Getting emotionally tired of practicing.

[edencab]

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

yup D&C was also one of the 1st ones I played too!

 

[Lobster11]

Others have alluded to this, but it deserves to be underscored: You'll get much more out of your 1.5 hours of practice if you divide it into two 45-minute sessions separated by a good chunk of time, or even three 30-minute sessions, than by doing one 90-minute block. It isn't just a matter of getting bored or losing focus (although that's certainly an issue too): There's a ton of psychological research demonstrating that across many different kinds of skill/knowledge domains, a higher proportion of information is retained from "distributed practice" -- i.e., "distributed" across multiple shorter sessions -- than from "massed" practice. If you do this I think you'll find that you're making progress much faster, without actually having to increase the total amount of time spent practicing.

 

[PaulJSmith]

I have to agree with most of what's already been written here. Since you are in a band, a big part of your practice time needs to include working on the material for those songs. That's your contribution to the band, and if it's sloppy as you say, then you need to practice and polish it until it is not. There is growth in that, believe it or not.

Unless you are in a band that plays wild fusion or progressive music, all that stetching and spider work is secondary at best to where you really need to focus. Learn to play the bass in a smooth and solid manner first, then worry about the cool stuff later.

 

[MCS4]

If you really are playing nothing but technique exercises for 1.5 hours per day, it's no surprise that you're going insane.

Chill out on the technique for a while and focus on learning music, whether in the form of theory (scales, chord tones, etc.), playing songs, writing songs, or combinations thereof.

When you find something that you can't play due to issues with your technique, then focus on technique exercises geared toward the specific deficiency you've encountered. This will help the technique exercises to be more targeted and purposeful.

IMO, spider exercises will be more useful in the future, if you're playing a lot of fast, complex material that requires a lot of finger independence, rather than in the case of beginner's bass parts.

 

[arbiterusa]

I don't think I've ever practiced more than an hour at a time in my life, outside of writing/recording sessions and a few last-minute "We need you to learn fifty songs. By Thursday" kind of gigs. But I do it every day. If not on bass, than on drums or guitar. Nice to have the option.

But yeah, if you're getting pissed off and not enjoying it, stop. You're not going to get any better practicing with a mindset like that, in fact, probably the opposite.

 

[Groove Doctor]

Already been said here...

Remember your school classes were just under an hour 55 minute or so. Reason for that is we humans retain what we are studying best in 45 to 50 minute spans.
After a15 minute break we are good for another session.

My opinion: break up the routine to include some ear training by figuring out some songs that you like. Nobody becomes a better driver by practicing moving the gear shift around in a stationary car for an hour at a time. You've got to play music in order to know what music feels like.

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.

...play for your own enjoyment - so enjoy it!

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.

You'll get much more out of your 1.5 hours of practice if you divide it into two 45-minute sessions separated by a good chunk of time, or even three 30-minute sessions, than by doing one 90-minute block.

It isn't just a matter of getting bored or losing focus (although that's certainly an issue too): There's a ton of psychological research demonstrating that across many different kinds of skill/knowledge domains, a higher proportion of information is retained from "distributed practice" -- i.e., "distributed" across multiple shorter sessions -- than from "massed" practice. If you do this I think you'll find that you're making progress much faster, without actually having to increase the total amount of time spent practicing.

If you really are playing nothing but technique exercises for 1.5 hours per day, it's no surprise that you're going insane.

 

[Groove Doctor]

Master the simple stuff first.

Burn that into your brain... it'll take you further than anything else.

 

[pbassjbass]

For me, its 1/3 on mechanics - technique & scales, chords/arpeggios, 1/3 on new stuff - songs, riffs, etc, 1/3 on songs I'm working on including moving them around the neck and strings and keys). Vary the metronome speed, you'll learn faster if things change up on you.

 

[lfmn16]

Master the simple stuff first.

Burn that into your brain... it'll take you further than anything else.

So True. Like the guitarist that spends 99% of his time on leads and can't play a rhythm part to save their lives.

There's nothing wrong with being able to rip your bass a new one, but if you want to work regularly, you better be able to hold down the bottom end when that's called for.

 

[Blankandson]

I have the luxury of being retired so I can divide my time in many small activities. I practice when I feel like it - maybe once a day for 30 minutes or sometimes an hour. I also read books I purchase or get from the library. I listen to baseball and Nascar on my AM radio. I'm a ham operator and spend a little time listening to that in the background. I like to bake so I may do that several times a week. Hang out with neighbors in my or their back yard (when it's warm!) Point is, I do many little things and practicing bass is just one of them. Don't sweat it so much. If you feel like a 2-hour marathon practice then go for it. But if you miss a few days, it's OK. Enjoy life. It will be over before you know it!

