Solo practice: proportion of what do you do

[NickInMesa]

I spend about 50% of my time learning tabs (sorry, I can barely read scores, I know, I should improve that) and playing songs I know, about 30% doing exercises (sometimes unplugged in front of the TV) and about 20% improvising over a beat box (working scales, walks, or just being crazy).

I am beginner/intermediate (I used to be intermediate but stopped for a long time and now relearning to play, which involves a painful left hand in the morning).

I spend an average of 90 minutes a day on the bass, sometimes 30 minutes, sometimes 3 hours.

I am not currently in a band, I am waiting to get back into playing shape first.

What proportion of your solo practice time do you each spend on and at what level do you play?

And what do you think of my program?

Learning songs is important in my mind, as it makes sense to learn an instrument to be actually able to play something, it's just rewarding.

Thanks for the input.

[Pacman]

Spend 0% of your time learning tabs - they won't get you anywhere.

Spend maybe 10% of your time (or less) playing songs you already know. If you're practicing what you can already play, you're not getting better.

Spend 0% of your time doing exercises in front of the TV. If you're not paying attention, you won't learn anything.

[DFW_Bass]

Do not learn tabs...

Learn your Major and Minor scales before anything. 50% study theory, the rest, proper technique, scales, play in the dark with no distractions

[NickInMesa]

Originally Posted by DFW_Bass

Do not learn tabs...

Learn your Major and Minor scales before anything. 50% study theory, the rest, proper technique, scales, play in the dark with no distractions

And why shouldn't I learn tabs?

[Mazatleco17]

Originally Posted by NickInMesa

And why shouldn't I learn tabs?

They don't help on your ear training imo, and most of the time they're wrong.

[NickInMesa]

Ok. What if the tab is not wrong (from what I hear compared to the song).

What if it helps my left hand?

What if I also analyze the rest of the tab (the other instruments that is) and build my ear this way?

What if I also use that to train my ear and see if I had it right when I guess what section was played before looking at the score?

[simmering_flow]

I wouldn't say don't learn tabs. It's important to know when they are wrong and when they are correct, which is another way of training your ear. Tabs are a good way of improving your technique and speed to learn those faster songs quicker when you don't have the time to learn a song by ear. The more songs you know and listen to, the more creative juice you can draw from whenever you're improvising. But keep in mind, a balance of learning techniques is the way to go.

[TFunkadelic]

Originally Posted by NickInMesa

Ok. What if the tab is not wrong (from what I hear compared to the song).

What if it helps my left hand?

What if I also analyze the rest of the tab (the other instruments that is) and build my ear this way?

What if I also use that to train my ear and see if I had it right when I guess what section was played before looking at the score?

If you can hear whether the tab is right or wrong, you can hear well enough to figure it out by ear to begin with. Learning a song using tabs will never compare to learning a song by ear, in terms of developing an "ear." It'll only limit you because you'll rely on it to figure out the "hard" stuff, thus hindering the progress you would have made if you actually applied yourself and learned it on your own.

If you seek to analyze the music in written form, notation is much more effective than tabs as you can actually see how notes apply to the chords they are being played over.

Tabs have nothing to do with developing good left or right hand technique.

And, your left hand should not hurt in the morning after you've played, or at any point for that matter. Re-evaluate the way you're using your hands, because if they're causing you pain you're doing something wrong, or simply playing too much in which case you need to give them more time to rest. Playing through the pain, so to speak, will only lead to debilitating injury.

[BluesWalker]

NO TABS because you learn how to read music. Tabs are a short cut with no lasting value. Back in the day, most punk rockers could not read music and look where it has gotten most of them (of course there are exceptions for those that learned to read and learn other stuff and those that stayed in the public eye).

In the old days, a lot of musicians did not learn how to read music, but that is the past and there are now so many bassists (the majority) who read that you will be at a disadvantage once you leave your bedroom practice room.

Do a search on Jeff Berlin and read through the session we had with him a few weeks ago, he is an educator and a musician and you should seriously listen to what he has to say about learning music. Better yet, get a copy of his DVD on learning music.

[BluesWalker]

Originally Posted by NickInMesa

Ok. What if the tab is not wrong (from what I hear compared to the song).

What if it helps my left hand?

What if I also analyze the rest of the tab (the other instruments that is) and build my ear this way?

What if I also use that to train my ear and see if I had it right when I guess what section was played before looking at the score?

You should experiment yourself on best left-hand positions to see what works best for you. Tab suggested note positions are not always the best way to play a bass line.

[NickInMesa]

Originally Posted by BluesWalker

You should experiment yourself on best left-hand positions to see what works best for you. Tab suggested note positions are not always the best way to play a bass line.

That, I know, which is why I often modify them. I am not a big fan of the open string.

Tools have evolved since the ASCII files.

