Skip to main content

Talking Technique - Page 4

Talking Technique: “Mordents” for Finger Strength

Talking Technique: “Mordents” for Finger Strength

Today we have another multi-layered workout for you to build up your finger strength. This lesson will help you practice a scale up and down one string while improving coordination and strengthening your fingers. It’s not a beginner’s workout, but wherever you are on your journey, give it a good try. You’ll need to be ready to play hammer-ons and...

Talking Technique: Efficient Practice Hacks #5: Mnemonics – Part 2

Talking Technique: Efficient Practice Hacks #5: Mnemonics – Part 2

More memory tools for bass players! This is part two in my mini series on Bass Mnemonics. Mnemonic – hard to say the word – but endlessly useful! You can take a look at part 1. Here is more… and a time-limited bonus for you at the end! Eartraining: Song beginnings are a great way to remember intervals. Maybe you...

Talking Technique: Efficient Practice Hacks #5: Mnemonics – Part 1

Talking Technique: Efficient Practice Hacks #5: Mnemonics – Part 1

Harness the power of these creative time tested memory tools. They will enrich your bass playing and are useful for all walks of life. A mnemonic is any idea or device that aids in remembering something. Maybe you are familiar with “Large Elephants Jump Slowly And Sink Rapidly” – helping US students remember the seven articles of the United States...

Talking Technique: Efficient Practice Hacks #4 – Motivation

Talking Technique: Efficient Practice Hacks #4 – Motivation

Having trouble getting motivated to practice? Just not feeling it? Here are a few simple action items to help get you going. I have found them very useful for myself and my students. Famously, there are two kinds of motivation (or impulses that lead to motivation to act): extrinsic (from the outside) and intrinsic (from the inside). Extrinsic motivation is...

Get daily bass updates.

Get the latest news, videos, lessons, and more in your inbox every morning.

Talking Technique: Efficient Practice Hacks #3 – Put Your Bass Under Your Pillow

Talking Technique: Efficient Practice Hacks #3 – Put Your Bass Under Your Pillow

Installment three in my series on my favorite practice “hacks” may almost seem too good to be true. However, this has nothing to do with wishful thinking, the law of attraction (I am more of a “law-of-action” kinda gal), or superstition. It has everything to do with brain science and the power of the mind! Get your handy infographic on...

Talking Technique: Efficient Practice Hacks #2 – How to Take a Break

Talking Technique: Efficient Practice Hacks #2 – How to Take a Break

Welcome to installment two in my series on my favorite and most efficient practice “hacks.” You have probably heard of this one – taking breaks. Here are some tips on making the best of these breaks! After about 20 to 25 minutes of focused, distraction-free practice (one “Pomodoro” if you are hip to the Pomodoro Technique), take a break. When...

Talking Technique: Efficient Practice Hacks

Talking Technique: Efficient Practice Hacks

Are you (like me) always on the hunt for the latest and most efficient practice “hacks”? Today I am starting a series here on Talking Technique introducing you to my personal favorites. Some of them are quite unexpected, and I encourage you to try them and see the results for yourself. Some go back to ancient wisdom, and science has...

Talking Technique: Beautiful Practice in Minor

Talking Technique: Beautiful Practice in Minor

Last July, I published a Talking Technique lesson called “Beautiful Practice“. It recently made a reader’s favorite list for 2016 here on No Treble thanks to your likes, shares, and comments. Thank you for that! The lesson brought together music theory, comprehensive fretboard knowledge, and lots of technique aspects. I thought we’d bring the lesson back with a twist, namely...

Talking Technique: The One-Finger-Per-Fret Controversy

Talking Technique: The One-Finger-Per-Fret Controversy

Some people are afraid for their fingers, while others swear by it: the one-finger-per-fret position. Is there is a reason to fret “one-finger-per-fret”? Not if done right. Is it worth getting it down? Yes! [Read to the end for “Practice-with-me” videos.] I definitely recommend having a solid grip (so to speak) on the one-finger-per-fret method. Practicing this way has numerous...

Talking Technique: Pull Off Pentatonics

Talking Technique: Pull Off Pentatonics

Pentatonics using hammer-ons and pull-offs sounds great, but maybe you have noticed that if you stay within the same pentatonic pattern, you can only hammer on certain notes. In an effort to go beyond that, we are stringing two pentatonic patterns together so that we can pull off pull offs from every single note. I’ll show you two major pentatonic...

Talking Technique: The Power of Slow

Talking Technique: The Power of Slow

A little while ago, I finished the creation of a 20-week course which includes an extensive technique practice section. Students had requested videos similar to what you see in fitness videos – a way to just follow along with the video. And this became one consistent part of each week’s program: I recorded “Practice With Me” videos featuring a variety...

Talking Technique: Octaves on Overdrive

Talking Technique: Octaves on Overdrive

Today we’re going to go over a few tips on how to spice up a groove using octaves. Of course, we’ll focus on good fingering practices to make the notes sound smooth and connected. You can use this technique when practicing rudiments and scales, but check out this PDF to work up an example using one- and two-chord grooves.