Grimalkin

Isolate the things you wish to improve first, and expect to improve incrementally. "Dream in a pragmatic way." Aldous Huxley. There is no point in defeating yourself before you've begun. Work on things that are achievable at this point in a concerted and concentrated way. No one hits the ground running, nothing comes for nothing. Practise the right thing, the things that will make a difference. Just wiggling the fingers won't get you anywhere

No instrument required, practice anywhere: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interval_recognition Instant interval recall. A perfect 5th? The first two notes of "Twinkle Twinkle..." That quick.

Come on, he'd only been playing two weeks when he was catapulted to stardom with the band. Same as John Taylor, he had only been playing two weeks when he came up with the line for "Girls On Film." And if you believe that, I've got a lovely bridge to sell you...

I remember an interview with McCartney years back where he remarked that he liked them because they were so light, and the ergonomics. That they "felt like part of you" IIRC. Perhaps McCartney was the first round wound user, since he used to snip strings out of club pianos when he was short back in the day.

I posted this vid in another thread but it is said that Paganini composed his pieces to be so technically difficult, that only he could play them. So he had a monopoly on his stuff. The pull-off section at 3.50, looks like a handful to say the least...

Edit: Tune the G up a semitone. Not down.

That's interesting, so that's how he plays the top line in a 4ths shape, much harder in a b5 shape: 0.40 The ideal way to transfer it to bass, is to detune the G sting by a semitone to play it in 4ths too. Much easier. I've been playing it in a b5 interval since 1993...

It's the only way you can really recreate something like it on a bass, the double stops are a b5 shape you move over four frets in all, the left hand is root, hammered 5th and octave. Once you've got each hand fretting correctley, you put the rhythms together and practise it. But I agree with BreadBin, don't do it on a fretless, it's very difficult to keep in tune.

A guitarist/singer I've worked with a lot over the years was nearly electrocuted playing a small bar. The strings actually melted, he still has fine lines where they burned into the edge of his right hand where he was muting across the strings. He was in hospital for a few days, heart rhythm up and down. If there wasn't another musician friend there who realised what was happening while the unfortunate singer was writhing on the floor, he would have been a goner. His saviour got up off his chair, walked over and switched the wall socket off.

The onset of arthritis across the left shoulder, which is slightly lower than the right, where basses that are too heavy have been sat for over 30 years.

You just need a specialised accountant, who understands the requirements of your employment. From strings to stage clothes.

Yes? No.

Indeed, the lesser known Chris Square. He was a bit too out of the box for most. He planned to record an album with his pet parrot, unfortunately he arose on the day of the recording to find the cage open and polygon.

It's a classic. And on that same subject...

"False fretting" must be the stretchiest of stretchy ones. That's playing the same note on two adjacent strings, 6 frets apart. Examples of this from 1.45 - 2.00:

Try an extended G major scale in five fret positioning, so that's three notes per string in one position until the last note on the G (D). For the first six notes you have to pivot the thumb forward for the stretch, and release the first finger if you know what's good for your hand. The last six notes are in four fret position, they don't require pivoting. Five fret positioning is common, from Jaco to Willis.

Strict alternation, a lot of the time. Rocco usually plays around the spot of the pickup on a P bass, softer tension there.

"I would defend their freedom of speech if I thought it was in jeopardy. I would defend their freedom of speech to tell uninspired, bigoted, blowjob, gay-bashing, racist and rape jokes all under the guise of being edgy, but that's not the edge. That's what sells. They couldn't possibly pander any harder or be more commercially mainstream, because this is the "Oh no, you didn't say that!" generation, where a shocking comment has more weight than the truth. No one has any shame anymore, and we're supposed to celebrate it. I saw a woman throw a used tampon at another woman last night on network television, a network that bills itself as "Today's Woman's Channel". Kids beat each other blind and post it on Youtube. I mean, do you remember when eating rats and maggots on Survivor was shocking? It all seems so quaint now. I'm sure the girls from "2 Girls 1 Cup" are gonna have their own dating show on VH-1 any day now. I mean, why have a civilization anymore if we no longer are interested in being civilized?" God Bless America.