Inspired by Darth Tim here’s my report from halfway through the challenge. I’ve been doing these exercises as part of my regular practice; so most days. I have definitely notice an improvement on all of them. Note length and shift time have improved, along with plucking consistency and timing.
Exercise 1 - incremental improvements for what was the easiest of the exercises for me.
Exercise 2 - Stretching is getting easier and the result is cleaner fretting and better placement of all my fingers
Exercise 3 - For context one of the most difficult bad habits I’m trying to break (from when I played many, many years ago) is always anchoring my thumb on the string above the one I’m playing. I’ve been trying this exercise with my thumb anchored on the A string. This still feels a bit unnatural for me but this exercise has really helped me to increase both my plucking speed and consistency using this new method.
Exercise 4 - I’ve seen some definite improvements here with cleaner fretting and more sustainable stretch. I’m continuing to work on MVP and not grinding my thumb into the neck. It’s better than it was but still needs a lot of work.
Again for context I’ve been doing these exercises along with progressing through the B2B course (now at lesson 3 of module 8, yes I sang the syncopation song), and Josh’s ten minute play along video to the PERFECT Bass Practice Morning Routine.
I hope this helps. How’s everyone else doing with this?
Alright, I’ve been doing these as a warmup for about my first 10 minutes almost every day, and here’s where I am right now:
- This one still not really a challenge for me and has only gotten easier, which I suppose is a small improvement.
- Definitely getting better at stretching across frets with this one! So much so that I’m doing an extra measure and ending with 3-4-5-6.
- My favourite of the three exercises. Still some work to do, but I’m much smoother and more consistent now.
- This one is getting easier for me and I’m seeing an improvement in my coordination and flying fingers.
I have very little stretch at the moment, these simple exercises are perfect for me to hopefully improve, thanks Josh 
Hi @wnewber - what music app do you use?
I use a variety of music apps. I probably have the most hours in either Spotify or in Pandora. Spotify, I use for practice. I have a playlist of the songs in the sets for the band. I’m in, and I spent at least a couple hours a day practicing band music. But I’ve been using Pandora for years and years, so I expect I have as many or maybe a little more hours in Pandora. I still use Pandora because it’s got some playlists that I made years ago and have been tweaking for years. I also have many gigabytes of recordings that I ripped from albums and CDs back when that was something that you could easily do in iTunes.
Thanks for the quick reply. I’m sorry - I guess I did not ask that correctly. You seemed to indicate that you were reading the PDF into an app.
Oh! Yes! It’s called MusicNotes. There’s a free version (which is what I have) and a paid version. They have lots of scores (bass and other) that you can buy as well.
One-Month Report: Beginner Bass Technique Challenge (Feb 2026)
First off, who am I: I’ve never played an instrument before and I’m 70 years old. I’ve always loved music but just never took the time. I got my hands on a short-scale bass back in October. I fooled around with it for a few weeks and kinda liked it. I didn’t take any lessons, just watched a few YouTube videos. I didn’t try anything serious, just tried playing the root note of the chord.
I ultimately didn’t like the short-scale bass, so I ordered a Fender P-Bass and an amp. I did the same “fooling around” into December and then decided to find actual lessons. I signed up for BassBuzz at the end of December and had just finished the Billie Jean benchmark when I saw this post. I’ve been practicing the Technique Challenge 5 days a week, sometimes twice a day.
Exercise 1 I found this pretty easy, and I’ve definitely gotten better at it after a month. As a side note, I have applied the anti-flying finger technique learned in Exercise 4 and have found that very helpful.
Exercise 2 I found the speed to be too fast, so I slowed down the video to 80% for a week, then 90% for a week, and I can now practice at full speed. Micro-shifting was necessary for my pinky to reach when starting at the 5th and 4th frets. By the end of the month, I’m only occasionally micro-shifting when playing at the 4th fret.
Exercise 3 I had the same playback speed issues as in Exercise 2, but I’ve only just now hit 100% playback speed. I have discovered an interesting phenomenon: if I lose concentration for just a little bit when my left-hand pinky is placed on the fret, my right-hand technique switches from index/middle finger to middle/index finger. I have no idea what’s going on here, but I’m hoping with practice I’ll overcome that.
Exercise 4 This one is a disaster. Shifting is necessary for my index, middle, and ring fingers, and sometimes when placing the pinky. The finger stretch I see on the two high strings is gone when playing the low strings. This seems to be most prevalent when playing up the neck. I’m currently trying to figure out if there is a better way to position my left hand. (Suggestions welcomed!)
I hope this report is useful.
Mike
Are there more exercises on plucking quickly? I was playing “Cruel Summer” by Bananarama and had a few issues with the plucking hand. The fretting is pretty simple. So, it’s a good song to test your plucking hand.
Any exercises that can help build a consistent plucking speed would be very helpful.
Thanks everybody for playing!
Anyone else have a progress report, or maybe a wee video of you playing the exercises you wouldn’t mind me possibly putting on Youtube? (only flattering portrayals I promise 
)
Sorry to have to break this to you Josh but, whilst there may come a day when I discover the courage (and technical ability) to record a video of myself playing bass, it isn’t today.
Having said that I’m more than happy to give you an end of challenge report.
Exercise 1 - Despite feeling like I had this nailed from day one, I’ve definitely noticed improvements. With practice and focusing on incremental gains my technique has improved.
Exercise 2 - Another one where through repetition I’ve made clear improvements in timing and stretch. Now I can ‘comfortably’ make the 3-4-5-6 stretch, even with my sausage fingers.
Exercise 3 - This has had the biggest impact for me in terms of plucking speed and consistency. With my thumb anchored on the A my plucking speed has increased dramatically, along with volume and rhythm being much more consistent. Personally the most useful exercise for me.
