Freaked Out Beginner

[moody]

Last week, I had to relearn "Crackerman." It's a straight forward little song, but then there's the "And I'm thinkin' while I'm thinkin'" part that I never played right back in the 90s. So, what I'm saying is... For me, it's better to learn the songs the right way the first time than to have to try and psyche out muscle memory from learning it the easy way in the beginning. Break it down, as strictlybass_ic said, learning the harder parts in segements. While you can get by on playing root notes, it's not going to make you a better musician. And the bassists that catch your shows are going to know you're an imposter. Not really, but really.

I have actually had this problem before. I will say that the method mentioned above is a stopgap to keep you sounding good and not fired from a band - it doesn't mean it is the right way to do it.

One thing to really watch is that there aren't changes later in the song which you fail to learn. I did this when I learnt cold chisels shipping steel - there is a beautiful bass run in the second half that I didn't play for 3 years of regular gigging - simple too, I just didn't know it was there.

I have played things incorrectly for years (not realising they were incorrect). Never had anyone comment on them.

I have re-learned a lot of songs in the last 3-4 years and they are more enjoyable to play the right way.

 

[BAG]

Here's a good free and really easy to use program to slow mp3's without changing key. It also allows changing key for those songs that your band does in a different key to the original. You can change speed and key at the same time as well. Very handy.

Best Practice

 

[Trayster2]

I've only been playing a couple of years but here's what helped me come as far as I have:
1) Patience
2) Roy Vogt''s Teach Me Bass Guitar: [Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
3) Break a piece down into chunks & practice the difficult spots over & over
4) "Amazing Slow Downer" App. Get it! It slows songs down & loops any part of a song you want. It has been priceless to me.

 

[dbase]

Over the years I got better at faking than playing.

 

[Ianhin]

Thanks for all the responses. I m an accomplished drummer and i guess i wanna be the same level on my bass, but then again i ve been playing drums since i was 10!...... 53now...

 

[Rattfink]

just my 2cent
Before I start playing any songs (during my home practices). I work on finger exercises and scales for 30-45min (Hal Leonard Bass Fitness), it's done wonders for my speed and accuracy.

 

[Lobster11]

Lots of folks have correctly advised you to practice passages and riffs -- especially difficult ones -- very slowly at first, and then build speed gradually over time. Here's why this is so important:

First, every time you make a mistake, you have practiced playing the passage/riff incorrectly, which directly interferes with learning how to play it correctly. If you practice at such a fast tempo that you only get it right half the time, you have practiced it incorrectly as often as you've practiced it correctly. You won't make much progress that way. You want to practice it so slowly that you can do so repeatedly without making any mistakes, and increase speed only when you can do so without making mistakes. Practice doesn't make perfect; perfect practice makes perfect.

Second, practicing at a super-slow tempo allows you to pay attention to your technique. When you try to play too fast, your technique tends to break down as you rush to try to hit the notes, which only exacerbates the problem. While playing through the passage/riff at super-slow speed, watch your right hand and make sure it's staying in the right position, that you're maintaining alternation of your fingers, plucking the notes evenly, etc. Watch your left hand and make sure your thumb is in the proper position behind the neck, your wrist isn't severely bent, you're fretting the notes just behind the frets, etc. It's all too easy to forget that basic stuff when you're concentrating on learning a new line and trying to just play the right notes. Practicing very slowly to ensure that your technique is solid, and only then gradually increasing the tempo, will get you up to speed (literally) faster, and will help you develop good rather than bad habits that will improve your playing generally.

 

[BigBobbyBass]

Don't be freaked out bro. Woodshed that shiz till you nail it. You got this!!

 

[static0verdrive]

Welcome to TalkBass!

Everyone goes through this, nothing to worry about. Definitely slow those tricky parts down. Once you've done them a bunch of times at a speed that's (almost) too slow, gradually increase the speed. It won't take long to nail those parts down!

Thanks to you guys above who mentioned Audacity & GarageBand can slow it down without changing pitch - that's awesome and I didn't realize. I knew Transcribe could do it but Audacity & GB are free!!

 

[jthisdell]

For myself, I have to understand why I am playing certain notes. You are transitioning between these chords and the run consists of these notes from this scale. After I understand the theory I know where my fingers should go. If I don't understand that I can't do it.Now I just have to get them to go there at the right time...

