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Help with my technique and practice habits please.

MarshallNole

MarshallNole

Guest
Dec 1, 2013
414
96
#1
I've been playing almost 2 years now. I have no desire to be in a band, this is just a hobby.

I STILL make some of the very same mistakes on songs I learned when I first started playing. What's it take? I want to stop making the same mistakes. Does it really take this long to play songs perfectly? I feel like I am wasting my time practicing this crap every day.
 
#9
,Don't worry so much. Regardless of what instrument you play, capturing the vibe, spirit, mood or whatever you want to call it of a song is what it's all about. So long as you do that, very few people are going to care or even notice if you don't nail it exactly note for note. Hell a little while back I saw a band just randomly do Pleasant Valley Sunday, and I'm not sure they hit ANY of the right notes. But it was great fun and a good time was had by all.

EDIT: Don't mean to suggest you shouldn't try to be the best you can be. Just saying don't sweat it, have fun, keep working and it will all come together eventually. At least that's what I keep telling myself!
 
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#10
ZenG said:
And what do you do when you practise?
Click to expand...

+1. OP, perhaps you could tell us what your practice sessions consists of.
From the title of your thread, you sound frustrated. Try not to be. It wont help much..correction....at all !!!

BTW, playing in a band can be a hobby. It is a great way to learn and improve.
 
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#12
Loosen up. Who says you have to be note for note? Note for note as the original artist did it is not that important - to me. Now note for note is important if you are playing melody, the tune, but, I do not play the tune I provide harmony. Do a Google on harmony; I think you will find that close is close enough in harmony. Now if you are part of the do it exactly school - no need to read any more of this post as it deals with building a bass line based upon the chords in this song, not playing by rote what the original artist did.

Our job, as I see it, is to call attention to the chord that is active in the song at this specific part of the song. The root note of that chord on the first beat - that chord is active does that, so at this stage in your journey concentrate on sounding the root note on the chord changes. Not before or after, dead on. Play from chord charts, fake chord sheet music. Need more in your bass line besides roots? The 5 works nicely. Need more? I like the 8, R-5-8-5 falls into a groove very well and most chords have a root, five and eight so the ole R-5-8-5 is generic and fits just about everywhere. Need more? Insert the correct 3 or 7 into your bass line. I go up to the 8 and leave the higher notes to the solo instruments. Root to eight keeps me busy.

Next thing to get into would be Walking to the next chord, I use chromatic notes because its easy. Look for the next chord's root; find it and miss it by three frets then walk to it and be on it for the chord change. Takes some timing, but, the walking notes are a piece of cake.
And yes go get with other musicians. Jamming in your garage with friends will advance your playing more than anything else I could point you to.

Should mention - and then comes rhythm. Melody, harmony and rhythm is what makes music. Concentrate on harmony now, rhythm next, and years from now get some melodic stuff into your bass lines.

Rhythm. For now be aware of the song's time signature. Most songs are in 4/4 time, (if nothing is shown you assume 4/4) however 4/4 is not used for everything. If the sheet music has 6/8 what beat would you use? Answer; 1-2-3-4-5-6 or any combination of 2's & 3's that add up to 6.... Yep rhythm and playing with other people will help your playing quite a lot.

If real live people are out of the question .... pull up a video of a song you like and play along to that. The playing along will tell you what else you need to be working on.
 
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#13
ZenG said:
MarshallNole:--what specific mistakes are you making?

Are you a slapper? or use a pick? or fingers?

4- string or 5 string? (or something else)

What kind of music?

Have you any previous musical experience of any kind? Or did you just pick up the bass "cold" ?

And what do you do when you practise?
Click to expand...

Zeng - I play a lot of Tool. For example on Schism, on the main riff I mess it up by muting the notes or missing a hammer on. On Sober I still sometimes miss the strings when playing the main riff. Don't even get me started on 46&2. I mess that song up bad.

It's. Mostly tool stuff I mess up. I still am not accurate on other songs if I have to do a long slide.

I play pick and finger style. I picked up the bass cold with no previous experience
 
#15
MarshallNole said:
...For example on Schism, on the main riff I mess it up by muting the notes or missing a hammer on. On Sober I still sometimes miss the strings when playing the main riff.
Click to expand...
Concentrate on playing the troublesome sections in isolation and s-l-o-w-l-y.
When you can nail it every time, pick up the tempo -a little-. Repeat.
You are making the same mistakes because you don't have enough experience playing it perfectly.
The best way to get experience playing it perfectly is to play it slowly.
 
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#16
MarshallNole said:
Zeng - I play a lot of Tool. For example on Schism, on the main riff I mess it up by muting the notes or missing a hammer on. On Sober I still sometimes miss the strings when playing the main riff. Don't even get me started on 46&2. I mess that song up bad.

It's. Mostly tool stuff I mess up. I still am not accurate on other songs if I have to do a long slide.

I play pick and finger style. I picked up the bass cold with no previous experience
Click to expand...
MarshallNole said:
As far as my practice goes, I simply walk in my room plug in and start playing songs. I sometimes practice scales etc but not often
Click to expand...

My guess is (correct me if I am wrong) that you go at these songs at "full speed ahead." If so, my suggestion would be to isolate the parts you are constantly messing up. Narrow it down to about thirty to forty five seconds. Then at the beginning and end of each practice session, spend about five minutes SLOWLY repeating the problem section. Play very slowly and deliberately (almost exaggerated to start). Then gradually up the tempo a little and repeat. If you falter at a certain tempo, return to the previous one, then try again to increase it. Do this with each problematic section. When you think you have a section down, then try playing along to the song at it's normal tempo.

Dont spend more than five minutes at one go on a particular section. Take a break and come back to it. Little and often is best. Above all, dont become frustrated. With a little time and patience, I'm sure you will nail those problem bits.

Hope this helps. :)
 
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#17
ArtechnikA said:
Concentrate on playing the troublesome sections in isolation and s-l-o-w-l-y.
When you can nail it every time, pick up the tempo -a little-. Repeat.
You are making the same mistakes because you don't have enough experience playing it perfectly.
The best way to get experience playing it perfectly is to play it slowly.
Click to expand...

Beat me to it my a minute. ;)
 
#18
Maybe start with something easier than Tool...

When I encounter a difficult passage, I stop and play that section over and over and over again. Slow it down. Playing a passage very slowly will allow you to internalize which fret to play and why (thinking of MalcomAmos' post - why are you playing that note). Once you can play it slowly, speed it up. Jumping in full board trying to play the song at speed will hinder you learning some songs. (fearceol and ArtechnikA beat me to this point , but repeating it reiterates the importance of this approach.)

I also practice to lot of songs that I would never regularly listen to (read: modern pop or metal for me). This helps you listen and learn new styles and techniques. In a weird way this also gets the bass-juices flowing for me.

And also echoing that jamming with people will increase your skills and give you inspiration. You don't have to be in a proper band, so don't let that stop you.

One more thing....find a good bass teacher. If only for a few lessons. They can show you proper technique that you might not know is holding you back.

Good Luck and don't give up!
 
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#19
viper4000 is right on

Perhaps you need someone with excellent bass skills or a teacher to show you how to correct your problems. Years ago, I had a teacher evaluate my playing and he helped me reduce movement on my fretting hand. I also had him show me a new picking technique and my pick playing dramatically improved. Even more, I watched some videos on proper technique. It took a few months, but I was able to move past several bad playing habits. Repetition and slowing down parts is key here, but if your technique is not good, no amount of practicing is going to help. Think about how much further you can go if you get your bass techniques down 100%!
 

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