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Length of time per day a beginner should practice

B

bassguy74

Feb 15, 2010
99
1
Washington State
#1
I am a VERY beginner on the bass guitar, and am wondering what you all would advise in regards to how long I should practice each day, IF I want to progress at an above-average rate (which I do). LOL

Preferably, I would want people to answer this question who either haven't been playing long and still huge strides in progress, or who are teachers of bass and/or have been playing for some years. Well that's probably the majority of people on this site! LOL

Anyway, thanks for all the tips and input. :)
 
#4
One hour per day is a reasonable amount of time. More and you burn out, less and you will not proceed at an acceptable rate. That hour should have a purpose.......

Suggest you settle on a book of instruction and start on page number one. Might as well join our group that have decided to work through Building Walking Bass Lines by Ed Friedland and share Ah-Ha moments and be able to ask questions on specific examples from the book. http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=667917

www.studybass.com is also a good source of information. Yep, start on page one.

Good luck.
 
#5
I'm somewhere between beginner and intermediate (played bass for 2 years actively when I was a teenager, a long pause after that, now getting back to it - I'm 23) and wondering what kind of daily practice routine would be the most efficient. I'm reading the exact book mentioned in the thread and doing the exercises but I think I should add some scale training or something there but I'm not familiar with any good methods that would help with fretboard knowledge etc.

So anyone got any links to clearly and beginner-friendly explained practice routines? :)

PS. Not meaning to highjack the thread! Just thought we're quite in the same boat.
 
#6
If you are self-taught, you can develop lots of bad habits, and extending your practice time can sometimes cause more harm than good.

I'd say, get a good teacher, and establish a deliberate practice plan. Spending more time is only productive if you're practicing the right stuff the right way. Without a teacher to provide objective feedback, how will you know what you're doing well, and what you need to improve?
 
#7
MalcolmAmos said:
One hour per day is a reasonable amount of time. More and you burn out, less and you will not proceed at an acceptable rate. That hour should have a purpose...
Click to expand...

The voice of reason.

Remember the law of diminishing returns: Just because you do something all day long doesn't mean you'll get any better any faster than if you devote a reasonable amount of focused, quality time.

Everyone has their own breaking point, but as for me, focusing on something longer than an hour or two, I start to lose concentration and I'm not really benefitting, just putting in time.

Distraction free, structured, goal-oriented practice sessions of a reasonable length, on a daily basis, wins over marathon sessions in my book.
 
#8
I started out playing about an hour a day, sometimes two if I was really getting into it. One thing I didn't have when starting out was a teacher, which no doubt would have been beneficial. The way I learned was playing along with music. Threw on some Zeppelin or Rush or Pink Floyd, and had at it.
 
#10
Jazzdogg said:
If you are self-taught, you can develop lots of bad habits, and extending your practice time can sometimes cause more harm than good.

I'd say, get a good teacher, and establish a deliberate practice plan. Spending more time is only productive if you're practicing the right stuff the right way. Without a teacher to provide objective feedback, how will you know what you're doing well, and what you need to improve?
Click to expand...

I had a teacher when I was younger but he was a blues guitarist who didn't even play bass. I learned the rudimentary basics and my technique isn't that bad but my theory department is seriously lacking.

I'm a uni student currently and I'm not sure if I can afford weekly lessons not to mention try out several possible teachers before finding the right one. On the other hand, I believe I can get quite far with good books on the subject since I'm definitely no total beginner and I feel I'm progressing every week at a good pace. But you're right, I really need to get a good teacher at some point but that may have to wait until I've graduated. Thankfully one of my friends is a skilled guitarist and I get to jam with him almost weekly and discuss theory and practice so I'm not in a total vacuum when it comes to interacting with other musicians. :)

And oh, I'm just a hobbyist and not pursuing music as a career but as a thing that my nature craves for. :p
 
#11
bassguy74 said:
I am a VERY beginner on the bass guitar, and am wondering what you all would advise in regards to how long I should practice each day, IF I want to progress at an above-average rate (which I do). LOL

Preferably, I would want people to answer this question who either haven't been playing long and still huge strides in progress, or who are teachers of bass and/or have been playing for some years. Well that's probably the majority of people on this site! LOL

Anyway, thanks for all the tips and input. :)
Click to expand...

