Knowing when....

[Big Hoss]

Learned a new lesson tonight... I am sapped. The hours I have been working, working on repairs on our cars and house, and practicing, well they are a much younger man's game.... I finally got an evening where I didn't have to run around like a maniac, and sat down for my practice session... Kicked the drum synth off on the B3, and started playing....

I couldn't sync with the kick to save my life, I was lucky if I was hitting a note before the snare... WTH is going on?

Eyeballs burning, glasses no longer making my arms short enough to read the screen tired, and I somehow think I can practice effectively tonight...

I need to figure out ahead of time when it is better to just not practice because I know I won't get a single note right...

 

[VerryBerry]

Been there - a lot.
Can get really discouraging.
And yes, during some of those worst times, it may be better NOT to practice vs. disappointing yourself.

 

[MalcolmAmos]

Yes, there is a time of the day that we do seem to be at our best. That best time may or may not fit in with our ever day lives. My best time to study, pull a presentation together, or in general get my day outlined is early morning, 4:30 AM to 5:30 AM, but, that may not be the best time for music.

We each need to know what time of the day is best for each of our activities. Now that I'm retired I've found that early afternoon is nap time.

 

[Big Hoss]

Yeah, not to sound too much like a bad country song, but my truck died, I was in the middle of a long term project putting my old Saturn back on the road, I'm in a rental car, the weather in Houston has been downright nasty, I've been pulling double shifts for facility outages, helping out my in laws, fixing my car, cleaning my garage workshop as too much crap has piled up there and I can't find the table saw any more...

AND I am trying to get time for practice in...

Last night was just smack in the face awful timing wise... I kicked a basic blues drum pattern on with my B3, and I couldn't lock with that at gun point. Off doesn't even begin to describe it...

I work in IT, so I HAVE to be in the office during business hours to support users, but my heavy lifting work happens after hours. I should leave one of my basses at my desk to at least get scales and simple patterns under my fingers during slow times between users...

I am somewhat wondering if a cheapo headphone amp will take a signal straight from my bass... Might be worth it to get my practice time in...

 

[MalcolmAmos]

The VOX headphone amp goes anywhere and cost, with shipping, around $50. Would be great for work.

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/ampl...0@ADL4MF-adType^PLA-device^c-adid^51870555867

 

[Big Hoss]

The VOX headphone amp goes anywhere and cost, with shipping, around $50. Would be great for work.

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/ampl...0@ADL4MF-adType^PLA-device^c-adid^51870555867

That is REALLY tempting...

After all the mods, I have too much in to the Squier to want to leave at work. Might be time for me to look at an SX Jazz clone for a cheap leave it at my desk kind of bass... I want a jazz type bass, or Soundgear, with the slim neck to noodle around on...

I don't mind coughing up for another rock stock Affinity Jazz though. They are super tough to come by used around here these days...

 

[mambo4]

I couldn't sync with the kick to save my life, I was lucky if I was hitting a note before the snare... WTH is going on?

It is possible you were tired, but maybe there was some technical introduction of delay in gear setup.
Was a laptop or PC involved?
Were you listening directly via the headphone out of the b3?
Were you Using wireless headphones?

 

[Big Hoss]

Bass --> Cable --> Tuner --> jumper --> B3 --> Cable --> amp.

Not a lot of opportunity for signal to slow down, I flat out wasn't hitting the strings at the right time, or even close... It was brain to hand lag, not tech lag...

 

[Clef_de_fa]

I have that kind of delay when I take too much alcool ... otherwise I'm ok but I may play very boring stuff and not give a f***

 

[JustForSport]

wondering if a cheapo headphone amp will take a signal straight from my bass...

A used Korg Pandora PX5D or Korg Pandora Mini is small, plug the bass and 'phones or amp straight into it- has metronome, drum rhythms, lots of presets and options- check their site for better info, and you can get a Mini for sometimes <$50 on the 'bay.

 

[bholder]

Learned a new lesson tonight... I am sapped. The hours I have been working, working on repairs on our cars and house, and practicing, well they are a much younger man's game.... I finally got an evening where I didn't have to run around like a maniac, and sat down for my practice session... Kicked the drum synth off on the B3, and started playing....

I couldn't sync with the kick to save my life, I was lucky if I was hitting a note before the snare... WTH is going on?

Eyeballs burning, glasses no longer making my arms short enough to read the screen tired, and I somehow think I can practice effectively tonight...

I need to figure out ahead of time when it is better to just not practice because I know I won't get a single note right...

I find myself that those are good times not to even try to play anything I know, to just start playing and see what comes out - no need to worry about getting anything wrong or right. As some dead old philosopher once said "When you are tired, the enemy is tired."
(Ah, old Zen saying, actually.)

 

[Old Blastard]

Agreed. You have a 10-gallon plate with 15 ponds of $#!+ on it. Let it go and only play to relax when you're that tightly wrapped. You need down time, not more stress

 

[Big Hoss]

I managed to play some of the track last night, again so flogged I couldn't lock with the drum to save my life, but I was able to follow it immaculately... Ugh...

