Hi, I’m Toru Hoshino, a bass teacher.
If you practice bass a lot, you can end up developing tendinitis.
I’m not a doctor, so I can’t give you specific medical advice for preventing tendinitis in this article, but
I want to share my own experience with it, and what I did while dealing with it.
What Is Tendinitis?
What Causes Tendinitis in Bass Players
Poor form and overpracticing seem to be the most common causes of tendinitis.
Even when you think you’ve relaxed your grip, you can still be putting unnecessary strain on your hand without realizing it.
Most players never think it’ll happen to them, so they don’t take any precautions — and only start worrying once they’re already dealing with it.
In my case it never got bad enough to disrupt daily life, but apparently severe cases can leave you unable to even hold chopsticks.
I actually know a drummer who got tendinitis so bad he couldn’t hold his drumsticks anymore.
What I Did While Dealing With Tendinitis
Getting diagnosed was a shock, but I decided to stop playing bass for a while.
Every doctor I saw told me the same thing: not playing is the best thing you can do.
I wanted to keep getting better on bass, so it was a hard call to make, but there wasn’t really a choice.
So instead of using my hands, I spent my time on these three things:
· Going to see live music
· Studying music theory
· Drinking and listening to music
Going to See Live Music
I went out to see all kinds of shows — genres outside what I usually play, bands led by old friends I’d lost touch with, all sorts of things.
Watching other people play taught me a lot, and honestly it was good medicine for the frustration of dealing with tendinitis.
Studying Music Theory
I figured this was as good a time as any, so I dug into music theory, which I’d always struggled with. I’d look things up when I didn’t understand them, and ask my teacher when even that didn’t help — just chipping away at it bit by bit.
I still do this today, and I think that period is where I picked up the habit of reading a little music theory every day.
Drinking and Listening to Music
Drinking too much obviously isn’t a good idea, but sipping a whiskey while listening to some smooth jazz and soaking in a cool, quiet moment isn’t a bad way to spend an evening either.
All the practice you’ve put in up to that point is never wasted, so when your body’s telling you it’s had enough, I think taking a little time to rest is part of what lets you keep playing music for the long haul.
If it starts to hurt, please don’t push through it!
Want Personalized Feedback on Your Playing?
This is exactly the kind of thing that’s hard to fix alone — and where having a teacher makes all the difference.
At Line on Bass, I offer an online lesson service where you send me a video of your playing, and I give you specific, detailed feedback — every single day if you want.
Students from around the world are using this to fix exactly these kinds of issues and steadily improve their jazz bass skills.





























































