Practicing for 6 hours?

Mr wiggl3s · #1 06-14-2010, 08:08 PM

I've been hearing this for a while; bassists who just practice for hours on end. What could they possibly be playing for hours?

I'm [pretty much] just starting out, and would love to do this, but i don't know how i would.

Was anyone ever one of these guys? What did you play?

Time Consumer · #2 06-14-2010, 08:18 PM

I dont think I've ever played 6 hours straight but I routinely go 2 or 3 hours. I like to do a structured part(scales, modes, finger exercises, etc.) then just kinda jam to music songs I like, which admittedly is probly the bulk of my practice time.

dieselbass · #3 06-14-2010, 08:22 PM

1-3 hours-same routine as TC above. My hands won't tolerate playing longer.

HeadyVan Halen · #4 06-14-2010, 08:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr wiggl3s

I've been hearing this for a while; bassists who just practice for hours on end. What could they possibly be playing for hours?

I'm [pretty much] just starting out, and would love to do this, but i don't know how i would.

Was anyone ever one of these guys? What did you play?

Agreed. When you first start, you don't know what you don't know..like TC said it's good to break it up. Have a plan. I usually approach it like football practice---warm-ups---individual time (scales,modes,tapping,thumping etc.)---scrimmage (put it into a format i.e. song)----closeouts (scales, exercises until my hand hurts)

I know, it's probably lame, but If I didn't do that I'd be bullshitting for 2 hours

kful · #5 06-14-2010, 08:43 PM

I pretty much just do the last part of HeadyVan Halen's post. Of course I don't make much progress

perfektspace6 · #6 06-14-2010, 08:52 PM

maybe not 6 hours straight but when I was younger and really improving I played 3-5 on some days. School suffered a bit but it all worked out.

The more you play the better you get and the less it hurts to play a long time. Never had any pain issues.

adunham1 · #7 06-14-2010, 09:05 PM

Agree with everything above except I'll also find good drum loops/a click track and simply play with it. Being in a band, I find it very relieving to just play bass openly with the click and explore many styles of playing. It also seems to help my creativity in other situations where I'm more limited to what I can play.

Jazzdogg · #8 06-14-2010, 09:09 PM

I treat my practice time like exercise; the session may last an hour, but it's broken up into several brief but purposeful intervals.

Before I start practicing, I usually make a list of goals, and select appropriate exercises, each of which may last only a few minutes.

I usually start by warming up physically and focusing on posture, body position, hand position, intonation etc. Reading exercises usually come next, followed by interval training to better develop my ear. At this point, I usually take a short break before I start working on specific songs.

I'd be surprised if any single part of my routine lasts more than 15 or 20 minutes, but after 40+ years, focus and intention are more important to me than logging hours.

Jasonic · #9 06-14-2010, 11:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by perfektspace6

maybe not 6 hours straight but when I was younger and really improving I played 3-5 on some days. School suffered a bit but it all worked out.

The more you play the better you get and the less it hurts to play a long time. Never had any pain issues.

Slightly obsessive=Working musician.
Depending on the age, if you're just starting out they should have to tear you away from your instrument. Be methodical, but there's so much to learn if you're not sure what to play just jam with records. A lot. Learn every note. Slow it down. Learn how to read-Get a Carol Kaye book or Mel bay and take it slow. I used to spend about 2 hours on "learning" and about 4 hours just playing. I played along with whole albums sometimes...(Allman Brothers Live At The Fillmore.. great bass work! )
I agree if you're older, lets say 40 and up you might hurt yourself if you play too much, but every working cat I know virtually slept with his or her instrument when they first got going for real.
Nowadays after I work on specific lessons, or scales, or new licks etc. for a couple of hours I watch TV or a movie but keep fingering my bass without the amp on. I don't play aggressively, but my hands sure stay fit.
Some may say that all time with your instrument should be highly focused, well maybe, but I've found that getting to know your neck intimately requires vast amounts of time, and frankly I still love to have a bass in my hand as much as possible. Even after 40 years.

tobie · #10 06-14-2010, 11:38 PM

At first I did not even know how to keep myself busy for an hour other than by playing together with songs.

Now that I've started the bassguitarsecrets course I wish I've had 6 hours a day for practice because the amount of new stuff is simply overwhelming at times!

elavate7 · #11 06-14-2010, 11:44 PM

i spend my 1-2 hrs playing to songs i like to help train my ear........

Jim Carr · #12 06-14-2010, 11:53 PM

My bass teacher told me that last year she spend most of each day in the practice room.

Her Jazz group (YT little d) is now going on tour to Orlando and then off to Asia, including Japan and the Expo in Shanghai. She is a gifted player who has put in thousands and thousands of hours of practice in the last few years. It not only is possible, it is the only possible way to have a career as a pro.

