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How do you practice?

H

Hordehunterx

Apr 26, 2011
122
0
#1
Hey, so recently i've felt that i had stopped progressing as a musician. Currently i'm not in a band simply because im stuck in a boarding school without anyone that plays an instrument. ( hard to believe, i know )

So i've play bass everyday, but (recently) i've gradually been getting more and more frustrated and had lost the einthusiasm to actually play with dedication and feel (simply unintrested). I've been playing bass for 6 years and i do know what i need to improve and i know my limits as a bassist.

So what do you do when you practice? have you been through what i'm currently going through? i have been through this once before.
 
#2
Hordehunterx said:
Hey, so recently I’ve felt that I had stopped progressing as a musician. Currently I’m not in a band simply because I’m stuck in a boarding school without anyone that plays an instrument. (Hard to believe, I know)

So I’ve play bass every day, but (recently) I’ve gradually been getting more and more frustrated and had lost the enthusiasm to actually play with dedication and feel (simply uninterested). I've been playing bass for 6 years and I do know what I need to improve and I know my limits as a bassist.

So what do you do when you practice? Have you been through what I’m currently going through? I have been through this once before.
Click to expand...

Went off to boarding school at 13, no school band, however there were music classes; piano and classical guitar and several of the guys did play guitar in their room. No jamming sessions for some reason, or none that I was aware of. Course that has been 65 years ago, my memory is suspect on things that happened 65 years ago. And music had not come into my life back then.

1) Check that the school does not have music classes of some kind. May not be bass, but, music is music and anything will keep you involved.

2) Ask around I bet there are some guitars, harmonicas, and the like in the dorm. Start a jamming session.

Now as to how do I practice? The fundamentals are behind me so scales, arpeggios, etc. are for warm-up only. My practice time is playing the songs we will use this Sunday at church services (Praise music) and if the mood hits me perhaps some jazz standards from the "real book". The country band I'm with has been playing the same 35 songs for decades, when we throw in some Christmas songs I'll go over those, but, what we do in this band is on auto pilot, i.e. no practice necessary. It's basic I-IV-V7 and root-five works.

I practice songs now days. If the songs calls for a brush up on some of the fundamentals, I then take the time to go over that.

There are a zillion backing tracks on the Internet, that will get you playing with others, nothing like live jamming, however it is not a perfect World. Make do with what you have. An inexpensive electric keyboard will have drum tracks and song databases. I bet there will be something, or someone you can practice with.

Speaking of inexpensive electric keyboards, learn to play keys. The stuff for the left hand flows right into a bass line. Plus learning standard notation never hurts a musician.

Good luck.
 
#4
there's an app for android and iPad/iphone called iRealB that has a catalog of thousands of songs. The app is designed as a play along -- quite a few handy bells and whistles and usual low mobile app price.
 
#6
yeah i think i should start doing that, in to hung up on trying to enhance my skill with the bass and im missing the whole reason of why i initially fell in love with the instrument. i guess i should go back to the real books and work on my theory, havent done that in a long while.
I actually so already have IRealB, lovely app indeed!

i actually did try to pick up the saxophone but it wasnt for me. still a very beautiful instrument :)
 
#7
dkelley said:
practice? wha?
Click to expand...

I feel the same. I've been playing for 14 years, but rarely put any time into actually practicing. I'm not in a band, but play regularly at church every week and record my own music at home for fun. Other rehearsals go on at church without me, but due to my schedule, I generally run through music with the band one time about 45 minutes prior to starting.

If I ever put the time and effort into practicing like I know I should, I feel like I would actually be as good as my musician friends and acquaintances think I am.

What little practice I do consists of sitting in front of my computer playing along with whatever songs I'm learning and looking up chord charts and YouTube videos for help if I run into any issues.
 
#8
No matter how well you know your scales and chords there is ALWAYS a different way to practice them. Change the rhythm, mixup the order, play all of them in the upper end of the neck, the lower end, put an octave between every note, anything.

Ear training is a skill that will always pay off. Play songs by ear. Any song, like kids songs, church songs, melodies that you like, TV commericals, anything that you can sing the whole song, play it on bass. Play along with recordings.

Reading standard notation. You'll never be as good as you could be. Read anything. Bass lines from church hymnals, trombone books, cello books, transcribe the music you play from ear training. Check out Bassbooks.com and Jazzbooks.com for all kinds of stuff.

There is always something else to practice. Don't make the mistake of thinking you have to have a reason to play something before you learn to play it. Play because you love the sound of your instrument.
 
#9
BassChuck said:
No matter how well you know your scales and chords there is ALWAYS a different way to practice them. Change the rhythm, mixup the order, play all of them in the upper end of the neck, the lower end, put an octave between every note, anything.

Ear training is a skill that will always pay off. Play songs by ear. Any song, like kids songs, church songs, melodies that you like, TV commericals, anything that you can sing the whole song, play it on bass. Play along with recordings.

Reading standard notation. You'll never be as good as you could be. Read anything. Bass lines from church hymnals, trombone books, cello books, transcribe the music you play from ear training. Check out Bassbooks.com and Jazzbooks.com for all kinds of stuff.

There is always something else to practice. Don't make the mistake of thinking you have to have a reason to play something before you learn to play it. Play because you love the sound of your instrument.
Click to expand...

i like your point :)
 
#11
I pick songs I like but have never played. Just worked up Day Tripper and crazy train. When I can play them with the recording mistake free I pick new ones. It keeps my chops up and expands the song list. This works well for me
 

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