Hi first time I posted on here, but I just need advice or encouragement or whatever you wanna call it. I got the beginner to badass program and It was going great at least I thought so. I forgot what module it was but it’s where Josh taught Billie Jean bass line. And I for the life of me I could not get it. It drove me bananas, my hands were not that coordinated. And I sorta of gave up. I know it’s a very stupid reason to quit but I just felt like I was never going to get it. If I couldn’t do this bass line, and it wasn’t that complicated. I wanna get back into bass but I’m worried that I won’t be able to get it again. Anybody has any similar experience?
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You are not alone 
Just move to the next lesson and get back to it later (or never 
)
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Heya! Billie Jean is a wicked mistress.
I have skipped it… practiced a bit every single day… landed medium… still haven’t finished fast.
It is a song that has some precision and speed requirements. Nothing blocks you from skipping and and return as you feel more confident. 
Plow through and come back at a later date. Don’t work on a song when you are frustrated, it will be worse… go for an easier one… and build back up.
Get back in the shed!
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Don’t give up! It gets easier after Billie Jean! You are definitely not alone, as others have pointed out, and this forum is a great place for advice and encouragement. Skip Billie Jean for now and keep going. You’ll thank yourself later.
Edit to add: I am on module 8 (Billie is module 4) and I still can’t play it. I can maybe, MAYBE do it on medium on a good day.
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Just move on to the next set of lessons which are easier. From memory I think Josh explains why he includes this very difficult song so early in the course. And I still can’t manage it!
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Josh makes very clear in a lot of the lessons, especially as you get deeper in, that you do not have to aim to get everything on Fast. You should aim to at least be able to play the samples cleanly and accurately on Slow. Try Medium and Fast to see how well you do and where things fall apart, but don’t hold yourself back unless you have decided that is a specific song that you want to learn in full.
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You are already a bassist, especially after all the lessons! Have some fun and turn it up! 
The most important lesson is that you practice to play, not to be “good” or whatever.
Also, you have a tasty username, if I may say so! 
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I rather suspect that everyone who has taken the course fell over at Billie Jean. As others have said, move on, you can always come back to it.
As you progress through the course, you’ll find your confidence increases and you’ll start telling yourself that you are a bassist, it’s starts to become part of you (well it did me)!!
Plus, as someone else stated, this forum is probably one of the best places on the internet - everyone is incredibly friendly and supportive. Need help? Someone will help. Need advice? Someone will advise. Want to talk call gear? Hell, I think we’ll all do that! Want to show off your covers - you’ll get to there - we’ll applaud. Want to talk about getting into a band? So do we!
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Josh has some quirks with his teaching. For a while you think, am I learning? This seems too easy. Then there is a lesson or 2 that is lie, “wow I really suck at bass this is the worst”.
But really that’s kinda how bass playing goes. No matter how good you get, you always get days (sometimes multiple episodes in a practice session) where you are like, “Ok f it I’m outta here!”
The guitarist in my band once said to me, “oh you’re insecure and modest… Definitely a bassist”
If you didn’t love bass you wouldn’t be here.
Hang onto that feeling and ignore everything else.
At least once a week I want to ditch practicing (heck even playing). But then I do it anyway. It sucks and foul moods make your playing suck 100%
But given enough play time eventually you’ll hear something you like. And then your whole day will turn around.
Just vary it up:
33% learning technique (the course)
33% learning songs
34% having fun and doing what you want
You can keep going, you got this. Josh is an amazing teacher and I think the quirks are intentional and needed.
Let’s just say you may want to skip the improvised jazz lesson 
But you got this. There is a little bass monster inside of you. Just feed him instead of your uncertainty and you’ll do just fine.
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Hi
Haven’t yet ventured down the course route (quickly ducks for cover), so don’t know if Josh has recommended this approach, but his course philosophy seems to follow this.
When practicing this one set short time limits, eg 10 mins, then stop and leave till tomorrow. You’ll be surprised how much quicker the more complicated ones will fall under your fingers with this approach.
Also take a break, ie few days or week, from playing that piece then come back to it.
Flogging yourself to death over a piece is the shortcut to demotivation.
And let’s face it f you can hit the root on 1, you’re already a bass player. Everything else is called ‘nailing it’
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unfortunately learning bass (or anything for that matter) is not a linear arrow always pointing up. that’s actually how learning works, don’t let it discourage you or make you think you’re different or worse than everybody else. you’re not. just move on from that section and come back to it later if you want to.
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I only started recently and haven’t gotten to the Billie Jean lesson yet, but I really appreciate everyone’s encouragement here. Beyond the great lessons, I also feel like I’ve stumbled into a pretty stellar community!!
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Ha! It’s me 
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As you will find in a forum search with the keywords “Billie Jean”, a ton has been written about how derailing the bass line can be for beginners. I could easily be wrong, but I don’t believe @JoshFossgreen ever intended it to be such.
My suspicion is that he included it the lesson order because it’s a widely familiar bass line made up of a “simple” pattern of repeating notes. Josh, please correct me if I’m wrong.
On the face of it, Billie Jean is a “simple” line. However, its quick tempo coupled with its unrelenting repetitiveness belies its simplicity for beginner players who just finished some very fundamental technique lessons.
Personally, I think Billie Jean should have been presented later in the lessons order, as a learning challenge for students. But that’s just my opinion.
That said, BJ has either been ultimately learned or ignored by Buzzers, and either option is perfectly fine.
@BeginnerToast, if Billie Jean seems too much for you now, know that you’re not the first to feel that way. Just keep going with the rest of the lessons. They’re easier, way fun, and you’ll get a lot out of them. Once you do, you might just find (as many others have) that you can return to Billie Jean and she is your girl after all. 
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I’ve started the course September‘23 and I tried to practice every day since then. Billie Jean was the first lesson and only lesson in the course that felt like I will never get it. I kept going on with the course and did the billie Jean lesson every day at the end of my practice time. After 1-2 weeks I was able to play it more or less good in slow. After modul 11 of the course ive took a break from b2b because I doubt if I will ever get better playing bass, I felt stuck. After some weeks of doing nothing I started the course again and after some weeks of trying to play songs I started the course again from level one and everything is so much better this time. Billie jean wasn’t a problem anymore and the music theory part makes a lot more sense. I’m currently at the end of module 11 again and really motivated. Keep on going and u will be surprised how easy Billie Jean could be when you come back to the lesson after some time
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Don’t give up! Throw Billie Jean in the corner and revisit once in a while. If you still screw up, laugh at the jumbled mess and move on. One day you will be able to do a messy slow version couple of times. Celebrate! Then, after lots of tries, you accidentally hit the medium in one go. Celebrate again! When you are euforic and try again, it probably won’t happen anymore. Laugh at it again and try another time. I’m currently at the end of module 12 and I can sometimes play it on medium when I’m having a good day. Really, just move on and continue. You got this!
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You have!!
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Don’t give up, not because of something so “trivial”. There will be more “serious” reasons to resigne (like your teacher telling you that you suck and you wasted last 2,5 years, happened to me, lol😆).
But seriously, everything is hard at the beginning. That’s why it must be fun to come back, especially at the early stage.
Motivation will also change, crises will come and go. I have a crisis about every quarter, LOL, but I always come back.
Believe me, in a while you’ll laugh at yourself for wanting to quit because of this song
(And to be clear, I am NOT a bass player, but learning and trying to play bass is still one of the most important things in my life.)
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Lies and slander! /s
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Where at?
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