Is 30 minutes practice time enough?

[logdrum]

I work full time in a high tech software and hardware field - meaning a short day is 8 hours, usually 10 - 12 and I have horses so I also have menial and manual chores that must be done even if I have a fever or my leg is in a cast 365 days a year. Serious gigging days are over, I have 1-2 gigs a week (1.5 hours each) and those jazz singers change the material often. Just to catch up, I practice 1 hour a day 3-4 days a week. When I was young and gigging, I practiced 4 - 6 hours a day

I composed scores now as a hobby. I try to record 10-30 seconds of music a day and put 1-2 hours a day to do that. I rarely watch TV and I sleep 6 hours a day. I am over 50. In total I put about 3 hours of effort for music daily and I do not have any lofty goals or long gigs to perform

In short 30 minutes is nothing. You need to woodshed hard like weeks of 12 hours of playing practicing - but you also have to get away from it once in a while - get lit, get lost whatever so you can start fresh again.

Having said that. You may have really good talent and material and we all have to eat our own socks for being hard on you. 31 - no problem. I watched some "The Voice" episodes and there were a lot of late starters.

Practice effectively.

Good luck!

 

[BlueTalon]

When I was learning how to play, the best thing I ever did for myself was to keep my bass plugged into my amp all the time. That way, if I had a spare five minutes, I could spend five minutes playing, rather than pulling my bass out of its case, plugging it in, playing it for a minute or two, then putting it away again. It just stayed plugged in all the time. I got hundreds of hours of playing time in 5-10 minute chunks that I never would have had if I put the bass away when I was finished playing.

Which leads to the next point: 1/2 hour per day is a good start for a single organized practice, but it will be very beneficial for you if you can spend extra bits of time playing whenever you can. It doesn't matter if you have a physical limitation, just play what you can when you can. The endurance and the calluses will come.

 

[bobba66]

30 minutes a day doesn't seem like much if it's something you plan to do for a living. 4-5 hours a day seems reasonable to me.

 

[smart51]

I used to do 30 minutes a day on the piano when I started out as a kid. After a few years, my teacher said that needed to be an hour a day if I was going to take exams and stuff. At the Conservatoire near me, degree students play for 8 hours a day on top of lectures and seminars.

I remember seeing a documentary on Garry Moore, shortly after he died. Several of the talking heads said there wasn't a waking moment when he didn't have a guitar in his hands.

It would seem the rule is an hour a day to maintain a level. Several hours a day to improve. All day long to be the best in the world.

 

[bobba66]

I spent many hours a day on the bass as a young man and achieved mediocrity at best. Not a very disciplined student was I, however.

 

[Papageno]

Being a professional musician is a job that requires high qualification. Like all other high qualification jobs, it requires years of dedicated study. For those who don't need to earn money for their living (supported by family or fellowship), studying is normally a full time occupation. For those who have to support themselves financially while studying, then it means studying all their evenings, week-ends, holidays, for many more years, in addition to their day job.

Working hard to get a high level professional qualification is all the more important for musicians, as they not only have to compete with other professional musicians, but also with many highly competent amateur musicians. This is really unlike engineers, medical doctors, or teachers, who do not have to compete against hobby engineers, doctors or teachers.

So, when I see the OP's weekly schedule featuring 30' Monday through Friday, and nothing on weekends, that seems to be really under par, to put it mildly.

 

[Mili]

Honestly Professional's warm up at least take 10 to 20 minutes. Nobody become a pro with 30m per day.
I started 5 years ago (I was 30), My goal was becoming a pro session player. I practiced at least 5 hours per day for first 3 years with really tight schedule (warm up, technique, ear training, theory and harmony ....) but now I drop all of that and decided just play what brings joy to me but I still working a lot on my technique. I believe if you want to be a pro race driver , first you should be a good street driver. so I don't push any excess load till I play the songs I love effortless and perfect.
btw there is a Huge paradox here, if you want to be a pro at something so it's your first priority so you should do something related to your goal most of your waking time. I'm trying to be a pro trader and believe it or not I found the two answers of thousand questions when i was at sleep. you figure it out.
but it's all a journey and you should do what you think is right and learn and experience what most of us are saying here. so good luck.

 

[Ekulati]

The reason I created this schedule is mainly for stamina, I plan on doing 2 30 minute sessions pretty soon. maybe in 2 or 3 months, if I can handle it then. Are there any apps for ear training for the bass? I also want to learn theory and reading eventually.

There are "apps" for everything these days. But IMO it sounds like you need to learn music, not just "bass."

Your optimism is commendable. But it seems like there is some level of unrealistic hope in your process. Hard to put my finger on but there seem to be gaps in your statements, plans. Maybe a language thing? And as another person mentioned, is there a market for "professional" bass players where you are. Or heck, going forward, for any of us really, if by professional we mean earning enough money to fully replace a day job.

