practice time

[LowEnder2112]

how many hours should i play. i don't consider my playing 'practice'. I always think practice sounds like a forced thing. But I definantly play alot of the time when I'm at home.

But usually I notice, that I get bored just grooving out to drum beats after a while. so i go learn songs. but that gets boring too, after it's learned. and i notice the funnest times on bass are with my band or with my brother on guitar. are there any funner ways to practice? (i understand music is rewarding but also hard work at the same time...but feel constricted to only a couple of ways to play alone) so what can I do?

[ba55i5t]

Try to play with other people more often...also on activebass.com if you register, there is a program that plays drum beats + piano chords. If all else fails, I just try to transcribe tunes, or get them on a midi program and jam to them. I have fun making up new exercises with scales too, but I feel I play the hardest when I'm with other people. Jamey Aebersold offers a bunch of classic jazz play alongs too, so that stuff is cool too, taking solos and making up new walking basslines. Good luck!

[Ibanezzer]

I play what I enjoy most and also throw in some time for the "standard improvement plan"--Ie scales, working w/ metronome, learning to read notation. But remember to always have time to play fun stuff or even to just screw around looking for cool notes/rythms on your own as it'll help you develop creatively.