Rather work through studybass.com ASAP otherwise you're going to miss out on good stuff.
Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
Length of time per day a beginner should practice
- Thread starter bassguy74
- Start date
Roy Vogt
Supporting Member
- Sep 20, 2000
- 4,433
- 537
- Disclosures
- Endorsing Artist: Kiesel Basses, Ampeg Amplification, Hotone Ampero II effects
An hour a day is plenty for a beginner. You can find some lessons here:
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
and here:
Link Removed
Just go to the lessons for beginners section.
Don't forget to jam and play along with the music that you like. That helps a lot. (That would not be your 1 hour practice time, BTW.) If you can afford one, a drum machine is more fun to play with than a metronome. If you're friends with a drummer, even better.
Needless to say, find some friends and play as soon as possible. Nothing helps like playing with other musicians.
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
and here:
Link Removed
Just go to the lessons for beginners section.
Don't forget to jam and play along with the music that you like. That helps a lot. (That would not be your 1 hour practice time, BTW.) If you can afford one, a drum machine is more fun to play with than a metronome. If you're friends with a drummer, even better.
Needless to say, find some friends and play as soon as possible. Nothing helps like playing with other musicians.
I think how you practice is at least as important as how long you practice.
Here is a link to some excellent information on practice. The entire system is great & the teacer is free. Can`t beat this!
http://www.studybass.com/lessons/practicing/
Take care. Bob
Here is a link to some excellent information on practice. The entire system is great & the teacer is free. Can`t beat this!
http://www.studybass.com/lessons/practicing/
Take care. Bob
A big +1. I think getting a teacher can be overemphasized. We get excited to play because we heard bass one day and thought, "Woah, that would be cool". Lots of the bassists you know and love probably learned by listening to their favorite records and learning the lines. IMO, you're going to have more motivation to play if you're trying to play your favorite songs than standing there for 20 min. working on your scales. They're important to know, but because you're not looking to be a pro or a technician, I'd say do what makes your soul happy. Finding a passage you really *want* to play but *can't* will often be your best motivation to learn the technique that will get you there.
IMO IMO IMO IMO IMO
I want to chime in. In my opinion, you NEED to have a plan for your self-teaching. That is, scales, arpeggios, and modes are all great things to run through every day. But please believe me, it's more important to practice EVERY day than to increase your practice time per day. In other words, say you practice alone in your room for 1-1/2 hours for one day, then skip a day or two or three, and then practice for another 1-1/2 hours. You'll improve, but SLOWLY. You'll achieve more gain if you practice one half hour EVERY DAY. I'm not saying limiting yourself to a half hour, I'm saying it's the DAILY repetition that reinforces the electrical connections in your brain that eventually result in "muscle memory".
EVERY DAY!
EVERY DAY!
I make the best progress when I practice for two hours, but several times a day.
I am retired, so this prolly doesn't apply to you, but I can get deeply into some music for a couple of those daily sessions and that's when it all comes together.
This way I keep a constant stream of music running in my head and I am visually re-running the things I did in the last set through my mind before I forget it by next week's lesson-time.
Theory is great and a fantastic base upon which to build a good bass line. Having a teacher to actually whack you with a ruler when you make a mistake is also great aversion training - alas, I never had either.
What kinda made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside was at the last studio set I played - I was second-bill to another bassist and he's been there a few times before me - but I got the return invitation since I have a better 'feel' for the music than he does.
Funny - I never knew that my feel was above normal - since I just felt that every player had the same feelings I do for playing - you know: timing, anticipation and knowing which key we are in at the moment and where the changes are.
OK - I have some bad and seriously reinforced habits that make me feel a little strange in front of 'pros' who got all the right teachers and lessons.
I 'hook' with my index and thumb and those are the only two finger with which I play.
I can't perform that controlled wiggle with my fingers on the strings like most players.
That pales though if I got the gig and a better-trained theorist didn't.
Personally I cannot get enough hands-on time, even five or six times a day. Too bad I had to work all those years that I couldn't play bass all day. I would have been a much better player, although considerably thinner and without a house in which to live.
I am retired, so this prolly doesn't apply to you, but I can get deeply into some music for a couple of those daily sessions and that's when it all comes together.
This way I keep a constant stream of music running in my head and I am visually re-running the things I did in the last set through my mind before I forget it by next week's lesson-time.
Theory is great and a fantastic base upon which to build a good bass line. Having a teacher to actually whack you with a ruler when you make a mistake is also great aversion training - alas, I never had either.
What kinda made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside was at the last studio set I played - I was second-bill to another bassist and he's been there a few times before me - but I got the return invitation since I have a better 'feel' for the music than he does.
Funny - I never knew that my feel was above normal - since I just felt that every player had the same feelings I do for playing - you know: timing, anticipation and knowing which key we are in at the moment and where the changes are.
OK - I have some bad and seriously reinforced habits that make me feel a little strange in front of 'pros' who got all the right teachers and lessons.
I 'hook' with my index and thumb and those are the only two finger with which I play.
I can't perform that controlled wiggle with my fingers on the strings like most players.
That pales though if I got the gig and a better-trained theorist didn't.
Personally I cannot get enough hands-on time, even five or six times a day. Too bad I had to work all those years that I couldn't play bass all day. I would have been a much better player, although considerably thinner and without a house in which to live.
