practice...?

[jazzcrime]

hi janek,
my name's brett. i'm from australia and doing a degree studying jazz at the elder conservatorium in adelaide. i've been playing 5 - 6 years, so i'm no slouch but i could always be a lot better! my sound is good, and i've found gear that gives me the full bodied, yet flat sound i like. (i play a fodera aj contrabass.)
just like to say i really appreciate the time and effort you put into answering the questions you're asked on here and sharing the wisdom you've accumulated as a world class bassist with us lesser mortals!
anyways, moving on to my question... i'm sure this has been asked before in some variation - but i was wondering how you think practice time and 'shedding' is best spent as a student of music?
over the years you were developing your playing and your sound, how did you approach practice?
also, in regard to playing over tunes and changes, what is your approach? i often find that i have decent phrasing, and lines, and while i don't use a lot of 'licks' i've memorised i do alright, however i often find myself putting in funky notes which really drag things down.

i'm sorry this question isn't a little more specific, i'm not expecting you to give me some magical answer that'll solve all my problems, but i'm on my summer vacation from study and i'd like to really make use of this time. any words of wisdom would be incredibly appreciated!
thanks!

[janekbass]

I've approached my shedding in pretty much the same way always. I work on basic technique in order to be able to execute any musical ideas I have when I'm playing, and I transcribe vocabulary from albums constantly.

I used to transcribe entire solos from start to finish and analyze them in depth. As my vocabulary grew I could pick out shapes and phrases by ear, and become inspired by very small ideas that I could then develop all over my instrument and move through harmony with them. I've been doing a lot of jamming with albums lately, working on motown, stax, and tons of old school R&B. And then just putting iTunes on random and playing along with anything that comes up trying to pick out the song by ear.

There are just so many aspects to the music that need working on so it's hard to say "do this" or "do that". It's different for everyone, but I would suggest working on music that inspires you, and being honest about where you're at with your playing, and what needs working on. I'm very self critical, and set myself huge goals and standards to play to so I pretty much never reach them and am constantly working harder and harder.

Easy,

Janek

[Panurge]

Word. Just playing along to an album you like is a lesson in itself. You can always go back and fish out stuff that escapes you the first time around, but it's close to playing "for real". I remember doing that to "Flamenco Sketches" and really getting into the modal expressions of that band. A lot of "all that jazz" is the ability to understand a chord or a melody instanteously, so just what Janek said works miracles, in any style. And man, there's nothing like playing along to a motown record!

[jazzcrime]

janek, in one of your previous posts you said you did 15 - 30 minutes a day dedicated to technique, what kind of exercises did you do for technique? was it a slow process? i feel like i'll never be able to play as fast, and execute as smoothly as guys like you...

[janekbass]

as far as any written material that I've used that you would go and pick up I would say the Hanon Virtuoso Pianist is the one book I would recommend. It was just lying around my house as a teenager when I first started playing, I opened it up to find tons of exercises written out in the bass and treble clef and just started shedding them. I still use those exercises today, every day.

Easy,

Janek

[brake]

At any point did you schedule your practice routine(s)? Warm-up for xx minutes, scales etc for xx minutes, stuff like that?

[janekbass]

not at all. it was just a question of waking up and starting to play every day until I was hungry. then eat, then play more. then repeat the process until I had to sleep.

Easy,

Janek