Warming up on bass:
5 minutes before you play

Five minutes of warm-up before you play protects your hands and makes your fingers more accurate. Start slowly, don’t force anything, and stop if something hurts.

Why warm up

Playing bass asks your fingers, wrists and forearms for precise, repeated movements, on strings that are thicker and stiffer than a guitar’s. Cold muscles and tendons don’t handle speed and force well. A few minutes is enough to get them ready: your fingers loosen up, play more accurately, and the session gets off to a better start.

Without the bass: 1 minute

• Open and close your hands, gently, about ten times.
• Roll your shoulders backward, then forward.
• Make slow circles with your wrists, one way and then the other.

Nothing that pulls, nothing that hurts: it’s a wake-up, not a stretch.

With the bass, slowly: 4 minutes

1. One finger per fret

On the E string, play frets 1, 2, 3 and 4 with your index, middle, ring and little finger, one note per metronome click, at a slow tempo, 60 BPM for example. Then move to the A string, then D, then G. Start again from fret 2, then fret 3: you move up one fret each time around.

2. The plucking hand

On an open string, alternate index and middle fingers, evenly, at the same tempo. Listen to make sure both fingers sound the same.

3. Go easy

Always the right pressure: just enough for the note to ring clear. A warm-up is not a speed exercise.

During the session

• A break of a few minutes every twenty to thirty minutes.
• Drink some water.
• Relax your shoulders when you feel them creeping up.

Warning signs

Sharp pain, tingling, pain that keeps coming back in the same spot: stop, and rest. Don’t play “through” the pain.

What helps in the long run

• Good posture, with the bass at the right height.
• A well set-up bass: strings that are too high take more effort.
• Strings that aren’t too stiff, and the right pressure.
• Short, regular sessions rather than one long one.

In UnitBasse, the metronome is within reach in every tab, except BackTrack, which has its own: set it to 60 BPM, or choose its Ballad preset, at 70. In the Scales tab, the Play button plays the selected scale from low to high: a good model to follow slowly, note by note.

These tips are common sense, not medical advice. Pain that lasts should be seen by a health professional.

Frequently asked questions