@Jamietashi It’s a funny one - I remember those repeat symbols from piano as a kid, so I should really just recognise it straight away. When Josh mentioned it and showed it on a lesson, I remember saying, “Ah, it’s those repeat thingy’s - I haven’t seen those for years”, and then promptly forgot to actually repeat the bars and messed it up straight away haha 
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I’m not sure where to post this. Should I be plucking directly on top of the pick up or slightly in front of it? I find my fingers naturally tend to go a little bit in front of the pick up – is that OK?
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What gives the sound you like best? Then that’s where to pluck! 
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Great, thanks! I definitely like the sound better where I’m plucking!
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Hey there, sorry for the delay, took an extra day off to decompress this weekend and missed my usual Friday forum rounds. I can’t find what you’re referring to earlier in the thread - the turnaround of what?
Anyway, with any repeat, you need to move your eyeballs (and hopefully your brain) back to the beginning before it’s time to get your fingers there. Otherwise, you’ll be behind! Try getting your eyes ahead of your fingers a bit and see if that helps.
EDIT: I see other folks were helpful in a more timely manner. 
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Josh I’m glad you got a gap, isolation can be a highway to hell. I was in safe hands with all the good folks on the forum. @howard finally figured out what I was trying to say.
It might be something @eric.kiser might enjoy compiling, a list of all the music symbols and their names. Hint Hint Eric . I discovered after Howard had sent me a great link, that at the back of First 50 4 Bass there it was Repeat signs. Doh!
I’m now back on track and having a great time, it never put me off everyday since the 13th of April has been a great Bass Buzz I’ve not once doubted that you are going to get me to being a bad ass bassist.
There so many great folk that I’ve met here. @JoshFossgreen keep yourself safe and be kind to yourself. My Bad Ass Bass Guru
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The little noise that happens when I lift (or shift) my finger and the string comes off the fret is driving me NUTS. If I can pluck at the right moment, I can make that noise not happen, but only if I can finger both notes basically at the same time. When the stretch is too big and I have to shift my hand, I can’t seem to avoid that little grrt. Since I know I can avoid it sometimes, I don’t know whether I should slow down and try to make sure I’m not doing that, so I don’t bake in bad habits, or just keep going and trust myself to figure it out over time.
My bass teacher has me doing this horrible exercise from a book, not about this specifically, but it makes a lot of racket this way and it’s just DISMAL and making it hard for me to play anything.
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@tamaraster don’t be so hard on yourself. You recognise the problem, your also having to get the hand of shifts. That’s got to be difficult. Ok to you it might sound out, it’s just a practice thing. Your going to get it, trust Josh and yourself. Think about it, you managed the dying giraffe, your going to hammer this and be badd ass as well. Be kind to yourself. 
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Ok, on module 13 now - Slap bass.
I’ve been kinda 50% dreading and 50% excited about this, because I’ve never done slap bass (apart from that one time where you’re jamming with mates and try it just for a laugh).
It’s the first time where I’m having to take proper breaks between lessons, because I don’t want to mess it up. I am so glad I’m learning it slow like Josh states on the lessons, because I’ve learnt bad habits in the past and I am very wary of not doing that on a new technique!
However, the good news is that while I’m missing the right strings now and again, I can kinda hear the proper tones coming out now and if I practice the workouts properly, I can eventually zero in and nail the accuracy. Most of the time anyway
So glad I got this course!
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Killer @quadfather. I was the same 50/50 going in, and I came out 100/0 excited/nervous.
After you finish B2B, I suggest learning RATM’s “take the power back”. Josh has a play thru cover, and a walk thru tutorial with tabs.
The main riff sounds so BADASS, but it’s not that hard to play. The fils can be intimidating, I have not played the song thru 100% yet, but getting close.
It is an easier slap song, and it sounds like it’s not. It is easier to learn, so it builds confidence and has helped me with slap technique, muting especially.
It can most likely do the same for you.
