Speed -_-

[GhoulBassist]

After flawlessly playing through songs like "Money" by Pink Floyd like some kind of prodige my instructor is trying to give me songs that will challenge me to help me build speed. The song we're working on right now is "What You're Doing" by Rush (awesome instructor, huh?!). The part I'm struggling with starts at about 1:07:



So all I'm doing right now is playing this part over and over again to attempt to get more precise and quicker. I sure don't perceive any progress though... is there anything else I can do? Or if that's all I need to do, some encouragement for a struggling bass enthusiast please! =D

Seriously I didn't even bother going to lessons yesterday; in part because my license had been suspended (bummer), but also because I didn't want to waste his time just watching me fumble through a song I need more time to work at. Dx

Edit: OH, and need I mention there's another part in the song that seems even faster!

 

[iain westland]

Are you playing it to a metronome at 3/4speed? Im a crap player, the best way I've found is to teach the fingers the position and relative timing and increase the speed after that.

And even if you feel like you're not getting anywhere try not to skip lessons, the tutor might see a hang up thats bottlenecking you.

Good luck

 

[Engine207]

Try this app called AnyTune Pro. It slows the song without changing the pitch (actually, you can change the pitch too) and make loops of the part like at 1:07.

I usually start learning tunes at about 70 or 80%, then gradually increase 5% at a time...until I can play it at performance tempo. If any particular section is harder, I'll loop it over and over until my fingers get it.

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[fearceol]

After flawlessly playing through songs like "Money" by Pink Floyd like some kind of prodige my instructor is trying to give me songs that will challenge me to help me build speed.

I would have thought that most instructors would have regarded speed as something that happens with constant practice and not something to single out above other important things like keeping the groove...learning the fret board...learning some basic theory...etc.

 

[SteveCS]

I agree with @fearceol , and here's why...

When you learn to drive, you don't learn to turn left (for example) by using the same junction every time - you practice the skill and its building blocks (e.g. using your mirror, braking, indication, etc.) in many contexts, then when you are at an unfamiliar junction you have the necessary foundation to cope and make a safe turn. Learning an instrument is the same process.

Speed, timing, intonation, articulation, damping/muting, fingering, tone and dynamics are basic skills that are best developed through generic exercises and in multiple contexts. You can then bring those skills to any song/tune. If you develop a way of playing one specific song/tune well you run the risk of developing skills that cannot transfer to other songs/tunes. There is a balance to be had between boring exercise and actually playing music, and IME it goes something like this - target a basic skill for development, devise exercises that develop the skill, then assimilate the skill by applying it in multiple contexts (songs/tunes) - even if on the gig you only use it in one.

 

[Icemanaroonie]

I disagree entirely guys. I didn't get to the point where I'm playing 16ths evenly at 170bpm without constant and well thought out practice.

OP, I'm not with my bass at the moment, but it sounds like the riff in questions has fast string changes. Personally I would figure out the riff, then practice it slowly with a focus on the consistency of the last note on a string and the first note on the next string. I find that when I'm doing fast shifting parts those note tend to be weaker.

 

[SteveCS]

I disagree entirely guys. I didn't get to the point where I'm playing 16ths evenly at 170bpm without constant and well thought out practice.

OP, I'm not with my bass at the moment, but it sounds like the riff in questions has fast string changes. Personally I would figure out the riff, then practice it slowly with a focus on the consistency of the last note on a string and the first note on the next string. I find that when I'm doing fast shifting parts those note tend to be weaker.

Who are you disagreeing with? Where has anyone advocated against constant and well thought out practice? In figuring out and dissecting the riff (which is a valid exercise in its own right) you can develop it into, or use it as the basis of, an exercise - for example dropping the last note so that the phrase moves against the downbeat which will swap the string-cross WRT right-hand fingering. This introduces a counting/timing/rhythmic element so the exercise becomes more than just learning a riff. The skills learned become re-useable in other contexts, i.e. part of your technical foundation, rather than adding to one's list of 'stock licks'.

 

[Icemanaroonie]

Ack, sorry, it's the morning. I misread the above posts as meaning that speed should be developed by working on other skills, and speed developing along with it, rather than speed coming from practicing it individually. Now that I've had some coffee and reread them, it makes a lot more sense.

 

[SteveCS]

Ack, sorry, it's the morning. I misread the above posts as meaning that speed should be developed by working on other skills, and speed developing along with it, rather than speed coming from practicing it individually. Now that I've had some coffee and reread them, it makes a lot more sense.

No worries - the small (pre-coffee) hours affect me the same way

 

[bfields]

"also because I didn't want to waste his time just watching me fumble through a song I need more time to work at."

