Speed/Volume

[Goose72]

Hey guys!

I have a question for some of you more experienced players. My band is covering a song ("How far we've come" by Matchbox 20) and I am really struggling with it for some reason. The song is simple (straigh eighths except the bridge), but after the first verse or so, I lose a lot of my volume and feel my fingers start to slow down drastically, to the point where I feel like I am really dragging...noone in the band has commented on this, so it may be in my head but i always change notes and end at the proper times. I really struggle with those straight constant eighths at a fairly decent tempo. Anyone have anyways to help me out? Ideas please

 

[bikeplate]

HI

Just keep working on your right hand technigue. If you are sitting watching tv, for instance, just practice alternating with 2 fingers to get nice quick 8th notes. Make sure they are even and in time. As you get into it, speed will naturally come and you'll be able to play that song, no issues. Ive always felt that the right hand, for bassists, is much more important than the left. As you practice this, you dont even have to play anything with your left hand. Its purely for tempo, even attack, and eventual speed. You want to sound like a machine!! The better players have all 3 together. You'll get it Concentrate on your right hand. You'll get so good you wont even need a compressor

Rob

 

[spade2you]

If you can find a tab for that tune, find the tempo. Grab your metronome (get one if you don't have one) and start out with the song at about half the tempo. Make sure you can play those 8th notes comfortably for a minute or two. (doesn't hurt if you're watching TV and just plucking with your right hand) Then try 3/4ths the tempo for a while and gradually increase your tempo to full speed. If after this you're still having problems, talk to a teacher and possibly employ a Gary Willis style of technique where your amp is turned up but you're playing much softer.

 

[@war]

+1 for playing softer. Gary Willis says in his video that your muscles have been strong enough to play the bass since you were 3 years old. Try to focus on playing as soft as possible and conserve energy. The less energy you use, the longer you can play for. Your tone will also benefit from this approach - it should get fatter and rounder and a longer perceived sustain from attack-volume.

 

[rustinstrings]

I'd recommend a pick

Really, after trying to build stamina for straight eights for a long time, I found that just grabbing a heavy one and using only down strokes (even before practicing alternate picking) helped me to sound more consistent in songs that I failed before. Hope that it will suit your sound.
The other pick related problems (tremolo, gallop, palm mute, Carol Kaye) only came afterwards.

 

[phatbass]

When I first started, playing straight eighth notes, finger-style, with consistent tone, volume, attack, etc., was one of the hardest things for me to do. The way I got it together was to make just playing straight eighths for 5 minutes at a time a part of my practice routine; on one string initially and then when I had some consistency gradually introducing some string crossing,.

 

[Jake of Bass]

I had a similar problem in my band from a few years ago. Someone wrote a song that was around 190bpm and it was straight 8's all the way through the verses. After a while my right hand would ache and it was really hard to keep up the intensity.

My advice is to just push through it. If it really starts to hurt then please stop immediately, but if it's merely uncomfortable keep going with it. This'll build up endurance. Due to this endurance I've managed to build up I can now I can play a song in a band I'm currently in that has straight 8's almost the entire song at a similar tempo (slightly slower though) and I don't even feel tired by the end of it.

 

[dfuruta]

Play lightly and turn up your amp. It sounds like you're playing too hard and wearing out your muscles...when you practice, make sure you're using a light touch.

If your action is very high, you could also try setting it lower.