I feel that speed is the combination of the accuracies your ear and rhythm. The faster you hear things and transpose them on bass, and the more accurate to can play rhythmically, the faster your chops will be.
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Faster..faster...FASTER
- Thread starter Masamax
- Start date
Call it a guess, but something tells me you were in a different thread and you hit this button when you meant to hit this . 
- Apr 1, 2000
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You're supposed to be downstairs with me, trying to get this huge hunk of wood to work.
(Boy, that didn't sound good).
- Apr 1, 2000
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alexclaber
Commercial User
you can teach a monkey to play Teen Town very fast - that's easy. to play musically is another story. that requires maturity and experience.
- Jan 11, 2002
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No way. Playing at, say, 40 bpm requires different skills than 240 bpm.
240 bpm will be physically harder, but 40 bpm is mentally harder.
I could go into more detail, but this has ben done 100 jillion times before, so I won't bother.
And to the thread starter... 8 notes/second works out to 32nd notes at 60bpm = 8ths at 240. Sorry but that isn't that fast.
Just concentrate on getting each note clear and articulate with the proper technique, and speed will follow.
>you can teach a monkey to play Teen Town very fast - that's easy. to play musically is another story. that requires maturity and experience<
Well,correct me if I am wrong.Please.Do not just say "How wrong can you be".Most of the great bassists mentioned worldwide have abilty for speed.This is a fact.These guys can ALSO play slow,which encompasses all points pertaining to musical maturity and feel.Jaco played fast and slow,but his breakneck 'speed of the era' along with Stanley changed the way the bass guitar was percieved.It became far more versatile and many other styles were created from those days.Perhaps we have all had enough of speed;perhaps we consider fast slapping or Billy Sheehan tapping out dated and wish to hide behind psueodo-isms which glorify playing slow? Oscar Petterson's bassist,who's name escapes me(The Norwegian guy)was superb....and extremely fast.Now do not ever try to convince me that his ability to play fast did not have a bearing on his being in that trio.
Replies eagerly awaited.Stay cool."Fallon".
Well,correct me if I am wrong.Please.Do not just say "How wrong can you be".Most of the great bassists mentioned worldwide have abilty for speed.This is a fact.These guys can ALSO play slow,which encompasses all points pertaining to musical maturity and feel.Jaco played fast and slow,but his breakneck 'speed of the era' along with Stanley changed the way the bass guitar was percieved.It became far more versatile and many other styles were created from those days.Perhaps we have all had enough of speed;perhaps we consider fast slapping or Billy Sheehan tapping out dated and wish to hide behind psueodo-isms which glorify playing slow? Oscar Petterson's bassist,who's name escapes me(The Norwegian guy)was superb....and extremely fast.Now do not ever try to convince me that his ability to play fast did not have a bearing on his being in that trio.
Replies eagerly awaited.Stay cool."Fallon".
Speed is a by-product of good technique, not the aim. Usually, practising just to get fast will get you neither.
Technique is also just a tool, what you do with it is your choice - it can be used wisely and with taste or not...
Oh, and the name you're looking for is Nils-Henning Ørsted-Pedersen
Technique is also just a tool, what you do with it is your choice - it can be used wisely and with taste or not...
Oh, and the name you're looking for is Nils-Henning Ørsted-Pedersen
- Jan 11, 2002
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I highly doubt that it was speed that changed the way bass guitar was perceived. More like tone, note choice and phrasing.
Playing music isn't about what's outdated or about glorification.
Anyway - try playing a written-out swing ballad loaded with triplets and quintuplets at 45 bpm or less and then tell me it wasn't hard. Less impressive-sounding to the audience, yes, but just as difficult as 16ths at 200, just in a different way.
Playing music isn't about what's outdated or about glorification.
Anyway - try playing a written-out swing ballad loaded with triplets and quintuplets at 45 bpm or less and then tell me it wasn't hard. Less impressive-sounding to the audience, yes, but just as difficult as 16ths at 200, just in a different way.
>Oh, and the name you're looking for is Nils-Henning Ørsted-Pedersen< JMX, Ta.
> Speed is a by-product of good technique, not the aim. Usually, practising just to get fast will get you neither< Sorry,totally disagree.Speed comes from a balance between practice and natural ability.If you practice day in,day out,be aware that this is not a passport to the realms of the superplayers.To actually play fast,you need talent.Let's be honest(again),the best bassists around now,and BE HONEST,are noted for their speed.Technique comes to those with inherent ability, both physically and mentally.Without prior gifts,forget it.That said,stay cool."Fallon".
> Speed is a by-product of good technique, not the aim. Usually, practising just to get fast will get you neither< Sorry,totally disagree.Speed comes from a balance between practice and natural ability.If you practice day in,day out,be aware that this is not a passport to the realms of the superplayers.To actually play fast,you need talent.Let's be honest(again),the best bassists around now,and BE HONEST,are noted for their speed.Technique comes to those with inherent ability, both physically and mentally.Without prior gifts,forget it.That said,stay cool."Fallon".
- Apr 1, 2000
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- Endorsing Artist: Roscoe Guitars, DR Strings, Aguilar Amplification
Sorry Fallon, but IME that's absolutely rubbish! Speed can be learned and practiced, taste cannot.
alexclaber
Commercial User
Maybe in your opinion - not mine. Does that mean that Family Man isn't a great bassist? Or even Jamerson, he didn't play all that fast?
Alex
- Jan 11, 2002
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Practicing day in and day out may not make you a "superplayer" (what is that, anyway) but you'd be surprised how much "talent" really boils down to "hard work".
In that vein... no, playing fast isn't easy. It takes loads of practice to be able to pull it off and more so to do it cleanly, evenly and consistently. But then again, same thing applies to playing something very slow, very offbeat, very unusual phrasing or time sig... each one requires a different skill set, but none is easy... wouldn't you say?
Yes, some musicians are noted for their speed. But by whom? You'll find that that is a mainstream thing - a musician is more apt to judge his peers on how the thing sounds, rather than how fast it goes.
For example, what good would a 400 hp Porsche be if it had crap brakes, poor steering, cheap tires, an inefficient engine, poor quality fuel and an inexperienced driver with no license? Not much, I think!
Also, being able to play fast is fun and all good and it will open a few doors for you (in all honesty, yes, it has done for me), but for probably 90% of the gigs out there, speed is NOT an issue at all.
