Wrist pain:
I would keep an eye on and address that issue right away. You don't want to go down that road.
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Getting emotionally tired of practicing.
- Thread starter Anglerfish
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- practicing time
Wrist pain:
I would keep an eye on and address that issue right away. You don't want to go down that road.
Yeah, I have an old reoccurring injury. Sprained my wrist pretty bad a couple of times.
Other than stretching and exercising I'm not sure what else to do.
You won't keep doing what you hate. Better to mix it up a little to keep your interest. Mix fun stuff in with practice.
Not trying to be unkind but when you have burning desire to be great, practice isn't torture. Unless you aspire to make your living playing, don't forget that you are playing for your own enjoyment - so enjoy it!
Not trying to be unkind but when you have burning desire to be great, practice isn't torture. Unless you aspire to make your living playing, don't forget that you are playing for your own enjoyment - so enjoy it!
Patience is key. When practicing, progress can be very slow. So slow that you might not notice you're actually getting better. Being patient also relaxes you. Playing alone is also completely different than playing with people in louder situations. With most people, their technique completely changes going from one scenario to the other. Be aware of that in both situations as well. Did I mention patience? 
Wrong.
If you are trying to learn a song and do it incorrectly, you are learning the mistake. Forget tempo. Focus on notes and fingering the correct notes in the correct order, painfully slow.
When you have a part where you can play it slowly without effort, go a little faster. If you make a mistake, stop immediately and do it correctly.
I usually start with a part of a song (bridge, verse, chorus) and may just work on a particular run or 1 measure.
Believe me, if you do this, that sloppy of which you speak will go away.
Think about it this way: It is much harder to unlearn a wrong part and learn it correctly than it is to learn it correctly the first time.
When I was a kid id play along to my favorite records all night. That and some technique, scales etc did me well
I'm jumping on Dav's wagon here a bit....
Yeah, totally wrong.
Part and parcel of your practice time is learning those songs, and improving your playing of them. If you don't do it in practice, when do you? At band rehearsal? There are folks on this forum who would literally crucify you on your own basses if you tried that in a band with them, and they aren't simply a vocal minority. Rehearsal is for the band to work on the song. Practice is where you learn and perfect your part of that song.
The rest of Dav's advice is spot on, I'm simply going to add one more thing.
Get yourself a Zoom B1on or something similar, something that functions as a headphone amp, but will let you also plug in a recorder or somesuch. Record rehearsals. Remember that a key part of being a musician is your ear, and it needs practice too. Listen to yourself from the last rehearsal, did you botch that series of 1/8 note pulls offs in the bridge? Well guess what we'll be working on in practice this week?
And it's not just band courtesy, it's key to your development. Dollars to donuts says you'll recognize improvements in how you play those songs before you recognize improvements to the spider. And if you don't, your band mates are liable to, hopefully one pipes up... Don't underestimate the power of positive feedback, particularly early on. So focus on the songs more than the exercises up front, you'll know when it is time to start putting the exercises to the fore.
EDIT: Apparently I don't mean it when I type "one more thing"...
Yeah, totally wrong.
Part and parcel of your practice time is learning those songs, and improving your playing of them. If you don't do it in practice, when do you? At band rehearsal? There are folks on this forum who would literally crucify you on your own basses if you tried that in a band with them, and they aren't simply a vocal minority. Rehearsal is for the band to work on the song. Practice is where you learn and perfect your part of that song.
The rest of Dav's advice is spot on, I'm simply going to add one more thing.
Get yourself a Zoom B1on or something similar, something that functions as a headphone amp, but will let you also plug in a recorder or somesuch. Record rehearsals. Remember that a key part of being a musician is your ear, and it needs practice too. Listen to yourself from the last rehearsal, did you botch that series of 1/8 note pulls offs in the bridge? Well guess what we'll be working on in practice this week?
And it's not just band courtesy, it's key to your development. Dollars to donuts says you'll recognize improvements in how you play those songs before you recognize improvements to the spider. And if you don't, your band mates are liable to, hopefully one pipes up... Don't underestimate the power of positive feedback, particularly early on. So focus on the songs more than the exercises up front, you'll know when it is time to start putting the exercises to the fore.
EDIT: Apparently I don't mean it when I type "one more thing"...
You can use your band's repertoire as part of your practice. Similar to some of GraveDav's suggestions...
- Pick a piece of one of your band's songs (e.g., chorus) and (1) make sure you can play it consistently on time using a metronome; okay to set the metronome slower than you play it with the band to make sure you've got it, and (2) try playing it using a couple of different fingerings/places on the neck so you continue to learn where the notes are and the choices you get to make about where to play them.
- Then add other pieces (e.g., verse, bridge) and try the same thing.
- Also, you can add some adventure to scales (if you don't already) by playing the same scale multiple times by (1) starting the scale by fretting the root note with a different finger each time (so that you see the scale "patterns" in different ways), and (2) playing by intervals, for example using thirds going up: 1-3-2-4-3-5-4-6-5-7-6-8-7-2(octave up)-8. I sometimes see these kinds of exercises as games.
And you don't need 90 minutes of concentrated practice at this point. Chunking it up as others have suggested might be more useful, and having shorter, concentrated blocks focused on quality will likely make it all a bit more palatable and maybe allow you to mix some stuff that seems more enjoyable on a given day with stuff that feels harder or more challenging but yet somehow valuable.
- Pick a piece of one of your band's songs (e.g., chorus) and (1) make sure you can play it consistently on time using a metronome; okay to set the metronome slower than you play it with the band to make sure you've got it, and (2) try playing it using a couple of different fingerings/places on the neck so you continue to learn where the notes are and the choices you get to make about where to play them.