I picked up the riff pretty quick because in my guitar days I played a few rATM covers, and I had gotten used to the way they add hammer on’s.
If you like, learn the riffs for bombtrack and killing in the name of, first if you like. Killing in the name of uses similar fingering, but is not slap, so it will probably help you moving over to slapping “ take the power back.”
HTH in any way, good luck, Slap on!!!
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Excellent, thanks! You know, I think I’ve done some rage against the machine in the past. Be good to revisit those funks and get it bang on.
Yeah, think I’ll try that tomorrow
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I can get the notes of Billie Jean (almost fast enough for the slow workout) but the notes seem very “short,” and I’m not sure what’s going on. I think I’m not fretting hard enough and I also think I’m doing whatever it’s called when you silence the note- can’t remember what it’s called. So it sounds SUPER choppy. Somebody please tell me this will get better. Should I practice until it sounds better and I can do it reliably for the slow workout or should I move on?
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Hey @rae_kristine, getting the notes is a great start! I’m guessing that you’re lifting your fretting fingers off the notes early to get to the next note, which is natural, but it means the notes don’t last very long since they’re changing so often. As you practice more you’ll tighten up those transitions so they don’t affect the sound of the bass line. Not a big deal! You’re doing great. 
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Yep, @JoshFossgreen after playing it several more times I can see that’s exactly what I’m doing. Thanks, Coach! 
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Currently I am struggling with my left hand. I started the Beginner to Badass series last week (May 7th to be exact). Iv’e been following along with the lessons very well until today when I hit a wall with Module 3 Lesson 3. My left hand noped out during the last repetition of the slow workout. I rested for a bit, shook it out, and tried again. I finished all the reps this time, but the last 2 measures won’t win any beauty prizes.
So my question… Would it be beneficial to skip the lessons for a few days to do fingering exercises instead? I am loving playing, loving the lessons, and loving the accomplishment I feel after the lesson. Any advice would be welcome.
Thanks,
Jason
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Sounds like you’ll need to build some strength. If you can do it technically, but you find your left hand caving in, proceed to the next lessons, and return to this one daily, as some sort of warmup exercise.
You’ll find that your left hand strength, especially in the pinky, builds over time.
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My guess is you are fretting too hard, probably pressing much too hard with your thumb as well, and maybe fighting a bad setup (too high of action maybe?)
But it is really hard to say.
It’s normal for your hand and wrist to be a bit sore or worn out after playing, but the level you describe is unusual and sounds like a technique problem. This is also pretty common, it definitely happened to me (I was death-gripping my neck at the start
Fretting notes should actually be almost effortless if everything is set up right. You should also be able to fret notes without touching your thumb to the neck at all, and this is in fact a good exercise to work on proper fretting.
It’s possible your bass will need to have a setup done for this to work well.
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I am new myself, but I tend to agree with the first two answers.
I still do not have a lot of strength/endurance while playing. First it was the skin on the fingers, then the muscles in the fingers and after that my bass actually got heavy and my shoulder started to hurt after playing for too long. (I was also a bit lazy regarding sports/movement… started with my training excercises again).
But the thing with the hand is: I noticed that I cramp up and “deathgrip” the neck especially when I’m trying something that’s a little bit over my current skill level.
I always play the slow workout for as long as I need to play the bass line relaxed instead of under tension.
And for that aspect I only have Joshs tip: breathe, relax.
Also don’t force yourself to try things clearly above your level. It always ends up in tension and crampy fretting. I mean - of course you have to try things you aren’t able to do yet but one step at a time. If one tries to learn coordination of 5 things at once it’s bound to go wrong. Right now I’m in Module 12 or 13 I think and playing Octaves with my pinky for a long time still wears out my hand pretty fast, but that’s just something I have to train / relax my hand more.
That’s my experience with the Hand/Wrist pain. Maybe something of it helps.
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I checked the action, and its pretty good, about 4mm at the 12th fret. I think it may be related to how I’m bending my hand and wrist to get leverage on my pinky
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