How to use the book for practice?

[Studiostevus]

Hi,

I bought the book and dvd last week, and I think it can greatly help to develop myself. I have been playing for about a year, and currently finalizing the Ed Friedland method books. I bought Tony's book in addition to my normal lessons, as I am not fully satisfied with the depth of the curriculum of my teacher.

Unfortunately my bass playing is limited by real world boundaries, e.g. A job and a baby on the way. So, I probably have an hour a day for practicing bass. This means Ed Friedland book, Tony Grey book, transcribing and playtime. When I read Tony's book, it says for example: practice the Phrygian mode in E up and down the fretboard for maximum 30 minutes. And I am thinking: 30 minutes?? No way!

So my question is really about how to work through the book, how deep to go, how long to play this or that exercise etc? I am doing this without a teacher, so there is nobody to say: you've done this well enough, move on to the next exercise (or the opposite).

Any experiences?

 

[GastonD]

Hm, good question(s), I'd like to hear Tony's comment, too.

In the meantime, you might consider going through the book "as is", i.e. starting with the first chapter and following in the presented order. Of course, if some topics are too easy, you can spend less time on them (if any), and more in other ones.

I believe that a lot of teaching/learning in music, like with languages, is cumulative, so it is important to not dwell on a single concept/subject for too long...you're gonna encounter it again somewhere down the line, anyway, but also, do not skip or rush through things just because they are overly challenging of frustrating at the moment.

 

[JimmyM]

You said max 30 minutes, right? That doesn't mean you have to spend a half hour on it. Just do it till you can do it without having to think too hard about it.

 

[Studiostevus]

Well yes. I dont have the book with me here, so i cant quote from it but it says something like:

Practice all scales all modes for a maximum of 30 minutes. Even if I move on once i have attained a reasonable fluency on a scale/mode, it will take me months. Do you actually practice to this level of depth?

You said max 30 minutes, right? That doesn't mean you have to spend a half hour on it. Just do it till you can do it without having to think too hard about it.

 

[JimmyM]

To be honest, I'm not all that into modal playing, but I have studied the modes and played the scales in all keys and all that, and all I can say is that the more time you can spend with it, the sooner it becomes internalized. As for it taking months, I've been playing for 40 years now and it's still a journey.

 

[GastonD]

I'd still like (hoping actually) to hear Tony's take on this.
In the meantime, I use the scale studies as the warmup at the beginning of the practice session, and then I move to whatever is the designated "meat and potatoes" of that day. That said, while the choice of the study subject may depend on too many factors to consider here, I really like how Tony approaches those studies. He offers great exercises and drills, with balanced take on possible needs of each particular student.

 

[bassjamn]

I am going through tony's website which has most of the same content in the book.
on his forums he has some recommended practice schedules if you ask him, but the 30 minutes is just a general guidelines.
If you only have an hour he mentions to practice different subjects for shorter time.
Such as 15 minutes a piece, or shorter if you must.
The fingerboard study is great stuff, I already knew the box shapes many years ago but the whole range exercises were new to me and really increased fingerboard fluidity.

Of the various subjects he covers i focus on
BeBop Study
Jazz standards
Fingerboard Study
Linear Solo Concepts

Just repeating what he states in all his lessons, and guidelines in all his exercise goals.
Set a BPM goal for each exercise, start very slow 40 bpm for example.
use a metronome, or his backing tracks, repeat the exercise 3 times.
increase tempo by a few bpm's( i usually do 5-10bpm when increasing)
make a note where you left off for the next practice session. Once you reach your BPM goal move on to the next lesson.
I also use a timer and make sure to have no distractions during these 30 minute blocks.
It usually takes me 5-7 days to really complete a lesson at my target tempo.
really seeing improvement the past few months, Especially handling standards/songs with many key changes!

Hope that helps...

 

[GastonD]

I wholeheartedly recommend it. I tried it for 7 days and decided to stay with the academy.