I play bass with my fingers and I was wondering if there is any way I can speed up my playing. I'd prefer not to use a pick coz I loke the mellower sound finger playing makes. Any help??

i saw a rubbery ball thingy in my local music store that you are supposed to aqueeze with your fingers to increase their stregnth. maybe stronger fingers would help, or more practice, ;)

Those practice toys won't help you.

You don't need strength, but dexterity.

Practice on the bass and try to optimize your finger movements.

but surely the more you play the bass the stronger and more agile your fingers will become, thus useing the little gimmick-toy, your fingers would increase in strength:D

Not really.

It's a common misconception that you need lots of strength to play the bass.


The crucial thing is you wouldn't train the exact muscle groups and muscle movements you need for playing bass.
Believe me, I had my Gripmaster phase, and it didn't make me faster, but slower. I got "heavy fingers", like a body builder who wouldn't do well as a sprinter.

If you practice the right way (no noodling!), you'll get fast automatically.

Why practice on a device and then having to transfer it on to the bass, when you can practise on the bass right away?

JMX is dead on. It's not strength but fluidity and economy of motion.

Camel - one thing is: are you using all of your plucking fingers? If not, try this exercise called "Hanging Ten" - http://www.harmony-central.com/Bass/Articles/Hanging_Ten/

It helped me to utilize my "lazy fingers" more and increased my speed. The downside of the exercise is that it doesn't address your fretting hand. A lot of us don't fret as efficiently as we could.

I also agree with JMX - this question has been asked many times before and I would just add what several of the Pros have said before - that the secret to speed is low action and a light touch.

I'll go ahead and throw in my two cents...I agree with Bruce. The secret most pros tend to claim is low action and light touch. John Entwistle told me that he "lets the amp do all the work". I consider him fast;)

Those gripmaster devices actually hinder your playing. What happens is that when you use them, you're strengthening the muscles in motions that you don't naturally use for playing.

The way I think of it is as with running...Runners may use light weights, but that's not where they tend to focus their workouts. Instead, they focus on running. Sometimes they sprint, sometimes they run long distances. It depends on how they're training and for what event. On that note, by the way, some distance runners still train partially by running many sprints instead of pure long distance.

like the other guys said low action, and light touch. but there is another thing I don't think many people think of. the hight of the pickups. I play right over my neck pickup, which doesn't allow me to dig in. the pickup has to be high enough, almost as close as the space between the strings and the fret board. your fingers will just bottom out on the pickup, resulting in less movement. once I learned that my speed improved greatly.

Originally posted by Bruce Lindfield
I also agree with JMX - this question has been asked many times before and I would just add what several of the Pros have said before - that the secret to speed is low action and a light touch.

i totally agree with this as well.

id like to add that you should also buy a metronome and gradually increse the tempo while practicing 16th notes.

""""""THE RED HOT BASSIST DOES NOT ENDORSE THE GRIPMASTER""""""SHE HAS NEVER TRIED IT""""""
SOMEONE MUST MAKE A BUCK OR TWO OUT OF IT
""""""I AM A GIRLIEPOO AND THUS HAVE NOT MUCH STREGNTH ANYWAY"""""""""""""


jes so you guys know ;)

Wel at least this thread has made one convert then! We have done our work! ;)

convert too.....? hatred of beginners? brucey i am a beginner?

Flea spends a lot of time using a Gripmaster.

I've been in the process of learning to play with 4 fingers for about 2 months now. I started off with the Gripmaster and I felt like it did help in getting my ring and pinky fingers to a certain level of strength. But the thing that really got those fingers up and plucking was playing full songs with only one finger. I would pick a song with a not-too-hard bass line and play it with one finger - my third finger at first. I did that for two or three days and then started playing with my 2nd and third finger. And eventually I was playing with 3 fingers. Last week I went through the same process with my pinky finger. I played 3 or 4 sonds over and over with just that one finger. It sounded bad but by the 3rd day it was alright. Then I started playing with my 3rd and 4th fingers together. Right now I'm at the point where I can play some songs with all 4 fingers but sometimes I get all mixed up. So, I still need a lot of practice but I found that the only way to get a finger that's never picked before to pick is ... to make it pick until it hurts, over and over. I haven't used my Gripmaster for a couple of weeks now.

Originally posted by JMX
Those practice toys won't help you.

