Best / Favorite Exercises?

[DeanAngerer]

I'm sure everyone here has their own exercises that they practice to keep their technique up to par. Whether it's improvising jazz lines or doing some "bass shredding" simply to improve your chops, what exercises have you found to be the most important or helpful in helping you develop your technique? I'm interested in seeing the best of everyone's exercises and ideas.

If necessary, provide tablature please.

[JTE]

Playing music. I used to do "exercises" but eventually came to the same conclusing that Jeff Berlin makes. Playing music is better than running physical exercises because you don't want to be wiggling your fingers instead of playing music.

So, the closest I get to an exercise is running the harmonized scale as Jaco shows on his DCI video with Jerry Jemmott. Play the I chord ascending, the ii chord descending, up on the IV, down on the V, etc. So, in G I'll play G B D F#, then G E C A, then B D F# A, then B G E C, then D F# A C, then D B G E, then F# A C E then F# D B G, etc. until I run out of neck. Sing the notes before you play them of course because fingers without ears ain't nuthin...

jte

[BELLATOR]

I have a book called "Bass Fitness" that I always liked for warming up and practicing techniques. I'd rather play songs but this book helps "increase your speed, improve your dexterity, develop accuracy, and promote finger independence". The book is filled with exercises in standard notation and tab. Here's a link to an example:

http://gfxb.smpgfx.com/Look-Inside/large/2958983_02.jpg