New Dad - Limited Time - What to practice?

[wazzel]

When my kids were little I played what ever I felt like playing. Sometimes it was some sort of exercise, other times learning new songs, sometimes just noodling. Time was limited and practicing was just to keep the skills I had. Playing will be better than not playing.

We left for the hospital about 4 hours after I got home from a gig for our first kid. I was able to keep gigging until the second one was born. Luckily I have tons of musicians in my family. After the gigs ended I was able to keep playing with my uncles and cousins on a semi-regular basis.

 

[tpaul]

Congratulations! Here's what you should practice:

Saying "I'm sorry"
Sleeping whenever the opportunity presents itself
Saying "yes," "no" and "I don't know" at the appropriate times. Also, when in doubt, "I'm not sure, I'll get back to you on that."
Asking for help when you need help
Saying "Yes, dear."
Scheduling times for the things you used to do spontaneously
Laughing at your mistakes

 

[WrapRough]

Congratulations! Here's what you should practice:

Saying "Yes, dear."

This should be practiced in all 12 keys

 

[Alexis Duntov]

I am completely out of routine since my son was born 2 months old now. Lately, if I play at all in a week I basically grab the bass and noodle, practice 2-octave arpeggio shapes, think about interesting intervals, youtube drum tracks, etc... nothing structured.

Resources I own: All of Jeff Berlins Online Lessons, Talkingbass Sight reading, Chord Tones, Walking Bass, Janek Gwizdala 251 book. Berklee Music Jazz Book + A Few Youtube Channels I love - Dan Hawkins major shout out!!

So If I were to sit down for 10-20 minutes a day what should I go to? This is just a season where I need to stick to something and do it/not think about what to do. I'll have more time in the future to broaden my horizons.

If there was 1 resource I have or one you recommend that I use as my sole practice routine what would you say?

**Irony is that I just got my dream bass before my son was born and I haven't been able to enjoy it as much as I would like**

Excellent and useful thread! Congratulations on being a new dad. I was a new dad only 6 years ago so I well remember the challenges. Some great responses I would echo. Think of this as “maintenance mode” and be sure you can make your two or more octave arpeggios to keep in shape and the fretboard familiar. Also, I would work on transcribing melodies by ear that you can play to your child, either by singing or on the bass. Two birds! I sing “somewhere over the rainbow” almost every night. Try that and some other ones that are kid-friendly and have some depth. Play them in different keys. Find a way to introduce your kid to classic melodies and also learn them on the bass. Good luck!

 

[dpbass66]

Ive been playing 45 years, and went to a very well known music school, graduating with a degree in performance. If there was anything valuable I learned from music school it was how to practice. Of course I assimilated a lot of information and music data, but the how was vital to my continued development after music school. When my three kids were born I was in much the same place as yourself. I cant emphasize enough, the benefit how 20 minutes of really focused attention to the basic fundamentals of playing. You dont mention what kind of bass player you are, or what styles you play in, as this can make a difference to how you approach things. One of the fundamental tenets of music practice is to never practice what you know; if you are using practice time to play what you can already do, you arent practicing, you are performing for yourself. To answer your question however, as a starting point everything you do should be played at slow or medium tempo, with intention and attention on the content, technique, sound and accuracy. I would play scales, arpeggios and lines through targeted keys, and/or lines written through typical chords (ie I-vi-ii-V), and I would pick one tune to learn within X time period (monthly perhaps). Learning tunes can be started while driving in the car, as the first step in that process is listening. Lastly, you can also work on ear training when away from the bass. Simply applying some of these basic exercises with consistency, in your limited time each day, will prevent you from regressing. Avoid the temptation to noodle, as mostly you are then just performing for yourself. Good luck and congratulations on the kids.... !

 

[SteveCS]

This is more advice to a younger me - that is to say something I wish I had done but didn't. Get an electric piano or keyboard. You can learn to play the piano whilst sitting up late with him - there will be plenty of that! Soon you can sing songs to your baby. When he gets older he can sit next to you at the keyboard and mess around with you. Over time you can play together. Eventually, he can play the songs and you can accompany him on bass.

 

[Acoop]

If you haven't already practice major, minor and diminished arpeggios. ... Start on the lowest note and climb to the highest note without missing one note of a major, minor and diminished seventh arpeggios. ... Then play it in reverse. ... Soon enough you'll know where every note is on the neck, in every position before your kid is three.
When my daughters were born I started on upright after 15-years on electric.

 

[SLPimp]

The stages of grief.

 

[dpbass66]

If you haven't already practice major, minor and diminished arpeggios. ... Start on the lowest note and climb to the highest note without missing one note of a major, minor and diminished seventh arpeggios. ... Then play it in reverse. ... Soon enough you'll know where every note is on the neck, in every position before your kid is three.
When my daughters were born I started on upright after 15-years on electric.

Not sure if this is what you meant, but a great way to learn arpeggios and also learn the key really well is to play the lowest note from the arpeggio that is on the bass fretboard. So, if you are playing a CM7 arpeggio (CEGB) on a 5 string bass, the lowest note, and the place where that arpeggio will start, is on the low B string. If you are on a 4 string bass, that arpeggio will start on the low E string.