Practice consistently

to days tip is about getting things done that your working on. If you wanna increase your finger speed you just don't do an exercise once and your faster you have to play it over and over and over and over and... well you get the point. What im saying is write down what your doing and actually try to keep a log. write down the exercise your doing and write out the tempo and record how many times you can play it perfect and every few days or how ever long it takes increase the reps the tempo or both. practice makes perfect only if you practice perfectly. make yourself a routine just a simple 20 or 30 min or longer if you want but don't strain your hands and just really sit down and dig in. for example mine im doing right now consists of a warmup then i just play 16th notes on the E string for 45 seconds then i repeat that on the other strings then i play all of the 4 finger combinations starting at the 5 fret or other frets along the next which look like this and the numbers are your fingers 1 as the index and 4 as the pinky

Left-Hand Permutations
Index Finger Middle Finger Ring Finger Pinkie
1 2 3 4    2 1 3 4    3 1 2 4    4 1 2 3
1 2 4 3    2 1 4 3    3 1 4 2    4 1 3 2
1 3 2 4    2 3 1 4    3 2 1 4    4 2 1 3
1 3 4 2    2 3 4 1    3 2 4 1    4 2 3 1
1 4 2 3    2 4 1 3    3 4 1 2    4 3 1 2
1 4 3 2    2 4 3 1    3 4 2 1    4 3 2 1
then i play my pentatonic scale in different keys and at all five positions

then i play my modes

then i take a complex bass line like a fill in the song YYZ by rush and try to break it down and learn it by ear although i wont be able to play it really fast it will be a tongue twister which is good practice.

just remember that you cant be scared to play something hard and out of your reach cause if you keep practicing it you might find out your better then you thought.

till next time you can email me at papabear82191@gmail.com

Floating Right Hand Technique

Todays blog is about something a little different today. i have talked to some players on forums and looked at youtube videos and asked questions about proper right hand technique below im going to leave a you tube video i have found to explain this method. i have just began trying this and let me tell you its interesting to say the least. well first i must say it helps mute strings your not playing very well but im still getting the feel for it cause i normally play with my thumb on the E string and on the A. at first i didn't like it cause i couldn't get that leverage i needed but your hand will conform to it because it is supposed to be the most natural way of playing bass. don't knock it till ya try it

Pinky Conditioning

One of the biggest weaknesses for me starting out was pinky strength. at first i was like i don't really need my pinky cause ill just play with the first three fingers which i regret now. if you just train the first three and have a weak pinky the whole hand suffers cause its all connected. its like having huge biceps but your triceps are tiny therefore the whole arm suffers. well today i have a few proven methods that i have used and they really do work. now the key here is not to over exert your hands cause you don't want to hurt them. if they hurt take a few minutes for your hand to recover and always warm up first before rigorous playing. and don't forget to use one finger per string thats key to the exercise or else its pointless to do it.

The first exercise below is a very simple exercise that is meant to coordinate your fingers and build pinky strength.it looks like this

G---------------7--9--10--9--7----------------------
D---7--8--10--------------------10--8--7-----------
A-------------------------------------------------------
E-------------------------------------------------------

now this is a good exercise cause your pairing the pinking up with the middle and ring finger which can both be weak spots. and you can even change the strings your on or change the pattern up like below. and don't forget about alternate plucking. and repeat it till its fluent

G---------------7--8--10--8--7----------------------

D---7--9--10--------------------10--9--7-----------

A-------------------------------------------------------

E-------------------------------------------------------

the next exercise i want to share with you is one i came up with myself that is a bit tricky but its great practice and this is a key one where if your hurting stop stretch and take it slow

G---8--6--8--5--8--6--8--7-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

D--------------------------------8--6--8--5--8--6--8--7------------------------------------------------------------

A--------------------------------------------------------------8--6--8--5--8--6--8--7------------------------------

E------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------8--6--8--5--8--6--8--7--

and do this at different areas on the neck because there are different tensions at other parts of the neck

and our last pinky exercise for today is a good one that isolates the pinky with one finger at a time.

G-----------------5-8-8-5--------------------------------6-8-8-6--------------------------------7-8-8-7----------------

D------------5-8-----------8-5----------------------6-8-----------8-6----------------------7-8-----------8-7-----------

A-------5-8---------------------8-5------------6-8---------------------8-6------------7-8---------------------8-7------

E--5-8--------------------------------8-5-6-8--------------------------------8-6-7-8--------------------------------8-7

thats all i got for today keep it slow and keep low any questions feel free to contact me at papabear82191@gmail.com

modes

ok in  my last lesson i didn't think i explained things well so i took down that post cause i received some bad comments but today im going to fix that. i dint wanna get to complex just yet but i feel it needs to be done.in a previous lesson i showed you an easy way to remember the major scale but what i failed to mention was modes. now there are 7 modes of the major scale. and i will list them below

    G Major scale 1st position     ionian

G---------------------------------4--5--7--

D-----------------------4--5--7------------

A-------------3--5--7----------------------

E---3--5--7--------------------------------

              2nd position              dorian

G---------------------------------5--7--9--

D-----------------------5--7--9------------

A-------------5--7--9----------------------

E---5--7--8--------------------------------

             3rd position                     phrygian

G--------------------------------------7--9--11--

D---------------------------7--9--10-------------

A---------------7--9--10-------------------------

E---7--8--10-------------------------------------

              4th position                       lydian

G------------------------------------------9--11--12--

D-----------------------------9--10--12---------------

A----------------9--10--12----------------------------

E---8--10--12-----------------------------------------

              5th position                        mixolydian

G------------------------------------------------11--12--14--

D---------------------------------10--12--14-----------------

A------------------10--12--14--------------------------------

E---10--12--14-----------------------------------------------

               6th position                        aeolian

G------------------------------------------------12--14--16--

D---------------------------------12--14--16-----------------

A------------------12--14--15--------------------------------

E---12--14--15-----------------------------------------------

             7th position                           locrian

G-----------------------------------------------14--16--17--

D--------------------------------14--16--17-----------------

A------------------14--15--17-------------------------------

E---14--15--17----------------------------------------------

now let me try to explain how these all work together. all modes are just starting points to get a different sound. for example if you play aeolian starting at the 3rd fret of the E string you are now playing in G aeolian. and a fun fact is that aeolian is the natural minor scale. and from G you just follow the order of the positions to figure out where the rest of the notes are in the scale

