What can I practice when I don't have my bass?

[butterloaf]

I just started learning bass three or four weeks ago and I'm enjoying quite a bit. I've been practicing at home, but at work I have a lot of down-time when I can read websites or even a book some of the time. What kind of things can I do while at work, away from my bass?

Thanks

By the way, I've been lurking here for a while and I'm really impressed by the community and quality of posting here. I think I can learn a lot from you guys.

[Orco87]

this is a thread or two down, but read DocBop's post as I can't fully remember everything he said:

Please Give Me Ideas for A simple yet effective Practice Routine

It's something that I'll have to start doing as well.

[LumpyGravy]

Try listening to the music you want to learn. Develop your EAR. Listen to how songs are structured. Try to visualize patterns you hear. It will come in time. Practice finger exercises. Listen to bass players from bands you like. Play it when you go to sleep. Your subconscience will help your practice.

[DocBop]

Work on sightreading... sing or clap rhythms, work out fingerings, and see yourself playing it. Work on your ear, I do a lot of ear training practice while driving my car. I also drilled myself on theory when driving. Try to transcribe tunes as your ear gets better. Figure out the root motion of the chords, try to figure out the rhythm of a bass line, how would it be written, transcribe the line. I would make mental notes and sometime jot a note at a traffic light. Then when back at my bass check myself. Drill yourself on the fretboard. Where are all the C's, Bb's on the neck. Work out arpegios fingering.

Do anything that you are still trying to memorize, that way when you are with your bass you just have to work on the physical playing. It's good habit to get into to separate the mental part of learning from the physical. It takes a little longer in the beginning, but once you get used to setting down your bass and figuring out notes, fingerings, and similar mental work, then do the physical you will learn more faster over time.

[johnvice]

Originally Posted by LumpyGravy

Try listening to the music you want to learn. Develop your EAR. Listen to how songs are structured. Try to visualize patterns you hear. It will come in time. Practice finger exercises. Listen to bass players from bands you like. Play it when you go to sleep. Your subconscience will help your practice.

+1

Listen to music you want to play or bassists whom you want to emulate an aspect of their musical style.

When I have "down time" I'll practice bass in my head. For example, I'll imagine the fret hand fingering for the Mixolydian scale. As a beginner, ask yourself "what fret would I use to play an F# on the A string? You should know that the 5th fret is D and you should know the 12th fret is A so count up and/or down in your mind.

[cowsgomoo]

I'm surprised no-one's chimed in with a link to that little device that looks like a little section of 4 strings, that you can clip to your belt and 'practice' wiggling your fingers on when you're bass-less... cause we all know being a musician is all about how fast your fingers go

not really

I don't want to contradict anyone elses advice, but I thought i'd throw this in as an alternative point of view:

you might actually end up being a better artist (and subsequently a better musician, and subsequently a better bass player) if you don't spend all day every day specifically thinking about playing bass, but looking at the wider picture

I'm not denying that you need to spend time woodshedding the practical aspects of being a bass player, but the vast majority of that stuff is best learned in the woodshed with a bass in your hand...

some of the most influential & helpful stuff you can do is to read interviews & books written by people you admire... not just bass players, not even just artists, but anyone whose approach to life can influence you... I find listening to someone like Steve Jobs, Carl Sagan or Dale Carnegie far more inspirational than 99% of bass players out there

I also think it's important to have periods of downtime when you're not playing bass... specifically, doing other stuff that stimulates your intellect... so you can later allow the other aspects of your life to influence & inform the music you make... who would you choose first to make an emotional connection with a listener via music, someone who spent 24 hours a day locked indoors practicing bass for 10 years, or someone who went out and lived a full & stimulating life and then tried to express it through music?

ok, now all this is not a substitute for crucial things like being able to play arpeggios all over the neck or to help you with the 'correct' application of mixolydian mode etc, but neither is musical virtuosity a substitute for having not much to say...

try to make a balance between hard, serious & focused bass practice and hard, serious & focused living

[markjazzbassist]

take some time off from bass. that's a great way to learn. learn more about life, environment, family, and friends. then next time you go to play you'll channel that new energy through the bass into new ideas.

you could do some arobic exersize to keep the blood flowing too. Working out definately helps maintain a strong body for bass playing.