Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
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.
Do you think you practice enough?
- Thread starter Theozzycometh
- Start date
Having a roommate in a tiny apartment with paper walls this advice right here is what got me practicing enough again. If I'm playing by myself at home im never plugged in anymore. There's no reason to stop if nobody can hear you! Plus I don't mind sounding like poopie
I do not practice enough. Generally speaking I do not have the time. When I do have the time I often lack the energy.
When I do practice it is usually to work on something that went wrong in a rehearsal or at a gig.
When I do practice it is usually to work on something that went wrong in a rehearsal or at a gig.
Absolutely not. I'd like to blame my day job or work around the farm or any other of my adult responsibilities, but the truth is I just don't practice enough. I don't always make the best use of the time I do have available, so I can't blame the time I don't have. Just lazier these day, I guess.
I shoot for an hour a day. I think playing with as many other people as possible helps a lot too, especially with keeping tight rhythmically. After all, flying up and down all the scales in the world on my own isn't really much if I can't get tight with the drummer. I play at home with a drum machine sometimes..but for me, being capable of keeping the rhythm tight with various other musicians is really where it's at. Tone, rhythm & tempo..i show up tight at band practices. We've got one guitar player right now who I can obviously tell isn't playing much other than at practices, because it takes him too long to warm up..'warming up' being the time it takes to become on point with the rhythm and tempo of the music. I'm on point off the break.
Didn't read the thread, but did anyone say this yet? (probably did):
It depends how you define "enough"
Enough to be as good as I want to be? No.
Enough to play as well as I need to at this point in my life? Yes.
It depends how you define "enough"
Enough to be as good as I want to be? No.
Enough to play as well as I need to at this point in my life? Yes.
I believe I can play all my bands songs proficiently so I've been spending more time on here learning about EQ and amps and things like that. I practice by myself like 3 times a week to keep the calluses and we have band practice once a week. However I should play the crap out of our new material this weekend before we hit the studio. I think once I've gotten the tone I have in my head I will start practicing more.
I do scales and finger exercises, then noodle around making stuff up or practicing things I already know.
I don't get time to do it as much as I'd like to. I have a demanding home and career life. It sucks. I basically can pick one thing I can do every other day out of the stuff that interests me. If I work out I don't have time to play bass, that sort of thing.
I don't get time to do it as much as I'd like to. I have a demanding home and career life. It sucks. I basically can pick one thing I can do every other day out of the stuff that interests me. If I work out I don't have time to play bass, that sort of thing.
I don't feel like I need to practice anymore to play most of the stuff I want to, therefore I do think I practice enough.
What I need to do is play with different people in different styles to widen my confort zone. And write songs.
What I need to do is play with different people in different styles to widen my confort zone. And write songs.
The simple answer is you aren't supposed to be entertained by it. If you're exercising at the gym, are you absolutely gleeful every time you do a rep? You're focusing on the end goal, not the here-and-now of what your hands are doing. Guys like Hendrix and Frusciante remind me a lot of a previous guitarist (my best friend) that I played with. Like a lot of guys said, he had his guitar on him practically all the time. He kept it in his car and played it on break at work, anytime we were sitting he would be playing, and obviously if anyone else had an instrument in their hand he was holding the guitar as well. Frusciante worked a part time job, lived in a craphole apartment, and did nothing but play when he came home...some people are that driven (I'm trying to be lol). You just have to be a goal-minded person and know what you want to do. Hendrix was kind of a prodigy, savant from what I've read before, so I'm not sure how much was natural talent and how much was straight up hard practice.
I noticed my dexterity increased dramatically when I was doing recordings in my room, just because I was spending 3-5 hours at a time sitting and playing guitar and bass along with a drum track that was certified on-time. I also jammed a lot with songs on my PC, but the recording made the most difference IME. If you haven't seen it yet, I'd check out Victor Wooten's Groove Workshop on DVD, he really opened up a lot of different facets to playing that I hadn't even considered. I will say this though, ask yourself how far you really want to go with the instrument. Do you want to be a solo artist like Manring or Wooten? No doubt he's a great player, but Nathan East gets a great deal of work by doing a supportive role and probably doesn't have the demands that Manring places on himself or that Victor does in some of his solo work. Always want to grow, but just know how to pace yourself...burnout can be a super dangerous thing as well.
I'm too busy writing and recording to practise. I have been playing for 25 years though I don't think I'm going to magically become the world's best bass player regardless. 
And to be honest with the music I play it's not at all necessary to be a virtuoso.
I do still know more about music than every guitarist I play with, and I play upright and bass guitar and synth and trombone, and sing harmony and I'm a pretty handy arranger and producer. I love playing bass but it's not the only thing I do.
And to be honest with the music I play it's not at all necessary to be a virtuoso.
I do still know more about music than every guitarist I play with, and I play upright and bass guitar and synth and trombone, and sing harmony and I'm a pretty handy arranger and producer. I love playing bass but it's not the only thing I do.
