as the title says. need to know someways to find out if my practise is paying off. Just trying to keep myself motivated in my practising.

are there any songs you couldnt get down in the past? go back to them and see if you can learn them now!

Keep a practice log.

You can't practice and get worse, I agree with Zombbg4 a practice log would show your improvement.
Another thing to do is practice different things that what you normally practice.

as the title says. need to know someways to find out if my practise is paying off. Just trying to keep myself motivated in my practising.

Your parents stop telling you to turn down.

Friends come over just to hear you play.

People are hanging around outside your house just to hear you Jam.

Your Sister's Hot Friend that wanted nothing to do with you is suddenly flirting and talking with you.

Honestly - you just know....:bassist:

When you can do something you couldn't do before.


Even going ONE BPM faster on your chromatics is proof of getting better.

You can't practice and get worse

You absolutely CAN get worse if you practice with poor technique or the wrong material.

Do you have a teacher? He/she should be able to give you a good indication of your progress.

You absolutely CAN get worse if you practice with poor technique or the wrong material.

I don't agree. Your bad habits may become more ingrained over time, but, if anything, you develop workarounds. In the end you're ALWAYS at least a little better for having practiced.

yes i have a teacher but i only see the man once a week. Its mainly to take note of my own progress within the week

In the end you're ALWAYS at least a little better for having practiced.

Not if all you accomplish is ingraining bad habits, you're not.

Obviously the electric bass is young enough that there is not a definitive method to go about playing, but there are still specific things that all the great players do that most people, without guidance, would never figure out.

yes i have a teacher but i only see the man once a week. Its mainly to take note of my own progress within the week

So does he let you know how you're doing? If he doesn't say so specifically, directly ask him about the progress you've made since you started studying with him. It can't hurt, and it will probably put your mind at ease. Unless you haven't been practicing enough... :)

Not if all you accomplish is ingraining bad habits, you're not.

It's pretty hard to practice and not eventually learn SOMETHING new (and improved) unless you are INTENTIONALLY practicing to only ingrain bad habits.

Record your self, keep the recordings and compare them

It's pretty hard to practice and not eventually learn SOMETHING new (and improved) unless you are INTENTIONALLY practicing to only ingrain bad habits.

You can learn "something", but still not progress at the rate you want to, or not become a well-rounded musician. For instance, when I first learned how to play, all I did was learn Stu Hamm songs by myself, so I had pretty good chops, but my groove was terrible. So I gained something, but I wasn't becoming a good all around bassist.

Play with people, it really highlights your strengths and weaknesses, and you'll know you are getting better, cause you will hear it.

In what way are you trying to improve? Here's some of my ideas:
1. sense of time
2. fretting speed
3. plucking speed
4. ear training
5. genre-specific techniques and knowledge
6. sight-reading

I'm guessing that you're thinking of improving in 2 & 3. These will come quicker than you'd think. Pick a song you own and learn it by ear -- write it out (in tab if you like), find the chord changes, analyze what the bassist is doing and play it until you know it by heart. Unless you can do this without breaking a sweat in 5 minutes, you have improved in the first 5 skills above. Chances are you will have a hard time so pick something relatively simple but inspiring to start. Maybe Another One Bites The Dust by Queen or The Distance by Cake.

just read The Music Lesson a Spritual Search for Growth Through Music by Victor Wooten.

Record your self, keep the recordings and compare them

Pretty much.

as the title says. need to know someways to find out if my practise is paying off. Just trying to keep myself motivated in my practising.

Practice makes you no perfect but perfect practice makes you perfect.

----young grasshopper.

I like to give myself a 'self test' once a month. I use a recorder and a metronome as well as just making notes. I just set a date and then take around 30mins testing the limits of my technique.

I usually find that most areas have moved forward a little, some have progressed a lot and others seem to have stayed still.

This works very well from a technical point of view but I also have to ask myself the wider question: Am I a better musician now than I was last month? If I have read widely, been to concerts/gigs, done some transcriptions, worked on theory and all the other elements outside of pure playing then I think I can say I've improved.

When I get a chance I'll post the template a fill in.

Good luck.

