Ever since Billy Jean , having trouble with Med/fast workouts, feel like I’m chasing the green line. Lol. No rhythm just plucking. Hopefully it gets better
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I just got to the “Roxanne” lesson. On some, I nailed the work-outs. On others, I struggled. But what seems to work for me is if I struggle on one lesson, I start the next day on the work-out I struggled with and usually nail it. For whatever reason, my hands and mind seem to sync together better a day later. But I could play “Billie Jean” adequately from the first time I tried. Strangest thing.
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This is why good sleep is essential. The brain does a lot of rewiring/working while we sleep 
I’ll practice scales at a decent clip one night, and then the next day rip up and down the neck and be like:
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I don’t even fight it anymore. I’ll practice something for a bit and move on, it’s a lot easier the next day
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Perfectly natural. The cool thing is that having trouble is actually opportunities presenting themselves.
Josh has an ingenious method to his madness when it comes to workout speeds. He knows enough about teaching and learning to realize there’s a latency there when it comes to beginners. Beginners want to know how to do everything from the get-go, but the fact is that neural pathways must be formed over time so we can assimilate and retain information. Same goes for muscle memory. That’s why he emphasizes that being able to nail a slow workout is actually a big win, because it is. In other words, the instruction has been stored; the next step is to recall it and apply it to the instrument. The opportunities to play better, quicker lie in revisiting and practicing medium and fast workouts however many times it takes to nail them. Because they’re all nailable with time, patience and practice.
Keep at it. You’ve got this. 
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The advice given here is priceless. All of these guys are on point.
If i could, id add that de-stressing is a huge thing. Myself, i can get real caught up in wanting to hit it perfect, and i can’t yet-and that makes it worse because more i feel pressure.
Sleep, eat, play something different. Freestyle a little, then try again. It’s there, it really is. You’ll get there
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Left field suggestion @jackyounger here’s super simple groove that’s beginner friendly and fun to play. When I was frustrated with a B2B exercise. I’d put on a drum track at a mellow tempo and just goof around to this groove.
This should be fun, it’s not school. Practice, practice etc 
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This, too. Especially if you’re anything like me and nail it first try, and then fail miserably, repeatedly, ever-after that day 
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I like her stuff. Worthwhile practice grooves.
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That wisdom is good for most everything in life !
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Love yonit! Hammer on the fundamentals and you get good play. She’s a great teacher.
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Thanks, looks like I’ve watched one of her videos in the past but not sure how long ago and couldn’t remember her channel. This is great advice and something I need to take note of more often on both bass and guitar.
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Some of the workouts are pretty tough depending on your music background (eg coming from guitar like me). I tried to take Josh’s advice and move on and I think one of the most frustrating was slap bass. I think this is because this is the one I was most excited about as I already knew about slap, just wasn’t very good. I’m a huge Flea fan so my mind was hoping to go really well. Having only really slapped on the E string before, slapping other strings was really frustrating as it was a lot harder not to hit the wrong string. I decided to complete each of the exercises, but mostly just did the slow workouts. I’m going to go back to the modules and watch the other YouTube videos Josh has done.
I guess what I’m saying is it’s pretty normal to get to get frustrated, but what I’m trying not to do is finish a practice session with frustration as it lingers. Instead, I try to find something I can play and end bopping along to the beat if possible.
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Slap was and still is very hard for me also. Nothing I like playing has slap so I’m taking the easy road. 
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So slap is a nightmare for me, because i want so badly to do it well. Picking as well, I’m just simply incapable with a pick-i mean, failure doesn’t come close describing it. So got thumb picks and its improved immensely😍! But when it comes that funky jive slap we all want, I’m not good at all.
Only thing i can recommend, it helped me some- is @JoshFossgreen video on slap on YouTube.
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Monk Montgomery played bass with his thumb 
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Is there something in particular with a regular pick you’re stuck with? I came from guitar so only difference was using a thicker pick. Technique remained pretty much the same. A couple of questions:
- Is your pick at least 1.5mm thick. I’ve got a Dunlop 1.5mm and it feels good. any thinner and it will struggle on the thick bass strings.
- Are you keeping most of the pick within your grip - ie only exposing minimum amount to the strings?
Here’s an image showing how I hold mine. Not exact as I sometimes wriggle it around a little bit and I’m used to picking it up once I already have my bass in hand.
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Depends on the material. In fact my favorites are Dunlop Tortex and Ultex 0.88mm to 1.2mm. I like them somewhat better than other materials and thicknesses. Tortex is stiffer than average and has a lovely texture. Ultex is even stiffer than Tortex and has a nice, glassy smooth texture.
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It’s been a while since I’ve tried a thinner pick and I generally use something like a 1.0mm for guitar. Maybe it’s time to experiment 
It’s the holding of the pick. First, I’ve got huge gorilla hands. Seriously, it’s like a handful of hot dogs. There was also an existing injury that affects the index finger.
I actually have to make sure that a bass has 19 mm+ string spacing or i can’t even fit my fingers. I was using the rockpick picks, they are heavy guage.
But holding it really isn’t working out. I’m so focused on making sure i don’t drop it that i crush it and my hand paid the price.
The thumbpick had improved this immeasurably. I can actually pick now. They are coated stainless steel, i think?
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