This is where I am going to my post my hard to achieve lessons not just Billie Jean. 
I am on M10 L3 (Module 10 Lesson 3, 12:8 time and “I Put A Spell On You”).
I can’t really say that I’ve nailed the slow workout cleanly but I am trying to do the medium workout and it is VERY challenging.
LOL I decided to just stay on the slow workout for a while to get that down.
Went back to Billie Jean the other day and I know its an easy tune yet it does my head in and that’s just the slow work out. 
Slow it down. Way down. Slow it down some more. Play it like that, rinse and repeat. Lock it in slow, then slowly bump it up. It’s there, i promise you you’ll find it.
Thanks for that information
It is slowly working
I have nothing but belief that you will get this. One day you’ll look back on this and recognise the value of the exercise. Keep going, my friend. You’ll get there.
Another frustrated Billie Jean student here as well. I was just going to post on the lesson thread; I’m not able to get through the slow speed workout. I’ve repeated it a couple of times now and about the time I think I’ve got it down it shifts up the octave and I lose it again. Round and round I chase it like that and it’s crazy. It’s the first lesson I’m not able to get through on the slowest practice speed. But I’m going to skip it for now, and keep moving like everyone says. I’m trying to picture how the person thinks, who came up with this riff.
@MikeC watching that video you posted (or was it @jacq) of the guy playing all the parts is just mad. Watching that guy is half inspiring and half the opposite as well.
What is the chance we could get Josh to make a vid like that? I would love to see him completely cut loose with all those play styles.
I posted that video last year as inspiration and entertainment.
Berthoud is a very talented multi-instrumentalist. He had years of piano mastery under his belt before he picked up a bass, and his tapping skills show it. He’s a composer and arranger as well as a player.
Oh yeah! I’m going to try that, ty for the suggestion. It feels like I’m half mashing the ring finger on top of the pinkie finger, instead of hitting the string cleanly.
Just IMHO, Charles is the most talented bassist alive at the moment (Don’t flame me and bring up Les or Geddy) He has seemingly mastered so many different styles of playing and he makes it look so easy. He has a video of himself practicing at 360 bpm and it is insane.
In many technical and musical respects, I agree, @EddieJones. I hope he gets the recognition he’s due beyond the YT circus environment.
I have listened to his streaming CD and he does make and arrange some beautiful music
He absolutely does.
When I started bass with Josh’s course, Billie Jean was a nightmare. So was James Brown’s Papa’s got a Brand New Bag. They felt awful. Quite a while and a lot of playing later, I came back to playing both of them, and they were very comfortable. So don’t let them stop you. Move on and keep playing, and come back to them every now and then.
A couple of tips - keep a light touch! When I started, I was jamming the strings down hard on the frets and plucking hard. You can’t play fast if you’re working that hard. It took a lot of time to get comfortable with much lighter playing. Also, it can help playing closer to the bridge where the strings flex less.
There are some good exercises that can help - just repeatedly pluck the C on the A string at something like 80 beats per minute and slowly speed up. How much pressure do you really need on the fret? Alternate C and D and go as light as you can. Do the same pressure variation with your right hand - try both digging in and just gently stroking the strings. How does that affect your speed? Play near the bridge and near the neck - what feels better and fits the sound you want? Josh’s format of teaching through songs is fantastic and motivating and I loved it, but doing some very basic exercises can really help along the way.
Josh’s course was the absolute best experience I could have asked for in a remote learning experience, but it’s just the beginning of a journey. Play lots, get through the course and then check out a bunch of other material out there. There is a lot of good stuff once you have the basics down - but nobody does the basics and intro to playing as well as Josh!
One more comment. Playing Billie Jean with a high action can be extremely difficult. Getting the action right is very important - if you are comfortable doing a setup, take it down to the point where you get fret buzz when playing normally, then back off some. You’ll find it much less work to press down the strings and that translates to playing lighter and faster. If you’re not comfortable doing the work, try to find a luthier that will work with you and hopefully teach you some adjustments!
I went back and played it. When I fret with my ring finger, I am using both my middle and ring finger together and still doing a bit of a roll with the pinky. I know at the beginning it took me a lot of time getting comfortable using the “higher” fingers on the frets, but it does let you play faster and it is far less tiring. So I guess I am doing both a pinky roll and having the ring finger and middle finger on the A string.
I do that. I consider it backup. It actually feels really natural to me to do in that instance.
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