Practice Schedules

tfmbass · #1 05-07-2008, 02:03 PM

I am curious as to how other people balance their practice schedule with work and daily life. I have checked around in other posts and didn't see anything related to this topic.
I use to be a full time bassist and practice when ever I want, now I have the 9-6 job, plus a wife and more BILLS! I am having trouble balancing practice time and the job, plus the wife has a "to do" list for me.

What are some of your practice schedules that you go by during the week?
Thanks!

nsmar4211 · #2 05-07-2008, 04:23 PM

No regular schedule here, just whenever I can.
However, I do make sure there is an easily accessible bass at all times, whether it be hanging on the wall or on a music stand. That way when the urge strikes I don't have to go digging it out of a case. Sometimes I get a few minutes in right before work, sometimes it's right before bed. Whenever

A few minutes here and there throughout the day adds up to more practice than a whole hour once a week I've found...

You could put your bass in the bathroom and take advantage of the fact that you're just sitting there

scottbass · #3 05-07-2008, 04:26 PM

Yeah, I leave a bass sitting out, too. Watching TV? Play the bass during commercials. Paying bills at the computer? Play bass while your system boots up.

tfmbass · #4 05-09-2008, 08:27 AM

I always have a bass somewhere and I have found that the wrong time to squeeze ten minutes of practice in is when the wife is yelling at me. Thats not good

DudeistMonk · #5 05-09-2008, 10:40 AM

I have an hour commute each way and a 9-5 so if I go to bed at midnight I have 5 hours free time a day...it usually turns out...

1:00 hr Monday
2:00 hrs Tuesday (gotta try and cram that overlooked assigment in)
lesson Wednesday
1:00 hr Thursday
drinking on Friday
1:00 hr Saturday
2:00 hrs Sunday

Of course thats in a perfect world, and that doesn't include noodling...also I come home from work and go right too it, if I sit down and start watching Tivo or playing GTA4 I'm screwed. I also keep my bass on my bed or in my TV chair so I can't sleep or play games without feeling guilty...I'm also new to practicing this much, I hope I can keep it up.

JKT · #6 05-09-2008, 10:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tfmbass

I am curious as to how other people balance their practice schedule with work and daily life. I have checked around in other posts and didn't see anything related to this topic.
I use to be a full time bassist and practice when ever I want, now I have the 9-6 job, plus a wife and more BILLS! I am having trouble balancing practice time and the job, plus the wife has a "to do" list for me.

What are some of your practice schedules that you go by during the week?
Thanks!

Tell her you'll throw away her to do list if she'll throw away yours

JKT

FuturePrimitive · #7 05-09-2008, 12:55 PM

I have the full time day job, wife, 2 young kids, and house. Finding time to practice is pretty tough. I usually try the 1-1.5 hour after the kids go to bed to practice but that doesn't always work out. The last thing I feel like doing after a long day is strapping on a heavy Fender for an hour. My youngest doesn't sleep through the night consistently yet so I'm usually a zombie as it is. On the plus side, the actual act of slinging on the bass is the hardest part. Once its in my hands and I start playing I usually don't feel like taking it off for at least an hour.

I've thought about getting a "beater" bass and keeping it at work for some lunch hour practice but I'm not sure how practical that's really gonna be.

sixtwofour · #8 05-09-2008, 02:03 PM

It's tough to get it all in. When I was a teenager, I'd play guitar 8 hours a day. Now in my 30's, I have a wife, young child, house/yard that always needs me for something. Then of course I have band rehearsals/recording/gigs to take up my time, and the occasional work or family function. I end up sacrificing sleep to play.

Keep a notepad or a PDA and write down what you want to work on (techniques/tunes/exercises) so you're not wasting time worrying about what you want or need to do next.

My practice time is divided into 2 types. Practice with a physical bass, and practice without a bass. I make sure that the time I spend with an actual bass is constructive time learning the new stuff I don't know. I don't screw around with playing the same cool licks over and over. I think a lot of people waste practice time by doing the same comfortable things over and over. For me, I just don't have the time. I work on techniques and exercises that I struggle with, or learn new songs, or write.

I try to squeeze a lot of work in through visualization, reading, and listening away from the bass. I listen to my band's covers in the car and at work on the computer. As I get older, I'm having a harder time remembering how songs go. Even though I know the licks I'm supposed to play, I forget the order they go in, or the layout of the song, so I'm always hammering that stuff into my head. I visualize playing them when I'm driving to keep the song structures in my mind come gig time. I keep music theory books in my bathroom (not kidding) to work on learning theory, which generally doesn't need a physical bass around.

Band rehearsals are usual tuneups, working on seques and transitions between songs, evening out rough passages. We don't run through full songs very often unless it's brand new and we want to make sure everyone understands the structure.

The only way to get it in is to be organized.

Dbassmon · #9 05-09-2008, 02:08 PM

I get up at 6:00am and get in 1 1/2 hours of practice everyday. Most of what I am practicing these days is DB. I found that if practice after working all day, I can't hear pitch as well because I am tired.
It's very peaceful at that hour. A shower, a cup of coffee and I am ready. My brain is fully functioning when I arrive at my day gig. So it works for me.

mikeypbass · #10 05-09-2008, 02:09 PM

During the Week: Balancing School, Work, Sports, and Bass is tough so whenever I get a free minute (which isn't too often)

Weekend: All Weekend/Till my fingers can take no more

improvpwnd · #11 05-09-2008, 02:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DudeistMonk

\ I also keep my bass on my bed or in my TV chair so I can't sleep or play games without feeling guilty...I'm also new to practicing this much, I hope I can keep it up.

