I just can't seem to stop making mistakes...

[IamGroot]

Synopsis: Understand exactly what you need to do on the bass before you jump in and start practicing it.

Lots of good suggestions; the folks that mentioned singing a part or perfect practice get gold stars by their name.

I heard "looping" which is good, but if the problem wont go away, I would recommend using a metronome instead. You want to get down to barebones rhythmic perfect execution.

I have found that if I cant get a part right everytime, the root cause is thst i dont understand 100% what I am supposed to be doing. So I put the written part in fromt of me and completely dissect the problem area. Until you are 100% clear on what you need to do, it wont be perfect and errors will creep in no matter how much you practice it.

I am a total ahole on myself when it comes to practicing problem areas.....and it helps.

So first, i put down the bass and do the following:
I understand the overlying chord progression. If it is a chord chart instead of a written out part, i make sure i understand the nuance of every chord and how it connects to the next chord. If its a chord chart, i learn to sing the melody.

I have a clear vision of the exact rhythmic placement of every note (used to be a common cause for error for me). Cant emphasize this enuff.

I sing the part until i have the problem area clearly set in my head.

Then i pick up the bass.

I have marked up the fingering with pencil including the hand position on the neck. I make sure i understand when my hand shifts and where it goes. Make sure your hand position supports the fingering. I have found that parts i screw up often have bad hand position as a cause. So i nail down the right hand position, not just the fingering.

Once I am clear what i need to do, then i start the perfect practice routine that others have described so well in this thread.

Good luck

 

[glocke1]

Is your attention/focus wandering?.

at times thats part of the problem, I'll start thinking about something else other than the song.

 

[SteveCS]

...

Lots of good suggestions; the folks that mentioned singing a part or perfect practice get gold stars by their name.

...

+1 to singing the part.

 

[two fingers]

at times thats part of the problem, I'll start thinking about something else other than the song.

Hey, how about sharing with us the problem section.

You're getting a tin of advice when nobody here even knows what you're messing up on.

It could be a simple focus problem.

It could be that you're playing whatever this passage is at a place on the fretboard that makes no sense.

It could he anything.

You're getting tons of advice on how to practice. But that might not even be the advice you need. You might just be playing it wrong to begin with.

So, what are we even talking about here?

What do you keep messing up?

 

[Neil Pye]

It's been said, but it bears repeating. Slow practice is your VERY VERY best friend. Practice at a a speed where you can play perfectly. Don't go repeating the stuff you CAN play, practice the bits you struggle with.

The key though is not to practice your mistakes. Practice playing it right. However slow it has to be. Spend some time repeating it correctly until you build some muscle memory, then increase the speed. If it goes wrong, go slower again. It takes time, but it works.

Slow practice is the most powerful practice tool you have, and its free! Use a metronome.

 

[baileyboy]

Was listening back to a couple of recent recordings we made from shows... I can't seem to stop making some mistakes more often than I'd like to, and this is even on tunes that I've spent a considerable amount of time practicing.

Tips for getting some of this stuff more ingrained?

I have become spot-on during gigs. Although many will find my method boring, it works for me:

1) Get a 3 ring binder
2) Get plastic insert pages
3) Write out each song you gig on pieces of paper- write it out so that you can undertstand/practice along with it- tabs, formal, whatever...
4) Put the pieces of paper in the plastic inserts- arrange them alphabetically in the binder
5) Practice songs in alphabetical order along with youtube (I use the studio version of each song)
6) Practice at minimum 5 songs daily, go in order through binder, giving each song equal time
7) Repeat over and over and over

Using this method, you will end up practicing over and over songs that you know well, but I believe this is what it takes to develop good muscle memory. If there is a particular song that is troublesome or newly learned, I may practice it 2-3x daily until I get it down well, in addition to the five. Songs that we take out of the set list, I take out of the binder and put in a larger binder of songs that I've learned. This binder is very thick and holds a couple hundred songs I've learned over the years. This way I have it if I ever need to learn it again.

As far as bass goes, this is all I do because the only thing that matters to me is the end result: the gig. I get better as a bass player through learning more difficult songs that we gig. As stated, most may find this method pedantic and boring, but does work well for me. I very rarely make any mistakes since I started practicing this way. Good luck to you.

 

[BigBigGuy44]

A teacher once told me practice doesn’t make perfect; perfect practice makes perfect.

 

[retslock]

one tune in particular i knew would give me a problem, theres one section that always trips me up...spent about 15 minutes a day repeating that same part for several days in a row and I still messed it up..Its not even like it's all that hard of a tune and there are certainly much more challenging things I play that I don't screw up.

also, its actually a tune ive been playing for "years" and I always just kind of ghost noted that section because I was just too lazy to learn it and also because I could get away with playing it like that with the people I was in a band with at the time...That doesnt fly with the guys Im in a band with now, and I honestly want to put real effort into making this stuff sound the best it can.

