Should I Be Frustrated?

[haggardPHUNK]

I’ve been playing the same two bar lick for 2 days trying to get it up to speed and it’s driving me kinda crazy.

It’s at 95 bpm, starts with 3 beats of 8th notes and finishes with 3 beats of 16th notes. Covers all 4 strings. I’ve been playing bass for about 2 months. I came from guitar so my fretting hand is a non issue but I can’t get my right hand fingers to play this lick to speed. I can play it with a pick just fine but I’m 9 bpm away from ‘to speed’ with fingers

Any practice tips?
Just keep hammering and slowly raising the metronome? Am I biting off more than I can chew? Should I take it easier on my self?

song is “Young Lust” by Pink Floyd. There’s a cool 2 bar run around 1:05 I’m working out

 

[Malcolm35]

I never was a note for note guy. I am/was a hobby bassists and close was good enough. If they ask you back you are doing what is necessary.

Music was for fun, and with two months into the game, I'm sure you are doing fine. Relax and enjoy the ride.

 

[jmattbassplaya]

Keep on keeping on. Two months is nothing, and speed only comes with time.

 

[Lobster11]

Keep on keeping on. Two months is nothing, and speed only comes with time.

This. Patience is your friend.

Also, don't be so quick to assume that you don't have to work on your fretting-hand technique because you already play guitar. You need to make some adjustments to your technique in order to mute unplayed strings and (especially) to avoid fretting with a bent wrist, which can lead to injury.

Oh, one more thing: There's no shame in playing with a pick!

 

[fearceol]

Frustration should never be a part of learning any instrument. It is counter productive. As @Lobster11 says patience is your friend. It takes as long as it takes to nail something. Relax, slow down (both mentally and from a note playing point of view) and have fun learning. Sometimes giving it a rest for a day or two, working on something else, then coming back to it can help.

 

[Quinn Roberts]

Have you tried slowing down the phrase and practicing it out of context any?
Try it at 65 bpm (with a metronome on), then, once that is clean, go up to 75, 85, and finally back to 95.

 

[haggardPHUNK]

Yeah. I think I needed to take a break from the metronome and this lick. Just had a blast turning on some drums and jamming some blues.

 

[Element Zero]

Play some other tunes man. Come back to it in a couple weeks.

 

[Malcolm35]

....Also, don't be so quick to assume that you don't have to work on your fretting-hand technique because you already play guitar. You need to make some adjustments to your technique in order to mute unplayed strings and (especially) to avoid fretting with a bent wrist, which can lead to injury.

Fret the strings with the pad of your finger, not the tip like you did with guitar. We play one note at a time, strumming is not something you will be doing for quite some time. One note at a time lends itself to not needing to fret with the tip of the finger.

The pad pulls the wrist into a natural angle and can eliminate future pain. Plus it has the tendency of muting the lower strings not being sounded. Which is another plus.

Happy trails.

 

[AGCurry]

Frustration should never be a part of learning any instrument.

I couldn't disagree more. Frustration is inherent in learning ANYTHING of difficulty. It is your ability to deal with the frustration that is important.

 

[fearceol]

I couldn't disagree more. Frustration is inherent in learning ANYTHING of difficulty. It is your ability to deal with the frustration that is important.

Agreed. I suppose I should have said...."frustration should never be allowed to be a part of learning any instrument. "

 

[haggardPHUNK]

if you have learned an instrument at a high level and have never been frustrated, youre lying. You ever just have a day where youre not playing well? Thats frustrating.

I also think we learn to learn. I know that later in my guitar playing I learned to slow down, break stuff down, and count stuff out when struggling with certain bars.

The reason I have been frustrated with this is because I nail it every time 10bpm slower than the recording. As soon as I go up from there, it falls apart. I know it's going to take practice but I was just looking for some encouragement.

 

[BassChuck]

You learn what you are ready to learn. Practice til you hit that wall (sometimes it only takes a few minutes to get there) and then move on. Realize that once you hit that wall and you aren't improving, you're wasting your time. Do something else and have another go at it tomorrow.
Love yourself and be as patient with yourself as you would a loved one.

 

[CatOnTheBass]

"Young Lust" is an interesting example, because I think it's Gilmour on bass in the sudio, but Waters played bass live. Have you compared the studio vs live versions for ideas and inspiration?

Usually my standard advice for anyone struggling with technique is, "Find a YouTube video of the song by the original artist and copy their moves." However I can't find much video of Gilmour actually playing bass. So I guess the next best thing is, there's lots and lots of clips of Waters playing bass. Watch these videos on slow motion and pay attention to every detail of his technique: his left hand, his right hand, his fingers, his thumbs, how high he wears the bass, his picking motion, and so forth. Notice how relaxed and comfortable Waters looks on stage, and strive for that same relaxation in your own playing. If you are tense and your hands look nothing like Waters' hands, then stop and take a deep breath, maybe come back to it fresh another day, maybe look at it from a different perspective like: Can I play this note on another string, or in a different area of the neck? Can I fret that note with a different finger? Would playing an open string instead of a fretted note (or vice versa) be easier? Can I simplify the line and still make it groove?

I'm not saying you need to be a Roger Waters clone your entire music career (you should study lots of players and pick & choose from each, to develop your own style), but if you're struggling to learn Pink Floyd bass lines, he's a pretty good role model. One of the all-time greats in my opinion! He should be in the bassist hall of fame for "Money" at least.

 

[CatOnTheBass]

I found some "Gilmour on bass" photos and videos so you can get a better sense of his bass technique, here you go:

 

[Jazz Ad]

Is it the little minor pentatonic run up and down? Do you alternate 2 fingers and pluck in rest strokes ? Can you play it correctly at half the speed ?

 

[two fingers]

Play some other tunes man. Come back to it in a couple weeks.

This. There are too many cool songs/licks out there to work on. Don't bang your head against this one lick. Go f b nd something to play that makes you grin. Come back to this in a couple of weeks when you're in a better place with it.

 

[Lagado]

After the first phrase, the main body is pull-offs with the index using open strings. If you are trying to pick all of it, or play it without the opens, that's going to trip you up. It's a guitar type lick.

 

[sean_on_bass]

I second coming back to it later...i am 20 years in and still find licks that i cannot master! As you get deeper into it, you will be able to see which part of your technique is lacking for the lick in question and then you know to work on that specific technique. You can even then create a daily exercise you can perform on the bass that isolates that technique to really master it and clear the hurdle.

 

[LBS-bass]

Practice makes perfect. These are goals, you should not expect to nail them immediately. As others said, if you're frustrated, work on something else that's more achievable and then come back to it. You will get there; nobody was ever perfect in month 2.