for this excellent video @Josh. Along with 5 Levels of Bass Finger Exercise, it's super helpful. Anyway, anyone knows what is Victor Wooten's bass in this passage ? It looks really nice.

Whoohoo fantastic a big like smash and subscribed

Yes, as an ex bass player, I get very annoyed when people say that players who play fast funky riffs and insane lead type slap bass are great bass players. (Victor Wooten etc) To me a good bass player is one who plays in a band and can work with the drummer to lay down a good beat for people to dance to, or for the singer and lead etc to play over.

thanks, man.

Maaaannn, I've been playing bass for a few months now (I played acoustic and electric guitar for many years ) and it never ocurred to me that microshifting was even a thing!!! I have somewhat big hands and stretches aren't a problem per se but they can be heavy on the hand after a while.

Your hands can indeed be too small to use certain techniques. Bass is actually a bit more forgiving in my opinion, but on guitar having small hands (thumbs especially) can definitely limit you to certain genres and techniques. Women, children and men with small hands are at a huge disadvantage when playing certain Hendrix songs for example.

And of course, I see this video AFTER I reply on your "20 tips I wish I knew..." video that I own a 1981 Rickenbacker 4003 because I find Fender bass necks too wide for my hands.

I’d be interested to hear your advice on building endurance. There are some songs like Love Shack and Two Tickets to Paradise, where the bass player has to play the. Exact. Same. Thing over and over and over. Eventually I start to tire and get sloppy.

I bought an Ibanez BTB bass because I thought it looks nice. But I didn't know that it has 35" scale and a big string spacing. Some time later I bought an Ibanez SR but I have to say that BTB sounds much better for me.

Haven't really gotten down to learn my bass yet. But for some reason I can't spread my middle and ring finger apart from eachother, when having them in the right position. Not wihout twisting the fingers. And I'm really forcing them in the try to have them straight on, but it's not happening. Like it's actually physicality impossible 😅 So I just turned around the bass to try out my other hand, and that one can actually do it with only a little trouble as expected for a noob. But with this hand it doesn't seem impossible. I did break my little finger on the initial hand some years ago. I think that might've affected the ring finger as well actually, since the bone in the little finger has grown wider. So when curving the palm there's no room for the ring to move over to. It actually just stays where it is, licked it's locked in that position. Maybe I should get a lefty bass then 🤔 Luckily on my newly aquired Classic Vibe Tele, I can just about manage to spread them apart without crooking too much. Still have to be trained of course. But because the neck and the distance between the frets are shorter it is possible for me with only a little twisting of the other fingers. So maybe a shortscale bass is also a possibility for me. I wouldn't mind getting a lefthand bass though. It should be more healthy to switch between the right and left hand for the same kinds of tasks anyways. Something about training the 2 brain halfs more evenly. So I might actually do that. Guitar for one hand, and bass for the other 🤔😊

I almost clicked off at 0:09 thinking this was just a brilliant short. it made me giggle

I have fairly wide hands, the problem I have most often is my ring finger which still collapses when I play - especially on the D and G strings.

It's my first day playing bass, my arms arm long like really long, i'm 5'11" and my arm span is 6'4" but my fingers are small, i guess i really shouldn't get a short scale like i had thought before, but it's going to take me a long time to get my fingers going on different strings. I play drums and have 20 plus years experience. Never thought it would be so difficult on the first day to get my fingers to move to different strings with both hands. People usually asked me "how the hell can you play drums, you have to play all limbs" now i'm going how the hell can people play with their fingers on strings lmfao

Love u Josh

Obv needed this urgently: vid is 9:11 for a reason

I love that outro :D

Hey Josh! Great video once again. Just a small recommendation, can you make a video on Geddy Lee or Roger Waters?

Flea also has small hands. And is only 5'6.....I know they weren't bassists, but Malcolm (RIP) and Angus Young were/are TINY and had/have really small hands and they play COMPLETE chords....not a lot of shortcuts (Angus yes in between leads... but Malcolm played the textbook chords) I say this because I hear some guitar players complaining about having small hands too. Your body and muscle memory will make it work once you feel where your "sweet spot" is.