I'll throw my 2cents' worth in here as well.
Lots of good advice from above.. Work on scales, arpeggios, chords, etc. with a metronome to help your sense of timing. And when you get to a speed where you are comfortable, bump it up a few beats!
Break up your study, too. In education, we call it "chunking." Small, 10-15 sections of one thing, then go to another. So say start out with a finger strengthening/stretching exercise like playing frets 1-4 going up and down the strings (with a metronome of course!), then maybe play a note naming game, like where are all my F#s on the fretboard, then work from a book for a bit, then have fun and learn a tune you can play along with. I would sit for hours watching youtube videos and playing along with them. Some I'd get tab; others I'd learn on my own! (BTW: Lucrecia, My Reflection by Sisters of Mercy is a fun one to learn at first!)
Regarding scales and arpeggios, etc, check out this book:Fretboard Roadmaps. This covers a lot of patterns that are useful anywhere on the fretboard!
Lots of good advice from above.. Work on scales, arpeggios, chords, etc. with a metronome to help your sense of timing. And when you get to a speed where you are comfortable, bump it up a few beats!
Break up your study, too. In education, we call it "chunking." Small, 10-15 sections of one thing, then go to another. So say start out with a finger strengthening/stretching exercise like playing frets 1-4 going up and down the strings (with a metronome of course!), then maybe play a note naming game, like where are all my F#s on the fretboard, then work from a book for a bit, then have fun and learn a tune you can play along with. I would sit for hours watching youtube videos and playing along with them. Some I'd get tab; others I'd learn on my own! (BTW: Lucrecia, My Reflection by Sisters of Mercy is a fun one to learn at first!)
Regarding scales and arpeggios, etc, check out this book:Fretboard Roadmaps. This covers a lot of patterns that are useful anywhere on the fretboard!
I'd agree with that, except I'd say if once in a while you need an occasional day off, that's okay - probably no more than once a week, though.
Didn't read the other responses, but I'd say practice as long or as short of time as you want as long as you DON'T PLAY THROUGH PAIN. When something hurts, pay attention to your body. Stop doing whatever that is, and do something different. Or just stop playing, and analyse/ask us/yourself why you are having pain. Please.
I'm a beginner adult (41) and take lessons. My instructor told me at the start to do 15 minutes per day, but not to skip a day at all (if possible). He said it didn't matter what I did, as long as I picked up the bass and did SOMETHING! It is all about that muscle memory. That was great for about a month or two, but then I found it just wasn't enough. I mean, I was just warmed up and the 15 minutes would be over! So on my own, I increased my practice time as much as I could. I have been playing for 8 months and I practice anywhere from 40 minutes to 1.5 hours per day. I am still slow, and I wouldn't say I am make hugh strides, but each month I get better and learn something new, so I can't complain.
One thing that just occurred to me - I think you can benefit from noodling around when watching TV or doing something else menial. This isn't a substitute for real practice, but a chance to develop your 'autopilot' and make things sink in. Pick something to work on, get it the way you want it, then just crank away on it. Les Claypool advocates this, I believe.
By the time you've been playing for eight months you should certainly be doing more than 15 minutes a day! I'm wondering if he meant either a) play that little for the first week or two just to get your fingers used to the instrument or b) he's used to teaching kids who don't practice at all and he got used to saying that just to get them to do something.
I'm close to you in age and I've been playing about the same time (started last October), my basic schedule is to get up at 5 and play (with headphones) until the kids get up and need to have breakfast. That gets me at least half an hour in the school year when they have a bus to catch and can run up to two hours now that it's summer. I'm not too disciplined about what I practice, I try to be good and do scales and things but a lot of the time I just run through whatever the band has on the plate.
Haha, yeah, I think he mostly teaches kids. So you're probably right about his being used to "non-practicing" students. I definately like to practice for at least an hour a day, if not more, but I tend to be very methodical, which seems to slow me down. Not sure I have much "raw talent", but if I practice a song I can usually get it down and play along, so I am pretty happy with that. I don't think I'll ever be super fantastic, but I have fun with it anyway.
I picked up bass when I was 15 and within 3 months was practicing as much as 6 hours a day. I am not exaggerating. I was 15, didn't care about grades, didn't have a girl so I played and played and PLAYED. And I got pretty darned good pretty darned quick.
Many years later, when I was teaching, students would ask me the same question... I'd tell them my story then say "At least 30 min a day of serious practice, and the rest of the time, keep the bass with you and noodle - get used to holding it, feeling the frets & strings - get *comfortable* with it to the point where you don't have to think about it."
Learning a new instrument is like learning anything else that is difficult: The more time you put in, the faster you will learn. If you want to get good at this, you have to be focused, patient and persistent - - and do NOT expect immediate gratification.
Many years later, when I was teaching, students would ask me the same question... I'd tell them my story then say "At least 30 min a day of serious practice, and the rest of the time, keep the bass with you and noodle - get used to holding it, feeling the frets & strings - get *comfortable* with it to the point where you don't have to think about it."
Learning a new instrument is like learning anything else that is difficult: The more time you put in, the faster you will learn. If you want to get good at this, you have to be focused, patient and persistent - - and do NOT expect immediate gratification.
