Thumbing Speed

[Beatle Bassist]

I've been self teaching bass to myself for about two years, so I really don't know which frets are which notes, I just know which fret makes which note and I don't know the names of the hand techniques. But I'll get back to the topic. I play an old Rogue P-Bass-ish bass and I taught myself to thumb the strings on the 20th fret with my hand resting on both the body and the neck. It works great, until you get up to faster paced bass songs such as I Saw Her Standing There. I was wondering of there was a way to get my speed up faster using the same kind of technique or something like it, because it's really the only one I can do (sorry for writing so much).

[SLaPiNFuNK]

That technique will work for slower tune and walking lines... Playing much faster is a challenge simply becuase the physical limitations of moving the thumb. You can acheive a similar tone playing at the same point on the neck with your fingers.

[Russell L]

ya really oughta learn the two-finger technique, or get a pick. Especially for I Saw Her Standing There. Heh, heh, we played that one the other night, and the drummer counted it off too fast. It was big fun playing that bass part. I coulda done it faster, but that would be ridiculous.

[Quinn.H]

What you want, sir, is the double thumb technique. give it a google.

[XylemBassGuitar]

When you say "thumbing", are you talking about slapping? Or just plucking/strumming the strings with your thumb?

I would also recommend learning the fingerstyle technique. Personally, I am a fan of using three fingers instead of just two, but there are tons of guys who do excellent with two (and, if I'm not mistaken, James Jamerson, bass god, only used one).

Good fingerstyle technique involves holding your finger about perpendicular to the string. Place the tip of your finger on the top-edge of the string (top edge meaning the edge towards your head as you're playing), not contacting more than half the string's width. Then push your finger back towards the body of the bass; your finger should slide past the string (it's OK if it slightly contacts the string above it) causing it to sound a note. Do the same thing with your next finger, then the third. Practice until it becomes fast and natural.

There is tons of information on proper techniques on the interweb, especially YouTube. Take a look at a lot of them, (get multiple opinions on each), then decide which ones you'd like to stick with.