I Wanna Play Faster.

[Forcemaster]

For actual songs forget hillsong united.

Some ones I would reccomend to practice.

Scarified - Racer X.

now this song is really quite fast, and attempting to play it at full speed will get you nowhere. However, the song is basically scale runs and arpeggios so is good practice and easy to play slow.

Alot of speed/thrash metal (who knew?) has very fast yet for the most part simple lines which could also be good to work on. If you're into that kind stuff try old school metallica, megadeth, slayer, anthrax etc. etc.

Again trying to play this at full speed straight off is not gonna work but just work with it.

[DanRJBrasil]

Originally Posted by needmoney

Do what others have said with the metronome. As for what to play, chromatic permutations, scales, sequences, transcriptions, anything. Just keep it slow and work your way up with the bpm.

+1, & work on three/ four fingers tech.

[tom once dead]

The start of this song
http://youtube.com/watch?v=mFjoUdno7RM

Here is the tab
http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/searc...emains&w=songs

[Hemispheres85]

Originally Posted by tom once dead

The start of this song
http://youtube.com/watch?v=mFjoUdno7RM

Here is the tab
http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/searc...emains&w=songs

Ugh. Learn the song if you want, but don't use the tab.

It's bound to be inaccurate and it's much better to train your ear by listening to the bass part and figuring it out yourself. It really improves your listening skills, believe me.

[primussucks9126]

Maybe work on the run from Al Di Meola's Race with the Devil on Spanish Highway. That should give you a real workout.

[needmoney]

If you want a lot of quick lines and licks to practice that are actually useful to analyze as well, just shell out and get the Omnibook in Bass Clef, worth every penny.

[theroan]

Hmmm, did anyone see that Clapton Chicago blues thing on PBS, that girl who played for Jeff Beck was doin some nice, smooth, SOMETIMES fast solo stuff, thats what I'm lookin for.

[Pacman]

That's Tal Wilkenfeld. She's the subject of many threads here.

But that's not going to change anything. Speed comes with lots of slow, smooth practice. There aren't any shortcuts.

[EADG mx]

^+1

remember that if you can't play it slow, you're faking playing it fast.

no one said you had to stick to bass parts. when I am looking for faster stuff I tend to check out some guitar solos or violin parts.

[palm grease]

teen town
river people
havona


i 2nd the racer x mention.... look into "fretboard frenzy" juan is a monster....

then once you figure out that you can play those tunes.... think about what it took to write that stuff...

good luck in your travels!

[Etbass]

For the record, how hard is that solo from Salvation is Here?! It's just straight 16ths all the way through, with no regards to the common church bassist who just discovered that playing above 12th fret isn't a criminal offense (or an experienced bassist who just hates playing straight anythings)

[theitalianrob]

what helped me get faster was playing some classical bass parts like Bach songs. it helped me speed up on scale and deff gives your fingers a workout.

[Loempiaketzer]

First of all thank you for this topic!

second of all,

you can try almost any song of RUSH. The one thats in guitarhero 2 is awesome. YYZ it was i believe.... going to try it tonight! so nice!

cu... and goodluck and stuff!

now only to figure out if i want to buy a new 5er or 4 stringer....

got both... cant decide...

[theroan]

Originally Posted by Etbass

For the record, how hard is that solo from Salvation is Here?! It's just straight 16ths all the way through, with no regards to the common church bassist who just discovered that playing above 12th fret isn't a criminal offense (or an experienced bassist who just hates playing straight anythings)

I'm not saying its hard, just the style I'm looking for.

[gmstudio99]

Ditto everything that's been said. In addition, I've really gotten a lot out of this book:

[DrPete]

To quote Mike Pope "If something is difficult to play, you are lacking coordination, not strength."
As all these guys have said, play it slow, don't get frustralted at the slower speed, nail those notes every time, then gradually up the speed of the metronome bit by bit until you can play it FASTER than the original.
I took a 7 year hiatus from playing and used these techniques to a point where I am FASTER than I was when I was at the 'prime' of my playing!

Oh, and don't let your beliefs prohibit what you listen to and get influence from. Remember, Jesus hung out with criminals and hookers, so I think you are safe to listen to a little Racer X or Metallica! Also, so classical music has damn fast bass runs.

[JTE]

To echo what's been said, play slow. Nail not only the notes, but the timing and the space between the notes. That's the critical part. See, playing fast and sloppy can sound OK, but if you play it slow, the slop stands out. That's why everyone's reiterating "play slow with a metronome".

As for WHAT to play? Can you play something simple slow and smooth? Then increase the tempo until it's stupid as long as you can do it smoothly. Unless your goal is to impress mindless folks who consider playing bass an athletic event, then WHAT youi practice to play fast isnt' important. Nail Jaco's deadly 16th notes, cop every thing Jerry Jemott ever played, ape Jack Bruce's live work with Cream, learn exactly what Leland Sklar played on Jackson Browne's "Doctor My Eyes" and on The Section's "Doin' The Meatball" or "Sporadic Vacuums of Thought". Learn "Roundabout". Or the entire first Steve Morse Band album with Gerry Peek on bass.

Sit down and learn "Thick As A Brick", the whole album... without a pick.

It's all music and that's the key.

jte

[Dr_Funkdamental]

Originally Posted by Correlli

I don't get the "smooth is fast" bit sorry. But yeah, start slow

Smooth is fast because since you've done something slowly with enough repetition to have every aspect completely down, it becomes a smooth motion with no interruption in the process, whether physical or mental, thus making the movement or whatever youre doing faster. Long sentence but you get my drift I hope.

[jgroh]

Use the Buddha Rope