Til your fingers burn man, til your fingers buuurrrrrnnnn. :p
 
#12
check out the links in my sig. below for some great TB info that will help you along your bass playing journey.

At first, I'd play long enough to NOT get blisters. It takes awhile to build up calluses. Practicing shouldn't be painful.

Good luck.
 
#13
Jazzdogg said:
If you are self-taught, you can develop lots of bad habits, and extending your practice time can sometimes cause more harm than good.

I'd say, get a good teacher, and establish a deliberate practice plan. Spending more time is only productive if you're practicing the right stuff the right way. Without a teacher to provide objective feedback, how will you know what you're doing well, and what you need to improve?
Click to expand...

Here's the problem: I don't know that I have the finances to *afford* a private teacher, or any teachers really, which is the reason I'm *doing* self-teaching. LOL
 
#15
kreider204 said:
It's okay to break it up into smaller sessions, too (e.g., two 30 minute sessions or three 20 minute sessions).
Click to expand...

+1
And I would say it's not just okay: it's imperative.
Various muscles have to get used to new activities, your fingertips are to develop some hard skin,etc.

Important is to do everything SLOWLY and PERFECT. Posture, hand positions, fingers, pay attention to everything.

Even more important: find somebody to monitor you for bad habits.
 
#17
Hello, Fellow Washingtonian, and welcome to the wonderful world of Bass. When I first started playing about 7 or 8 years ago (im 19, turning 20 on the 5th), I spent almost all day in my room rocking away. Learning about your bass, learning the notes on the fretboard, learning scales and establishing a technique in tandem with learning to play tablature is a great way to start. Playing along with songs and a metronome is definitely a good way to progress quickly. You'll lose track of time if you're having fun! You'll easily be playing for 4 hours before you notice how long you've been playing.


When you get callouses (which you will fairly quickly) try to play through it.


After you get that down, learning to read music is a great thing too, but this takes time to master.
 
#18
Amount of time isn't nearly as important as amount of time you're focused on doing it. Someone that practices for an hour but was only focused on the task at hand for 15 minutes really only practiced for that 15.

My suggestion is that if you're planning on practicing for an hour, divide it up into 3 twenty minute intervals with a 5 minute break in between. If you're really feeling it and focusing, the breaks aren't that necessary.

And, like the others said, have a plan of action. That will help keep you focused.
 
#19
I try to set aside 45' - 1 hour a day, preferably early in the day when I'm mentally & physically fresh. Breaking it up into 15-20' segments is also effective. Sometimes I'll even pick up the bass for as little as 5-10' if I get a breakthrough thought that I want to try out.

On weekends, if I have an hour+, I may do the same 45' or so with structured practice, and then some free-form jamming along to some tunes just to spice things up.

You don't even need a bass in your hands. In the morning when I'm in ... uh ... the library, I'll read through some theory, drills, or sheet music.

When driving, I'll sometimes think of a note at random, and then visualize everywhere on the fretboard that note is located (up to the first 12-15 frets). Or pick a note and then run through a scale, 7th chord, pentatonic, etc.
 
#20
When driving, I'll sometimes think of a note at random, and then visualize everywhere on the fretboard that note is located (up to the first 12-15 frets). Or pick a note and then run through a scale, 7th chord, pentatonic, etc.[/QUOTE]

Thanks for all the advice so far. I don't know music theory very well yet, so when people start rattling off 7th chords and pentatonics, I get lost. LOL I've always had a hard time grasping music theory. I know I have to learn it somewhat though to be an efficient and well-rounded bassist. I will be working on that; try to avoid "musicspeak" like that though when you respond to me cuz chances are I'll be scratching my head going "What's that?" LOL
 

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