more of an endurance issue, but none the less slowing it down is definitely the best/only way!
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I was able to get the slow workout down no problem. Tried medium, but it was already late enough that I knew it was going to take some work so I stopped for the day. Came back the next and got through modules 5 and 6 then tried BJ on medium: First try! Stepped up to fast workout and was jamming right along!
I heard Bon Jovi - You Give Love A Bad Name again yesterday and noticed it sounds similar.
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I noticed the similarities when I finally got them down. I think the notes and cadence are very similar and makes them sound almost, but not quite the same.
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Ahem, so when I did the course, BJ pissed me off so much and I vowed to just give her the cold shoulder until the end of time. Then my other teacher had me play Madonnaās āLike a Virginā (we somehow got there from Itās Only Rockān Roll But I like it, donāt quite remember how) and I remarked that it reminded me of Billie Jean. Damn, there she was creeping back into my life. āGreat, Iāll bring you the notes next timeā - āNo, I donāt like her. And I have the notes. Thanks but no thanks.ā
But she kept nagging me and today I gave in, prepared for failure and frustration. Logged into my lessons. Slow workout: 1st attempt, nailed it. Medium workout: No problem. Fast workout: Ok, thatās still very fast. Had a look at the notes in the 50 first songs, worked on the bridge for a couple of hours. Turned Youtube on, set the song at 75% speed and what can I say, I practiced a bit and actually played it. There was no knot in my fingers!
Friends, itās true what they say: You do get better with practice. It does get easier. Who would have thought!
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All the many, many Buzzers who got there from here! 
Big congratulations! You did it!
Slow and steady wins the race. 
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Itās a pretty nice day when you realize you have that down. I may cried a little-Iām not saying i did, but i may have.
Congratulations, my friend.
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I have it down, and come back to it to test myself occasionally, but full disclosure even 4 years on I still play it super sloppy 
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Well this
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I hope this helps!
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Add one more newbie to Billie Jeanās body count. HOLY CRAP! A half hour of work on it and I still canāt come close to the slow workout. I described it to my wife as though it were a newborn fawn trying to take its first steps. Just good GOD.
Iām going to move on, but Iāll start with a few runs of it in my practice routine before starting a lesson. I WILL crack this!
Just might take me a month. Lol
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BJ took away all my interest in playing. Firstly I canāt stand MJ because of his love for tiny humans and my head canāt get around the line. I canāt play it and I canāt seem to read the tab even. Every lesson before this has been fun and just hard enough to make me feel Iāve learned something. This is like jumping from learning the alphabet to reading Shakespeare. And when I depressed skipped the whole BJ lesson I have to learn reading notes?!?
I know I sound like a child right now, but my anxiety and depression is kicking my behind these days and I just want to sell all my basses and give up.
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As has been discussed, Billie Jean is definitely a big jump in technique from earlier lessons and workouts. Josh did this mindfully, not to discourage anyone from continuing with the course but to prepare students for playing a wide variety of songs and genres.
Personally, I admit that Michael Jackson was a true musician besides his super-stardom, but I didnāt care for him as a human being. But who cares? His music is definitely worth studying for its imaginative creativity and, frankly, soul.
No one can tell you how to feel. But you might be better off skipping the Billie Jean lesson and continuing with the course. Or not. It is strictly your decision to make. That said, if you truly love bass, you will play despite all obstacles. Good luck.
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Ignore it and move on! Life is too short to spend on overly frustrating tunes.
You might come back to it in a few months, or not.
I learned it, got frustrated with it, tried it for a bit more, got tired in my fretting hand, and eventually decided I needed to explore other stuff on the bass. If I were to go back to it now, I think I could play it OK (still tiring for the fretting hand), but I donāt see any of my possible futures where Iād really needed to play this tune.
Learning and playing bass (and not getting paid for it) should be fun!
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You are by far not the only one to get to that point. It can be really, really frustrating.
No one says you must learn it, or learn it at any given time-that being said, there is some value in the trying of it.
I was so frustrated with it-then i checked in here and got what you are getting- ākeep trying, itās there. You can do it.ā
And they were right.
Best of luck. Keep playing, keep making progress. And if the dreaded bj eludes you for a time, know that it isnāt forever. One day youāll have it Just flow and youāll wonder why it was such a monster.
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I hear you. I had the same reactions for the same reasons and BJ took all the joy out of B2B for me.
But not the joy out of making music. Skip the lesson, but keep on playing. I spent a long time away from B2B but thereās plenty of other things to do. You could check out the 50 songs challenge. Or do what I did, dive into some blues
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Josh calling it a ātongue twisterā is apt. Those shifts on the 4th fret are slippery. Iāve taken to playing it with my ring barring the 4th but stumble during the shift up to and back from the G. Iāll get a few times then realize I have to ā¦ slow ā¦ it ā¦ down.
I think this will become part of my warmup routine.
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Interesting Billie Jean story, for their 7th grade spring concert my sonās school jazz band played a Billie Jean rendition. He played bass for it and actually had a solo for a bit. He had been playing for about a year at that time. I remember being really proud of him. I felt like he sounded great. Heās in 12th grade this year and I have finally decided to try to start playing bass. I got to the Billie Jean lesson in the course and spent a long time trying to get it right. So I asked him how he learned it. His method was to start slow using a metronome and work it up to speed. This is what I have been doing to get it down. I go to an online metronome, set it slow enough that Iām not getting lost (maybe 50 or 60 bpm) and then increase by 5 or 10 bpm. I think Billie Jean regular tempo is 116 bpm or so. Iāve gotten better with it, at least its somewhat recognizable at this pointā¦
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Just jumping on here to say thank you, Iām very grateful I had the heads up r.e. Billie Jean and I am very grateful it doesnāt just all get more challenging from there! Having said that I still enjoyed it and am looking forward to going back and nailing it soon.
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Billy Jean is a tough song, but i found the more I play at slow speed the easier it gets. It is becoming muscle memory for me. I take baby steps, and it is working out for me.
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