The brain is a very powerful tool that has the capacity to make the body do amazing things. Slow the part way down, make sure your fingering, timing and tone are correct then slowly bring it up to tempo. When you play it at tempo don’t place too much attention on your fingers because you have already taught them where they should go. Hear in your mind what you want it to sound like, what it should sound like.
I believe it was Barney Kessel who said that revisiting your routine regularly is more effective that continuous hours of practice. Fifteen to twenty minutes of practice then take a break and do something totally different. Take a walk or get into the garden or whatever for fifteen minutes. Then go back and practice again and so on you go.
The frequent revisiting to your routine alleviates fatigue and cements the learning into your brain.
When you’re away from your bass, visualise your fingers playing those parts correctly. Visualisation is very powerful. Work hard and good luck.
Edit: Singing the part before you try to play it is very effective. Remove all doubt, make sure you know it in your mind first.

 

[obimark]

Was listening back to a couple of recent recordings we made from shows...

Bottom line is a lot of stuff I'm playing really well on, but I can't seem to stop making some mistakes more often than I'd like to, and this is even on tunes that I've spent a considerable amount of time practicing.

Tips for getting some of this stuff more ingrained?

Practice to the point that you can play each line well with nothing else playing. Just your bass.

 

[nilorius]

If you learn somebodies else note partiture then yes - you should learn tighter, but if you play chords and your own melodie then it should be easier.

 

[retslock]

the first mistake I made was "learning the bass"

I think you were having a joke but there is an important distinction implicit in your comment.
Don’t learn to play the bass, learn to play music on the bass. Drummers make that mistake all too often I have found. There is a big difference in playing the drums and playing music on the drums.

 

[Bunk McNulty]

It might help to consider the conditions under which you practice. A friend wrote this book, so obviously I'm prejudiced, but hey, it really did help.

“So, to return to a question from a few pages back: Is it possible to make practicing piano – or violin, oboe, saxophone or accordion – more like practicing basketball? Is it possible to enjoy practicing?”

Invalid Link Removed

 

[retslock]

Do what I do... smile, play, make mistake, wink and nod like I meant to do it, and keep on smiling and playing...

... works every time.

Have to agree. Mistakes are made - life shows you that. When they happen, don’t dwell on them, move on, it’s done and you can’t undo it. By learning to leave them behind you give them less energy and less stigma.

 

[JRA]

Make sure that youre practicing the things that you're bad at

Some people practice to validate themselves rather than to work on what they’re bad at.

Just practice diligently

 

[micguy]

Try relearning it in a different position on the fretboard and substitute open strings for fretted notes and vice versa.
That way the fingering will be different and it might feel like learning something new rather than repeating the same problems/mental blocks.

That's good advice. Another way to break old habits is to learn the hard parts of the tune in a different key - it's never a bad idea to know how to move tunes to different keys (I play in churches, and although I play some songs may times, they're often in several different keys - I HAVE to be able to transpose things, sometimes on the fly). Once you've got it solid in another key, then try moving it back to the original key- that might break your mental logjam.

 

[oldNewbie]

OP - One of the DiscoverDoubleBass.com video clips suggests practicing around the rough spots , several bars before and after so you are not thinking "oops here's the problem" right at that bar. Also , music phrases are processed very similarly to language, so thinking the bigger phrase -or the whole sentence- is easier and more effective , and more musical, than just worrying about the pothole.

 

[RichardW]

“To play a wrong note is insignificant; to play without passion is inexcusable.” Ludwig van Beethoven (at least according to the interwebs)

 

[aikibass]

Then there's the psych issue...
Do you think "Oh crap! The part I always screw up is coming up! Don't mess up!!" I certainly have more than once, or, you know, 500 times. Purposefully thinking "Yes! Can't wait to get to the tricky part! I'm going to own it!" can be helpful. Sounds like pop psychology hogwash, I know - but I've found it to be beneficial. And, if you own it, and still screw up - as someone else earlier said, it's the jazz version. Nothing worse than tentatively screwing up.

 

[Up the dose]

Does your band rehearse? Is there open and honest communication about playing parts correctly , or does everybody just kind of go through the motions? ,or does everybody practice at home and then play the song at the gig?
I find that no matter how much I practice at home by myself it is no substitute for full band practice. Everybody interpets the recording differently. If you aren't tight with the band then the band isn't practicing enough, or at all.

 

[pappabass]

2 things:
1. For me, my mind wanders while I play at a gig, watching people or watching game on big screen, etc. That is when I miss most of my notes.
2. Practice, be careful not to practice bad habits, like mind wandering, etc. I had an instructor who would make me play a riff over & over & over until I played it correct 10 times in a row.