I have other activities at the place I live, but can do more practice ofcourse. But I am building stamina so soon I want to do atleast 2 30 minute sessions
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Is 30 minutes practice time enough?
- Thread starter JordiL90
- Start date
I have other activities at the place I live, but can do more practice ofcourse. But I am building stamina so soon I want to do atleast 2 30 minute sessions
Good point. I play about 30-60 minitesa day. More if I’m learning a song and/tracking for recording. Been doing that for close to 40 years. And I am a firmly average player. Mind you, at least half the time I’m not advancing my skill, more like treading over a well worn pathway.
When I do advance, I can’t say that my practicing is truly structured with big end goal in mind. More what strikes my fancy or adding to my repertoire. I dabbled with jazz for a bit and that helped me understand chord theory a lot better.
My advancement has been anything but linear, long plateaus followed by short, steep climbs up the knowledge/skill ladder.
I saw an article in Guitarist magazine years ago they broke down practice into four blocks. I can’t remember exactly and I no longer have that mag, so from memory: equal parts warmup, rudiments, scales then repertoire. I used that approach for a while (about a decade ago). Seemed to work for me at the time.
Almost from the start though, I could easily spend a couple of hours playing - either solo or jamming with friends. It didn’t take much to develop the stamina to do a four hour gig or a two hour rehearsal. But I’ve been doing that since my early teens….plus the gear humping….
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At 30, you are significantly behind the learning curve. You need a really good teacher, all the ensemble experience you can get, work your way up to about four hours a day of practice and that doesn’t include learning theory and ear training.
I wouldn’t say it’s impossible , but you have your work cut out for you. Much of your competition has been doing this since they were 12 or 13, some even younger.
I wouldn’t say it’s impossible , but you have your work cut out for you. Much of your competition has been doing this since they were 12 or 13, some even younger.
There are a lot of factors and there is no one size fits all when it comes to personal development. You could be some sort of savant and 30 minutes a month is all you need. Music could be an incredibly difficult thing for you and 30 hours a day won't be sufficient. I'm going to bet you're somewhere in the middle of these two very extreme points - just like all the rest of us.
In general - 30 minutes a day is a good start. I've seen more than one source state state that trying to do marathon practice sessions are inherently less effective than doing short sessions. If the 30 minute limit is to allow your physical tools to develop, then keep it there for a while. Once your stamina builds a little, try doing 2 30 minute sessions in a day with some time between them to rest. Short, mindful sessions are way more effective than longer sessions when you are just gong through the motions. Eventually, you'll probably want to build to hour long sessions. A lot can be accomplished in an hour with a proper practice plan - and sticking to it. For me, depending on what I'm working on, my sessions will tend to run between 20 minutes and a couple of hours.
If you plan to gig, then you'll need to be able to play for 4 hours with short breaks every hour. So after you comfortable with hour long sessions, try to do 2 back to back sessions with 15 minute break. After that gets comfortable, try doing back to back to back with 15 minute breaks every hour. Then try the 4 1 hour sessions with breaks. Don't try to do this all the time; take several days between thee longer sessions. Even take a day off of practice at all once you start trying 3-4 hours at a time - I know I always take the day off after gig.
Don't forget to work on learning songs in between running scales and arpeggios. Much of your growth as a musician will be when you get to start working with other people. Once you know how to play say 20 songs, see if you can find others to play with. Learn their list and learn how to work with each of the other people. And doing nothing but exercises can get very boring very quickly - it's easy to lose interest. Learning new songs can keep things fun.
As far as recording/originals, thee is really no way to establish your timeline for this. For me the muse visits when she does (not so much any more I'm afraid). First, recording techniques are a whole other skill to learn, so unless that's something you already know, be careful about spending your practice time fiddling with your recording gear. Learn your instrument before you start exploring another skill. There's nothing wrong with collecting and recording raw ideas for later reference - just don't get caught up in the whole production of mastering a song right now.
And lastly, don't rush things. You'll learn things at your pace - there just isn't anything you can do about that. You'll hit several plateaus when you feel like you're not improving - it happens to us all. Don't panic, just keep at it. Sometimes just taking a day or two off will allow you brain to figure things out (it really is amazing what our brains do when we're not thinking about something). If you feel pain, stop. Rest and then try again. If pain becomes common, seek medical advice.
Good Luck and enjoy the journey!
In general - 30 minutes a day is a good start. I've seen more than one source state state that trying to do marathon practice sessions are inherently less effective than doing short sessions. If the 30 minute limit is to allow your physical tools to develop, then keep it there for a while. Once your stamina builds a little, try doing 2 30 minute sessions in a day with some time between them to rest. Short, mindful sessions are way more effective than longer sessions when you are just gong through the motions. Eventually, you'll probably want to build to hour long sessions. A lot can be accomplished in an hour with a proper practice plan - and sticking to it. For me, depending on what I'm working on, my sessions will tend to run between 20 minutes and a couple of hours.
