greghagger Posted April 29, 2023 Share Posted April 29, 2023 I recently got a message from a bass player I coach, asking how to play a particularly fast bass line: "Hey Greg have you tried that riff in Messin' With The Kid?? The 16th notes on beat 3 are killer at 150bpm. I can get it pretty good at about 85% tempo but at 100% my fingers give up!" So I gave the riff a listen and yes, there was a 16th note pattern that was very fast! This is a live version by Johnny Winter by the way and I’ve put a link to that under the video lesson. It’s a really good question and a great bass line so I decided to make a YouTube lesson explaining how to play faster on the bass. The bass player in the video was using a pick which can make playing certain fast bass lines easier but there are aspects of your playing that you can work on to develop finger-style speed. Find out more in the latest GBS video, and watch me just managing to pull off this bass line! I’ve also put three exercises in the lesson to help you with finger speed. Also be great if you share any other particularly fast bass lines that you have tried to play with finger-style. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kateplaysbass Posted September 10, 2023 Share Posted September 10, 2023 (edited) Only just come across this and wanted to say thanks - this is definitely something I need to look at because although I use alternate fingers for medium fast tempos, when things get really fast I tend to use a single finger and a more percussive stroke, which I know isn't right! The (slightly obscure) track that I'm currently struggling with because it has a couple of fast sixteenth note passages is East Side Story by Bob Seger. Learning it more for fun than anything else since I'm not sure I'll ever persuade a band to add it to the setlist, but it's a great bass line! Edited September 10, 2023 by Kateplaysbass Typo 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greghagger Posted September 11, 2023 Author Share Posted September 11, 2023 On 10/09/2023 at 11:06, Kateplaysbass said: Only just come across this and wanted to say thanks - this is definitely something I need to look at because although I use alternate fingers for medium fast tempos, when things get really fast I tend to use a single finger and a more percussive stroke, which I know isn't right! The (slightly obscure) track that I'm currently struggling with because it has a couple of fast sixteenth note passages is East Side Story by Bob Seger. Learning it more for fun than anything else since I'm not sure I'll ever persuade a band to add it to the setlist, but it's a great bass line! Hey @Kateplaysbass I’m glad the video can be helpful for you. Let me know how you get on. Speed is definitely something that gradually happens with practice. Good luck with getting that Bob Seger tune in the set 😀 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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