6 hour summer practice routine

[Edgeless]

Hello TB

Im off school for the next 6 weeks for the summer

I don't have a job at the moment so im planning on putting a practice routine together for each day of the week.

I will have around 16 hours a day to work on my chops and skills

i have decided that at least 6 of these hours will be dedicated to bass. Another 6 hours will be dedicated to xbox, simpsons, friends And Guitar

So far i have composed a simple plan. (see below)
[list=1][*]Warm Up[*]Scales[*]Chords/Arpeggios[*]3 finger technique[*]Songs[*]Reading [*]Youtube video (i intend to put up a video a day)

Could i get some feedback on ideas of what i can incorpate into this routine please, including things like time i should spend on each thing.

[brammerd]

don't forget to stretch or you will hurt something

[Jones_Stuff]

Start applying super glue to your fingertips now!!

[Oraflora]

You could combine your 'warm up' and 'scales' together. Play scales really slowly with a metronome, and you will warm up your fingers, your brain, and by playing at a slow tempo, strengthen your fingers and sense of timing (note duration, space between notes, etc.)

You could do this for 5 minutes and be warmed up, or if you can fight the boredom, make this your 6 hour practice session by itself.

[monroe55]

You have 16 hours a day?
Dude, get a job. You'll still have 8 hours a day left.
A job will build charachter, enhance life experience, cause suffering and will in turn add some personality to your music.

[Stumbo]

Originally Posted by brammerd

don't forget to stretch or you will hurt something

Take breaks on a regular basis. Set a timer. You might want to build up to the 6 hours. Don't want to injure yourself.

You might want to take a look at the link in my sig.

What about the other 4 hours?

Maybe put some jams together?

Get out and listen to some live music.

Gotta add ear training/singing/harmony to your routine.

[Edgeless]

Ok so far i have

-Warm Up: Streching, finger flexing and upper body warm up.
- Scales: to metronome Major (modes) Minor (harmonic, melodic)
- Chords : 2/3 note voicing , inversions across the neck
- Single line dexterity exercises,
- Technique : String skipping , 2,3,4 string distance, 3 finger walk and pick.
- Slap and pop style
- Walking bass lines.
-Harmony (can some give me an absolute beginners place to start with this)
- Reading

Anything else i need.

[Spino]

Arpeggios
Cadence patterns in all keys

[Gintaras]

If you got plenty of time then invest some time in another instrument ie: your voice. There is no investment in gear and you always have your instrument with you. I practice bass parts while driving. (I drive 30k miles a year)
My first instructor had a saying. "If you can sing it then you can play it."

[ridgeback]

6 hours is a lot to just start off with imo..you might damage your fingers or hand...i also find that long practice stints are not always productive..practice an hour take a hour off(play your xbox) then do another hour and so on..for me i find i get a bit frustrated if i try to hard and a little time out helps alot,and when i get back to what i was having a hard time with earlier it just comes easier..everyone is different,just dont push yourself to hard to fast if your hands start to hurt just stop..

[chnapz]

Hey man, i'm impressed with your dedication ... to the Simpsons :-)

As it has been said already, don't hurt yourself, have fun, play with others and I would add find a teacher and get some advice on how to maximize this available time.

[stratovani]

Originally Posted by Edgeless

Ok so far i have

-Warm Up: Streching, finger flexing and upper body warm up.
- Scales: to metronome Major (modes) Minor (harmonic, melodic)
- Chords : 2/3 note voicing , inversions across the neck
- Single line dexterity exercises,
- Technique : String skipping , 2,3,4 string distance, 3 finger walk and pick.
- Slap and pop style
- Walking bass lines.
-Harmony (can some give me an absolute beginners place to start with this)
- Reading

Anything else i need.

An air conditioner?

[Billnc]

At no point do you mention any physical activity. So many musicians are physical trainwrecks, through drinking, drugs or simply total inactivity. At 50 I'm playing with mostly older musicians, though I'm with a 26 year old drummer in one band. It gets old being the only guy strong enough to haul gear on many gigs including up and down two flights of steps. Little of our gear is THAT heavy.

[Stumbo]

Originally Posted by Edgeless

-Harmony (can some give me an absolute beginners place to start with this)

You mean harmony as in piano chord harmony or vocal harmony?

For vocals, here a few links that will help with ear training:
~Ear training
Goodear.com
Test your ear
Free downloadable ear trainer (basic/advanced) Solfege. Xlnt program
Trainers/tutorials. Music theory, ear training, read music, chords, intervals, etc.
Online Visual Beginning Theory, ear trainer
Discussion of Solfege

For study harmony/theory, a few examples of Books