Gawd · #13 06-15-2010, 12:09 AM

I recall reading that studying or focusing on one thing for hours on end is more detrimental than helpful, maybe someone else knows more about this.

I've always found that I can't practice for pro-longed periods of time (over and hour) without drifting. I like to practice in 30-45 minute periods, about 3-4 times a day. I find that the breaks helps refresh my body and mind. I also find that after breaks (especially after sleep) anything I've been having trouble with will come easier, as my brain has had time to work it out methodically. devise the best approaches, and understand it better. After all, how efficiently your hands play something depends on how well your brain understands it.

BlakeJustBlake · #14 06-15-2010, 12:13 AM

Some of the best and most fun practice can be just you messing around and figuring out what sounds good. This takes no structure and I can do it for so long.

MNAirHead · #15 06-15-2010, 12:34 AM

don't forget a little time drumming to a click track.

groooooove · #16 06-15-2010, 01:03 AM

playing/practicing for hours on end is only really possible with the help of one of these, IMO.

i just dug mine up earlier today, actually.

nowadays i play the chords to whatever tune i want to play/work on, loop them, then practice playing over the changes- i owe my ii-V-I chops almost exclusively to my loop pedal..

back in the day, i would do a similar thing only with looping easier things to play over- like one-chord grooves. that makes it really easy to play for 2+ hours, realistically.

BritFunk · #17 06-15-2010, 09:19 AM

My Friend,

Over the summer months (while school was out) when I was first learning how to play I averaged anywhere from six to ten hours a day playing. No, that's not a typo, nor is it an exaggeration. I have an unhealthy dose of OCD and would play the same song over and over, twenty times, thirty times - whatever it took to get it flawless - every note, every nuance. In many cases I have learned every bass line on an entire album/CD and played the entire thing, start to finish with no interruption.

Do I advocate these borderline-insane tactics for most musicians? Absolutely not. It worked for me, but that had every bit as much to do with brain chemistry as any sort of dedication on my part. I practiced not until I did it right, but until I could not do it wrong. I was completely obsessed with the instrument.

A quarter-century later the only thing that keeps me from doing the same thing is lack of time. I still love the bass, I still love playing, and I still enjoy playing for hours. Having a wife and child, a day job, and a social life cuts into rehearsal time considerably, as you all well-know.

I will also say that I quickly discovered that fifteen minutes of structured, directed practice with well-defined goals is a vast improvement over two hours of noodling the same things you have played before. Push the boundaries.

----
Kurt

MtnGoat · #18 06-15-2010, 08:03 PM

There have been many articles written about efficient learning, whether it is playing bass or academic studies. One such approach, and one that has worked very well for me, is to break up any practice/study into 15 minute segments with 5 minute breaks between them.

The idea is that one's mental capacity is maxed out after about 15 minutes and the ability to absorb new information after that time goes nearly to zero. Accordingly, one who studies intently for 15 minutes and walks away will absorb as much information as the person who stays at it for two hours straight. After 15 minutes or so, you're really just wasting your time. This does not, however, take into account physical endurance, muscle memory, and the like.

I have used the above method and been able to efficiently learn and retain lots of music, engineering, law, etc. I recommend having a goal for every practice session in addition to weekly goals. Combined with the 15 minute method described above you will accomplish amazing things.

Take 15 minutes to sight read, take a break. Take 15 minutes to improvise, take a break. Learn new material for 15 minutes, take a break. Run arpeggios, scales, and modes for 15 minutes, take a break. Jam freely 15 minutes, take a break. etc. Alternately, learn and memorize a new song by breaking it up into multiple 15 minute segments.

The key is to keep your breaks short and get back to playing. Also, write down what you want to accomplish and write down what you actually practice. If you want to be better at walking blues bass, attack that task, but with the 15 minute chunks in mind. At the end of the week, review what you have done, for how long, and the results you obtained from it. Discipline and a plan will be your friend.

Don't believe me? Try it for a week and see where it takes you.

maxgrant · #19 06-15-2010, 08:07 PM

I used to come home from school at 2:00, strap on my bass, and play until midnight. Anything and everything. I would break for meals & such, but the bass was always right there.

It works. I played Rush, mostly, and odd stuff that is still in my vocabulary that I made up, and that turned into original songs, and so on.

This was 25 years ago so I am a little hazy on what exactly I did, but those chops and that feel for playing the bass has stayed with me my whole life. I can go 6 months to a year without playing and it only takes a few days to get back in the groove again. Usually by practicing several hours a day until I get my feel back.

Jim Campbell · #20 06-15-2010, 08:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr wiggl3s

I've been hearing this for a while; bassists who just practice for hours on end. What could they possibly be playing for hours?

I'm [pretty much] just starting out, and would love to do this, but i don't know how i would.

Was anyone ever one of these guys? What did you play?

build up slowly,and make sure you don't develop bad habits that will hurt long term....