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How do i practice alone?
- Thread starter vengence
- Start date
Put on a metronome, play 1/4 notes, then 1/8, then 1/6th and triplets if you feel like it. For a warm up I like to play through a scale playing the 3rd of each note.
e.g C-E, D-F, E-G, F-A, G-B, A-C, B-D. Do that in every key and go up the neck playing 2 octaves.
e.g C-E, D-F, E-G, F-A, G-B, A-C, B-D. Do that in every key and go up the neck playing 2 octaves.
Stretch hands before practice. Make like you're going to palm a basketball but don't let your knuckles lock. go slow. use a grip strengthener like a gripmaster. again, don't let your knuckles lock.
Most folks get plenty of practice on left hand dexterity. Right hand tends to be weaker and ears tend to be weaker still. As a bass player, your core skills should be knowing where something is on the fretboard after just hearing it, and keeping a rock steady groove. Soloing is for guitars. So, learn songs, learn songs, learn songs.
Whatever you're practicing, be it bass playing, typing, karate or whatever, practice perfection, not speed. Speed will come in time. If you practice too fast you're going to learn to do it wrong, then it takes 3 times as long to get it right. Once to learn it wrong, once to unlearn the bad habit, and once again to learn it right. Practice getting the motions just right until they become second nature.
When learning information like song structure or schoolwork, use variable interval reinforcement. Go over something, move on to something else, and come back to the first thing after a short time. It's a corollary of the principle above; practice remembering something while it's fresh enough to remember successfully. Take longer and longer times before coming back to it each time, that reinforces it in your memory. If you take too long of an interval and fail to remember it when you come back to it, you are actually training yourself to forget it. That can be made worse by negative self-talk.
Most folks get plenty of practice on left hand dexterity. Right hand tends to be weaker and ears tend to be weaker still. As a bass player, your core skills should be knowing where something is on the fretboard after just hearing it, and keeping a rock steady groove. Soloing is for guitars. So, learn songs, learn songs, learn songs.
Whatever you're practicing, be it bass playing, typing, karate or whatever, practice perfection, not speed. Speed will come in time. If you practice too fast you're going to learn to do it wrong, then it takes 3 times as long to get it right. Once to learn it wrong, once to unlearn the bad habit, and once again to learn it right. Practice getting the motions just right until they become second nature.
When learning information like song structure or schoolwork, use variable interval reinforcement. Go over something, move on to something else, and come back to the first thing after a short time. It's a corollary of the principle above; practice remembering something while it's fresh enough to remember successfully. Take longer and longer times before coming back to it each time, that reinforces it in your memory. If you take too long of an interval and fail to remember it when you come back to it, you are actually training yourself to forget it. That can be made worse by negative self-talk.
To practice timing, run your stereo through a volume pedal to your amp. Start playing with the song (you're in another channel unaffected by the volume pedal) once you're grooving with the song, back the volume pedal down to zero and keep playing for a little while. Then when you bring the volume back up you can see how far off you are.
I agree with Rockin Mike's post except this. A grip strengthener may have it's uses elsewhere, but it is not beneficial to playing the bass. With the fretting hand, it is the opposite to gripping that is required, i.e. the opening of the hand/fingers. Everyone has the strength from a young age to fret a string, so no more is required for this task. Lifting the fingers off the frets to move them to another fret is what needs to be developed.
Nothing's better than a small loop station. I highly recommend a RC-3 or something like it. You play to the drumloop and then can immediately listen to what you just played. This is feedback you cannot get elsewhere. While playing we tend to overhear our mistakes etc. but when you can listen to it you will improve significantly.
At last but not least, it's fun!
At last but not least, it's fun!
Good point, I never thought of it like that. I just came back to bass playing a couple of months ago after a 15-year break and at my first band rehearsal my left hand and forearm were so sore I could barely finish the night. I started using a grip strengthener to prepare for the next rehearsal but I'm sure the strength would have come back in a week or two on its own anyway.
You're right, Hulk Hogan arms aren't helpful for bass playing.
There are "fast-twitch" (speed) muscles and "slow-twitch" (strength) muscles and I'm sure the fast-twitch are the ones we want for bass playing.
Fellow TB'r Fergie Fulton has a lot of useful information for keeping the hands in good condition, on his My Space page here, if you are interested.
Link Removed
I like the Hulk Hogan analogy. Developing too much gripping strength in the fretting hand and neglecting the tendons that open the hand, is like the Hulk Hogan trying to perform ballet !!
Great tips, My teacher always says go slow and focus on playing clean. When I practice scales, I play major and minor triads. It helps my finger dexterity and my ears. Also, sing what you play.
I was about to answer something similar. Record yourself if possible! It doesn't improve your time in itself but it does motivate you to do so if you ever need to.
+1 for recording yourself when playing to a click. I prefer practising to beats, thats more inspiring than plain click, but you'll discover your weak spots sooner than any band member could ever tell you.
I've been using the wikiloops.com drumtracks extensively lately, and I catch myself playing stuff I'd never thought off some months ago, plus I spent some time speeding up my fingers, playing well known phrases at higher tempo until I'm easy with it and get it to groove.
I've been using the wikiloops.com drumtracks extensively lately, and I catch myself playing stuff I'd never thought off some months ago, plus I spent some time speeding up my fingers, playing well known phrases at higher tempo until I'm easy with it and get it to groove.
You don't need any drum machines or anything, you need a metronome and an instrument.
Time - Put a metronome on at about 40bpm, 1. beat = quarter-note, 2. beat = eight-notes, 3. beat = eight-note triplets, 4. beat = sixteenth-notes, 5. beat = sixteenth-note quintuplets, 6. beat = sixteenth-note sextuplets, 7. beat = sixteenth-note septuplets 8. beat = 32.-notes and then back down.
Tone production is VERY important, you should try playing open strings or scales with accents on different beats or subdivisions (also doubles as time practice), also try playing an eight-note pulse with crescendos and decrescendos (for example within the duration of a deep breath)
Phrasing - Try playing a solo or bassline with only one predetermined rhythmic value, eg. Only half notes and half note rests (do this at a VERY low tempo as well)
Try playing or clapping simple polyrhythms, like 3:4 or 5:4 and count the 4/4 out loud while doing so, this is to strenghten your feeling of pulse, as in always knowing where the one is for example.
If you play DB or fretless bass guitar it is a good idea to practice simple scales against a constant drone.
And finally when you are done, read theory.
Time - Put a metronome on at about 40bpm, 1. beat = quarter-note, 2. beat = eight-notes, 3. beat = eight-note triplets, 4. beat = sixteenth-notes, 5. beat = sixteenth-note quintuplets, 6. beat = sixteenth-note sextuplets, 7. beat = sixteenth-note septuplets 8. beat = 32.-notes and then back down.
Tone production is VERY important, you should try playing open strings or scales with accents on different beats or subdivisions (also doubles as time practice), also try playing an eight-note pulse with crescendos and decrescendos (for example within the duration of a deep breath)
Phrasing - Try playing a solo or bassline with only one predetermined rhythmic value, eg. Only half notes and half note rests (do this at a VERY low tempo as well)
Try playing or clapping simple polyrhythms, like 3:4 or 5:4 and count the 4/4 out loud while doing so, this is to strenghten your feeling of pulse, as in always knowing where the one is for example.
If you play DB or fretless bass guitar it is a good idea to practice simple scales against a constant drone.
And finally when you are done, read theory.
