I Did The Spider Walk For 30 Days (This Is What Happened)

[@theDragoon007yaboiCJ]

huge advice if you are finding this for both bassists and guitarists. Do it backwards too. Ive noticed many students struggling because they realize they cant do it backwards. Heck even try doing basic 1-2-3-4 backwards without lifting your fingers. For example put one finger per fret starting on the 5th fret on the G string or high E whichever is your higher string in your instrument, (although i would honestly do it as low on the fretboard as possible EVENTUALLY to really bring out those scretches) and switch the 4th finger to the next string towards you without moving the other fingers from the high string, then the third, then the second, then the first then repeat with the next string until you are out of strings. When youre out of strings do the same pattern but instead of putting it on the next string towards you, put your 4th finger on the next string up. It seems very simple but it REALLY helps because a lot of people forget that technique applies backwards too. It will probably hurt a lot at first so take it easy, take breaks, dont do it too long at first, dont do it too fast either, and eventually that will help you develop crazy speeds accross the board. Once you master this simple 4321 you can try doing the spiderwalk backwards with the same idea. I will make a video if someone really wants me to (I dont really make youtube videos so it will probably be a helpful one shot) but I hope i was able to describe this good enough/

[@joannalewis5279]

I agree it's harder backwards

[@cartermaneki]

I have been doing this exercise everday for a little more than 3 months and it has done absolute wonders. Really started to notice a difference around the 3-5 week point, and that was only spending a few minutes a day with this exercise. This has cured years worth of my bad fretting habits and has really helped me develop a solid fretting techique. This exercise certainly works if you're commited to it, thanks James!

[@ebassguitar]

Thanks for sharing your experience, Carter! Cheers!

[@miketaylor7440]

Just trying this exercise as a beginner - did play not very well many years ago and getting back into it - boy this is tough on your left hand. Maybe it's just me but 30 days will see me WITH the crab! Gotta perservere!

[@ebassguitar]

Everything's tough at first! Consistency (and rest!) is key. 😉 Good luck Mike! Cheers.

[@nawabzahid-ulhaque424]

Its really tough for me. But still following your technique for last 2 hours. Excellent improvement. Thank you sir. Hope will have more lesson of improvisation from you

[@ebassguitar]

Glad you like it! Just stay tune, more videos coming! Cheers!

[@samuelyinkabadejo]

You have always been helpful and greatly different from every other guitar lesson I have seen

[@ebassguitar]

My pleasure! What do you find different?

[@antoniovalachi7616]

Please make more videos on these kind of techniques they are very valuable!!

[@ebassguitar]

Cheers!

[@fdra1763]

Very informative. Nothing like having the technique as the foundation to make future skill building easier. Thanks for this mate.

[@stephenhodgeman6496]

I'm going to try this. Thank you much for the video. I've been busy moving, but I've gotten a bit into your Walking Bass book.

[@ebassguitar]

Glad to know that you found the book useful! Best of luck with your bass playing!

[@TheEasyLikeSundayMorningShow]

Just started bass, so going to start this now to get my technique down early. Thank you!

[@ebassguitar]

Fantastic!

[@theGreyhoundKeeper]

try doing it with a G major scale, (or any major or minor scale) one finger per fret. this is how I was taught. I notice in this video, even James has his little finger flying around a little more than required. The little finger can be a little hard to control if you don't use it much.

[@ebassguitar]

Thanks for pointing that out Matt! I agree it can be a little hard to control but consistency is the key. Best of luck with your bass playing! Cheers!

[@antoniovalachi7616]

I often practice 8th note permutations across all strings as you are showing in the last of the video. It add to the practice raking across the strings as the notes flow from the g string back to the e string. I will practice them to a groove and depending on the groove it also gains practice switching lead fingers index middle then middle index.

[@ebassguitar]

Hey Antonio! Thanks for sharing that! Cheers!

[@WDXash]

I think this will help with my flying fingers and improve precision dexterity 👍

[@ebassguitar]

Brilliant!

[@freifederico]

I'm having a bad time with this excercise. It seems I cannot phisically reach the fret that involves the pinky. Does it solves with practice?

[@MichaelJohnson-eg4bj]

Thank You for posting

[@ebassguitar]

Cheers Michael!

[@peterdavies7987]

My hands are just too small to do this stretch James. By the third finger my first has moved up by a half fret involuntarily. My little finger has no chance because in addition it anatomically curves inwards. So I physically just can't do this. My bass playing will just have to work around this.

[@ebassguitar]

So how about using 4 over 3 technique?

[@80sruler]

Hi James - yes more variations as this seems to be my biggest issue

[@ebassguitar]

24 fingers is the next step!

[@fysy9989]

I think one challenge for me is tempo, I like to play metal and many songs are way to fast for me, so I end up playing half as many notes (8ths instead of 16ths for example). And I sometimes struggle with string skipping.

[@ebassguitar]

Tempo is a purely mechanical thing... so work it up slowly day by day and you’ll get there!