On the plus side, my old Saturn is running again. The seats are redone, and the trunk is in primer at this point... Yeah I am fixing up an old cheap Saturn as a rollin' to work car.. Until I can get my truck happy again that is.

I HATE car payments...

 

[Lobster11]

It sounds to me like you're being way too hard on yourself. Given your current circumstances, you need your practice time to serve as a source of enjoyment, but you seem to be turning it into just another source of stress. If the thing you were planning to practice isn't working out, ditch it and do something completely different. Just "free play" for awhile, or work on something easier -- anything that will turn your practice time into something enjoyable rather than something frustrating.

 

[Big Hoss]

That's kind of what I have been ending up doing. I can lock to the Metronome no problem. I have been doing scales and such, and I can do chugging quarters fine, but I speed up to say eighths and I end up behind the kick, tight behind, but behind none the less...

Only happens when I am tapped out...

Last night was a good example. Couldn't sleep, wife was out cold so I got up, slipped out to the office / studio, slipped headphones on, and again, couldn't lock with the kick to save my life...

I got a wild hair and started just tapping. Haven't even tried tapping since before I laid my bass down back in '08, but it just kind of came to me. I did an awful lot of "gee what would it sound like if I did this?" kind of stuff... Some of it was honestly just awful, but some of it was pretty cool...

Been talking with a guitarist friend of mine that I work with. He too is having similar timing problems. He just sort of says to heck with it, shreds out what he can just to keep his fingers nimble, and says to heck with timing...

 

[MalcolmAmos]

I would not recommend saying to heck with timing. True we learn the notes of the scales first so our fingers know where the notes are on our fretboard and then we learn how to play chord tones so we can provide accompaniment harmony. Music is made of melody, harmony & rhythm.

Rhythm is the hard part, but, must be in there. Here is what I do - that does not make it right, just what I do. I follow the drummer's BPM first. Then if I can lock with his specific pattern great, but, locking with the BPM is first. Once you can lock with the bpm working on the specific drum pattern can come later.

What makes locking with a drummer's pattern hard is our drummer told me that his pattern is made of a little of this and a little of that, and the song dictates what get's put into the pattern. I watch his kick drum pedal and get the timing (2/4, 3/4, 4/4, 5/8 or 6/8) and do not beat myself around the head and face if I miss his runs. I'm happy with playing the time signature for the song, i.e. 5/8's instead of straight 8's, etc.

Offered for what it is worth.

Good luck.

 

[Big Hoss]

I would not recommend saying to heck with timing. True we learn the notes of the scales first so our fingers know where the notes are on our fretboard and then we learn how to play chord tones so we can provide accompaniment harmony. Music is made of melody, harmony & rhythm.

Rhythm is the hard part, but, must be in there. Here is what I do - that does not make it right, just what I do. I follow the drummer's BPM first. Then if I can lock with his specific pattern great, but, locking with the BPM is first. Once you can lock with the bpm working on the specific drum pattern can come later.

What makes locking with a drummer's pattern hard is our drummer told me that his pattern is made of a little of this and a little of that, and the song dictates what get's put into the pattern. I watch his kick drum pedal and get the timing (2/4, 3/4, 4/4, 5/8 or 6/8) and do not beat myself around the head and face if I miss his runs, etc.

Offered for what it is worth.

Good luck.

I am absolutely not disagreeing, but I also know that there are times when timing just isn't going to work... The synapses just don't fire quickly enough I guess... But I still need to keep agile across the fingerboard...

 

[Lobster11]

I am absolutely not disagreeing, but I also know that there are times when timing just isn't going to work... The synapses just don't fire quickly enough I guess... But I still need to keep agile across the fingerboard...

Right. I understood your friend to mean "to heck with timing" only temporarily, not in general. I think that's fine. There are lots of other ways to practice productively -- so much to work on, so little time -- so when one thing isn't working, switch to another.

 

[Big Hoss]

Right. I understood your friend to mean "to heck with timing" only temporarily, not in general. I think that's fine. There are lots of other ways to practice productively -- so much to work on, so little time -- so when one thing isn't working, switch to another.

Exactly! Instead of mashing through timing, concentrate more on tone, technique, or agility... Maybe fiddle around with the effects a bit and just play to find a sound I like...

I have found in small space practicing for example, at low volume, adding just a hint of reverb tends to make the sound much fuller than without. And there is no shortage of what I will call "Duke of Hazard Boss Hogg doing something bad" sound that comes with a bit of delay put on thick... (Again, just playing through the menus and parameters... Exploring through is half the fun!).

 

[Big Hoss]

Talk about the difference being well rested makes! The load was light Tues and Wed night this week, no doubles, only thing I did after work since Monday was sanded down the trunk of the Saturn, filled one ding, and got it in primer.

Last night's practice with the band I am subbing for went perfectly, we spent more time drinking beer and shooting the breeze, but we did go straight through at least one set. I kept myself near the drummer so I could see what he was doing, not just hear, and I was locked tighter than his snare...

Simple stuff mostly, and the not simple stuff we simplified the bass lines so that I could play them well and sound good. Mostly country / rock sort of stuff. A lot of Waylon / Willie stuff, some Skynyrd, ZZ top.

I am as ready as I can be for tomorrow. Here's to a show that goes well!