You don't need strength, but dexterity.

Practice on the bass and try to optimize your finger movements.
The only reason to have strength is to help avoid RSI's like tendonitis and CTS.

That said, playing bass will develop your hand strength faster than any squeezy-ball.

4-finger plucking will also help.

Originally posted by rickbass1
A lot of us don't fret as efficiently as we could.
Alot of us don't fret at all :D

But left-hand technique is definitely something I see as a general weakness in bass players. Most of the noise people post about here is due to shoddy left-hand technique.

The best way to improve left-hand technique is to play at insanely slow speeds (40bbm) and concentrate on being able to groove at this speed while accurately fretting (or stopping). Once you can do this, speed up gradually, continuing to concentrate on clean left-hand technique.

Playing a fretless bass, I'm not at liberty to have bad left-hand technique. Its WAY too noticable.

FF

I'd like to offer a meager suggestion. I learned to use 3 and 4 fingers when I have to play fast. Also learn the helpful use of "ghost notes". They'll do wonders for that speed thing you're after. Plus they're not as tiring.

Hey Freaky Fender - I'll tell your mom... :D

Originally posted by warwicknut
Also learn the helpful use of "ghost notes". They'll do wonders for that speed thing you're after. Plus they're not as tiring.

What are "ghost notes"?

Originally posted by fireglo forever


What are "ghost notes"?


that's what i was gonna ask.

Originally posted by fireglo forever


What are "ghost notes"?

ghost notes are notes that are basically muted with your fretting hand, while you pluck the strings with your picking hand. It makes a percussive type sound

ex: rest your fingers on the I-V-VIII of any chord you choose, then pluck the notes, you shouldnt hear the notes ring out as you normally would, you should hear a *muted sound instead of the actual note*

sorry this is the best way i can explain them, I know how to play them, just cant give you the exact technical definition of them, someone else will probably explain in better detail.

Originally posted by cassanova
ghost notes are notes that are basically muted with your fretting hand, while you pluck the strings with your picking hand. It makes a percussive type sound

Well, i know what muted notes are, but how does this help you with speed?

a bad habit that alot of people pick up is not using their pinky.after i learned this i got so much faster.

Originally posted by fireglo forever


Well, i know what muted notes are, but how does this help you with speed?

Originally posted by fireglo forever


What are "ghost notes"?

you just asked a few posts up what ghost notes are, and someone else said they were about to ask that too. So I was explaining what they were.

If you knew what they were then why did you ask??

Originally posted by frankencow150
a bad habit that alot of people pick up is not using their pinky.after i learned this i got so much faster.

I've noticed that too. You know what's odd, I use my pinky more than my middle finger for fretting. Hmmm....

Originally posted by fireglo forever


Well, i know what muted notes are, but how does this help you with speed?

Well, the point is that "ghost notes" really have no pitch but can fool your ear that they do. So you can throw in a ghost note when changing position and it will sound like a complete run with no break. The ghost note takes the place of a note that would be impossible to fit in without slowing down.

It's difficult to explain without talking about specific examples, but once you get the idea you can fit it into a lot of things - for impossible riffs, chromatic runs, position shifts etc.

Originally posted by cassanova
you just asked a few posts up what ghost notes are, and someone else said they were about to ask that too. So I was explaining what they were.

If you knew what they were then why did you ask??

I didnt know that by "ghost notes" you meant muted notes, thats all. I thought you were talking about some technique i wasnt familiar with, sorry if my post was confusing :)

Originally posted by Bruce Lindfield
you can throw in a ghost note when changing position and it will sound like a complete run with no break.

Aah, yes, i know what you mean. I guess i do this sometimes too, and it does help with speed. Feels a little like poor technique, though, doesn't it? Well, i guess its ok to use for those "impoissible riffs" that you mentioned because they are so fast...

ok, well im not the best at bass, but from the experiance i have had, i think speed is not only a combination of your playing hand, but also your fretting hand, at least for me. I can do walking bass no problem using 2 fingers n keep up to faster rythoms, but i also use my fretting hand to do it. Like for instance, hitting notes with my fretting hand without plucking at all, and doing pull offs alot too. persoanly i just use a combo of em, ive tryed the 4 finger technique, and im ok at it, but by doing what i do, itll sound the same if not better, but i think you should learn a little of the whole hand way of playing too. those are just my thoughts.