now im gonna give you a visual so you fully understand what im saying

         this is a G major scale. this is ionian

G---------------------------------4--5--7--

D-----------------------4--5--7------------

A-------------3--5--7----------------------

E---3--5--7--------------------------------

now like i said if i take the aeolian shape and just start it at the 3rd fret of the E string we have the minor scale let me show you

                 G aeolian 

G------------------------------------3--5--7------

D-------------------------3--5--7-----------------

A--------------3--5--6----------------------------

E---3--5--6---------------------------------------

if you want dorian just like above you just shift the entire major scale and start the dorian pattern at G on the E string

                G dorian

G----------------------------------3--5--7--------

D-----------------------3--5--7------------

A-------------3--5--7---------------------

E---3--5--6-------------------------------

its alot of information but trust me it is correct ive done lots of research and talk to many good musicians about this for any questions and comments feel free to contact me at papabear82191@gmail.com

More Finger Jam

ok looking back on yesterdays lesson i didn't really give any substance to it so today i will give you a few exercises to show what im talking about. Like i said sometimes you find your self in a finger jam and you get fumbled cause you play a rhythm one way but with other parts of a song it comes out differently. Well i have a few tabs for you my friends.

G---------------------------------------------------------
D------------------------------5--------------------------
A---------5------55----5--7-----77--5-----------------
E--5--7------7-------7-------------------7--------------

now keep in mind those are 16th notes so they are quick now take this slow and repeat
and remember the goal is to make sure you alternate pick every note. Now ill be honest with you theres no way a bass player plays alternate picking every note but when your practicing its good to do this so your fingers learn how to do a lick in multiple ways. This is very important in improvised playing so your fingers dont get jammed cause they are used to different patterns.

another great exercise for 16th notes is just stick on a string and mix up 8th notes and 16th notes. it is so simple but effective here it is

G-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------0-0-0-0--00000000-----
D----------------------------------------------------------0--0--0--0-00000000------------------------------
A------------------------------0--0--0--0--00000000---------------------------------------------------------
E--0--0--0--0--00000000-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

for any questions or comments you can email me at papabear82191@gmail.com

Finger Jam

todays lessons is a very important lesson about our right hand technique. last night i was attempting to play freewill by rush and i got everything perfect untill the breakdown a measure after the guitar solo starts. geddy lee starts playing a mix of 8th notes and 16th notes looking something like this.

G-----------------------------------------
D------------33---55---66---55---3--------
A-5-5---3-4-5---5----5----5--- 5---5-4-3--
E-----5-----------------------------------

now this really tricked me up because i could play it fine some times then other times i would mess up and this is what inspired this lesson. when your plucking your two fingers a good way to practice it to start a bass line with your index finger and alternate your fingers, then do the same bass like but start with the other finger and alternate pick. I never really sat down a practiced this exercise but im sure gonna try to. the reason behind practicing like this is so no matter what order your fingers are playing you will be able to nail the bass line starting with either finger. this is especially useful if you like to jam a lot because you don't always know what your going to be playing. as for exercises for today just take your major scale and run threw it starting with the index finger then start with the middle finger.

for any questions or comments about todays tips you can contact me at papabear82191@gmail.com

Left and Right Hand Cordination

todays lessons is a bit of getting back to bassics ( no pun intended). But the real deal today is getting that left hand working with the right hand fluently. The first step is taking it slow of course but i have a few excercies i have made that have tremendously helped me form a more consistent and better technique.
ok the first one is working in the pentatonic scale that i practice every day because you will have to go up and down the strings over and over and you will be building speed accuracy and finger strength. And for the tabs we are in A pentatonic starting in the first position at the 5th fret.

G-----------------------------------------------------5------5--7------

D-------------------------------5------5--7--5--7------7-------------

A----------5-----5--7--5--7------7-----------------------------------

E---5--8-----8---------------------------------------------------------

G--7--5-----5-----------------------------------------------------------

D---------7-----7--5--7--5------5-------------------------------------

A------------------------------7------7--5--7--5-----5----------------

E----------------------------------------------------8-----8--5---------

All this exercise is is just overlapping the scale three notes at a time. this will really get your hand going but make sure you play it correctly and slowly. you can also do this in the major scale as well. its great practice and it builder your finger strength. i actually recommend doing this more on the major scale then pentatonic because you get more use out of that weak pinky you have


The last exercise for you guys today is another in A pentatonic

G--------------------------------------------------------------5--------------------5--

D-------------------5--------------------5--7--5------5--7-----7--5------5--7-----

A--7--5-----5--7-----7--5------5--7-------------7--------------------7------------

E---------8-------------------8-------------------------------------------------------

Now your hand will get tired doing this and you wont be good at it at first but keep on digging it and you will thank me later for it. Set goals with it first try to get through it with out mistakes then try it twice perfect and then try to get it 4 times perfect and so on. thats the only way to really get a full hand workout.


and remember TAKE IT SLOOOOWWWW 
until next time you can email me at papabear82191@gmail.com for and questions and suggestions