 

[TedH]

And don't forget to always use a metronome or click track when you slow it down. No use getting the notes without the right timing.

 

[Gravedigger Dav]

One thing that will help is to do some fundamentals practice. That is practicing scales, arpeggios, and intervals. There is another technique that will help with physical agility as well as understanding the fretboard. That is to start on the open e and play a C scale starting on the E string and keep play the C scales until you run out of notes on the G string. That would be the 19th fret on a D. Then play the C# scales. Pay scales starting with every note.
Then when you have to learn a difficult part, do it very very slowly. Don't worry about meter. Just work out the notes and the fingering. Once you can play it correctly at a very slow pace, increase the speed a bit, but if you make a mistake, slow down and do it until you can get it without a mistake before you speed up again.

When you are memorizing a part, it is as much about the brain as it is the fingers. When you are trying to learn a part at full speed and you make a mistake, your brain (muscle memory) is telling you fingers to do that and it will rememeber the wrong way and want to do it again.

As to making mistakes when going in and out of the hard part, you have to take the learn it slow for the whole song.
What you are describing is a very normal learning process. Good luck. Now get off of TB and get back to practicing.

 

[TripleDouble]

In cover bands, it's ok to not play exactly what's on the recording so long as you hold down the rhythm and groove. This can buy you some time while you work out these challenges. Once you've figured these spots, licks, grooves out, then try them at rehearsal, then take them to the gig.

And it's perfectly ok to say to your bandmates "Guys, would you mind if we try those few bars at the end of the solo a few times so I can really NAIL that cool little fill". I play covers with some pretty experienced players, and we try to use rehearsal to really hone in on any spots that we individually or collectively think need work based on how they went on gigs, and spend the rest of the time playing news stuff.

For me that feeling of being challenged has never gone away. I still always am trying to work out new stuff and push my abilities. The act of learning gets easier though, so just stick with it and don't let it stress you out, every single musician ever has had to "figure it out". Staying cool about it really helps.

 

[Jay Corwin]

I concur with others here.

1. dissect the song into it's parts
2. learn parts at whatever pace it takes
3. assemble parts back into a song
4. practice entire song
5. Feel good about overcoming obstacles!

 

[Ric5]

Ok so i m a beginner bass player, i m playing in a cover band, and have a lot of material to learn!
But there s certain parts to some songs, it doesnt matter how much i play them over and over, when it comes to playing the whole song, when it gets to that difficult piece i mess it up!
Like that little run the bassist in Dire Straights does at the end of Sultans of Swing..during the last lead solo - it s quite a quick little run starting on D....anyine else struggle with that one?
Another one is Black Night by Deep Purple there s quite a few tricky parts there for a novice to learn!
Then there s a tricky part in Sex on Fire too when he jumps from the A string quick to the D and then the G in that little run - whoaaa!
Then there s that quiet bit at the the end of Under the Bridge by RHCP that also trips me up hoo boy i ve got a lot to learn!
I bet some of u pro s r hosing urselves right now! Hehe..
I d be interested to know if anybody else struggled with those.
Sultans is such a cool song to play pretty straight 4ward and then he throws that run in - i bet he put that there to freak the beginners out!

You don't have to play note for note ... just get the feel and groove of the song.

Look at this video ... about 16 seconds I go to G instead of C but I play through it as if it wasn't a mistake.



So if you make a mistake then keep the groove going and get back to where you need to be.

 

[obimark]

To truly master bass playing is a lifelong endeavor, anyone who thinks you can be 'good' after a year or even two years i mistaken.
I feel I am 'competent' after 25 years, but still learning. (and love it)-

Yes, it is exciting to be able to play a favorite song, after a year of practice, but to 'master' the feel and add something of your own to it, is a much longer process.

 

[Slevage]

Ok so i m a beginner bass player, i m playing in a cover band, and have a lot of material to learn!
But there s certain parts to some songs, it doesnt matter how much i play them over and over, when it comes to playing the whole song, when it gets to that difficult piece i mess it up!
Like that little run the bassist in Dire Straights does at the end of Sultans of Swing..during the last lead solo - it s quite a quick little run starting on D....anyine else struggle with that one?
Another one is Black Night by Deep Purple there s quite a few tricky parts there for a novice to learn!
Then there s a tricky part in Sex on Fire too when he jumps from the A string quick to the D and then the G in that little run - whoaaa!
Then there s that quiet bit at the the end of Under the Bridge by RHCP that also trips me up hoo boy i ve got a lot to learn!
I bet some of u pro s r hosing urselves right now! Hehe..
I d be interested to know if anybody else struggled with those.
Sultans is such a cool song to play pretty straight 4ward and then he throws that run in - i bet he put that there to freak the beginners out!