 

[jjmuckluckjr]

Joe Nerve is right as always. The bass is primarily a support instrument. Few can pull off sustained solo work. Given our role me do better playing live and locking in with a drummer. When that happens , people notice and musicians will look you up.

 

[Bodhammer]

Hi, I am a beginner. I usually have about 1.5 free hours a day for practicing and feel like it is not enough for me to get better. But when I somehow manage to practice more then 1.5 hours a day it just doesn't go well. I start feeling emotionally tired, lose passion and my practicing turns into ineffective self torture. Even if I split my time in parts. Physically I'm still ok.

Any thoughts on this? Am I just being lazy or we actually have some daily limits or something?

Uber-newb here. I hate to practice. Have you looked at Rocksmith 2014?

 

[pjb15]

You might want to read some books on the brain and the process of learning. Music requires communication between many areas of the brain and needs to be "wired" as you learn new techniques. Send me a PM and I'll be happy to recommend a couple things I have read that were very helpful.

 

[beatlebass64]

Staying relaxed is important, both physically and mentally. I don't think it is so much about how long you practice, but how WELL you practice. Practicing in a separate room, with no distractions (TV, cell phone, etc...) and staying FOCUSED for 30 minutes is better IMO than practicing for an hour or more with the TV on in the background.

Warming up is also a huge thing. I like the 1,2,3,4 exercise across the strings (usually down around the 7th fret so the stretch is real easy. Alternating between two fingers with your playing hand (or up and down strokes if you use a pick) and just SLOWLY going across the strings (7th fret, 8th fret, 9th fret, 10th fret, etc...) is a great way to loosen up.

 

[rufus.K]

When I'm not into "practicing", I learn tunes by ear, especially stuff out of my usual genres. Just anything that's interesting

 

[Whippet]

Just pick up Hal Leonard's Bass Method.
It's too much fun to put down.

If you don't have a teacher. Get a teacher. They know many tricks of the trade. It's worth it, you'll learn more and faster.

If all fails, get a new bass, it'll reignite your passion, but just be careful. It might turn to GAS.

 

[Mantis Tobaggan]

OP are you sure you like bass?

 

[Buzz E]

I have been playing for around 21 months and get a lot of compliments on what I do, my key to practice and progress is to be musical.

If I learn a new concept, like the Phrygian scale, I may spend 2 hours being musical with it. You understand how it is different than Dorian - what makes it special. How many different ways can I play it.

Bass is a groove I've instrument, so I groove with it.

I usually finish up each practice session with a groove to ensure that I understand the concept. Here is one from a few days ago.

Today's practice I will probably go back and review Ionian, Dorian and Phrygian to make sure that I am still comfortable with them. I won't move on to Lydian until I am sure.

Bass for only 21 months? You've been playing something else waaaaaaaayy longer. Looks good...!

 

[SkinCoffin]

I'm also a beginner. I'm not amazing but I can play what I need to play and if I can't I practice.

The way I make it not torturous is I learn songs which incorporate stuff I want to learn even if it's just the one or two riffs I really love in the song, it makes it easier to learn the harder stuff (speed, more stretches, alternating, pick/fingerstyle, slap etc)

I also play with a band which helps. Last thing you want is to go onstage and feel like everyone's watching you play like sh!t so you force yourself to focus when you are practicing.

In the first 3-4 months I practiced 2ish hours a night, now I do maybe 15mins to 1hr max, sometimes longer but with noodling, breaks etc and I generally practice my bands set, new songs, then jam some covers of things that give me joy. If I know I'm feeling particularly crap and will burn out quickly I pick the most fun songs to jam to or fun snippets of excercises and riffs, and leave the stressful stuff to a day when I'll be able to focus clearly on it and get better results overall.

 

[ThePresident777]

Practicing what? Bass lessons? You could take a break from bass lessons by playing fun songs or working on general music skills or song writing. There are lots of free tools. The trick is to find something motivating.

Which edition is best for me? | Forte Notation

Key Chords

Why is the vii dim 7 important in minor keys?

Using the Diminished Chord - dim7 chord - how to use the dim chord in jazz - chords - chord changes - jazz - guitar -- Bruno Pelletier

diminished color / passing chords

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TonalityGUIDE: diminished seventh chords

Do you play Rocksmith? It's fun and loaded with lots of great rock music, if you like that style. There is some challenging stuff in there too like Rush, Iron Maiden, Allman Brothers, Stevie Wonder.