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100 Hours of Practice & Underwhelming

#121
I'm diggin' this thread. It's helped a lot so thank you.

I have no rock gawd aspirations. I just want to enjoy myself and play some songs with my wife & friends.

Look, the 100 hour thing was somewhat click bait. I play as often and for as long as I can. I'm not going to practice for 2+ hours a day just because some people in the interwebs think I'm a poser that only plays scales all the time. Life's too short for that & I prefer and good life/work balance.

Thanks again.
 
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#122
Yeah, ignore that practice multi hour stuff. Play as much as you can for sure, but as you said there are no rock gawd aspirations, keep it fun. But by all means play with others asap. Let them know you're new if you want, they were all there at one time. For the most part, musicians are understanding and willing to help.
 
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#124
jeepsk8 said:
Yeah, ignore that practice multi hour stuff. Play as much as you can for sure, but as you said there are no rock gawd aspirations, keep it fun. But by all means play with others asap. Let them know you're new if you want, they were all there at one time. For the most part, musicians are understanding and willing to help.
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That's what I've found too. As are the people on this site :D

I see threads like this all the time on my sportbike forum. New person wants to start out on a R1GSXXR10000 and some people say go for it while others say you're gonna die!

Hahaha, I asked for advice and got it ;)
 
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#128
Bass212 said:
Honestly dude, thats pretty arrogant of you to ask for advice and then accuse people of being critical of you, even if you're saying it in jest.
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Not what I intended. I'm being critical of people saying if I don't practice for hours a day I might as well give it up.

My apologies. I just got out of some messed up traffic and I might be cranky :)

<--- Steps away from keyboard
 
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#130
ESPweasel said:
Not what I intended. I'm being critical of people saying if I don't practice for hours a day I might as well give it up.

My apologies. I just got out of some messed up traffic and I might be cranky :)

<--- Steps away from keyboard
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All good. At the end of the day, your first priority should be that you're having fun playing. As far as using your time efficiently, a good teacher and your intuition should be your guides.
 
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#133
Jamming along to Pandora is wasted time at this stage. You are literally falling about aimlessly. You don't know enough about music theory, timing or even traditional bass lines to try that trick.

Now, if you want to woodshed entire songs until you get them down that could help. But just trying your hand at whatever comes on next has wasted probably half of your practice time. I could pull that off but I have been playing for 30+ years.

Keep at it though. Once you play with a band of good guys one time you'll get a feeling like nothing else.
 
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#134
two fingers said:
Jamming along to Pandora is wasted time at this stage. You are literally falling about aimlessly. You don't know enough about music theory, timing or even traditional bass lines to try that trick.

Now, if you want to woodshed entire songs until you get them down that could help. But just trying your hand at whatever comes on next has wasted probably half of your practice time. I could pull that off but I have been playing for 30+ years.

Keep at it though. Once you play with a band of good guys one time you'll get a feeling like nothing else.
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Understood, I think of the noodling around to music as exercise and it breaks up the practice time. I was told any practice it good at this point. I'm still working on finger strength, muscle memory and dexterity.
 
#135
ESPweasel said:
LMAO @Jeff Bonny

Pffft! Since I've joined this site I've bough 2 basses, started taking lessons, talked to numerous musicians in person, gone to live shows and sat in front of the bass player, watched way too many hours of instructional videos, read just as many articles and like I said. I play everyday.
:p
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Nice! I didn't know you could buy that much smug self satisfaction with just 100 hours!
 
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#137
I thought the joy of music (i.e. "practicing") was the joy of discovering new things on the instrument. I would look at it from that perspective. There's nothing to be gained trying to play fast, be hip, or impress people. I think theory is a reservoir of possibilities waiting for you...
I would also note that if a teacher asks you, the student, what you want to work on, you've probably got the wrong teacher. You're there seeking guidance.

Good luck,

D.
 
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#140
ESPweasel said:
LMAO, I'm 48 ;) I also work 40+ hours a week.

I think I have 3 YouTube tabs open at any given time. I understand that this isn't going to happen overnight or even over a year. I guess my current goal is just to be able to play along to some easy classic rock, country and blues.

My instructor's in the school of learning the hard stuff, not...

--------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------
--3-----3-----3-----3----0--2--3-----3------3-----3----0--2-
-----3-----3-----3-----3----------3------3-----3------3------

:D
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I recommend making sure it is fun for you. Pick a few of your easy favorites and play them a few hundred times along with the recording. I'm one of those who learned by picking up the needle on the record and setting it back over and over until I finally got it. Spend some time working on technique so that you don't develop lazy habits on your hand position, posture, etc. But, if you don't enjoy your progress you may decide to put your bass in the corner. Keep at it and one day you'll be addicted!
 

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