Trouble speeding things up..

[fivaras]

Hey guys im new to the art of double bass (i play for 6 months) and i have focused my energy on slappin. i got a great book from didi beck and i practice everyday. but i have difficulty when i try to play faster like psychobilly basslines. i do everything as the book says and i slap with my whole palm, while i pull the strings with 3 of my fingers. but ive seen people pull the string with just one finger which is too difficult for me. is this what i have to do in order to gain speed?

[salcott]

Maybe you should spend a little time learning to play the bass the standard way.....

[JoeD]

That's the answer.....of course. Learn the standard way.

[Bass]

Originally Posted by fivaras

.....is this what i have to do in order to gain speed?

I am guessing that you are grabbing the string rather than flicking the string. It's a subtle difference that comes with practice. Ideally you would relax your wrist, slap the fingerboard, and flick your fingers off the strings letting just the pads of your fingertips catch the string.

A good setup helps too. If you are using stiff steel strings set high above the fingerboard (say 12 mm or more), this will promote the grab & pull technique.

If you use flexible nylon or gut strings set say 10 mm or less above the end of the fingerboard, this will allow you to flick the strings, and gain speed.

I'm not convinced 1, 2 or 3 fingers makes alot of difference - I use 2 fingers, others use 3 or 1. Although there is a "tapping" sort of technique that some people use, and I think they only use one finger.

It's good to know both slap and "pizz" technique, most songs have parts that sound better with slap or pizz, and anyone worth their "salt" on DB should be able to transition seamlessly.

[T-Bird]

Hi.

IMLE, (a "newbie" here as well) is that speed comes from practice, practice and yet more practice.

There's no shortcuts, exept for using a delay or slap echo FX to "cheat".

I strongly second the "learn to play the standard way" suggested by every previous poster.

Have fun.

Regards
Sam

[fivaras]

thank u all for the advice..

[morticious.ind]

Work on Developing fast twitch muscles in your right hand
It is the same muscle use use for opening a door or for a better example the muscles you use to wind the machine heads on your bass "if" you ever change strings and "if" you don't have a mechanical string winder.

But thats half of it.

The second half is knowing what your playing. take things real slow until you can sing it in your head without a doubt then as soon as you start to make it faster you'll find you can and will good accuracy.

So--
- good muscles
- good ears

go as fast as you want