how long did you practice today?

I havent even picked up the bass today. I got home at 4:30 from my dads and havent gotten off Talkbass since.

 

I played piano from about 3-5

I've been practicing bass since...6


It's 8:48 now...


...9:55 now...


...10:51 now...

...11:47 now...

 

I have not touched by bass for 3 days atleast... and I played my guitar yesterday... *gets bass* *practices*

 

I did not practice today. I had a gig that lasted 4 1/2 hours.

 

In total, I practiced for a little over two hours today.

 

one hour.

 

Bout' half an hour, though I feel the urge to play a little more tonight.

 

*moan* i just woke up...and my bass is in another city...

 

u guys are lucky, i havnt played in over a week, i snapped my g-string (haha :|) and havnt been able to get strings from any music shop in my town, sucks, my g/f is buying me some tomorrow. My god, its just sunk in how very cool that is, i wonder will she buy my a new amp...........

 

I don't think how long is relevant at all really - it is more a question of how focused you are in what you are trying to achieve.

So - just playing around with bass is not practicing - no matter how many hours you do it.
I think you alway have to have some goal in mind and to be working towards something.

If you spend 10 - 20 minutes on a line that you need to play - for say a gig - but couldn't before and get it right in that time - that is worth more than 2 - 3 hours of messing about on bass, with no aim in mind.

 

'


You practice alot, no wonder you got such major chops.

 

Yeah, but what Bruce said is totally true, it's not how long you practice but how well.

The only thing you can from playing for hours on end(as I do) is endurance.

 

Yesterday i practiced for about 2hrs. 2 one hour blocks trying to get a song up to speed [176 bpm 4/4 my part is all 8ths]. Today i am going to try and get 3 hours in. That's all

 

[[If you spend 10 - 20 minutes on a line that you need to play - for say a gig - but couldn't before and get it right in that time - that is worth more than 2 - 3 hours of messing about on bass, with no aim in mind.]]

True, but endurance is also important! I had a pair of outdoor gigs over the weekend: on Sunday, we got paid to play a fourth hour-long set, and that was a real test which I struggled to pass. It didn't help that it was over 90 degrees in the shade and very humid... but that's not relevant, I'm just complaining.

 

Lessee,

Saturday - no practice but a three hour jam session where I split my time 50/50 guitar/bass

Sunday - one hour church gig, one hour scales and arps with metronome. Using my Pedulla strung with heavier strings to make me work..

Today - spent a half hour before work trying to play walking bass lines against a few standard jazz/blues progressions (I suck, but having worked on this for a few months, I suck less...)

Tonight - need to go through my sight reading drills and my lesson work ( I am going bass lessons once a week)

I'd be able to practice more if I didn't need to sleep/work/have a family life...



olie

 

Today being monday nothing

Sunday-one rehearsal one church service
Saturday-two gigs with two bands
Friday-rehearsed with both bands

 

You're really just talking about physical fitness - which is a separate thing.

But anyway - electric bass playing is really "easy" - as in, it doesn't take any real effort. Moving a couple of fingers about while standing up - or even sitting down!! Pah - it's nothing! Low action, light touch - let the amp do the work!

So I got really ill last week and am still recovering - I can hardly walk any distance without being out of breath and am on antibiotics for a chest infection - but I still played a 3 hour gig on Saturday night - in very hot conditions.

So I was talking to my fellow band members - big horn section - and they were saying to me how lucky I was playing bass, as I would never have managed a gig like that (in my condition) on Trombone or Trumpet - or even Flute!!

 

I'm talking about BG relative to itself. And don't presume to know how I set my action!

Gig stamina is not the same as physical fitness. It's one thing to practice a few hours at a time at home or at rehearsal, but quite another to play a full three or four hour gig. Sure, you're *supposed* to play the same way at a gig as you do at home, but this isn't always the case... conditions (such as how well you can hear yourself in the mix) are less under your control and can change dramatically. I often play harder at a gig than I do at home, though I try not to.

Regardless of the above: gig stamina is easy to take for granted... that was true for me. But in the mid-90's I went four full years without touching a bass. After I resumed, it took quite some time before I was able to play a full gig without significant fatigue, let alone cramps and/or blisters.