[@edwinengelbrecht3377]

I am really poor with my plucking hand technique. Would love to see some lessons on plucking technique.

[@ebassguitar]

Thanks for the suggestion Edwin - cheers!

[@greadore]

Very good lesson and information!

[@ebassguitar]

Glad to know you like it greadore!

[@jessejordache1869]

My biggest challenge by far is getting rid of "flying fingers" on my fretting hand. It's not even close. And IF I start doing the spider walk, if it helps me keep my fingers flat against the fretboard, I'll continue it -- if it makes my fingers fly around even more, back to chromatic movements. I'll work on the spider walk either way once my fingers stop spazzing out when they're not in use.

[@ebassguitar]

Thanks for sharing that, Jesse! Best of luck on your bass playing!

[@kwamelsimms6241]

Hello, thank you so much for the video! I have a question. When doing the spider walk across all the strings, does the thumb stay exactly in the same place or does it adjust during each string crossing? Thank you!

[@davidwinokur2131]

I regularly do a similar basic one finger per fret exercise. The difference is I advance one fret as I change strings. Then, once I'm sufficiently far enough up the fretboard (say 20 or 22) I do it in reverse ending back where I started. First I start on C on the B string, then I start on Ab on the G string. I like to do this at 260 bpm one note per beat.

[@ebassguitar]

Thanks for sharing that, David! Cheers!

[@matthewjsmock]

This is a great exercise!

[@ebassguitar]

Cheers Matt!

[@davemccran6372]

Hi James! My biggest challenge is that I can only use my middle and ring fingers on the fret board, due to smashing my hand in a car crash. I had to re-learn to play and I am not going too badly. Just wondering if you have any tips? Thanks!

[@kevmac1230]

That didn't stop Django from becoming a maestro.You can and have been dealing with an unfortunate circumstance.You have probably come a long way since the accident.More improvement will follow.Good luck.

[@davemccran6372]

@@kevmac1230 Django! You're right there, my friend!

[@evanseloghosa4969]

Hello thanks for this video my challenge right now is how to identify notes when you a song if you have any materials on this it's fine

[@ebassguitar]

Get the our free action pack that could help :-)

[@celinawebster384]

I've thought my self knowing nothing at all nt even the notes but I'm willing to knw everything there is to knw to improve my skills ur a great teacher, well I guess I need to hv me a gd bass guitar, the guitars here doesn't hv enough length of neck for me 5' 10" height lol, keep up the gd work, wht u hv demonstrated is pellucid

[@ebassguitar]

Thanks Celina - I appreciate your kind comments :-)

[@NSalonen]

You guys should go for a career in politics. This video could've been like 4 minutes long but you guys managed to jargon it into 13 minutes.

[@wesleybusbin]

Yes they do. I just want to see the exercise. Not 10min of what ever they talk about

[@fdra1763]

Explanations are helpful to beginners, even if it makes the video longer.

[@Rickrockit6109]

Wow, this will be a challenge, I have a bad case of flying fingers

[@ebassguitar]

Me too! Everything's tough at first! Consistency (and rest!) is key. 😉 Good luck

[@drummerdaveshouse5848]

Moving up and down the fretboard with accuracy.

[@ebassguitar]

Cool!

[@jackgreen9917]

my left tumb's muscles start to pain after 5-10 minutes of practices, is it okay?

[@ebassguitar]

Yes, that's okay. You can take a little rest and continue with the practice! Best of luck with your bass playing! Cheers!

[@axelr9075]

Issue I seem to have is that the knuckle on my third finger is very wobbly to the point where it throws off my technique.

[@ebassguitar]

Ok... have you tried slowing it right now?

[@axelr9075]

I've slowed it down, but my third finger is the weakest by far - weaker than my pinky.@@ebassguitar

[@remotedjbentet]

you say do it for 30 days but how long per day would you recommend. I have awful fretting hand technique and although i can follow these patterns at a slow pace its only about 15 minutes before it becomes quite uncomfortable for me....?

[@ebassguitar]

I would say for as long as it’s comfortable or you’re not getting bored. 10-15 a day will get you results with a long term view...

[@jimobrien1550]

My issue is that my fourth finger mutes the A string when I get up to that portion of the spiderwalk. Will the right curling come with time?

[@ebassguitar]

Definitely, Jim! Everything's tough at first! Consistency (and rest!) is key. 😉 Good luck!

[@TheEpicnessofmatt]

What’s with the buzzing?

[@ebassguitar]

I don’t mind a bit of buzzing. I play upright too so I play relatively hard which brings a bit of the buzz out too. As long as the body of the note is audible it’s all cool by me… on a gig you never hear any buzz because it’s the same frequencies as the drummers cymbals…

[@edwardmichalik9794]

how do i get to the point where i dont have to look at the fretboard all the time is there something to practice for this?

[@ebassguitar]

Good technique is a huge part of this... because if you have a decent hand shape you’ll have 16 notes under your hand on a 4 string bass plus open strings... so it becomes more of a case of glancing at the neck for the position shifts... hope that helps :-)

[@greybeardbass]

I've been exceptionally lazy doing this type of exercise... getting to the point where I really need to commit to the practice.

