• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Deliberate practice instruction book any good?

M

mr.gone

Jan 23, 2011
41
0
Saint Paul, MN
#1
There's a guy named Paul who has a series of videos on YouTube called How To Play Bass. British guy, good instruction. He has a book/video that focuses on "Deliberate Practice" that is supposed to help you make steady progress by not wasting time. Goes for about $67. Anybody tried it?
 
#2
i haven't looked at it but that is fairly steep for pricing ....although a lot of time can be lost or wasted in practicing the same old ....

if you're youtubing ...check out marloweDK ...all free all brilliant...depending on your ability it may be too advanced but that's for you to decide.....there's all kinds of stuff out of hal leonard ...books DVDs etc for much lower $
 
#5
Thanks, Lacuda. I should say that $67 isn't just for a book -- it's a book, CD, video, etc. And I like his music selections, too. I started with DKMarlowe, but I just think Paul is a little more organized and easy to follow. Is concentrating on getting a lot across and doing so through songs that I'd likely play.
 
#7
Basically, Paul's approach is twofold: play real songs right away, and consciously get out of your comfort zone when practicing. He is not an advocate of doing scales, that's for sure. He also eschews the shortcut approach to learning. His taste in music, especially Motown and 60s and 70s rock, is appealing to me. The method is to push your learning forward by having you really understand how the best players like Jamerson did what they did, and then do it yourself, in manageable chunks. He advocates learning to sight read music, not tab. He also advocates transcribing music to build your chops. The idea also is to keep written track of your progress. In the end, Paul's theory is that "genius" is largely made, not born, through a consistent, disciplined approach, but one that is really fun by playing great songs right from the start.
.
 
#9
Lacuga said:
Basically, Paul's approach is twofold: play real songs right away, and consciously get out of your comfort zone when practicing. He is not an advocate of doing scales, that's for sure. He also eschews the shortcut approach to learning. His taste in music, especially Motown and 60s and 70s rock, is appealing to me. The method is to push your learning forward by having you really understand how the best players like Jamerson did what they did, and then do it yourself, in manageable chunks. He advocates learning to sight read music, not tab. He also advocates transcribing music to build your chops. The idea also is to keep written track of your progress. In the end, Paul's theory is that "genius" is largely made, not born, through a consistent, disciplined approach, but one that is really fun by playing great songs right from the start.
.
Click to expand...

Thanks so much. Great info in this post and very convincing! I'm a huge Jamerson fan -- got the Standing in the Shadows of Motown book years ago --and the idea of getting anywhere near his style and ability is really exciting. Agree too that tabs are not the way to gain real skill -- you have to know what you're playing if you're going to create your own lines as well as sight read. Sounds like just what I need.
 
#11
Only just seen the thread - too busy to check Talkbass three times a day like I used to!

Firstly - @Lacuga - thanks for the kind words. really appreciate them - and really glad to see you taking the material and actually applying it. (There are too many people out there looking for a short cut, quick fix, magic button approach. Do this and you'll be transformed overnight into a serious player. That 'magic button' doesn't exist).

Secondly @Mr Gone - if you have any questions, feel free to ask them. Either here - or via email. I'll be happy to answer them.


Paul
 
#12
Paul, hi -- Great to hear from you and know you are on this forum. I'm pretty convinced to get your Deliberate Practice instruction based on what Lacuga said. But as long as you're offering to answer more questions, I'm wondering if you get into understanding and using modes in the course. Seems like that would be the final piece once a student gets proficient with technique, reading, feel and ear.

Everybody else -- this is not a scam trying to push Paul's stuff. I honestly just came across his videos on YouTube and followed the trail from there.
 
#16
So Paul has a ton of these books now. I must say I'm very impressed with Deliberate Practice so far. It's very meta though - about practicing. And I'm already sorta looking for the next book. I'm not really a Soul/Motown guy, though I'm considering picking up that one as foundational to really good rock bass lines. But I'm not really looking to collect the whole style set. Does anyone have a good 'pick this one , that one and that one' list for getting the concepts, techniques and devices? Like after working through Soul, you should be good to chart your own song list?
 
#18
Spin Doctor said:
I see this phrase thrown around a lot lately about things being "meta", and I have no idea what that supposed to mean. So what is it supposed to mean?
Click to expand...
Meta as it is used here means “at a higher level of abstraction”. So for example you can learn to play bass, or at a higher level you can learn about the best ways to learn how to play bass.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Spin Doctor

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back