Songs to practice fretting

Practice 1 hour minimum per day. Seven days a week.
Get a teacher, he will save you time & frustration.
There is no formula for when you will advance.
Time will tell.
Good luck, have fun.

 

Basslines don’t really help you learn fretting. Fretting helps you learn fretting. And you fret every time you play. So play as much as possible.

my main concern at this point is harmful technique. We don’t have enough information to go on to know whether the pain you are experiencing is a result of fatigue or improper or dangerous technique. Honestly, the best thing to do In the beginning is work with an expert teacher. He can save you lots of time and pain.

 

It's a marathon, not a sprint...

 

Hi and welcome to TB.

The first thing to work on is....patience !!! As WrapRough says, it's a marathon, not a sprint. So slow down, take your time and work on your technique. It takes as long as it takes. As has been said, a good teacher would be your best bet. In the meantime, Lobster11's clip is well worth checking out, as is the clip below. Bass lines, in and of themselves won't teach you good fretting technique. I would suggest working on the advice given in the two video clips and then try to incorporate this advice into your bass lines. During a practice session, do the exercises in the clip below, for about five to ten minutes. Then try some bass lines and come back to the exercises. Rinse and repeat as often as required.
Best of luck.

 

The secret -- which is good to know just as you're starting out -- is to try to play in a way in which your hands, wrists, and everything else are relaxed. With this in mind, here are some things you might want to work on:

1. Spend some time experimenting to find the minimal amount of pressure needed to fret a note without it buzzing. As @Mushroo likes to say, this shouldn't require any more pressure than typing a letter on a computer keyboard. Try to work on applying no more pressure with your fretting finger than is necessary.

2. Some teachers recommend experimenting with fretting notes without your thumb touching the neck at all. This is another way to grok the idea that you don't need much finger pressure for fretting, as well as the idea that your thumb's job behind the neck is not to "squeeze" but simply enable the fretting fingers to work as they should.

3. While we're at it, think about your plucking hand in the same way. The word "plucking" is kinda misleading, because all you really need to do is brush your "plucking" finger across the top of the string. Turn up your amp and try to "pluck" as softly as you can.