If you plan to gig, then you'll need to be able to play for 4 hours with short breaks every hour. So after you comfortable with hour long sessions, try to do 2 back to back sessions with 15 minute break. After that gets comfortable, try doing back to back to back with 15 minute breaks every hour. Then try the 4 1 hour sessions with breaks. Don't try to do this all the time; take several days between thee longer sessions. Even take a day off of practice at all once you start trying 3-4 hours at a time - I know I always take the day off after gig.
Don't forget to work on learning songs in between running scales and arpeggios. Much of your growth as a musician will be when you get to start working with other people. Once you know how to play say 20 songs, see if you can find others to play with. Learn their list and learn how to work with each of the other people. And doing nothing but exercises can get very boring very quickly - it's easy to lose interest. Learning new songs can keep things fun.
As far as recording/originals, thee is really no way to establish your timeline for this. For me the muse visits when she does (not so much any more I'm afraid). First, recording techniques are a whole other skill to learn, so unless that's something you already know, be careful about spending your practice time fiddling with your recording gear. Learn your instrument before you start exploring another skill. There's nothing wrong with collecting and recording raw ideas for later reference - just don't get caught up in the whole production of mastering a song right now.
And lastly, don't rush things. You'll learn things at your pace - there just isn't anything you can do about that. You'll hit several plateaus when you feel like you're not improving - it happens to us all. Don't panic, just keep at it. Sometimes just taking a day or two off will allow you brain to figure things out (it really is amazing what our brains do when we're not thinking about something). If you feel pain, stop. Rest and then try again. If pain becomes common, seek medical advice.
Good Luck and enjoy the journey!
I have played music now for...about 55 years. In that time (orchestra, various rock bands, and church gigs) I have met a fair number of "gifted" players - people who, when you listen to them, you think "yeah, that person has natural talent at this". Having chatted with most of them, every time I've had that conversation, they have freely admitted that they practice A LOT. I get called a lot to play bass. I practice A LOT.
How good do you want to be?
How good do you want to be?
Ariane Cap's Music Theory for the Bass Player did me a lot of good! She also has a whole range of online teaching options that you might be interested in.
https://arisbassblog.com/music-theory-for-the-bass-player/
I practice 30-45 minutes almost everyday.
Then, I take a day or two off, so my practicing/playing doesn't get monotonous.
After the day or two off, I find that my playing at the next practice session is ever-so-slightly better.
That's just me.
I'm 64, been playing 50 years, and I think I'm
good. Pro-level, probably not, but that doesn't matter to me.
I play because I love to play.
To each his own.
Success to all.
Mike
Then, I take a day or two off, so my practicing/playing doesn't get monotonous.
After the day or two off, I find that my playing at the next practice session is ever-so-slightly better.
That's just me.
I'm 64, been playing 50 years, and I think I'm
good. Pro-level, probably not, but that doesn't matter to me.
I play because I love to play.
To each his own.
Success to all.
Mike
It shouldn't take months to build stamina to play more than 30 minutes at a time. Playing a bass guitar is not hard work unless it isn't set up properly or you have very poor technique. Either of those need to be addressed if you are going to progress to a pro level.
As others have said, it will take a lot of dedication to accomplish what you want. I spend at least 30 minutes a day just to keep my skills up and learn new songs for a crappy bar band.
As others have said, it will take a lot of dedication to accomplish what you want. I spend at least 30 minutes a day just to keep my skills up and learn new songs for a crappy bar band.
If you want to get a lot of calls to work, the repertoire portion needs to overshadow everything. Well, I guess that's partly true. You will need some level of technique to execute 90% of the repertoire. Once you have some facility, repertoire should be almost everything that you work on. This is the secret that Big Box Music School Charging $50k/year will forget to tell you.
After that, I feel like music follows the 80/20 rule: You can spend 80% of your time working on things that are 20% relevant to your everyday work. Although on bass, people spend lifetimes becoming great soloists, and then when it's time to go make some money, you will spend literally 0% of your time on stage playing that stuff.
LOL! You said in a single sentence what I tried to say in a bunch of paragraphs!
One of the best things you can do for your progress is to try to avoid this. It's easy to take yourself down a rabbit hole that is really not related to what you're working on at the time. The more you can stay focused on what WILL be relevant to what you want to do, the faster you'll progress. There are benefits to exploring things outside your immediate needs and skill level (it's called growth), but try to take more of an a 20/80 approach than the 80/20 mentioned above.