The best way to improve is to practice "exercises"---- the songs will come very easy after that.

 

[dheafey]

just my 2cent
Before I start playing any songs (during my home practices). I work on finger exercises and scales for 30-45min (Hal Leonard Bass Fitness), it's done wonders for my speed and accuracy.

+1,000,000

I've found fingering problems in songs tend to be minimized or disappear altogether when you have a good "workout" regimen. As a comparison, I hike a lot and if you don't do the treadmill to keep your cardio up, it's hard to enjoy the outdoors when you're sucking wind.

 

[wrench45us]

as a fellow drummer I found it very useful to break down some difficult phrases that I would play wrong or get the timing wrong by breaking the phrase down in terms of beats and pickup notes. Pickup notes are those quick little just before the beat grace notes drummers slip in all the time, once I understood that bass players were doing the same kind of thing a lot of passages became much easier to play.

I related to this much better than the up down foot tap Carole Kaye timing method that Roy Vogt presents in Teach Me Bass Guitar. Too much time with foot pedals for that approach to work for me.

 

[dgrizzly]

Here's the best advice I've ever heard on this subject... I wish I had heard and understood this about 25 years ago when I was first starting out.

Playing any instrument is a physical act. When you're playing bass, especially as a beginner, you tend to focus on the physical part of it - i.e., getting your fingers to hit the right fret, moving them to the next fret, plucking the right string, etc. When you are unable to play a difficult passage, like a quick run of notes at the end of a verse, you have a natural tendency to think of it as a physical limitation - like you are unable to make your fingers do what they need to do. Here's the problem: it's not a physical limitation; if you have been playing for at least a few months and you are able to play in a cover band, then you have developed probably 90% or more of the physical ability (muscle strength, dexterity, etc) that you need to play pretty much any of those parts.

The real thing that you are developing as you improve as a player is the mental link between your brain and your fingers. When your brain decides to play a note, it sends a signal to your hands to tell them what to do. What separates a novice player from an accomplished one is not necessarily that the accomplished player has more dexterity, strength, etc., it's because they know music and their instrument better, and because the signal from their brain to their hands is so loud and strong. I think that's the real reason why some people can pick up an instrument so much faster than others - because their brains naturally produce strong, loud signals.

So what can you do with this concept? When you are working on one of those difficult parts, don't focus on your hand - in other words, don't concentrate on getting your fingers to do what you want them to do. Instead, work on the part slowly until you know all the notes and can play it at half-speed. Then close your eyes, take a deep breath, and then "hear" the part in your head as loud as you can - mentally "shout out" the notes as loud as possible. Right after that, open your eyes and try to play it. What you are doing is you're creating a strong signal that your brain is sending to your fingers - the idea is to make the signal so loud that your fingers have no choice but to play it. Work to make this a habit - focus on hearing the song in your head rather than making your fingers to the work. I think you will be surprised at how much this can improve your playing.

I know this is all counter-intuitive and it doesn't make much sense. Think about it and work on it, and once you get it, it will help. In the meantime, watch this YouTube video. Be patient and listen to it all; especially pay attention to the woman at the end who plays a short passage on the piano.

Also listen to what everyone else has said in this thread. I'm pretty sure we've all been through what you're experiencing right now. The bottom line is that it all takes time and practice - don't be too hard on yourself, and stick with it.

-Y

Thanks for sharing this! Very cool video too. I've noticed many times when I'm trying to learn a difficult part, the main reason I have to slow it down to learn it is so that my brain "hears" all of the notes correctly. Once the sounds are locked in my memory, the fingers seem to do their thing just fine. Surprisingly, I never really thought to stop and take a second to just mentally "hear it" in my head right before actually trying to play it, though. Makes perfect sense and obviously works (the woman in the video crushes the lick on her second go)! I will definitely try this next time I'm woodshedding