What are your faults?

Spikeh · #1 09-08-2005, 04:34 AM

Inspired by JimmyM's post here.

What are your flaws when playing bass (technique only - not technical, like 'Understanding EQ' or 'Theory' etc)? Here are mine (in no particular order):

* Pick Playing (combining down / up stroke)
* Double Thumbing (I'm convinced my thumb is too straight to do it well, my thumb nail (no matter how short I cut them) always gets caught on the string)
* Fast slap / pop (accuracy mainly)
* Very fast sliding
* Three finger playing (fingering hand)
* Insanely fast metal playing (linked to the above)

They're my main flaws - I know it's a big list, but there it is ;P

cowsgomoo · #2 09-08-2005, 05:12 AM

the thing i'd like to improve on most, technique-wise is my control over dynamics during live performance... my band plays very aggressive loud punk rock and it's difficult to tread the line between putting the necessary aggression & emotion into the music, and maintaining a level of good, flexible relaxed technique...

when the adrenaline starts I find it hard not to hit the strings too hard... it just feels appropriate, but it's very inefficient, quickly tiring and I always end up mashing my hands to bits, no matter how many calluses i've built up

i've tried to relax and play less hard but when it's show time the red mist descends and I become an aggressive maniac

now the lines are well within my technical ability, even when tired and injured but I hate waking up on Sunday mornings with bleeding and blistered hands

Formula · #3 09-08-2005, 06:48 PM

improvisation and slapping both own me.

i guess i have time to learn though...

screamingdaisy · #4 09-08-2005, 07:04 PM

My two finger technique sucks (too slow, inconsistent speed, and no control).

My dynamics are weak.

Haven't figured out how to lock with a drummer that does anything other than a 4/4 rock beat.

And slap/pop is beyond my abilities at this time.

but I've only had a bass for a few days....there's still hope yet.

quatre03 · #5 09-08-2005, 07:26 PM

My flaw is i'm too good...

its turly a horrible flaw....

psh i wish

*Reading
*Consistancy
*Ear Trainging
*Remembering Pieces
*Tapping
*Odd Meter

Correlli · #6 09-08-2005, 07:49 PM

Sound quality seems to my biggy at the moment. Only because I'm a GASing for Mesa. I'm using an old Fender amp which doesn't have that modern HiFi sound.

JamesM · #7 09-08-2005, 08:02 PM

my slappin is 1 dimensional.
my false harmonics need a bit of work.

violatedppl · #8 09-08-2005, 11:03 PM

I suck at slapping and also dont really have a desire to play slap, so I really dont try except to piss people at practice off.

difference in tone between my index and middle fingers.

and sometimes playing to much, trying to get alot of notes where their should only be a few but I am getting better at this, because play 1/4 or 1/8 notes all the time starts to suck when you want to groove

20one · #9 09-08-2005, 11:29 PM

tapping
alternate and weird time signatures (7/8 kills me for some reason)
and sadly, my coordination, sometimes the right hand wants to move faster than the left hand =P

JimmyM · #10 09-08-2005, 11:34 PM

I stay awake late too much. I smoke. I fart at inopportune moments. I get in arguments with stupid people who hire me. I let my yard go too long between mowings. I run the gas tank out too far and have needed picked up. I squeeze my zits. I pick my nose when nobody's looking. I eat too fast. I leave my cat's litter box for days without cleaning it.

Alvaro Martín Gómez A. · #11 09-08-2005, 11:43 PM

Aside from my lack of improvisational abilities and awful double bass vibrato, which seem to have their roots in a deep mental block, most of my faults are because I don't practice the way I used to years ago. I pick my bass every night, but without the discipline I had when I was unemployed. When on vacation, my practicing routine seems to get better. My biggest faults are:

1- Double thumping. The previous statement is specially true for this.

2- 3 finger picking style. I think this is very useful, but one thing that prevents me from practicing is the fact that I don't like the big tone change. I think I have my sound and I feel it's not me when trying to play that way. I can play "The Trooper" with both techniques and feels much more comfortable with three fingers, but I always play it with two because that's my tone.

