I wish there were ways to cheat at learning bass… I’d be better at bass!
But the fact that you can’t cheat your way to learning an instrument is a big part of what makes learning one so rewarding. Other than the very rare musical prodigy who doesn’t have to struggle to learn it, no one with any amount of skill on an instrument got there on accident. One of my Navy buddies use to say something along the line of “if staying in shape were easy, we would all be walking around with perfect bodies… but it isn’t easy, it is constant work.” Same applies to bass. If it were easy or if you could cheat your way to it, we would all be Jaco… but it isn’t. It is constant work, and we as novice/ intermediate players should take more time to appreciate the work we have put in to get to whatever level you are currently at. Then realize that continued improvement requires continued focused effort. Any “cheating” you can use along the way to learn a skill isn’t cheating… it is learning!