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Is 30 minutes practice time enough?
- Thread starter JordiL90
- Start date
This is probably the best advice of any reply. Find a good teacher who will help you learn to read music.
This is totally true. I play as a hobby, and put in 4-5 hours a day.
It may sound like a lot, but you'll get out of the instrument exactly what you put in.
After years of playing bass by ear, at age 33, I took real deal bass lessons from a professional jazz bass musician with a Masters Degree in music.
At first, 30 minutes a day would do the job prepping me for my next lesson. Eventually, it was taking 2 hours a day to be prepped for the next lesson.
So yes, 30 mins a day can keep your "chops" up but may not do much for advancing your skills.
Sometimes, even coming up with 30 mins a day for bass can be challenging!
Good luck!
At first, 30 minutes a day would do the job prepping me for my next lesson. Eventually, it was taking 2 hours a day to be prepped for the next lesson.
So yes, 30 mins a day can keep your "chops" up but may not do much for advancing your skills.
Sometimes, even coming up with 30 mins a day for bass can be challenging!
Good luck!
I give (free) guitar and bass lessons. The only demand I make is my students must practice a minimum of 30 minutes a day.
Here's the secret: that's a partial deception on my part, after a while they should want to practice more than 30 minutes per day.
Now, let me go a little deeper than that. I give 60 minute lessons and we spend the first half (ish) having them "regurgitate" the material they were supposed to learn. If they do it well enough, we spend the rest of the lesson going over something they want to learn (a song or a particular technique).
Both of those things instill (in my experience) a greater desire for them to learn. Honestly, those who aren't inspired probably aren't in it for the long haul, anyway.
So, that was the long answer. here's the shorter one: I would say 30 minutes is a bare minimum and I would point you to the "10,000 hours 'rule' "
Here's the secret: that's a partial deception on my part, after a while they should want to practice more than 30 minutes per day.
Now, let me go a little deeper than that. I give 60 minute lessons and we spend the first half (ish) having them "regurgitate" the material they were supposed to learn. If they do it well enough, we spend the rest of the lesson going over something they want to learn (a song or a particular technique).
Both of those things instill (in my experience) a greater desire for them to learn. Honestly, those who aren't inspired probably aren't in it for the long haul, anyway.
So, that was the long answer. here's the shorter one: I would say 30 minutes is a bare minimum and I would point you to the "10,000 hours 'rule' "
yeah I have read about it, I want to go to the 1-2 hours practice session a day with in a couple of months.
Sorry - I gave you the wrong SBL podcast. The one I meant to suggest is the "fear of being fired" episode. Very good stuff:
The Fear of Being Fired
The Fear of Being Fired
I haven't read through the whole string, but people mean different things when they talk about wanting to be a professional. Can you practice for 30 minutes a day, join a band in a few months and get paid to play gigs...maybe. If you're near an active musical scene, probably. Will you start getting calls for sessions? Probably not unless you've got an extraordinary level of talent. Will you get a pro-level touring gig? Again, probably not. But, it's a great start.
I am curious about why you can only manage playing for 30 minutes. There are some physical aspects to playing a full-scale electric bass, but it's not all that demanding if you're doing it correctly. Proper left- and right-hand technique should minimize strain. If your bass is heavy and causing shoulder strain, go find a bass that's more manageable.
Make sure your 30 minutes is focused and well spent. Spend some time reading, spend some time developing your technique, spend some time on arpeggios and scales, and spend some time learning music. And, give yourself a couple of minutes to stretch. Warming up before you jump into playing should help improve your stamina. Good luck!
I am curious about why you can only manage playing for 30 minutes. There are some physical aspects to playing a full-scale electric bass, but it's not all that demanding if you're doing it correctly. Proper left- and right-hand technique should minimize strain. If your bass is heavy and causing shoulder strain, go find a bass that's more manageable.
Make sure your 30 minutes is focused and well spent. Spend some time reading, spend some time developing your technique, spend some time on arpeggios and scales, and spend some time learning music. And, give yourself a couple of minutes to stretch. Warming up before you jump into playing should help improve your stamina. Good luck!
It's like anything else. The more you practice, the more effortless it becomes.
I'm glad you like that video. Please, when you can do that, check it out the other ones I showed.
About your schedule, it's fine as long you learn something new (no matter how small such thing may be) every day - as Scott recommends on that video - and keep on moving. It's a never ending growth process. All the best!
If you enjoy playing bass, it should be hard to put down after only 30 minutes.
My personal rehearsals are usually 1-2 hours, and 30 minutes is what I consider “noodling” where I just pick up the bass to practice some basics, more to keep the muscle memory than anything else. Once you have some skills developed, 30 minutes here and there can help. But you’ll need to play a bit more to get to that point first.
My personal rehearsals are usually 1-2 hours, and 30 minutes is what I consider “noodling” where I just pick up the bass to practice some basics, more to keep the muscle memory than anything else. Once you have some skills developed, 30 minutes here and there can help. But you’ll need to play a bit more to get to that point first.
I won`t address the "professional" aspect, but recording your practice sessions is a good way to evaluate your progress and scrutinize your technique. I learned a LOT about my playing style after re-visiting my practice sessions.
How is that going to work? What is the plan for making enough money recording at home to support yourself? Maybe we have very different ideas of what "professional" means.
If you’re going to target 30 min a day then focus on that. Have fun but 30 min a day will not get you to a pro level. Professional players have put in 1000’s of hours of playing…many starting in their early youth. Individually they may have had aspirations to become a pro…but that’s not what ultimately got them there…it’s time spent which some call sweat equity. Think about it…it’s like saying I’m going get a set of golf clubs, practice 30 min/day and go on tour. So go play your bass 30 min/day relax and have fun.
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31 feels fairly old to try and make it as a professional, especially if you don’t have connections.
This may sound silly, but do you know any professional musicians? If so, have you had an earnest discussion with them about your plans?
Iirc you’re in Denmark so there may be ways the government can support you while you attempt this. But in most developed countries you’d end up broke, attempting something like this, at 31, without a deep network of musicians to get paid to play with.
This may sound silly, but do you know any professional musicians? If so, have you had an earnest discussion with them about your plans?
Iirc you’re in Denmark so there may be ways the government can support you while you attempt this. But in most developed countries you’d end up broke, attempting something like this, at 31, without a deep network of musicians to get paid to play with.
The question really is what do you mean by "professional bass playing musician"?
It could mean you get paid playing at your mother's birthday party or it is what you do for all your income. It could be somewhere in between.
What genres do you plan on playing? Do you want to be a hired gun? Only do studio work?
Having said all that, it is my personal belief that 30 mins of practice per day would make you a very very mediocre musician.
Or you could be that 1 in 100 million that music comes very easily to you.
It could mean you get paid playing at your mother's birthday party or it is what you do for all your income. It could be somewhere in between.
What genres do you plan on playing? Do you want to be a hired gun? Only do studio work?
Having said all that, it is my personal belief that 30 mins of practice per day would make you a very very mediocre musician.
Or you could be that 1 in 100 million that music comes very easily to you.
