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Faster on Frets
- Thread starter Evan
- Start date
I believe the word you're looking for here is Bump! (read the F.A.Q.s for this site) http://www.talkbass.com/forum/faq.php??
The best way to get "faster on frets" is to practise....a lot! I assume that you are new on bass? My suggestion is (if you can afford it) to get a teacher to help you start with you bass playing. He/she can (if a good teacher) point you in the right direction and show you more than you can imagine! For starters, look through the tabs section of this site and pick a song you feel is easy for you http://www.talkbass.com/html/modules.php?name=tabs
Welcome to Talk Bass! Good luck on your bass playing!
Joe Turski....
The best way to get "faster on frets" is to practise....a lot! I assume that you are new on bass? My suggestion is (if you can afford it) to get a teacher to help you start with you bass playing. He/she can (if a good teacher) point you in the right direction and show you more than you can imagine! For starters, look through the tabs section of this site and pick a song you feel is easy for you http://www.talkbass.com/html/modules.php?name=tabs
Welcome to Talk Bass! Good luck on your bass playing!
Joe Turski....
There's a product called FastFret. It should be called SlowFret. All it did was make my strings all sticky. So, don't buy it if you come across it. A waste of $8.
Evan said:
There are several factors that go into creating speed on the fretboard. The first that comes to mind is finger dexterity which can be developed playing scales and chords, etc., but there are other factors that also go into speed. Just playing a simple song won't necessarily increase speed.
Fretboard familiarity is one very important factor. The better you know where notes are on your fretboard and the quickest way to get to needed notes, the faster you can play. That even included actual fretting or playing an open string instead, which can be a faster way to go from note to note when required.
Some beginners jump all over the fretboard needlessly, losing valuable time because they don't realize the notes they may need lie relatively close to one another.
Another factor is really knowing the song you are playing. (I'm not talking about jazz musicians who are improvising as they go, but even they need to know the chord progression. Anyway, jazz musicians are extremely knowledgeable in all the factors that make for speed as a player.)
I say know your song, because if you have even a split-second hesitation about the next chord or when the chorus starts or when the verse repeats, that hesitation is enough to slow you down and play behind the music.
If you are reading music or even tab, if you don't know how to read music or tab very well that will slow you down. If you must look at your sheet music or tab, then the fretboard, then the music, then the fretboard, that will slow you down. Try to learn to read the music or tab and play without looking at the fretboard each note.
Another bad habit is inefficient fingering which sounds like finger dexterity, but isn't quite the same. Some beginners and even veterens take their fingers too far away from the fretboard when that finger isn't in use. Practice keeping your fingers curled closely to the fretboard to save mili-seconds.
Related to that is beginners who don't use their pinky finger because it isn't very strong, so they try to play without it and that can slow you down. Also, if your fingers don't have a good stretch, they can't cover as many frets, which slows speed. That stretch comes with time, but you have to work at it.
Be aware of another VERY IMPORTANT factor in playing speed. It is not just your fretting speed. Your plucking speed, be it fingerstyle or picking or even slapping, can be the true culprit in your playing speed. You need to be aware of both hands. While you may think it is your fretting that needs work, it might actually be your right hand that is slowing your music down.
JMX said:
I disagree. Maybe relaxation would make your playing more precise, but I don't see how it would make you any faster. The thrill of getting up on stage in front of 50,000 people would certainly allow you to play faster.
Getting excited is the key ingredient.
Garrett Mireles said:
There's a diffrence between getting "excited" and tensing up like crazy though. The more you tense up the less flexible you will be, and the more likely you are to cramp up.
A problem I sometimes have when playing with other people is I get very excited and have all these ideas I want to play, but I fail to relax the right muscles and thus I can't play those "great" ideas, that I would've been able to play in the woodshed totally at ease.
/lovebown
Right, so like I said, relaxation makes you more precise. The guy was talking about playing faster. Get excited - play faster.
Don't worry about musiciansmanship. You can pick that up later. Just focus on speed.
*JK*
Nah if you're soloing and your accuracy is a bit off just turn up the distortion and nobody will notice
Don't worry about musiciansmanship. You can pick that up later. Just focus on speed.
*JK*Nah if you're soloing and your accuracy is a bit off just turn up the distortion and nobody will notice
It would be nice if people filled their profiles so we'd have a better idea of what kind of music they're trying to play. How fast are we talking about? Jaco fast or Lemmy fast?
Fingerboard familiarity, relaxation and economy of motion will allow a player to play faster, but speed is not the goal here - speed is the benefit reaped from working on the other three things.
Speed for the sake of speed may impress some people for a short time, but it's the content of what's played that separates the musicians from the wankers.
Fingerboard familiarity, relaxation and economy of motion will allow a player to play faster, but speed is not the goal here - speed is the benefit reaped from working on the other three things.
Speed for the sake of speed may impress some people for a short time, but it's the content of what's played that separates the musicians from the wankers.
Lemmy ain't fast. He strums chords. Wut u talkin bout Willis? 
Hardcore..ska...a bit of diversity there. What kind of hardcore? All the type today is that nu-metal stuff, which isn't fast. It's downtune-your-5er-and-click-clack-away
Hardcore..ska...a bit of diversity there. What kind of hardcore? All the type today is that nu-metal stuff, which isn't fast. It's downtune-your-5er-and-click-clack-away
ok hmm well i looking for some songs to get my fingers to stretch and maybe if i keep it going to get me to play faster or something ideas to add to that would be great 
Joe,
The way you edited those first two posts, it really looked like he had answered his own question. I was thoroughly confused for awhile.
The way you edited those first two posts, it really looked like he had answered his own question. I was thoroughly confused for awhile.
jazzbo said:Joe,
The way you edited those first two posts, it really looked like he had answered his own question. I was thoroughly confused for awhile.
I got you one-upped there, you mentioned joe, so I skimmed to see if dirstki had posted here, but I didn't see it, so I had no clue what YOU were talking about!
Sorry about that guys. Throw a curve ball every now and then. I should have posted, but I was already in his post, it just was quicker for me to do that. I was almost late for work. 
Garrett Mireles said:Lemmy ain't fast. He strums chords. Wut u talkin bout Willis?
Glad you mentioned that, as I the only time I ever heard Motôrhead was on an episode of the britcom The Young Ones. It was a pretty rockin tune. I mentioned Lemmy because Evan seems to like him.
Besides, even that's fast for someone who can't play at that speed!
Oh, and it's William, Buddy!
(I know, I get the reference)
