Faster playing- help

[ficalini]

I've been asked to play Cowbays From Hell by Pantera for my school's talent show with my old lead guitarists new band. I'm ok with playing the song, but it's totally out of my genre and i dont think i can play that fast yet, but id like to try.

Does anyone know any excercises that i can do to build my speed?

oh, and the talent show auditions are monday sep.12---its wednesday sep. 7th today

[puddin tame]

you're not getting any faster in 5 days. maybe try using a pick if the lines are all on one string, pretty much anyone can be fast just strumming up and down.

[ficalini]

Originally Posted by puddin tame

you're not getting any faster in 5 days. maybe try using a pick if the lines are all on one string, pretty much anyone can be fast just strumming up and down.

It's not my right hand that needs work, unfortunately. But thanks anyway

[darkstorm]

Hold your hand slightly open then start moving your fingers back and forth as fqast as you can but not all at once, Two groups of two fingers thou is ok. Do this untill your hands and fingers feel warm. Stop, open and close hand a few times then repeat with other hand. Do two sets for each hand. What your wanting to excercise is what are called fast twitch muscles, there not strength muscles as such. Do this hand excercise with this variation as well: As before but cascading fingers kinda in a follow along manner. pinky, next to it, middle finger, one after the other. But continue the back and forth for each. Youcan kinda shake your hand a little while doing these excercises. But focus is one rapid continued fingers going back and forth.

Variation 3: Like the two above excercises but this time doing successsive finger curls one after the other or in groups of two. Again, do excercise untill hand and fingers are nicely warm. Then stop, open and close hand a few times at medium slow speed and repeat excercise with other hand.

BTW. For bass playing specifically, put your fretting hand facing in fretting position while you do these excercises every other time. If you play with a pick, modify the excercise every other time with doing fast continous strumming motions from various angles. With hand anf fingers configured as though with thumb and two fingers pick grip. But dont hold a pick while your doing this. Cause your wanting to develope that fast twtich muscle thing for each finger so that either finger can kick off the upper push and pull down. Its like this. With finger style most can play faster cause they double strike string with alternate fingers. These alternate fingers can also double kick the pick and aid in that faster back and forth that can happen when little changes to angles occurs with the finger motion. Yes at one time my goal was to be able to play along with John Mclaughlins guitar solos on bass. I pretty much outgrew that, but still, the excercise does benefit finger dexterity, precision, speed, and nimbleness. And can help prevent finger and hand cramps to btw. Lol. But anyway these excercises originated for guitar players of course, but makes more then enough sense to apply em to bass. O and last but not least. When your fngers are tiring a bit, slightly varying the angle can help you continue on and catch your second wind fretting and picking or finger plucking. striking wise.

[FretlessMainly]

Overall, you won't develop faster technique in five days (by that I mean the overall facility to play everything you play faster), but there's one possibility if you try this exercise:

Play Cowboys from Hell over and over and over again. This is the only possible solution to your immediate problem. Get the recording, get the tab or whatever you have to do; start at a comfortable speed and then woodshed it. If you don't know what that means now, you will in five days.

Good luck

[ficalini]

Originally Posted by darkstorm

Hold your hand slightly open then start moving your fingers back and forth as fqast as you can but not all at once, Two groups of two fingers thou is ok. Do this untill your hands and fingers feel warm. Stop, open and close hand a few times then repeat with other hand. Do two sets for each hand. What your wanting to excercise is what are called fast twitch muscles, there not strength muscles as such. Do this hand excercise with this variation as well: As before but cascading fingers kinda in a follow along manner. pinky, next to it, middle finger, one after the other. But continue the back and forth for each. Youcan kinda shake your hand a little while doing these excercises. But focus is one rapid continued fingers going back and forth.

Variation 3: Like the two above excercises but this time doing successsive finger curls one after the other or in groups of two. Again, do excercise untill hand and fingers are nicely warm. Then stop, open and close hand a few times at medium slow speed and repeat excercise with other hand.

BTW. For bass playing specifically, put your fretting hand facing in fretting position while you do these excercises every other time. If you play with a pick, modify the excercise every other time with doing fast continous strumming motions from various angles. With hand anf fingers configured as though with thumb and two fingers pick grip. But dont hold a pick while your doing this. Cause your wanting to develope that fast twtich muscle thing for each finger so that either finger can kick off the upper push and pull down. Its like this. With finger style most can play faster cause they double strike string with alternate fingers. These alternate fingers can also double kick the pick and aid in that faster back and forth that can happen when little changes to angles occurs with the finger motion. Yes at one time my goal was to be able to play along with John Mclaughlins guitar solos on bass. I pretty much outgrew that, but still, the excercise does benefit finger dexterity, precision, speed, and nimbleness. And can help prevent finger and hand cramps to btw. Lol. But anyway these excercises originated for guitar players of course, but makes more then enough sense to apply em to bass. O and last but not least. When your fngers are tiring a bit, slightly varying the angle can help you continue on and catch your second wind fretting and picking or finger plucking. striking wise.

Thanks

[fearceol]

Originally Posted by FretlessMainly

start at a comfortable speed and then woodshed it.

While Darkstorm's exercise should be of some help, the above quote is the only sure way of developing speed, i.e. starting at a comfortable speed then building up the tempo gradually. Unfortunately this takes time, as does everything else to do with playing the bass.

[K2Graham]

"The key to playing fast is practicing slowly" - my brother's guitar teacher would say that over and over and over and over etc etc etc

[BZadlo]

I'm not sure how far off you are (in speed) but, you can definitely improve a lot in 5 days. It's all about economy of motion. Work smarter, not harder.
Be careful not to pull anything or exhaust your muscles. Make sure to warm up and take lots of little breaks.