Nice shirt!

Small hands, and a lack of dexterity... I got the double whammy.

Re: clip at ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-j3ygWtgWors.html , probably worth mentioning that Stanley Clarke has always played a 30.75" scale bass

Josh, what your thoughts on the epiphone allen woody bass? Looking to purchase a short scale.

Short scales basses are bit more easier to play to begin with but with enough practice you should dominate a normal bass.

Well damn lol😂. I'll never ask that question again about my m!dg!t fingers

Brill video x

I have little hands and I was a upright major 😂🤷‍♂️

hope is not all lost

"Get your thumb back." "Why is your thumb up?" "Your thumb is up, again." - Carole Kaye to me over the span of 55 minutes.

are you planing to do a video about John Deacon from Queen

Ahn... well... how do i play portrait of Tracy then... ?

But what about guitar players who can't microshift because you need to play cord's....? It's just impossible for me to play the E or A string with my ring finger if i have to play the string below with my middle finger and hold the low e string with my pinky at the same time... Reason is the ringfinger can't make a bow to let the string below untouched, because it's just too short to do that... (Ring: under 7cm and Pinky: under 6cm) Maybe i'm doomed, you can say to play base, cause your'e right... It's easier to play base with very short finger's then some guitar cord's...

"When you've got little hands like me" Angus Young.

If you come to the bass after playing the guitar for many years, the hand may turn out to be small! The reason is the accustomed fingering in the first positions. After seven years of stubborn fun, I suffered from very unfortunate chronic joint pain. Even 30 years later, these pains are very regular guests ...

I can't stretch 3 frets without bending my wrist, have been playing guitar for a few years as well and have also had trouble when it comes to playing. If it ok if I can only effectively stretch 2 frets?

I'm still having trouble

In that clip Wootton has his thumb all the way over the top.

I no longer feel defective. Thank you.

I cut 3 of my fingertips off on my fretting hand when I was 16, took years for the nerve damage to heal, now i find myself using my thumb to compensate and in my head my poor deceased guitar teacher is yelling at me not to do that.... but it's okay now, right? i mean, back then, I had all of my fingers.... I still try not to though

I went looking for a bass with a skinny neck which helped, but I wish this video was around in 2006 when I first started learning.

me with tentacle lookin hands: "hmm yes, much useful" (okay but i think things like grip, microshifting etc are useful for ANYONE playing bass to help you play just that little bit easier and hit those notes more)

nice new hair cut

Yo, I just wanted to say, in terms of choosing a smaller neck "Being a cover up for bad hand placement... " etc etc: there was an interesting chapter in a book called Invisible Women, which discussed the standard width of piano keys, and how much more stretch and effort it could take for an average woman to play a song on a standard piano compared to the male players, vs. when they were given a piano with more narrow keys and time to learn how to play that. Suddenly a borderline painful song was much easier to play, and they didn't have to forcefully practice a single part of a song that required a lot of reach ad infinitum to get it right. You could say the problem was in the design of the instrument all along, not the player or her sex and their pesky small hands. So yeah, it could be a technique issue, you caaaan just get used to it and learn to stretch etc, buuuuuut I'd also like people to be more ready to see the implicit biases of some designs in this world, including how musical instruments are made, and whose hands theyre made for. Sure, a dedicated child with tiny wee hands can learn to play a bass, but you can also ask whether that's necessary, and why there's resistance towards more aptly sized versions of instruments.

can i ask how tall you are?

Wish this video existed before I bought a Fender Mustang.... 😂

So, size doesn't matter ?

Thumbs up for the daft punk shirt. I’m so disappointed that none of my friends care about them.

🔥🎸

My problem is reaching the E string with my pinkie oh higher frets, let's say after the 7th

I know my hands are small. Still doesn’t stop me from Pitching