am i making good progress??

1) Your signature Weezer thing is messed up, fix that

2) Sure your doing fine. I wouldn't concentrate on all this slapping though. Speed isn't everything. Learning how to compose walking basslines is a big plus. I still haven't completly figured it out. I usually have to sit down to make them, I can't make em up on the spot. Slapping in 16ths isn't that important. In fact slapping in the first place isn't that important. I personally think MOST slapping sounds like crap. Easy tricks to amuse the masses.

3) Doublebass (also known as Traditional Bass, Bass, Bowed Bass, and Stringed Bass) is NOT required to be an excellent bassplayer. I hate to use the popular Jaco references, but Jaco did not play DB before playing Electric Bass. Neither did many players. Of course DB players will most likely have an edge on non-DB players mostly because of prior skill, and music theory knowledge, but practice can quickly put you up to par.

4) Transcribe LOTS! Take songs, and transcribe them at first. Just listen, than play it on bass. Next, play scales, and screw around with them. Chances are you will often hit upon a song you know. I forget what scale I was playing (as my original transcription was in the wrong key...hehe oops ) but I stumbled upon about 10 Blink 182 songs (unfortuanly) while playing Major Scales and messing around with em.

Goodluck in your basshood journey.

/Anthony

 

Keep it up with the Suzuki books, they're great, in my experience. I worked through the viola ones, and they were really good for technique, as they step for step brought up all the necessary techniques quite early on, and gradually got harder.

And yeah, I think you're progressing fine. Don't worry about the slapping so much, it'll come eventually.