HELP NEEDED FOR BEGINNER WHO SUCKS!

nicknick12345 · #1 06-22-2006, 03:57 PM

I have been 'playing' bass for 6 months and cannot do a thing with my right-hand!

What are good things to know about alternmating with fingers, whenever I try it I am slow, get blisters and find it hard to do it on the E string.

I'm ****, please help

Prague77 · #2 06-22-2006, 04:05 PM

just keep trying at it. do some finger workouts to build up dexterity, or you could use a pick to start out with.
do some searches in the forums, i know this has been discussed before...

nicknick12345 · #3 06-22-2006, 04:07 PM

Do you push down on the string? pull it towards you? gently brush it?

west*coast*bass · #4 06-22-2006, 04:10 PM

I would get Todd Johnsons Technique Builder DVD. Todd is a monster 6 string player and has some great exercises for getting that right hand under control.

Todd has a forum on TB, you should check that out and ask him the same question you have asked here. He's a great guy and willing to help.

Good luck, and don't give up!!!!

nicknick12345 · #5 06-22-2006, 04:13 PM

I gave up 5 months ago, I suck

jonasp · #6 06-22-2006, 04:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nicknick12345

I gave up 5 months ago, I suck

There's no real secret trick that will make you good at bass. You just have to keep on practicing. I would seriously reccomend getting a book to teach you the basics of playing bass. That is, of course, if you are having as much as a problem as you are letting on.

Deguello462 · #7 06-22-2006, 04:22 PM

If I were you, I'd get a set of light gauge nickel(steel is harder on the fingers) roundwounds first of all. I liked D'addario EXL220s when I first started 3 years ago. They are the best for your buck when you are first starting out. If your local GC doesn't carry them(as mine doesn't) you can order them off www.musiciansfriend.com for $20 for 2 sets. Best thing you can do at your point is to get some lessons if you can. If not, search around on youtube and google videos for some instruction videos or you could buy one somewhere. The reason you get blisters is becuase your fingers probably don't have callouses yet so just keep at it. You can't really tell a person how to play the bass. It takes a fair amount of experimenting and instruction to get comfortable. And as prague suggested, maybe you should start out using a pick. Good Luck

frstr8dmusician · #8 06-22-2006, 04:51 PM

Don't give up! Be patient. Don't try and rock the house quite yet. Buy a book like "Daily Chop-Builders for Bass" by Josquin des Pres published by Mel Bay. The second half of the book is dedicated to right hand exercises. PRACTICE SLOW WITH A METRONOME and only go faster when you can play at the lower speed consistently. Take a short break every 10 minutes. It's all about building the muscle strength to play. Yes the physical aspects of playing are more challenging than the music theory.
Also Relax, turn up your volume and play with a light touch. That's going to save your fingers and you'll play better and longer. The more relaxed your body is, the better your playing will be.

mkettner · #9 06-22-2006, 04:53 PM

Practice... Practice... Practice!

I was having trouble with syncing my fingers as well and I just practiced everywhere I went. Even if it is alternating finger taping on your desk at work or school. I do a lot of finger exercises on my steering wheel as I am driving. Get creative. Also, when ever possible use a metronome.

Sencond you may want to work on your self image as you probably don't suck, but just need to practice harder. Not everyone can be Victor Wooten.

g00eY · #10 06-22-2006, 05:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nicknick12345

I gave up 5 months ago, I suck

i suck too

.

aside from sucking at bass, i also suck at basketball. i still play for the fun of it. i'm 15 and i seriously did not know how to shoot correctly till last summer. just stick with it and do it for fun. don't get down on yourself. 6 months isn't worse than the 14 years i didn't know how to shoot.

Chili · #11 06-22-2006, 07:08 PM

it doesnt sound like ur injoying practicing or playing bass nicknick, if u dont like it then theres really not much luck for you, but mabe your just havin one of those days where u feel like u suck or seem to be playing worse than usuall, which i think we all have from time to time, i also 2nd everyones advice here

Poop-Loops · #12 06-22-2006, 09:30 PM

Get a teacher. Problem solved.

I think you're just playing too hard. If you try to rip out the strings, then your fingers will hurt and you'll end up playing slow.

perfektspace6 · #13 06-25-2006, 08:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nicknick12345

I gave up 5 months ago, I suck

If that's your prevailing attitude then you should. Doesn't sound like your having much fun.

Joe Nerve · #14 06-25-2006, 08:32 PM

sell your bass and buy a guitar. or drums.

sounds like haven't actually put much into your 6 months. if you have - then i'm serious about the above.

_Lost_Prophet_ · #15 06-28-2006, 07:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nicknick12345

I have been 'playing' bass for 6 months and cannot do a thing with my right-hand!

What are good things to know about alternmating with fingers, whenever I try it I am slow, get blisters and find it hard to do it on the E string.

I'm ****, please help

Ok dude...i'm gettin my bass sometime this week, cos i have been playin bass for the last 2 months, but on a guitar! Stupid i know...and i mean it you gotta push yourself. My fingers have blistered and been damn painful but i'm so determined i just carry on...if you carry on finger playing you will get hard skin and it won't hurt and you won't get blisters again. Now with the speed....well, i was very slow at first with my fingers, and now i can play Pull Harder On The Strings by Trivium easily, which is a pretty fast song. Just keep praticing! You'll get there, i have on a guitar, now you on a bass can do it easier! When i go round to my friends house who has a bass i just play on his and its even easier and i love it! Just dont give up. You'll thank this forum one day

Phil Smith · #16 07-05-2006, 11:40 AM

NEWS FLASH!

All beginners suck, that's why they are beginners.

Playing for 6 months? Is that playing everyday for six months or you've owned a bass for six months and play twice every two weeks? Is this playing you're directed or overseen by someone that doesn't suck or are you just doing it by yourself? If you think you're going to sound like a pro or should sound like a pro after 6 months, you probably should quit and do something else because it doesn't work that way. The people you hear that sound like they don't suck, have invested a huge amount of time, i.e. years to sound that way. Come back in 6 years and tell us how you're doing.

kenlacam · #17 07-06-2006, 05:34 PM

I would not recommend an instruction book at all-trust me, you'll look at it for the first week or so then it will probably gather dust. I'd recommend finding a good bass teacher

Dave Whitla · #18 07-06-2006, 05:47 PM

You should check out Peter Murray's book "Essential Bass Technique". It's exactly what is says: no frills, what to do with your fingers on both hands to get them moving in the best way possible to make a decent sound.

Then it'll just take years of practise (like everybody else)...

... and find a good teacher.

SBassman · #19 07-06-2006, 10:31 PM

1. If you are serious about learning, get a teacher - at least for a while - to get you started with proper technique and to observe you.

2. There's no magic to get the alternating/pedalling down with the right hand fingers - beyond just Doing the time. With a drum machine or a metronome. Every day. Not a couple of times a week, but, every day, about 30 minutes, nice and slow, and not moving up in tempo until the previous tempo is super tight, comfortable, and automatic.

[Offline I'll offer you a suggestion on how to help this along. I can't state it here, because the last time I cited it here, the academics jumped all over me. Apparently, if a person hasn't written a book and played for 150 years, that person does not qualify to help another person.]