- Then add other pieces (e.g., verse, bridge) and try the same thing.
- Also, you can add some adventure to scales (if you don't already) by playing the same scale multiple times by (1) starting the scale by fretting the root note with a different finger each time (so that you see the scale "patterns" in different ways), and (2) playing by intervals, for example using thirds going up: 1-3-2-4-3-5-4-6-5-7-6-8-7-2(octave up)-8. I sometimes see these kinds of exercises as games.
And you don't need 90 minutes of concentrated practice at this point. Chunking it up as others have suggested might be more useful, and having shorter, concentrated blocks focused on quality will likely make it all a bit more palatable and maybe allow you to mix some stuff that seems more enjoyable on a given day with stuff that feels harder or more challenging but yet somehow valuable.
I support everything you added, except the "one more thing" part.
find something , ... a style or tune you really like and wanna learn ... then use your technical exercise to help you learn stuff .. if there's no practical application , i think it can just get boring ... and i doubt you need to practice longer ... just practice better ... never make mistakes or be sloppy , you'll just ingrain those bad things into your head ...
1st .......stop calling it Practice......it is "playing my bass" or "making music".....
2nd...you should absolutely start playing some songs......slow ones if you like..try Pink Floyd Comfortably Numb...find the tab online.....slow enough with a cool little groove..had me grinning the 1st time I played it
2nd...you should absolutely start playing some songs......slow ones if you like..try Pink Floyd Comfortably Numb...find the tab online.....slow enough with a cool little groove..had me grinning the 1st time I played it
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You can learn a lot by actively, studiously, attentively listening to music without a bass in your hands. It will help lessen the stress on your hands and engage another part of the learning process. And it's enjoyable. No internet, no bass, just ears. Just listen carefully to music you love, study it as a listener. After a while, how well you can hear and listen becomes worth a lot more than chops and scales. Did I mention, do some listening?
If you say you play your bands songs sloppy, then you should probably practice them. And I agree with learning other songs you like. Playing along to a track is more enjoyable than running through scales, imo.
they're not mutually exclusive at all. hard work is for practice time. relax and have fun is for performace.
I started with Dazed & Confused. Nice and slow to fast and great for warming up.
Money's cool too for its weird 7/4, 4/4 timing.
Experienced peoples- Plz feel free to recommend more. The music I like is way too complicated
I don't think you should be practicing anything that doesn't allow you to have a relaxed hand. Beyond the first few hours of learning some new technique. But, i've been playing over 40 years and often play up to five hours a day. I never stretch my hand. One finger per fret, pinky four frets down from index finger...that went out the window after about the fifth year.
Actually, it was Carol Kaye who told me that stuff is for guitar players, not people with a 34 inch neck. Not saying I don't use my pinky, but I will move my hand up and down the neck before I stretch my pinky to thepoint of discomfort. lots of people use this type of technique. Just try learning some riffs by ear, or even off the internet to learn what notes to play, but play it anyway that feels comfortable and allows you to sound each note correctly. Good luck with your playing. But, yeah, I try not to practice if I'm not enjoying myself.
Actually, it was Carol Kaye who told me that stuff is for guitar players, not people with a 34 inch neck. Not saying I don't use my pinky, but I will move my hand up and down the neck before I stretch my pinky to thepoint of discomfort. lots of people use this type of technique. Just try learning some riffs by ear, or even off the internet to learn what notes to play, but play it anyway that feels comfortable and allows you to sound each note correctly. Good luck with your playing. But, yeah, I try not to practice if I'm not enjoying myself.
[QUOTE="nico485, post: 18437022, member: 176052"
Whatever you do, I think the main thing is to have fun. If it's not fun it will feel like school or a job and you won't want to do it. I'm sure some will disagree because it does take work to get better, but you can work at getting better without making yourself feel worse. Know when to step away and come back to it later.[/QUOTE]
This is important, remember to have fun!! Split your time for exercises, scales, challenging tunes but learn some easy ones as well!! Play along with the radio, etc...
Whatever you do, I think the main thing is to have fun. If it's not fun it will feel like school or a job and you won't want to do it. I'm sure some will disagree because it does take work to get better, but you can work at getting better without making yourself feel worse. Know when to step away and come back to it later.[/QUOTE]
This is important, remember to have fun!! Split your time for exercises, scales, challenging tunes but learn some easy ones as well!! Play along with the radio, etc...
1.5 hours a day is more than sufficient, be patient.
This almost seems like a troll, but I will give you the benefit of the doubt.
I doesn't matter how many spider variations and scales you can execute if you poorly play the material required by the gig.
practicing your band's parts slowly until they are no longer sloppy is the best use of practice time.
by focusing only on techniques and scales you are practicing steering and shifting without ever getting the car on the road.
learn songs: this is the car on the road
practice your bands songs: this is your commute
(also: not learning your parts on your own is wasting your band's valuable limited time., and gets you replaced in paying gigs)
Definitely do exercises like spider and scales, but:
learn songs, learn riffs you like, learn your bands songs - learn to play music
everything you learn to play well adds to your technique.
do not falsely discriminate.
This almost seems like a troll, but I will give you the benefit of the doubt.
I doesn't matter how many spider variations and scales you can execute if you poorly play the material required by the gig.
practicing your band's parts slowly until they are no longer sloppy is the best use of practice time.
by focusing only on techniques and scales you are practicing steering and shifting without ever getting the car on the road.
learn songs: this is the car on the road
practice your bands songs: this is your commute
(also: not learning your parts on your own is wasting your band's valuable limited time., and gets you replaced in paying gigs)
Definitely do exercises like spider and scales, but:
learn songs, learn riffs you like, learn your bands songs - learn to play music
everything you learn to play well adds to your technique.
do not falsely discriminate.