Not going to try to advise you on how to be a career bassist, because I am not one, and that boat has sailed for me. You should listen to this podcast. It's pretty enlightening:
Pro Tips for Better Practice with Scott & Ian
It answers your question, but not in the way you think; there is discussion about the expectation of a pro musician related through actual experiences. You should be able to hear the answer, and then work your way back to the question...
These podcasts are actually all pure gold in my opinion. These guys are super entertaining. They usually post on Thursdays. I save it until Friday and listen at my desk while I work #guiltypleasure...
Pro Tips for Better Practice with Scott & Ian
It answers your question, but not in the way you think; there is discussion about the expectation of a pro musician related through actual experiences. You should be able to hear the answer, and then work your way back to the question...
These podcasts are actually all pure gold in my opinion. These guys are super entertaining. They usually post on Thursdays. I save it until Friday and listen at my desk while I work #guiltypleasure...
I think there is work to be done on your technique and/or bass setup or possibly both. I can play for hours and am 55. I (primarily) play a P bass with low tension flatwound strings. The action on my bass in low, but not super low. probably somewhere between 3/64s at the 12th fret or so. I set up my basses to the ballpark of about 4/64s and then carefully "tweak" a bit lower until it feels "right".
Already a lot of great advice. I will add this though, when you first jam with other people you’ll be amazed at how much faster you can play but equally as shocked out how fast your stamina depletes.
There is so much great material out there now for any budding musician that even if you can’t play something you’ll be able to understand it.
There is so much great material out there now for any budding musician that even if you can’t play something you’ll be able to understand it.
30 minutes a day or every other day if necessary is good so you can build your calluses and your finger strength. after a month or so, i'd make it an hour a day, and after building more stamina, push it to an hour and a half and so on. and i think how long it takes to build hand strength and calluses is sort of an individual thing. maybe you could spend another 20 minutes a day reading about theory.
if you want to make a living as a player or hire people to play your music, learning to read music would be a huge plus - pretty much essential.
if you want to make a living as a player or hire people to play your music, learning to read music would be a huge plus - pretty much essential.
The length of your practice session is far less important than practicing regularly and with focus, with a plan. Practicing 15 minutes every day will take you farther than practicing longer but skipping days. To build up to longer practice time try 15 minutes early in the day and another 15 minutes later in the day.
When I say “focus, with a plan” I mean that you should find specific weaknesses in your playing and address them in small ways. For example, if your notes don’t always ring clearly, figure out if it’s because your fingers are too far behind the fret or on top of the fret; or if fingering and plucking aren’t coordinated. The string must already be fretted when you pluck or you won’t get good sound. Part of practicing scales is to learn what it feels like when your fingers are pressing where and when they should. This is where even occasional lessons with a teacher are valuable.
Practice very slowly until you are playing correctly and accurately. Only then should you speed up. If you play something much faster than you’re able you will be practicing mistakes instead of music.
As for building stamina, physical strength is not as useful as learning how little force or pressure you need to play notes cleanly. If your hands are tired after practicing for 15 to 30 minutes then the problem is almost certainly not stamina, it’s most often pressing harder than necessary.
When I say “focus, with a plan” I mean that you should find specific weaknesses in your playing and address them in small ways. For example, if your notes don’t always ring clearly, figure out if it’s because your fingers are too far behind the fret or on top of the fret; or if fingering and plucking aren’t coordinated. The string must already be fretted when you pluck or you won’t get good sound. Part of practicing scales is to learn what it feels like when your fingers are pressing where and when they should. This is where even occasional lessons with a teacher are valuable.
Practice very slowly until you are playing correctly and accurately. Only then should you speed up. If you play something much faster than you’re able you will be practicing mistakes instead of music.
As for building stamina, physical strength is not as useful as learning how little force or pressure you need to play notes cleanly. If your hands are tired after practicing for 15 to 30 minutes then the problem is almost certainly not stamina, it’s most often pressing harder than necessary.
FWIW when I first started playing I played all the time. If I didn't HAVE to be doing something else I was practicing.
Have you heard of the 10,000 hour theory
When I first started learning Bass was in my hands 8 hours a day 16 on weekends first 6 months[impatient] then cut that time in half. Gigging[my first goal] within a year. Then spent 'time needed' to achieve what I wanted to do with Band and personal evolution. Had a blast gigging, practicing/learning for over 40 years; still do
When I first started learning Bass was in my hands 8 hours a day 16 on weekends first 6 months[impatient
] then cut that time in half. Gigging[my first goal] within a year. Then spent 'time needed' to achieve what I wanted to do with Band and personal evolution. Had a blast gigging, practicing/learning for over 40 years; still do
Good for you!
Start where you are, with what you have, and keep going.
You'll find out soon enough if you have to adjust your goals (or life priorities) in order to achieve what you really want.
When you have a passion for doing something, you'll find a way to make changes in your life in order to keep doing it.
