Learning Styles

[mdsmith]

I was wondering what's the most efficient way to practice. Would it be to learn songs that you want to play, which I would imagine would expose you to alot of techniques, scales ect., or a more thory and scale based approach(ie, learning all the notes on the neck, practicing scales and right hand exercises). I'm sure both have their place, I'm just not sure which is the best overall approach. Thanks.

[Jazzdogg]

Why are you choosing to approach this as an either/or proposition, when combining both methods can work better than either method by itself?

[mdsmith]

Good point. I know people taking lessons and spending countless hours on scales and exercises, while others were asked "what song do you want to learn". I guess it does make more sense to incorporate both. How about this, what would a typical 1 hr. practice session look like for you ? My problem is that I don't really have a routine, so when I pick up the bass, I'm just playing songs I already know (BTW,I'm pretty new to bass).