Speed???

[4hisglory]

Anyone out there have slow fingers and feel they will never be able to play fast??

[chrismc101]

4hisglory,

Man I play by ear. I've been playing for bout 6 months. Working on chords, scales, progressions, etc... and I feel like my fingers will never pick up speed, lol...

I feel like pulling my hair out! and I wear a bald head, lol...

[4hisglory]

I hear ya....this is so frustrating to me too.

[BIGHENRY]

hey ..i felt the same way .....until i met this young brother that plays for his dad church that we fellowship with and he begin to give me lessons that help with my finger speed ...in which i thought i never get .But with the help of God and practicings hard .I'm begining to get it done.

[ddwilkins]

Practice and I promise you, your fingers will get faster.  Just think, I can move pretty fast on a six and that only came with practice.  The way I practice speed is playing shouting music and playing this song by Bishop Larry D. Trotter, "I'm Going Up."   Maurice Fitzgerald is running the bass line like he's on the track.

[Jmack]

it's not so much the speed as it is the coordnation that goes with the speed.  like sometimes when i start to speed up, my plucking fingers and my fretting fingers arent always in sync

[cogicguy]

Yeah this speed thing doesnt feel like a thing that is going to come to me. I dont have arthritis or anything but it feels like my ring finger and pinky is stuck together. When are start to pick up speed those two fingers tend not to stretch enough...HELP!!!!!!!

[Mysteryman]

Well I felt pretty slow earlier this year in playing but I have been working on my speed. I think you do need a metronome for bass when you are trying to pick up speed. Playing at a constant pace for a number of minutes. When I dont practice with a keyboard drum beat  Im practicing in front of the tv but I try to play at a pace where my fingers are in sync when doing that.

Ive told you before Daryl about the lifting weights thing but I probably will be doing that plus I pulled out the Walmart gripmaster finger and wrist strengthener thing out. So I will be working with that for the next month or so then I will tell you how the finger speed is coming.

I thought about posting something on this same topic but you already did it. I noticed when I have been practicing trying to play fast there seems to be a zone where your fingers feel so comfortable doing a run. Seems like if you can get that position everytime you will play faster. I think it has something to do too with the ability to use all the joints in your fingers plus you need to have strength in your hands and forearms.

One exercise I was doing with my LH was playing octaves chromatically up to the 12 fret.
I do not use the RH for this exercise. I alternate playing the low and higher note so its like this real fast up to the 12 fret

G  --------3--------3---------3----------3-------3--------Ring finger
D  -----------------------------------------------------------
A  ---1----------1-------1-----------1---------1----------Index finger
E  ----------------------------------------------------------


Then I use the pinky finger doing the same thing of course I switch strings too
G  --------3--------3---------3----------3-------3--------Pinky finger
D  -----------------------------------------------------------
A  ---1----------1-------1-----------1---------1----------Index finger
E  ----------------------------------------------------------

If you do it fast and keep moving up the neck you will feel a burn in your hands. Then I shake it off and do a little stretching and do it again. Its real hard to do at the 1st fret. I kinda slap my fingers down on the frets too. I dont know if this is a good thing for the fret board. LOL so I do it on my 4string.

You can also try some thing different with the other fingers like this
G  --------7--------7---------7----------7-------7--------Index finger
D  -----------------------------------------------------------
A  ---7----------7-------7-----------7---------7----------Middle finger
E  ----------------------------------------------------------

You can also try some thing different with the other fingers like this
G  --------7--------7---------7----------7-------7--------Middle finger
D  -----------------------------------------------------------
A  ---7----------7-------7-----------7---------7----------Ring finger
E  ----------------------------------------------------------

[bradleymoorer]

Practice and I promise you, your fingers will get faster.  Just think, I can move pretty fast on a six and that only came with practice.  The way I practice speed is playing shouting music and playing this song by Bishop Larry D. Trotter, "I'm Going Up."   Maurice Fitzgerald is running the bass line like he's on the track.

another one where maurice is actin a plum fool is "The Lord is Blessing Me" I need the Lord's help everytime I play that one, peace!

[djgroovin]

the real speed comes with muscle memory.  When you can anticipate the next note.  You play a note and your hand is setting up for the next one.  Try it slow to get the mechanics down and gradually increase the speed. 

Practice arpeggio patterns.  Know what scale(mode) is related to each arpeggio(chord scale relationship)

Practice your scales in intervals.  2nds, 3rds, 4ths, 5ths, 6ths, 7ths and octives.  Adam Nitti has some great exercises on this on his website.

www.adamnitti.com

Practice scales in sequences 3, 4...

before you know it your speed will increase tremendously...I'm talking within a week or 2 not months.  Make sure you stretch and give you hands time to rest.  You will be sore after doing this stuff, but you will be building the muscles in your hands and forearms.

[4hisglory]

Do you do that in every key??

[Dtuned]

speed and dexterity i do have its the knowledge of what to play that i need improvement on.. speed to me came with finger exercises and time.

[bassplayersrul]

a way to get ur speed up is to practice ur scales up and down the naeck and each time bump up the pace and u will eventually get faster