Seriously, I don't see why someone can't teach himself a few standards and learn to play them over the music.

Call that the Guitar Hero approach if you want.

I see it as just another way to learn.

[MacheteSteve]

i dont agree with them in saying dont learn by tab, just dont be reliant on tab. if the song is simple then use your ears to figure it out. if its more dificult than use tab to get you started but dont be reliant on using it.

[TFunkadelic]

Originally Posted by NickInMesa

That, I know, which is why I often modify them. I am not a big fan of the open string.

Tools have evolved since the ASCII files.

Seriously, I don't see why someone can't teach himself a few standards and learn to play them over the music.

Call that the Guitar Hero approach if you want.

I see it as just another way to learn.

Then learn the way you want to learn.

You asked an online forum where your playing and practice could use improvement and people provided you helpful insight. Take and leave what you will, but don't turn it in to an argument.

[NickInMesa]

The original question was not "is my program bad" but what do you do yourself?

I am not the one turning it into an argument, and arguments are good.

I for one believe if it's all work but no play, then Jack will be a dull boy.

So, to the original question...

[Grantrudd]

on the whole tab debate... do you think joe zawinul handed jaco tabs or sheetmusic in his first rehersal with weather report? sheet music also helps you learn the notes on the fretboard.

as for my program:

first half hour is chromatic strength/speed exercises
then sightreading from whatever realbook/aebersold/random trombone etude book i have lying around (10-20 mins)
then comes scales (10 minutes is usually about how long i can concentrate on scales)
then usually a beer and/or snack
then figuring out some more of whatever song i am working on at the time, by ear.

i get to this routine 3-4 times a week. school, work, and the band keeps me too busy to practice for 2 hours a day every day. on the days i dont do this. i usually just noodle around and come up with some interesting riffs or melodies to try out at the next practice/gig. i feel that i am a decent bass player, but nowhere near where i would like to be.

[Pacman]

Originally Posted by NickInMesa

The original question was not "is my program bad" but what do you do yourself?

I am not the one turning it into an argument, and arguments are good.

I for one believe if it's all work but no play, then Jack will be a dull boy.

So, to the original question...

No. Your original question was this:

Originally Posted by NickInMesa

And what do you think of my program?


Thanks for the input.

Then, when more experienced players responded, telling you that there were better ways for you to learn, you balked.

Do what you want. Your program assures there's work for those that use other methods.

[NickInMesa]

Pacman, I guess you stepped out of bed on the wrong foot.

Asking questions is not balking.

Some say learning tabs to get back to speed is a bad thing, to which I say it's not just stupidly learning tabs, it's adding exercises on top.

If you're against someone asking more questions over an answer, then fine for you, not everybody functions the way you'd like.

[klokker]

From a cool book I read on practicing:

The foundation of good practice is the attainment of inner poise. Inner poise can be defined as a mental/spiritual state of alertness and readiness for intellectual activity, without emotional tension.

I work the hardest on developing a kind of effortlessness when playing. Most of the work isn't physical, but mental. That's why watching TV would be a bad idea.

I like going through scales, and arpeggios in major and minor modes to warm up. It usually takes me about 45 minutes before I find the "effortlessness". Hopefully that will get less with time. Patience, patience, patience.

[NickInMesa]

I completely understand what they mean by not stupidly copying the tab.

I like to listen and play naturally. The tab is there to show about where to put the fingers and, yes, I have found mistakes in tabs.

Now, as to building foundations, I am 40 years old, I played for 10 years and stopped 15 years, and most of it was self taught anyway.

I am never going to be a great bass player, but I want to play my best and overall have fun.

That's why it totally boggles my mind to see people start fights and arguments with quotes of what was said, instead of having fun.

The effortlessness ... hopefully will come.

I picked up a book by Joel Di Bartolo specifically because it did not have any tabs and forces me to learn the scale.

See, I'm trying.

[LeonD]

In no particular order, I think these are the essentials to learn:

Technique; one finger per fret exercises, slapping exercises, right hand / left hand sync. etc.; remember to make all your exercises musical.

Theory; chord construction, pentatonic scales, major scales; practice in a musical context.

"Learn From Others"; learn existing bass lines either by ear, tab or sight reading.

"Learn From Self"; establish a groove either with a looper or recorder and noodle to come up with new ideas, write the goods ones down and make songs.

Sight Reading; sight read different clefs (but start with the bass clef), trombone books are a good place to start.

Ear Training; if you can hear it, you should be able to play it, there's a great ear trainer at this site: http://www.iwasdoingallright.com/too..._training.aspx

Play Along; practice the above with play along books, Aebersold is very good (some are easy and some are hard; start with the easy ones).

Jam With Real People; you don't need to join a band or have a long term relationship, check craigslist for people in your area to jam with.

LeonD