How is this even possible??? Against Me!

[JJ Meadowlark]

So I saw this -

I'm NOT a bass player, just some guy messing around on weekends for my own amusement, but I love bands from Gainesville...

I've been beating myself up since Dee Dee only used downstrokes and I still can't pull that off, although I do pretty well as a noob.

Do you see this guy's right hand in the video???? Not even looking at the frets...Getting discouraged here. I've been OK with the Ramones (nearly everything), Bauhaus Bela Lugosi, and Dramarama's "Anything" and some Lillingtons songs...

There's no way I can get this good even if I keep at it for a thousand years, but I'd like to.

Maybe I should just get content with Judy being a punk...

 

[lz4005]

I'm NOT a bass player.....I've been beating myself up....Do you see this guy's right hand in the video???? Not even looking at the frets...Getting discouraged here....There's no way I can get this good even if I keep at it for a thousand years....

He's looking at his left hand over half the time he's playing.

You need to either change your attitude or sell your bass and get a new hobby. Not because you suck, but because you've defeated yourself psychologically and programmed yourself for failure. That's an easy song that anyone, including you, can learn in a week.

 

[WayneP]

Don’t sell yourself short! Who says you have to accomplish playing the part the same way he does? All that matters is that you hit the right notes. How you do it doesn’t matter. It’s an easy song. Iz4005 was being way too generous – no reason why it can’t be learned in few hours, if that.

There will always be someone better than you. Corrections, lots of somones. I learned a long time ago not to worry about it. As long as you can complement the song, you’re fine. My personal motto is, “I’m not a flashy player, but hopefully I make up for it in good taste.” Best of all, just enjoy having the talent to make some music!

Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt

Pedulla Club #45 Unique Arrangements of Hymns, P&W Standards, and Original Tunes
Administrator, Tobias Club #133
Administrator, Fretless Club #943
Big Cabs Club #23
My Basses
Pedulla Club #45
Tobias Club #133

 

[J_Bass]

Keep playing, in a couple of months you will realize that's an easy song.

 

[Doc Blue]

I don't play like him either, nor would I want to. If I did, I wouldn't be able to move my head for a week! I get where you're coming from, I suck, but if I continue to believe that I may as well hang it up. So instead I practice, play at home using band-in-a-box, study theory, keep learning to improve, and slowly add new tools to my bag of tricks.

@WayneP has it right. Use your techniques. Learn from others, but don't try to be someone else. Develop and use your own style. It's yours, you own it. Play your own bass lines, create some riffs, experiment. Feel it and groove, and "make some music!"

 

[JJ Meadowlark]

You need to either change your attitude or sell your bass and get a new hobby.

Thanks- and I mean it sincerely... There are a couple of things I'm good at-Really good at, this doesn't seem to be one of those things.

It was fun, and it made me happy it for what it's worth.

 

[LBS-bass]

You'll get it. I don't think I've looked at my right hand for a long time but I still look at my left hand too much. Doesn't matter; what matters is making it sound right. I agree with the person above who said you're beating yourself up too much. Play with this for a month or two and you'll find it gets pretty easy.

 

[Joe Nerve]

You MUST practice VERY slowly, with a metronome, for hours.

And then increase the speed by 1 BPM the next day.

And on and on.

It takes a crapload of patience.

A crapload of practice.

And about 2 months time.

I promise.

 

[juggahnaught]

There are great exercises that you can do with your right hand only on bass, whether it's fingerstyle or pick playing. Start doing those regularly and you'll see improvement.

Before you know it you'll be on par with this player.

 

[Nashrakh]

You MUST practice VERY slowly, with a metronome, for hours.

Here's a dissenting voice on this:
Struggling to Get a Tricky Passage up to Tempo? Why 'Perfect' Practice May Actually Be the Problem.

The gist of it is: If we practice slowly, we are not training ourselves to use the mechanics of playing fast. Apparently we move differently on various levels of speed, and efficiency is one of the bottle necks.

I found it interesting because I never looked at it that way either - I work it up with a gnome too.

 

[lfmn16]

You MUST practice VERY slowly, with a metronome, for hours.

 

[lfmn16]

Here's a dissenting voice on this:
Struggling to Get a Tricky Passage up to Tempo? Why 'Perfect' Practice May Actually Be the Problem.

The gist of it is: If we practice slowly, we are not training ourselves to use the mechanics of playing fast. Apparently we move differently on various levels of speed, and efficiency is one of the bottle necks.

I found it interesting because I never looked at it that way either - I work it up with a gnome too.

Very interesting. I discovered this on my own while trying to work up some really fast passages. However, the solution, in my opinion, is not to abandon starting slowly and working your way up, but to practice slowly using the technique you use for fast playing, and work your way up in speed. Just saying what works for me.

 

[PWRL]

You might want to experiment with different picks and how you hold them. Also, there's a video out there of CJ Ramone talking about learning to play like Dee Dee. I can't find it right now, but I remember him saying it was all in the wrist, whereas he had at first approached it with too much forearm.

 

[redstrand]

I’ve always played a passage slowly first to make sure my hand placement was right and then sped it up. It eliminates having to look or think all the time. Becomes second nature.
Now I need to practice far more than what I do and go play out, but that’s a different story

 

[Joe Nerve]

Here's a dissenting voice on this:
Struggling to Get a Tricky Passage up to Tempo? Why 'Perfect' Practice May Actually Be the Problem.

The gist of it is: If we practice slowly, we are not training ourselves to use the mechanics of playing fast. Apparently we move differently on various levels of speed, and efficiency is one of the bottle necks.

I found it interesting because I never looked at it that way either - I work it up with a gnome too.

I didn't read that (quickly skimmed it), not out of arrogance, but out of that I don't need to clutter my mind with things that don't work for me . if they work for others, awesome!

I am 100% certain that I gain speed in playing impossible passages by practicing them slowly. Once muscle memory kicks in, its a done deal.

Perfect example is the video in my sig, which I'll post in case people have signatures turned off.

Trust me when I tell you I could NOT play that when I first wrote it. I knew what I wanted to do, but I couldn't do it. What looks effortless in the video, didn't come effortlessly. It does now, but only because I used that 'get it perfect slowly' technique. Same with the singing and playing... which I had to do at RIDICULOUSLY slow tempos.

If it ain't broke, I ain't attempting to fix it.

 

[bolophonic]

Dude, just practice. Also: forcing yourself to conform to an all-downstroke technique is going to limit your development. Personally, I would recommend owning your own style.

 

[Watchootognbout]

Mostly downstrokes.
Down,down,up,down.
It can be done with alternate pickng.

 

[Sergi]

Does anyone recognize any of the pedals he's using?

 

[seilerbird]

I have heard much more melodical chain saws.