Exercise 4 - This is another one where I’ve made big improvements. I try to work on flying fingers most of the time when I’m playing. This is a great exercise to help with focussing on not just flying fingers but also minimum viable pressure and thumb grind. This still needs some work but the progress has been great.
Thanks so much for putting this together Josh. I really enjoyed doing it. More please!
Here is a link to my video of before and after. I found I can stretch a little more now, and I’m much more confident. I have more stamina for chugging, and muting has improved. I found these exercises very useful. I’m happy for any of the videos to be used, and happy to answer any questions .
I have made a more polished video for public viewing but wont post until Josh posts his full video.
Here is my progress report.
These exercises weren’t too challenging to me. I can stretch easily between frets, and my fingers don’t fly as much as they did some months ago.
But the first exercise is useful to me, because sometimes I don’t lift the fingers fast enough after plucking, so I might hear some buzz from time to time, and it is always good to practice focusing on technique.
The last exercise I also feel is good to practice from time to time, and I started to pay more attention on leaving all the fingers on the string instead of lifting them unnecessarily while fretting a higher note, also while I’m practicing playing songs. I mean, I’m using the techniques from these lessons while playing songs. So my technique is improving.
Hi Josh!
First off, thanks so much for putting out this February challenge! I’m new to Bass Buzz, but I’ve been really loving the course so far. I loved having a monthly thing to focus on, and hope you’ll do more because this was really fun.
A little bit about me, for context:
Total bass noob. I played piano as a kid, and have a somewhat musical background from my career as a (now retired) professional dancer. I play a short-scale lime green Squire Bronco that I’m obsessed with. It was a holiday gift from my partner, who’s a boutique pickup winder and does luthier work for themselves. They set it up, upgraded the electrics (they even wound a pickup for me!), and put in brass saddles. Coolest, most romantic thing ever, and I now play my bass every chance I get.
I’d only been playing for four weeks when you threw down this gauntlet, and I found that it’s been a good daily warmup before diving into the course.
I’ve also been hyper fixated working on the Foo Fighters’ song, “Best of You”. I found it in the included Song Pack (how is this ranked as “easier”?!) and became addicted. It’s taken some time, but I’ve finally managed to get most of it up to tempo and relatively clean – except for that bridge, and that last variation in the final chorus. Those two sections always give me trouble, even when I slow them way down and chunk. I guess you could say they get the best of me [cue rim shot].
Anyway, that gives you an idea of what I’ve been working on, and where I was at when I started this challenge.
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Like a lot of other folks have already said, this felt pretty easy, but I still found it very helpful in terms of being mindful about MVP and tone. It’s also a good one for relaxing your fingers enough so that they almost rest like a magnet against the frets.
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This one blew my mind because I realized that you can just let your fingers stay on the string/frets rather than lifting them up unnecessarily as you move up the neck. It’s helped with efficiency.
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I have a habit of wanting to chug fast, like a racehorse on too much coffee. I chalk it off to practicing that 130 bpm chug from the chorus of “Best of You,” but I found myself constantly playing way faster than the tempo. I also noticed that I struggled to play the transition from phrase to phrase cleanly, ie. getting my timing right to lift my pointer finger before putting my pinky down to start the next phrase. I think I saw improvement over the month, and will probably keep this one up for a while.
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My fingers have a tendency to soar when I attempt a song or exercise that levels me up, but I have to admit that I didn’t find this one as tricky as I expected. Full disclosure: I used to play castanets, and I think the finger strength and muscle memory is unexpectedly good cross training for playing bass? (At the very least, it’s another instrument that endears you to your neighbors.)
I also happened to learn “London Calling” from one of the modules during this month, and was all, “Hey, 7th to the 10th fret on the A string!”, so this is a helpful exercise for that, too.
General takeaway: These are great exercises not only for warming up, but for focusing in on refining details and playing mechanics. Also, and probably most importantly: Saying ta-da really helps.
I do have video, but I’m not sure how helpful they are because I haven’t yet figured out how to record my playing through my laptop. My filming was mainly for myself to watch my hands. I’m also pretty camera shy.
Alright, here’s my end of the month wrap-up. For context, I finished the B2B course just before I started. I also used to play a little guitar which probably helps with coordination, although it’s been a few years. Sorry, no video, though I’ve been meaning to set that up.
1. This one was always very easy for me, though I did get a little better at it.
2. I saw some improvement with my stretching here. I also still finish with an extra measure and end with 3-4-5-6. That feels about right for my hand size.
3. My favourite of the three exercises, and I’ve seen a definite improvement with speed and fretting cleanly. I’ll continue to do this one as warmup, I think.
4. This is another where I saw a pretty big improvement with my finger coordination. Still need to focus to do this cleanly, but it’s gotten better.
I’ll post a video tomorrow (Wednesday the 4th). , life kind of got in the way the last week or so
Ever have one of those days where your timing is just off? No matter what you are just struggling to keep in time. Today is one of those days. Off to record take 12. lol
Some days you have it, some days you don’t. Today was some of my worst playing in awhile for some odd reason, but I promised an update video, here is an update video. If there is anything usable there, feel free. You can even use my after as a before if needed.
I’ve incorporated these exercises into my daily routine. I’m really starting to feel the benefits after a couple of weeks, even with my short stubby fingers. Just moved to doing them on the D as well as the G. My finger flaring is also reducing as my tendons strengthen. Thanks Josh , one day I’ll be a badass but hey, I’m enjoying the journey with little concern for the destination.
Bookmarking ths! Much needed instrutions imo for beginners like me . For your final video (if not out yet), suggest you add plug in somewhere the hand and strap lesson from the BZB course.