How do I learn to play faster?

[PastorofMuppets]

I am left handed but i play right hand bass.
as a result i am very slow playing slap parts.
my right hand just cant move faster that way but
if i played left my speed would be doubled.

interesting tid bit for this speed question.

 

[Fergie Fulton]

Maybe we're talking past each other to some degree. Are you talking about fast twitch (anaerobic) vs slow twitch (aerobic) muscle fibers, or something else entirely?

Randy

I don't think we're talking past each other, i'm talking a bit deeper i think, i am talking about twitch response as part of what i do to help players improve. Twitch response is one of many area that i cover because it is part of the physical use of playing. Or in some cases help player recover part of what they lost due to accident or illness. ( of which i am currently one ).
It is used as part of a wider picture and as we agree on how it works it then more about how it can be used or not.

Now the first thing i have do deal with is the player will not tolerate rest as part of a recovery programme and sees pain as something to "play through". There is a psyche they have, you have to get past, and most players and musicians develop it.
It's best described in this manner as an exaggeration..if you give them an aspirin for a headache and i clears in in a hour, they will reason next time that if they take the bottle it will work better and quicker.

We know that to be dangerous and not the case, but players do the strangest things to improve LOL

In the work i do there are many sides all drawn together to target the physical side of playing....if an issue. Again one of the reasons i say it has to be based on personal hand history and application is that if someone else reads a problem and the solution, if it sound like their problem, they will take the advice....not always the case.

If i have to deal with people who smoke, drink, have no interest in diet, it a job to explain and justify what i am saying to them in respects of how the body needs and collects energy to break down for use. I sure you don't encounter many athletes that need a "cig break" in their training routine LOL

In short, concerning the twitch response, the info is out there so i have no problems talking about it, but its application, that's another thing. If any player wants info on what it will do and what it will not do for their playing, then i can help.

You only have to look at some of the health related complaints that get posted to see some of the problems. Over use and mis-use seems to be the main problem, add in impatience and frustration and you pretty much have the start of an injury forming.

 

[Fergie Fulton]

I am left handed but i play right hand bass.
as a result i am very slow playing slap parts.
my right hand just cant move faster that way but
if i played left my speed would be doubled.

interesting tid bit for this speed question.

Interesting but not un-common. Piano players seem to have no problems developing speed in their playing in both hands.
The fact we have right and left handed players sort of clouds the real issue...hand dominance. Any one can change hand dominance if they want, what they do is they immediately start to make comparisons in the difference, a difference that they have been honing from an early age.

Why should any use be the same?

Back to the piano player..the notes are played, struck and sounded in one motion the striking of the keys, then the mechanics of the instrument do the rest
In bass guitar you have to create the strike in unison with the fretting. Having a fast fretting hand is not the answer as is having a fast plucking hand.
If the two are not in unison you will not play fast, you will trip over your hands. This is where the play slow part comes in, teaching you hands to compliment each other, then increase that complimentary speed.

I would have to say stop comparing the two, stop comparing what you could do, and what you can do, work with what you have now and make it as good as you can.

Here is a interesting point, speed is a by product, a side effect if you will of better player abilities. If you target speed as a priority then you are prioritising your playing wrong...speed happens as a result of better playing techniques and habits.

 

[BassLife77]

Hi

I really want to increase the speed of my playing, so I can play these really fast jazz and funk licks, but my fingers won't let me!

Is it just a matter of practice practice practice, or are there certain exercises I can do to get faster?

Thanks!

there are no shortcuts to this. like Jaco said it's all about practice. You have to practice everyday for at least 2 hours. your brain will make the wiring connections in order to get muscle memory and faster reflexes. when I was a teenager I joyfully practiced 8 hours a day (didn't have to work yet) and I got incredibly fast. Now I'm older I still have some speed but I concentrated more on choice of notes now. I dont have as much time to spend on practicing anymore

 

[PastorofMuppets]

I would also continue to make sure that your technique is flawless.
I think a really pro teacher can help you make sure you are not getting any bad habits forming. Without flawless execution you cannot develop past the plateau that can form.
Its important also to challenge muscle memory.

 

[4Strings46]

Hey dude,
I have been playing fingerstyle for over 25 yrs. If your familiar with the Dixie Dregs and Andy West the bass player he is extremely fast. The tune im talking about is Dregs of the earth and the track is Im freaking out. There is one part I had been trying to do and could not. I called andy and he told me he used a pick for that part. He does 3 styles in that track. If you want to learn how to pick like a pro go to Carol Kaye website she has a article how to properly play with the pick. She practically invented how to play bass with a pick. Most the best who use a pick probably use her style. good luck.

 

[kerrycares]

there is an old saying "seeing is believing"
watch people play the licks you want to learn.
lessons, live music, hanging out with better bass players, transcribing the line (so you read it , write it then riff it )and youtube have all helped me.
there are no set ways that work in all situations the same way all the time.
become a student of yourself, the music and the bass...

 

[somegeezer]

I fyou have guitar pro with tabs on you can set it to start at a certain tempo and work its way up. So you could play along and just loop it, getting faster each time.

 

[maxiegrant]

when I was a teenager I joyfully practiced 8 hours a day

Second that. There were days in high school when I came home at 2 pm, put on my bass, and played almost continuously until midnight.

I remember knowing that I was practicing basically 10 hours a day when I could, and I also think even now that that was insane and how did I do that? But I also remembered reading (before I ever heard what he sounded like) that Jaco had basically done the same thing. He put his bass on when he got up in the morning and did nothing but play it all day. That is how you get good. There's no shortcut.

 

[4Strings46]

I fyou have guitar pro with tabs on you can set it to start at a certain tempo and work its way up. So you could play along and just loop it, getting faster each time.

I have guitar pro also. And I have to kindly disagree. Reading tabs is not going to improve his speed. There are certain basslines that are faster than what your fingers can play especially clean and accurate. I am a finger player also use a pick when I need real fast speed. "I'm freaking Out" by the dregs. Even andy told me he cant do it by fingerstyle and he's got about 10 years on me and i have been playing 25 years.
The pick is the answer.