Lost control over two fingers.

AlphaMale · #1 05-01-2008, 12:58 AM

I'm pretty fast with my index. And I'm really fast with two fingers.
http://myspace.com/douglasthebassist (Second finger)

That's me using two fingers.
I've been playing bass for about a year and a half but before this month for the the past two months I've been bassless. I was only able to play guitar and Double bass. For both of these I did not use two fingers unless I'm doing 16th notes. When I got my bass, I still had all my speed and was even a little bit faster. But I noticed I'm not able to switch strings as well, which is not that bad but the worse thing is that I can't automatically play 8th notes or any complex rhythms without doing it first with my index. Has anyone else encountered a problem like this? How do I gain control over my index-middle finger playing again? By the way I do not just play for speed, it's just a coincidence that I am only able to play 16th notes. (Yes I mean I'm for the the most part only able to play 16th notes with my two index fingers and still stay in time)
Any suggestions.

Mike Shevlin · #2 05-01-2008, 01:27 AM

Slax · #3 05-01-2008, 10:25 AM

Well, I'd say metronome (start slow), force two finger approach, get a bunch of sheet music and just try playing the rhythms of the songs correctly for practice.

www.studybass.com has a nice rhythm section and an online metronome.

AlphaMale · #4 05-02-2008, 02:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mike Shevlin

?

Basically I need my mind to re-calibrate for using two fingers again.

AlphaMale · #5 05-02-2008, 02:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Slax

Well, I'd say metronome (start slow), force two finger approach, get a bunch of sheet music and just try playing the rhythms of the songs correctly for practice.

www.studybass.com has a nice rhythm section and an online metronome.

Yeah I'm going to try one.

AlphaMale · #6 05-03-2008, 12:42 AM

Bump!
I tried playing a tricky rhythm today and I couldn't do it right.

Thunder Pulse · #7 05-03-2008, 07:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AlphaMale

I tried playing a tricky rhythm today and I couldn't do it right.

Why would that surprise you? You should be working on the basics with a metronome as was already suggested.

AlphaMale · #8 05-03-2008, 06:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Thunder Pulse

Why would that surprise you? You should be working on the basics with a metronome as was already suggested.

Hahha okay, yeah It sucks, I don't even know how it happened. I'm going to do this a lot for now on and hopefully I'll be back to full playing power.

DaveF · #9 05-03-2008, 07:00 PM

Man, that sucks. I hate going more than a day or two without playing bass!

Parabolic Box · #10 05-03-2008, 07:04 PM

Next time, play guitar and DB with two fingers.

Techniques aren't magic things that stay with you once you learn them. You have to keep using them to stay proficient. It's the same with something like... running. Say you work up to running ten kilometres at a time. After two months of not doing that, you'll definitely not be able to get up and go at the full distance. Luckily, it'll be easier to get back to that point than the first time.