intensive practicing

[walewein]

Hey all,

I have a question concerning the physical aspects of intensive training on the bass. As a metalbassist, speed is very important to me. Currently I can play straight sixteenths at about 152 bpm, I would however like to get that up to at least 180. In july I will be jamming along with a band that demands that kind of stuff. Needless to stay I started to intensify my practice routine. I know getting to that speed in just 2 months, is probably near impossible, but I would at least like to give it a shot :-).

I get up early and practice an hour before I go to work, after work I practice another hour. I usually just put the metronome on and play some standard riffs to train my speed.

The last couple of days I felt my tendons and muscles in my arm pulling a bit while playing. I'm afraid this routine might be a bit too intense for me. I don't want to get tendonitis, or any other kind of injury for that matter, so I was wondering if some of you have some tips regarding intensive practice. Do you warm up? Do you stretch? Should I break down my 2 hours of practice in to 4 half hours a day? etc.

Any tips and suggestions are welcome.

Thank you,

Tom

[lowend219]

STRETCH STRETCH STRETCH

i suggest playing a little bit at an acceptable speed to warm up. then stop, stretch and continue with your routine.

if you continue to tense up even when you stretch, take a day off to let your body recover. If you were doing a weight training routine you wouldn't do bicep curls every single day, you would go a day on, then a day off to give yourself a chance to rest.

[Rytch]

yeh, definitely stretch, not just your arms, your entire body, from neck to legs.

You also want to make sure that your posture is good, that when standing you are not standing heavier on one foot, or when sitting that you are sat up straight.

Get a very comfortable strap, one of those padded jobbies, and also make sure your bass is at a good height.

Do sports and other exercise if you are going to practice bass a lot.

I say this because bass playing is an asymmetric activity - you use the right hand side of your body way more than the left.

You might need to do something else, whether it's weights or whatever, or after a while (years) you might start to feel it.

[walewein]

Thanks for the suggestions, I'll keep it all in mind :-)

[klokker]

Take a 10-15 minute break every hour. Take one day a week off.

Two things I've found.
Speed for me has come as I excercise my fingers repetively enough to tire them out. Its developing strength and endurance. Work your fingers hard enough to get a good "burn" so to speak.

The other side of this is learning to relax, and not "trying too hard", not stressing the wrist too much. This is as much mental practice as physical.

Speed is about strength and relaxation at the same time.

[shadowmac]

Originally Posted by lowend219

STRETCH STRETCH STRETCH

I suggest playing a little bit at an acceptable speed to warm up. then stop, stretch and continue with your routine.

if you continue to tense up even when you stretch, take a day off to let your body recover. If you were doing a weight training routine you wouldn't do bicep curls every single day, you would go a day on, then a day off to give yourself a chance to rest.

Weight training concepts translate well to bass playing (or guitar for that matter). A day off from weight training is not just for rest. Training breaks down the muscles, time off allows the muscles to repair AND GROW. Furthermore, certain muscle groups require more time to heal and grow than do others. Each person is different, but generally speaking, upper body muscles require more time to heal than do lower body muscles - that is why natural bodybuilders train given muscle groups no more than twice a week - and some groups only once.
An important thing to be aware of is muscle size. As a bassist, you are looking for flexibility, dexterity and stamina. String players commonly use more strength (push down harder) when playing challenging parts - it's natural, much like clenching your teeth, BUT as a bassist, you've got to be cognizant of this occurance and make the conscious effort to relax your fingers; play with agility not strength.

VERY simply, the harder you push, the bigger the muscles will become - the bigger the muscle gets, the less flexible it becomes and more TPA (energy) and oxygen is required to make the muscle fire, which causes more lactic acid to build up which damages the muscle, slows healing and make the muscle group sore.

We all know that taking days off from rehearsing is not an option, and would actually be a detriment to advancing. Look at practicing as akin to doing cardio in the gym - more emphasis on duration and technique and concentration than brute strength.

Concentrate on relaxing while you play, don't clench, don't hold your breath and stretch BEFORE AND AFTER every session, oh yeah, stay hydrated - dehydration equals muscle damage and failure!