Hey, I think when you're stuck is exactly the time to go ask someone for help. Sure, the answer *might* just be "WORK HARDER", but they might have some more specific suggestion.

Times like this I sometimes benefit from taking a step back and trying to think creatively about the problem. Possible things to try:
- like everyone says, try it more slowly, with a metronome.
- break it into smaller pieces; play just the first half of the riff, or just the second, or whatever.
- identify the first note where it feels like it goes off the rails, try to figure out exactly why it's going wrong and fix that one problem: e.g. is there a left-hand shift where you land in the wrong spot? Practice that same shift, possibly also in different places on the neck and on different strings. Turn that into a little exercise to add to your daily practice.
- figure out if your left hand or your right is the problem, and just work on that hand for a while and don't worry about the other one.
- usually there's more than one place you could play a given note (e.g., open D string vs. 5th fret A string)--have you tried all the possibilities, and is there one you hadn't considered that's more comfortable?
- is there some part that makes your hands/arms/body tense up, and can you figure out a way to make the movement more relaxed?
- try recording yourself and listening back, do you spot a problem you didn't while you were playing?
- which fingers are you fretting with, would a different choice of fingering help?
- how hard are you plucking? Does it help to pluck more lightly? Where are you resting your right hand/arm, and does it help to move it someplace else?

Etc., etc.

 

[MalcolmAmos]

You still owe him for the session. Just because you decided to not show up - does not excuse you for playing for that session. He blocked the time for YOU. You owe him for that.

 

[hintz]

Hmmm, that 1st part sounds like the blues scale and then you got that ascending line, you can get those parts just be more patient with yourself!! Maybe try to find easier fingerings for both and build it up!! Also dont avoid your teacher just because you can't nail it, he might be able to help you more specifically (especially since he picked this song for you)

 

[brianrost]

Learning very fast parts is done by learning them very slow...half the actual tempo or even less...until you can play it perfectly and then slowly raise the tempo until you finally can play at the proper tempo.

Every time you raise the tempo you have to be able to play the part perfectly before you raise it again. This may take days, weeks, months depending on your ability.

Icemanaroonie...16ths at 170 bpm? My hat's off to you, I've never been able to do better than 8ths at that tempo.

 

[hintz]

A really great song to attempt is YYZ!! I had a transcription of it when I was 13, but I couldn't play it up to tempo so I adapted the 3 finger technique and worked it into most of that song except some of the bass solos since they involve a lot of string crossing...

It took me *2 years * of daily practice to be able to play YYZ along with the recording , but in the process my playing vastly improved(that and Bach cello suites), to this day I use 3 fingers about 80% of the time or more, it just took dedication and practice!!

Recently I finally started learning the Jaco version of Donna Lee, I've already spent a few months on it and have the head and first 16 bars of his solo memorized, with this song the 3 finger technique doesn't work except for the 8th note triplets, so hopefully this will improve my standard 2 finger technique!!

My point is not to expect results right away, I've been playing for 21 years now and I still struggle with certain things, be patient!

 

[DavC]

i'd think of it as a manual tranny ... start out in 1st gear ... shirt gears as needed to get going faster ... !!

also if you work on something that is technically hard before you go to sleep , you mind keeps working on it for a while ... !! muscle memory kinda stuff ... i would do that with hard classical piano segments , then start again on that passage in the morning ... !

 

[Mantis Tobaggan]

I play extremely fast. People comment specifically on how fast i play. For me it came with playing in a punk band and covering groups like "the faction" (listen to skate and destroy if you want an idea of fast punk bass). I think speed comes with playing something numerous times and just pushing yourself. And also trying to emulate the faction.

 

[Lo-E]

"If you want to play fast, practice slow. If you want to play real fast, practice real slow."
-Charlie Parker

 

[Madzillagd]

If you want to spend a little coin - check out Rocksmith 2014 then head over to customsforge and that Rush song is one of the nearly 17K that are now out there to download. One of the great features of rocksmith (PC version is my preference) is you can section out any part of the song you want, stick it on riff repeater so you can replay it many times, and change the speed to anything you want. Run through it a few times at 70% until you get it down and start bumping up the speed 5% at a time. It's a great way to gain speed without losing the accuracy of what you are playing.

 

[static0verdrive]

If you want to play fast, slow it down. Only once you've NAILED it at a slower speed a few times can you try to up the speed. Otherwise you'll play it at the speed you want with a skill level you'll be ashamed of.

 

[pedroims]

Take one bar, play the first note, play it at the right tempo, add the next, when you can play both at right tempo add the next note, when you can play the three notes at the right tempo add the fourth ...and so on.