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a weird situation
- Thread starter icarus88
- Start date
I play faster with about 16mm between the strings at the bridge instead of 18+, and faster if I have the fretboard or a ramp for my fingers to rebound off of.
I like Diet Dr. Pepper, way better than regular Dr. Pepper.
Record yourself playing, video if possible but audio is fine too. You'll learn a lot about your habits, good and bad, when you can study your technique and sound without thinking about actually playing at the same time.
Also, are you referring to this feeling when playing with your amplifier on, or just holding the bass and plucking at it unplugged?
if i throw an object, the harder i throw, the farther it flies.
could be unrelated.
i, too, play faster when i play harder.
could be unrelated.
i, too, play faster when i play harder.
You need to apply more energy to move faster, therefore you attack stronger.
Physics
It is usually the case that music can be performed faster once it has been learned and practiced s-l-o-w-l-y and correctly! This type of dependency between tempo and dynamics will only be eliminated by slow, deliberate and correct practice. YMMV
FullumMusic
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- Oct 13, 2022
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In one sense, yes, to play faster, your fingers need to move faster, and faster moving fingers move the strings more force, ergo, hitting strings harder.
And sometimes that's exactly what the situation needs
- But -
It can also be very fatiguing to play faster and harder, and it can lead to cramping or stiff fingers and pumped wrist, and can be hard to maintain over time.
As an experiment, try turning up your amp's volume a bit and playing with a lighter touch. Let the amp do the work. Make it so the light touch volume is as loud as the aggressive touch at the lower volume. You'll have to move your fingers less and exert less energy, and their muscles and tendons won't fatigue as easily and you can probably maintain the faster speed more consistently for longer.
Not that you "should" be playing one way or the other. Play whichever works best for you in your musical situation. But being able to do both is handy, especially if you find your fingers are slowing down by the end of an hour set of fast music. More tools in the toolbox is always nice.
I used to play very aggressively when playing fast. Part of it was i was playing more aggressive music. Part of it was just me getting amped for the fast part and hitting harder. It took some adjusting to, but when i got a nice consistent light-touch-but-fast technique down that matched my light-touch-and-slow tone, it opened things up for me, and i don't fatigue very much at all.
If you feel like you should be playing lighter, a thing you can do is play lightly while focusing on using the same finger motions as when you play fast. In my own playing, I notice my fingers are much straighter and my attack angle is more sharp when playing fast. if you apply these same principles while playing softer you might find you maintain the same speed.
My strings are slippery, my fingertips are trying to slide while playing, so it doesn't produce a strong enough sound.