Just my two cents - take it as you will.

[Xeperu]

I had the same problem, I would spend a max of three hours of practicing fretting and picking technique in an effort to match the speed of my favorite metal bands. Having pain was inevitable.

I found the best thing is that when you feel tired, just sit down and listen to a song or two, wait for the lactic acid to cease, and resume. Stretching has also improved things, but also exercising the muscles on my outer forearm (the ones that flex when you push your fingers outward) has great results. The faster you can lift those fingers after you pluck, the faster you can get them ready for another note.

The point is, listen to your body and don't wait till your hands completely give out before you have rethink your entire routine. Giving your hands proper rest is so important. For example, I work in data entry so I'm on the keyboard 9 hours a day - if I practiced after that, I wouldn't be nearly as good as when my hands are not used for that day. If you think that taking a day of rest in between practicing will deter you from reaching your goal, I would disagree. Your intonation and speed will deteriorate if you keep pushing your muscles to play things when they are already sore!

Consider getting a professional massage too if you can afford, ah the wonders!

Hope you get to where you need to be \m/

oh, and what bands/genre do you frequent?

[walewein]

Aha,

I'll keep the resting thing in mind. Maybe I'll switch between a day of hard practicing on speed, and a day to fondle my fretboard a little and work on other stuff.

As to what bands I frequent. The speed thing is mostly for playing more symphonic metal songs. My current goal is learning to play spread your fire, by Angra. But I am very broad as far as metal is concerned, it ranges from melodic metal (sonata arctica, angra) to progressive death metal (Death and the likes). I provide the bottom in a melodic metal band and a progressive death metal band, so I'm a bit over the whole spectrum :-).

[CrispyDelicious]

Ah, speed picking for metal. Something from my last band I do NOT miss.

Just remember, no matter how fast you become, so long as you are in a metal band, you will have to get faster. The last song we wrote before I left had a bunch of 16ths at 210 bpm. I went through Ultex picks like butter.

[Xeperu]

Originally Posted by walewein

Aha,

I'll keep the resting thing in mind. Maybe I'll switch between a day of hard practicing on speed, and a day to fondle my fretboard a little and work on other stuff.

As to what bands I frequent. The speed thing is mostly for playing more symphonic metal songs. My current goal is learning to play spread your fire, by Angra. But I am very broad as far as metal is concerned, it ranges from melodic metal (sonata arctica, angra) to progressive death metal (Death and the likes). I provide the bottom in a melodic metal band and a progressive death metal band, so I'm a bit over the whole spectrum :-).

Just think of it in the same way that you would with weight training. It wouldn't be recommended to work more sets on a pair of muscles that are already recovering.

I'm afraid I don't know Angra, but Sonata Artica has a pretty good bassist as far I remember. Death material is definitely good material for DM bass... I'm personally into death, grind and black metal, but my melodic tastes go to the extent of Kalmah, Darkane, Arch Enemy etc.

As long as you have the assertiveness to question your own routine then you are in the right mindset. Keep at it.

[WRXbase]

On you day off, (or before or after your sessions on days you play) you might go Yamaha method; think about playing fast.

[LCW]

Do you have a drum machine?

Learning to double pick is very important it will ease your pain thats for sure, i play at about 220 BPM double picking.

[walewein]

I play with the metronome on most of the time. I'm a fingerpicker, I've mainly used three fingers à la digiorgio, but I recently switched back to two because I feel I sound more clearer and have more definition that way. I know it's tougher getting these kinds of speeds fingerstyle but I feel I have more control that way and...it's just how I roll

[Thump Jr.]

Might I recommend turning up and playing with less force? Considering you're playing an electrically amplified instrument, it seems logical to let the electronics do the work as far as volume goes. I've noticed that I seem to be able to play faster that way.

Also, drink plenty of water while practicing. It helps.

[walewein]

Yeps,

I'm already working on getting the technique down as ergonomic as possible. I try to relax, use less force, turn up the volume, keep the wrist straight, floating thumb, using minimal movement,...