Question for the experienced re practicing

[Pablo Fanque]

If you were my bass teacher, what types of things would you have me do for practice?

Warm up exercises seem obvious enough.

I don't read music -- I could if I tried I s'pose.

If you don't mind sharing, what type of practice set up/schedule would you put me on and what would it kinda look like?

[fdeck]

Originally Posted by Pablo Fanque

If you were my bass teacher, what types of things would you have me do for practice?

Warm up exercises seem obvious enough.

I don't read music -- I could if I tried I s'pose.

If you don't mind sharing, what type of practice set up/schedule would you put me on and what would it kinda look like?

I'd pick out a method book, and assign lessons for you to work on from it. My cello teacher used Dotzauer. My bass teacher used Simandl. I am not sure that either of these is appropriate for contemporary electric bass, but you catch my drift. The nice thing about a book is that you can measure your own progress against it.

I would also probably try to break up the monotony of book exercises with some actual tunes that you can learn and play for your own enjoyment.

And I would assign Listening -- see if you can hear a tune and sing it to yourself, then play it on the bass.

[Pablo Fanque]

Originally Posted by fdeck

I'd pick out a method book, and assign lessons for you to work on from it. My cello teacher used Dotzauer. My bass teacher used Simandl. I am not sure that either of these is appropriate for contemporary electric bass, but you catch my drift. The nice thing about a book is that you can measure your own progress against it.

I would also probably try to break up the monotony of book exercises with some actual tunes that you can learn and play for your own enjoyment.

And I would assign Listening -- see if you can hear a tune and sing it to yourself, then play it on the bass.

Thanks. I was working through "Bass for Dummies" and really liked it but got a tad bored with it. It felt like being in school, even though the book has good stuff in it and isn't dry. But I've pledged to get back into and finish the book.

I did start working through an online (free) course that seems really good. It has photos, video, a metronome, etc. The exercises on technique are really demanding, probably because I've never learned the "proper" (optimal) to fret, position my hands, etc.

[BobaFret]

I'd work on reading music ( understanding falls hand in hand with this ) and really focus on chords and the functions of them. This is what I've been doing and you won't need anymore ideas for what to practice for a really long time.

It took me a long time to come to grips with "technique isn't that important until you understand what to do with it". Obviously you don't want BAD technique but I'm more talking about double-thumb, Garison plucking etc..

[MalcolmAmos]

You have a couple of choices; 1) wing it or 2) play sheet music by rote. Either way sheet music by rote should be in your future. Lets address winging it.

You fingers need to know what to do - so scales and patterns.
www.studybass.com

Your ear needs to know the good notes from the bad ones - so scales and patterns.

What would I have you do - scales and patterns. OK which scales? The Major and natural minor scales. Which patterns? The Major and natural minor scale paterns. Yep kill two birds with one stone.

When you get bored try studying how to compose bass lines and then use them when jamming to the backing tracks and the music videos that are on the Internet. Gotta get to where you can hear the chord changes.

Goal is to play songs. Have one new song on your list each week. NO not from tabs, tabs will just slow you down - bass clef, lead sheets or fake chord.

Here is a start.
http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/tabs/...e_lamb_crd.htm
Or let Google find you some fake chord -- Google these key words; chord, "name of the song" -- the comma and quote marks help.

Here is a goal.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R4x0u...eature=related

[Rickett Customs]

Firstly, I don't know exactly how knowledgeable you are, that would be my first scope. Strengths, weaknesses, etc. I would need to find out exactly where you're at in your playing first, before developing a curriculum. Learning is a relatively permanent change in mental associations due to experience. Teaching on the other hand, is about what mental associations are already there and building upon them.