Heres a few things that i have noticed myself. Since i have only been back to bands,Bass and music etc for going on 7 years its all still pretty new to me.
Ear training-great improvement here by just playing and using a bass trainer to pick out basslines on CD's. Alot of practice. I now can play songs on the fly for the most part when in the past i would go....what?
Timing- I can play in the pocket slightly ahead of the beat or slightly behind. This come from being in a few bands and learning to be tight with a drummer.
Feel- Playing different styles of music and learning band and song dynamics is wonderful.
Stage- I move and feel free ..never constricted or tight. I practice my music and go out like i am playing a sport to be my best for the band...a team.
Attitude-Keeping it positive thru hard work and hearing positive feedback from my hard work from fans, friends, family and bandmates.

In all i know i have improved because i challenged myself to improve year after year month after month. I take my playing very serious and love it! I enjoy practice and love gigs. I love learning new material or old standards. If you motivate yourself to learn and dedicate yourself to the work ahead you will improve.

[QUOTE Obviously the electric bass is young enough that there is not a definitive method to go about playing, but there are still specific things that all the great players do that most people, without guidance, would never figure out.[/QUOTE]



Like?

as the title says. need to know someways to find out if my practise is paying off. Just trying to keep myself motivated in my practising.

You know you are getting better when you get unsolicited compliments.

Like?

A complete understanding of the vocabulary of the style they play. You won't be able to effectively communicate in a given style until you learn the language, and you will only learn the language thoroughly if you work towards it in a methodical, structured way.

Impeccable time. All the great players play good time. You won't develop that unless you consistently pay attention to it and practice with a metronome or other reference (drum machine/play along).

Solid technique. All the great players have consistent and solid technique that allows them to perform at a high level whenever they pick up their instrument. I'm not saying that all the great players have technique like Victor or Michael Manring, but they are all solid and consistent in what they do.

you make fewer or no mistakes.

A complete understanding of the vocabulary of the style they play. You won't be able to effectively communicate in a given style until you learn the language, and you will only learn the language thoroughly if you work towards it in a methodical, structured way.

Impeccable time. All the great players play good time. You won't develop that unless you consistently pay attention to it and practice with a metronome or other reference (drum machine/play along).

Solid technique. All the great players have consistent and solid technique that allows them to perform at a high level whenever they pick up their instrument. I'm not saying that all the great players have technique like Victor or Michael Manring, but they are all solid and consistent in what they do.

By guidance I guess you mean lessons?

I think you can achieve all the points you make without lessons.

especially timing, technique and solidity.

Practice is the key...and a lot of it. You can't teach someone how to lay down a groove, or play in the pocket, or how to feel it. (IMHO)

You absolutely CAN get worse if you practice with poor technique or the wrong material.

Do you have a teacher? He/she should be able to give you a good indication of your progress.

+1...

How does a runner measure improvement? Speed? Distance? Form? All things that can be documented. Measure is the key word. +1 on the previous posts about tracking/measuring progress.

By guidance I guess you mean lessons?

I think you can achieve all the points you make without lessons.

especially timing, technique and solidity.

Practice is the key...and a lot of it. You can't teach someone how to lay down a groove, or play in the pocket, or how to feel it. (IMHO)

I mean lessons with a qualified and dedicated instructor. Someone MIGHT be able to learn those things without a teacher, but if you have a good teacher, then you WILL be able to become a competent player as long as you put in the work. I agree that practice is key, but it is not nearly as beneficial if you don't know what to practice.

And I agree about not being able to teach someone how to "feel it", but there are concrete ways to make your playing more solid, such as practicing with a tempo reference of some sort all the time. My point is that if someone has no guidance, the steps necessary to become a good bassist might not be immediately (or ever) apparent.

Thanks jsingles- I see you're in Mass. You should check out Jim Stinnett. Todd Johnson says he's the best teacher he's ever met, and I tend to agree.

Get a good teacher, study and practice. Find some good musicians to play with. That's it!

Don't worry about how you're progressing. You will progress if you keep doing the above. Period. Some of the things you study and practice today may not surface in your playing for some time, maybe even years. Just stay the course and don't worry about it.

Unless you're physically hurting yourself or developing habits that will lead to injuries, you can't get any worse by practicing. This is an area where it is particularly important to have some instruction from a qualified teacher.

as the title says. need to know someways to find out if my practise is paying off. Just trying to keep myself motivated in my practising.

Short and simple answer. Are you making as many mistakes now as you once were? If not you're improving.

You know you are getting better when you get unsolicited compliments.

+1

they're the best kind. i know i wondered the same thing as the op until my roommates would randomly comment on how they enjoyed my playing.