Check out the book. "The art of practicing" its written by a classical pianist. Theres a ton of great ideas in there, but the one concept that ive latched on to is to practoce whatever you want to practice in a given day, there's so much to learn, that this way you'll stay motivated and always be learning.
If your right hand is lacking, try paradiddles with your alternate fingerings.
If your right hand is lacking, try paradiddles with your alternate fingerings.
Does anybody really feel satisfied with their daily practice routine? I know that we all hit plateaus, and I try to compare musical plateaus to working out. You'll stay on the same lifting routine for some time and make great measurable progress, then eventually hit a wall and switch some variable of your routine to break that plateau. But when it comes to bass playing I feel that I have hit a wall so hard that I can't even look at my bass without getting frustrated with myself. I have attempted to tab out a whole practice routine in text documents on my computer, like doing arpeggios in 3rds, 4ths, 5ths etc all the way up the neck of a given key. My theory and fret board knowledge is pretty on point, but I feel that my right hand is what's lacking. I'll slap and maybe accidentally hit the B string when I'm slapping the E and get angry and just put it down and go watch videos on youtube of people playing who are way better than I am. I guess my question is for anyone who believes that they have truthfully surpassed the intermediate playing level, and what they did to get to that point. I'm pretty sure the answer is just practice more... Maybe I need some kinda validation. Sorry if this text is jumbled I'm typing this after a fairly drunk jam
Job, Schoo
Does anybody really feel satisfied with their daily practice routine? I know that we all hit plateaus, and I try to compare musical plateaus to working out. You'll stay on the same lifting routine for some time and make great measurable progress, then eventually hit a wall and switch some variable of your routine to break that plateau. But when it comes to bass playing I feel that I have hit a wall so hard that I can't even look at my bass without getting frustrated with myself. I have attempted to tab out a whole practice routine in text documents on my computer, like doing arpeggios in 3rds, 4ths, 5ths etc all the way up the neck of a given key. My theory and fret board knowledge is pretty on point, but I feel that my right hand is what's lacking. I'll slap and maybe accidentally hit the B string when I'm slapping the E and get angry and just put it down and go watch videos on youtube of people playing who are way better than I am. I guess my question is for anyone who believes that they have truthfully surpassed the intermediate playing level, and what they did to get to that point. I'm pretty sure the answer is just practice more... Maybe I need some kinda validation. Sorry if this text is jumbled I'm typing this after a fairly drunk jam
I've come to a really busy season in my life where It's so hard to squeeze things into my schedule because of school, work and other occupations at church and practice with the band that I hardly have time to just sit down turn up the metronome and practice. Sometimes I'll stay up till 3 am practicing, and have to wake up at 7 the next day. But It's just a feeling of happiness and satisfaction when you improve the thing you most enjoy doing, Going back to the question, my answer would be no. People compliment my playing, but I always tend to discourage myself and realize how much I suck compared to other Bass players.
No, I don't practice enough.
If I play less than 3 hours a day, my rhythm suffers on fast phrases.
However, regarding the plateau thing, I have two suggestions:
1. learn a new song. Seriously, pick a new song that is interesting and difficult and learn it. learn the XXXX out of it. Not just the chords, or a single bass line, learn the chords, learn the melody then write two or three bass lines so you can switch back and forth between chords and melody. Then go back and learn it in a new key. - I've been working on Autumn Leaves for a few months now. - I know everyone will say, "Autumn Leaves?, that song is so easy." But can they go to youtube, pull up Nat King Coles' version, Chet Baker's version, Mile's version, etc... and play along with any and all of them?
When you learn a song like that, your technique will improve without even paying attention to it and it is a hell of a lot more interesting than running scales.
2. try scotsbasslessons... watch a few of scott's videos. I can't watch two or three of them without being inspired to try something new that I hadn't thought of before. He almost always has a fun exercise or riff that is worth figuring out.
If I play less than 3 hours a day, my rhythm suffers on fast phrases.
However, regarding the plateau thing, I have two suggestions:
1. learn a new song. Seriously, pick a new song that is interesting and difficult and learn it. learn the XXXX out of it. Not just the chords, or a single bass line, learn the chords, learn the melody then write two or three bass lines so you can switch back and forth between chords and melody. Then go back and learn it in a new key. - I've been working on Autumn Leaves for a few months now. - I know everyone will say, "Autumn Leaves?, that song is so easy." But can they go to youtube, pull up Nat King Coles' version, Chet Baker's version, Mile's version, etc... and play along with any and all of them?
When you learn a song like that, your technique will improve without even paying attention to it and it is a hell of a lot more interesting than running scales.
2. try scotsbasslessons... watch a few of scott's videos. I can't watch two or three of them without being inspired to try something new that I hadn't thought of before. He almost always has a fun exercise or riff that is worth figuring out.
Nope, and I don't care.
There was, however, a time when I spent several hours a day in the shed.
There was, however, a time when I spent several hours a day in the shed.
Because it was their JOB, that's how they made their living and even if they weren't particularly inspired at the time there were plenty of people counting on them to stay busy.
