How Long Should Beginners Practice

[bilco]

Patrick, I have been playing bass guitar on rock, country and standards for over 30 years and I just bought my first upright bass. My goal is to eventually use it on standards like Sinatra at a club that I play at weekly.

I have a lot of bad EB technique to correct, (left hand playing with flat fingers instead of fingertips for one thing.)

I have a teacher lined up for my first upright lesson tomorrow night and I am getting my bass tomorrow afternoon.

I am playing the EB 3 nights a week right now and I will need to keep playing these gigs as I work on the upright until I can slowly work it into some bluegrass jams and on a few songs at the gigs I already have. I want to work hard in the Simandl book that the teacher has already asked me to get, but I do not want my carpal tunnel and and tendonitis in my left arm to flare up again. What is a conservative amount of time to work on scales and etudes in the Simandl book without hurting myself each day? I want to advance steadily by working hard, but I don't want to hurt myself. About 15 years ago I couldn't play for over a month until it subsided.

The upright bass is being setup with Spirocore Weich, so the tension should not be too bad.

Thanks,
Bill Colbert