 

[JordiL90]

I have been playing Guitar for couple of years so no real problem with music, but could brush up my theory. As for bass playing I just picked it up again. I just want to record at home as a professional one day. thats the goal here.

 

[Papageno]

I have been playing Guitar for couple of years so no real problem with music, but could brush up my theory. As for bass playing I just picked it up again. I just want to record at home as a professional one day. thats the goal here.

I don't mean to sound offensive, but your weekly schedule featured a tab of the one-octave C major scale. Maybe you did not really need the tab, but in case you actually needed it, then I would not say that you have "no real problem with music, but could brush up my theory". I would rather say that you still have to work on the most basic fundamentals.

For someone with no real problem with music" aiming at becoming a professional, I would rather expect the practice schedule to read something like this: Scales, 30 minutes, 2 octaves, 1 new scale every day (going through all keys and all modes, day after day). And of course, no tabs needed.

 

[zubrycky]

A daily 30 minutes practice is better than no practice at all. Do what you can, OP. Later, I'm sure you'll be able to expand your practice time.

It's important to say that your musical education can continue in a daily basis even without touching the bass. You can educate yourself listening all kind of musical genres when you're away from the bass, for example. To be able to play a certain musical genre you must immerse yourself on it first.

 

[misterCRUSH]

Yeah, but that part is what I want to do professionally, but never too late to start.

as a quick sidebar, I incorporated recording myself into my practice routine early on. It doesn't have to be all the time, and it definitely doesn't have to be a professional recording. This is just for you. I would record myself once a week, usually over the same material, and then when I felt like I wasn't making any progress I would listen back and I could hear the difference! It was a great benchmark for my progress and also an indicator of what I needed to work on. Again, it doesn't have to be professional, I just used my ipod. Have fun!!

 

[zubrycky]

I hope it helps you, OP.

 

[zubrycky]

Here's a very important advice.

 

[JordiL90]

Here's a very important advice.

Really enjoy this advice. So basically from what I understand is that I should practice bits of pieces of music. this means that my schedule for now should be fine? I want to change and upgrade it every week.

 

[Koshchei]

Hello, I want to introduce myself, my name is jordi and I just picked up the bass again for the first time after months of not playing it. I have decided I want to become a professional bass-playing musician, with the focus on bass playing cover songs and later on do some record producing for myself and other musicians. Is 30 minutes enough to get started? For more detailed information I created a Practice Routine and also a practice Log so I can notate what went right and what I should be changing, etc, here:

https://2056c4d3-5c1c-4db2-b7a5-8f7...d/b26b48_7d102f6a64204e3498ec1df9d7f2c4bb.pdf

please let me know if this is the right approach I am taking, or atleast moving in the right direction, is maybe a better way of saying it?

If you want to be a professional bassist, having a practice routine is a good idea, but 30 minutes a day probably isn't near enough. I'd put in 3 hours minimum a day - work on scales, arpeggios, singing harmony with what you're playing, reading music, and singing what's on the page. Then work on repertoire and improvisation.

 

[lordradish]

I live in The Netherlands, I am considering joining a band at a music school but have to travel 1.5 hours for that. But I am willing to do that.

You should do this if you can... solo practice is important and necessary, but it doesn't give you some of the things that you can only learn with playing with others.

 

[sonic 7]

I’m just getting warmed up in 30 minutes. As has been already said here, you need to find a lesson plan. You absolutely have to learn some music theory, and if you want to play for a living you will have to be able to sight read notation. 30 minutes a day doesn’t even scratch the surface. I can’t think of any professional occupation that doesn’t require several years of full time study. If you seriously want to be a professional musician you’re not really being honest with yourself about it. Sorry, had to be said.

 

[JordiL90]

I’m just getting warmed up in 30 minutes. As has been already said here, you need to find a lesson plan. You absolutely have to learn some music theory, and if you want to play for a living you will have to be able to sight read notation. 30 minutes a day doesn’t even scratch the surface. I can’t think of any professional occupation that doesn’t require several years of full time study. If you seriously want to be a professional musician you’re not really being honest with yourself about it. Sorry, had to be said.

I want it but not yet, I am talking about in a couple of years, down the road.

 

[J_Bass]

In my opinion, if you want to do it professionally, it's a job. If it's a job, you have to put in the hours.

And it also seems you are a beginner level player, from your words.


So, if it's a job, you should be at your job at least 6 hours a day. At least! Half an hour a day is for a hobby.

You'll need to practice, timing, scales, speed, endurance, dinamics, etc..
Music theory. Learn how to read on at least the two major clefs. Be proficient at reading. Be available.

A job is a job. Sorry if I'm being too direct.

But I wouldn't even dream training half an hour a day and do my profession successfully. Not possible.