[@ebassguitar]

Yes, you should commit to the practice! Everything's tough at first! Consistency (and rest!) is key. Good luck!

[@fodaykoroma6648]

My name is foday am from Sierra Leone west Africa, please am a beginner I want to play bass guitar very well can you please help me out sir please

[@ebassguitar]

Keep watching the videos on this channel!

[@JK_35]

I kept feeling like you were going to throw something at me every time you moved your hand

[@ebassguitar]

I get excited!

[@kaerenhart8456]

Hi James, I have a major problem trying to position my left hand/arm so that my hand is not at right angles to my wrist and this is very painful. Any suggestions please.

[@ebassguitar]

That sounds like you have to experiment with strap height and standing up and sitting down

[@bassforkids4504]

I notice that many bass players,including myself, don't hold the wrist in the position being shown.My wrist needs to be straighter which means my arm is never at a right angle to the neck. Otherwise I have pain.I also can't stretch my fingers apart at all if my wrist is bent too much.

[@Bass.Player]

Ya know I seldom see seasoned bass players use one finger per fret. I know I don't unless the movement is called for. Also seldom do I see four consecutive notes on the fret board called for in any of the music I play, it happens but doing one note per finger in this sequence does not always leave you in the greatest position for the next change... The next change or chord sequence dictates how you approach the first notes in the previous chord. All of this happens naturally for me, I don't need to think out the physical finger pattern.

[@rudylutz2085]

That is all true, however, this exercise is one of the best for developing independent finger control, which in turn increases speed and accuracy. This is especially important for bass players in the formative stages, or ones who are only comfortable following the "ant" trails they have already established. Advanced players and pros can benefit from it as well. I would think James knows what he is talking about.

[@Bass.Player]

@@rudylutz2085 I simply stated I seldom see it.

[@ebassguitar]

The reality is you’ll seldom see any technical exercise in the real world but those exercises are the foundation of how the hands work, so you’ll be using elements of it every time you pick up the bass...

[@Bass.Player]

@@ebassguitar It's certainly good to know but you would have to be André the Giant to span the lower registers of a Dingwall 5 string with a 37" scale...

[@antoniovalachi7616]

You are probably right about this but I do see some very great bass players who have excellent control and use the one finger per fret all the time. If you watch any videos of Ariane Cap you will see this. She has unreal finger control. She will also make changes as needed. As an example.....if you are on a groove where the root and 5th are being repetitively played you will see her switch to using the first and last finger so her hand is relaxed rather then keeping the fingers in a more wide open position with the one finger per fret. I have a tendency to do the same and on a move instead of moving my whole hand from one position to the next with walk the notes to the next position. Say I am playing on the 9th to 12th frets and need to move to notes on the say 1st to 4th frets I will grab the first note with my index finger, next note with my middle finger etc. walking towards the low registers. So I think bass players develop what works well for them as they progress in playing. This exercise though really gets the fretting fingers trained for good dexterity though some may think it isn't the style they will use to play with. I often switch tot the 3 finger upright bass style a lot and now find my hand seems to know when to use it and when to stick with the 4 finger per fret.

[@KaltOhm]

So what happened ?

[@ebassguitar]

What do you mean?

[@KaltOhm]

@@ebassguitar after you did the spider walk for 30 days. What happened?

[@ebassguitar]

@@KaltOhm Obviously it will enhance your bass playing.

[@KaltOhm]

@@ebassguitar so did you or did you not do the spider walk for 30 days?

[@coryinthehouse5734]

Mate I don’t get it like you’re telling us to keep fingers held down and one finger per string but at 8:48 for example you’re not doing that yourself

[@ebassguitar]

Sure, this is the back bone of good technique… mine isn’t flawless by a long shot… but the principals are installed in my playing hence I’ve the speed I needed for most situations professionally. :-)

[@stevestorck4788]

Thank you for this. I will incorporate it for 30 days and then come back with the results if you'd like.

[@ebassguitar]

Please do - I’d love to hear how you get on!

[@kevmac1230]

@@ebassguitar I have always tried to use the one finger per fret method but my only problem is with my pinky.It is the least cooperative of them.I can see the logic and feel the burn and will give the 30 day workout an honest go.Thanks for the great lessons, they're most welcome.

[@arneberg9072]

So tell; did you progress ---

[@Coptergirljs]

No way can I do that. I have practiced this over and over and if I get my pinky finger down on the fret (the 3rd fret that is not the forth) my first finger comes off. You guys have catchers mitts; us lady's don't.

[@ebassguitar]

Maybe have a look at someone like Tal Wilkinfeld or Gail Anne Dorsey and see how they approach it?

[@edgevictor4535]

0

[@ebassguitar]

??

[@TheTwangKings]

Awesome, but no, please no more variations. This will take me months to master :-)

[@ebassguitar]

Everything's tough at first! Consistency (and rest!) is key. 😉 Good luck!