3- Playing with a pick. I suck at that but frankly it doesn't bother me because that style doesn't attract me at all. I always have a pick in my wallet and some times I grab it, but nothing serious, really.

Of course, I'm not trying to say that I'm GREAT at other things. I think I have decent slap skills, for instance, but Primus' "Is It Luck?" riff always puzzles me. I can play "Donna Lee" but Richard Bona's fingerstyle speed makes me feel as a real beginner. I think it's all relative.

Redhotbassist · #12 09-09-2005, 06:15 AM

I can only think of one, at the moment just my fretting technique in some ways.. i think i need to gain perfect comfortable fretting technique..

StopAstronaut · #13 09-09-2005, 06:46 AM

Poor ring finger/little finger coordination - up until fairly recently I kinda cheated a bit and fretted stuff in a way I found comfortable, even if it meant moving up and down the board a lot more, which left me with retarded little and ring fingers. They don't play nice together.

But I recently got serious and decided to work at it. I started learning 'Donna Lee' yesterday and yes, little finger and ring finger still suck, and changing it round to be comfortable is HARD. should improve my technique though.

Also I find I'm a bit scrappy in general - hardly a clinical player. And I haven't played with a band for a while so I'm probably right out of the groove by now. Poor me.

So that's what I'm working on at the moment. Got it scheduled into my outlook calendar and everything... ;-)

JimmyM · #14 09-09-2005, 07:36 AM

I leave laundry in the washer for days then wear it after it gets all moldy. I yell at neighborhood kids to get out of my yard when they're not in my yard. I hate everyone who's not exactly like me. I don't work out enough. I eat month-old leftovers. I go to the bathroom and don't flush. When I take a shower, I wash everything but my genitals. I gave to Hurricane Katrina relief using a stolen credit card. I tell my kids wrong answers to their homework just to watch them flunk.

BlacktotheBlind · #15 09-09-2005, 10:20 AM

-Slapping/Popping accuracy
-Ear training
-Reading sheet music (i still go by tab

)
-3 finger plucking, I've got 2 finger down but playing with my ring finger is difficult unless i'm playing really fast
-Scales, i need to learn more of them

Howard K · #16 09-09-2005, 10:31 AM

Sheesh, where do I start?

I'd have to say, in no particular order, time, feel, note choice, following charts, sitting in the pocket, I get stuck in ruts, consistancy, over-playing, phrasing, technique(s), reading, writing, listening.. shall I go on?

More importantly, what am I going to do about it?!

Daily: Play along with Maj + min blues in all keys and Aebersold playalongs on upright every day. Plus practice scales on upright.

Next year: attend weekly jazz bass and jazz ensemble class at a local-ish college playing upright and electric.

Next two years: Study for and pass grade 5 theory and grade 8 electric bass.

Forever: keep on listening, learning, gigging and playing!

jbennardo · #17 09-09-2005, 10:56 AM

Let me count the ways:

Improvisation (no confidence due to lack of theory, permanently stuck in blues scales)
One-Dimensional, rudimentary slap/pop knowledge
Sound Quality/Mastery of the amp-guitar relationship
Can't read music at all or tab very well

Conversely, I really depend on my ears and hope I never go deaf

Correlli · #18 09-09-2005, 05:57 PM

I have problem with arranging compositions. Contemporary rock I'm OK, but some of the fusion stuff I have difficulty with.

neely · #19 09-10-2005, 03:26 AM

-cannot play with fingers (but i'm trying)
-very slow at reading notes (i'm not used to the bass clef yet)
-the e-string is too heavy to push down for me if i want to play (change frets) very fast..i have not enough power in my left forearm (but i'm working at it)

JimmyM · #20 09-10-2005, 03:56 AM

I burp really loud after every meal while still at the table. I spit when I talk. I scratch my armpits and smell my fingers. I talk loudly on my cellphone during movies and plays. I pull my pants down and sit on other people's furniture when they're not looking. I let my dog hump the legs of visitors to my house. I ask people how much money they make, then laugh at them if they make less than me. I talk right in people's faces so they have to smell my breath. I chew with my mouth open. I make fun of people's political affiliations and religions if they're not the same as mine. I wear the same underwear every day until they wear out. I touch other people's stuff when I'm sick.