Hello fellow Talkbasser's,

I was wondering if anyone could give me any advice or effiecient ways to count 16th notes when (sight) reading music. I usually find that when reading 8th notes, when my foot hits the floor it will be the 1 (for example) and when my foot is up, its the 'and' of the pair. I think I just may need a metronome, or is there any other ways?

Also I was wondering if anyone could give me some vital things to learn or concentrate on when practicing, because as of now, I want to become a music teacher and I want to do my major in bass. My only problem is that i'm trying to concentrate on school, job and music all at the same time. So can anyone give me some insight on how I could use my practice time efficently?

Thank You Very Much

PS - sorry for the long post... :D

Well, like you said, when your foot hits, that's the beat, and when it's up, that's the upbeat. A common way to think of this is "1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and 1." The upbeats are the "and" counts. You can think of sixteenths as "1 e and a 2 e and a 3 e and a 4 e and a." Notice that the 'and' counts are still right where we left them, and the other two sixteenths in a beat are the 'e' and 'a' counts. Practice this slowly out loud until it's more comfortable.
And yeah, a metronome will keep you honest. Some of the nicer ones may offer sixteenth note subdivision so you can hear it, then practice it.

In addition to the 1 e + a method, have your drummer (or a drum machine) count off sixthteenths on a closed high hat. Having that beat behind you helps.