Even after playing Bass for 7 years I still Suck.

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Today I lost what remaining confidence in my abilities I had. I tried to learn the easiest song in the entire Stone Temple Pilots Discography and fell flat on my A$$. I just cannot make my fingers do 16th notes no matter how hard I try. The song is called "Wicked Garden" and its on the album Core. I am getting sick of not being able to play my favorite songs simply because I cannot play 16 notes. I bowed out of band because of this problem with my playing abilities. I think I may just give up and look for a hobby that I can both afford and can do well without spending all my time in life trying to perfect it. I face it....I suck as a musician.

For the time being you can always "cheat." Use a flexible pick when playing. Maybe that'll help.

Are you self-taught? Getting a good private teacher can solve alot of technique problems.

I understand how you feel, I am the same way in regards to creating artwork. I have been serious about drawing since I was 12, but my abilities seemed to have peaked when I was 19 and have been steadily getting worse since then. I blame myself entirely for this, as a lack of motivation, confidence, and inspiration have caused me to cease practicing. What causes me to lack confidence is that no matter how hard I try, I just can't get the technicalities down (anatomy, folds in clothes, proportions, and perspective). I always feel like I'm a step behind everyone else ("everyone else" being people with actual talent, like my brother or former best friend).

My artwork was never praised or admired in art class,, and has been criticized heavily online. But most damaging of all, when my parents needed some artwork done for their business, they asked my brother to do it instead of me. They picked my brother, who just discovered he could draw several months ago, over me, who has been practicing since I was 12. When he turned them down, my dad decided to do it himself. My feelings were deeply hurt by this, but my mom just says that my style (which is unfortunately anime-ish) wasn't right for the job, while my brother's was (my brother is good at realism). But I know the real reason: I'm just not any good at it and they know it.

Anyway, my lack of confidence causes me to lack motivation - Why keep trying now if I've been a failure for the past 10 years? Also, my lack of inspiration directly correlates with a lack of a special interest. When I have a special interest, I am inspired to do arts and crafts that are based on it. But for most of this year I have been without one, and so I no longer feel like doing artwork anymore. What's the point of drawing if I have no muse?


Sorry for rambling; I've been bottling all this up for some time and it has really been bothering me.

The thing to figure out is why your fingers won't play 16th notes. I can think of a few possibilities:

1. Fingers won't move fast enough.

Try just drumming them at gradually increasing speeds.

2. Fingers will move fast enough, but not in time with each other.

Practice drumming them in different rhythmic patterns, slowly, then gradually faster.
Remember that if you have 2 fingers involved in a 16-note pattern, each finger only
has to play 8th notes. Don't panic because you think you have to move faster than
you do, as that will destroy coordination.

3. Poorly-thought out fingering choices making your passagework much harder than it needs to be.

Think difficult passages out before you play them.

4. Trying to play something fast when you can't play it accurately at slower speeds.

a. Get the notes under your fingers at a slow speed.
b. Increase the speed slightly.
c. If you can play the passage confidently at the new speed, repeat step b.
d. If you start fumbling, drop back to a slower speed.
e. Repeat until the passage is at the speed you want.