Forcing myself to practice has an adverse affect sometimes, IMO.

powerbass · #12 05-09-2008, 06:34 PM

i'm in the same ballpark: house, kid, job, fixing house etc. sometimes i get up early - 5:30-6:00 other times i stay up late to practice. i bring my bass to work (self employed) by bike no less and squeeze in some time there. i don't watch tv, it is a serious waste of time IMHO. if i need to relax i read or hang w/the wife. i keep my practice sessions focused, i set goals and try to stick to them. noodling is OK but practice is a different activity - it's like a fitness workout, i concentrate, i try really hard and stay focused, sometimes i sweat. it is about time management and conscious attention. if you are honest w/yourself you can identify "wasted" time - internet surfing, tv, talking on the phone. these can be productive things too. a half hour of working on your weaknesses may be more productive for your playing than 2 hours of noodling.

pedroims · #13 05-10-2008, 02:33 PM

one hour every day.

Monday to Friday : 5.30am to 6.30 am

Saturday and Sunday": 6.30 am to 7.30 am.

I also practice Wednesday from 6 pm to 7.30 pm with a friend, he plays keys.

the_hook · #14 05-14-2008, 10:45 AM

Excellent thread, glad to see others are in a similar boat and still making it work.

I juggle a full time job, wife, son, do all the outside house chores/maintenance, have a home gym and workout 2x a week, ride a road bike 3-4x a week (weekends 2hrs or more each ride), cook all my own food (for health), sit with my son when he practices drums (4-5x a week), put my own time on drums after that, jam with a guitarist 2x a month, and I'll be getting my SX Bass soon.

I have someone that's an excellent bassist willing to teach me so I'll have to figure out how to squeeze the schedule to fit that in.

Having said all that, I used to watch a lot of tv, now I'm lucky to watch tv only while I'm eating (which is often). But I'm way more productive these days and enjoying all the challenges of making it all work.

When I'm not 'doing' the above things I'm thinking about them, drum patterns I can improve upon, books, DVDs, I commute to work so I read a lot on the train, etc.

heroincredible · #15 05-14-2008, 11:47 AM

I generally squeeze in an hour or so of practice in a day, which means I'm cutting down on TV viewing and videogame playing. It works out well.

rfclef · #16 05-14-2008, 12:19 PM

Full time band/music teacher here... K-12.
My peactice goes like this (barring of course, school activities, etc):
After I get home from work, I usually take a break, eat, check mail, feet up for a few, then somewhere between 7:00 and Midnight, depending on what other school related or house related stuff I gotta do:
Monday night: 1-2 hrs
Tuesday night: Band rehearsal (3 hrs... I know rehearsal is not the same as practice)
Wednesday night: Either my one night off to veg, or practice 1-2 hrs
Thursday night: Church worship rehearsal or I practice 1-2 hrs
Friday night: I get my kids after school, so after they are in bed, 1-2 hrs practice
Saturday night: after kids're down, 1-2 hrs
Sunday night: 1-2 hrs
A lot of those 1-2 hrs turn out to be ONE hour, but you get the idea...

skeptikal · #17 05-14-2008, 12:23 PM

I don't really have a set schedule of when I practice. Monday night lessons, usually jam on wednesday's (~1 hr) with my drummer and sunday's are band practice (usually ~4 hours).

My computer sits right next to my bass (which is always out) so pretty much anytime I sit down at the desk i pick the bass up. I'm trying to work my schedule to go home right after I get off work and sit down for an hour but I just can't do it. I'm working on it though.

steve66 · #18 05-14-2008, 12:35 PM

IMO, Its all about time management and if practicing means something to you.

I find that 30 minutes to an hour a day is plenty for me.

I practice 30 minutes in the morning before work and 30 minutes after. The morning practice usually consists of reading from a sheet of music or working on some jazz.

Night practice consists of going over existing or learning new songs for my band

y-job · #19 05-14-2008, 12:42 PM

I spend my lunches studying music theory (including aural training using online websites like http://www.teoriamusical.net/ and play an hour or two after the wife and kids go to bed or an hour in the morning. I also have my ABG sitting in the main room of the house for spontaneous practice.

I think the most important thing for those with a spouse and/or kids is to develop a clear practice schedule that all can agree to support and that balances the needs of your family members. Example: I help the wife with chores and play with the kids from 5pm-7pm (allowing her free time to pursue her interests); I play bass from 7pm-8pm; 8pm-10pm is quality time with the wife, etc.)

Limlam · #20 05-14-2008, 12:56 PM

Whenever im about to go on tour il have my bass in my hands every second I get. People in my band live out of town so we dont always rehearse every week so there might be periods of upto a week where i dont play but if I know we are rehearsing Il make sure I practice alot around that time. And also if we work on new material and im feeling it I wont want to do anything apart from play.