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Please help me develop a practice routine.

RabidMusic

RabidMusic

Jan 29, 2012
288
291
Kentucky
#1
I need structure. ... There. I said it. I need help developing a structured practice schedule. I could make one myself, but I am new at this and I know I would leave out something important.

My background and level. I was once a full time keyboard player and have also played drums in bands. I can read piano music, so I am not learning music, I am learning bass. I've started a few times over the years which is why my account is 10 years old. Now I am retired and it is time to get serious. I always wanted to learn bass and now is the time. I have signed up for classes from talkingbass.net and really like them. There is also a few YouTube channels that I frequent. I'm in a very rural area and face to face lessons are not an option at this time. Plus, I'm retired and it is not really in the budget.

Anyway, I follow the lessons with no problem. But I am not sure how to divide my practice time. Scales, learning new songs, learning the fretboard, fingering exercises, etc... I'm thinking that maybe breaking down an hour into parts would be helpful. Then I would rotate through that breakdown, as much as possible each day. Any suggestions or a link to a practice schedule for my level would be helpful.
 
#2
By the way, notice that talkingbass.net pushes what they call R.A.I.S.E.
Reading
Applied Harmony and Theory
Improvisation and Creativity
Songs and Repertoire
Ear Training and Transcription

What they don't do is tell you how to break it down on a time schedule.
 
#3
RabidMusic said:
Any suggestions or a link to a practice schedule for my level would be helpful.
Click to expand...
i'm thinking/guessing that you need some motivation and that a schedule would/could naturally follow. also: breaking it down to an hour with more than a couple of practice goals/routines might be a bit too much for any serious study. but i'm making the comments based on my own experience so YMMV, of course.

if you have trouble (in life) sticking to the task at hand (e.g., ADD, ADHD, etc.) you might want to consider giving yourself goals to reach and let the practice routine accommodate that! good luck finding a schedule that merits keeping! :thumbsup:


disclosure: my practice schedule, since retirement, varies, and it's mostly dedicated to maintenance.
 
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#6
I use the old wedding saying:
1.) Something old - Start off with something you can do well. Scales are fine. Or maybe a few old songs. Just don't get seduced by them and not move on.
2.) Something new - The stuff you need for the next gig or rehearsal. Or getting some technique together so you don't make the same mistakes you did last time out.
3.) Something borrowed - Do a non-bass thing. Bach Cello suites are popular. Melodies from children's song. Hey, try the Rimsky-Korsakov trombone concerto (second movement is wonderful.
4.)Something blue - Don't forget to play some music that touches your soul. Play something that reminds you why you're a musician.
 
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#7
Write it down and write down what you want to get better. As in, what do you want to be able to do by this time next year, within 6months, a month and each week. Then everyday you can write what you are going to shed in order to get to that goal.

It's a life time of work so don't try to cram it all in at once. You have to be able to identify what your hoping to achieve. 10 minutes of 6 things a day might not help you get anywhere even if you are ticking all the boxes but 10 minutes of focusing on one specific thing you will start to see improvements in that.

You've also identified the major issue with online lessons - you have zero feedback. Record yourself, and listen to it back. Then listen to it back again the next day with a clear head and fresh ears. Then again in a week when you've really had time to switch off from it and be objective. The mic doesn't lie and you'll hear yourself as other people hear you.
 
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#8
A quick summary. who am I kidding I never post anything quick...

Seems like you know piano and you know drums (Chords/Harmony and Rhythm so IMO you have years of training that you didnt even know you had! I am a little jelly..) so what you need to know is how to apply that knowledge to bass specifically (or am I off base here? whoops: Bass! lol).

So step one is to know the fret board. Step two is learning to mute strings effectively. Step three is songs. Step four is learning alternate techniques to incorperate. step 5 is have fun doing it.

If I tell you show me 'Middle C' on the Keys: you know EXACTLY where it is right ? (cause there is only ONE middle C on keys) where as on BASS, there can be many depending on which (and how many) string(s) you play and where.. so if you take the 'positional approach' you will get a better sense of where those notes are when (if) you read and play a piece of music. I find that the 7th - 9th positions are most comfortable for me (I play 5 string) and to a slightly lesser extent 5-7 is also a comfortable position(s). with that said 5-9 position has a myriad of notes for a ton of songs/scales. there are also a lot of chords you can arpeggiate in that range, so I would start there. since you can read music you can find some charts or beginner Bass books that you can use to get you familiar with the notes visibly on the staff and tactically on the bass. it is a process.

Check into the "Box Method" it is also a positional deal. run your arpeggios through the box in different positions. I usually run through the Circle of 5th/4ths.


Muting. this step gets overlooked. its hard to describe over the webs but crisp clean tones are what you aspire to. recordings do this with some editing and EQing. but it is in the hands. If I come to your house and play your bass it will sound slightly different, even though we would be playing the same rig and equipment. Strings rattling and extra noise ringing out that is unwanted is sure to occur when you are learning to tame the bass (esp if you play 5-6 string variants). time will help in this regard.

Step three find some songs with baselines you aspire to play and start learning them on bass. This is where you can start to have some fun. Lord knows playing scales up and down the fret board is hella boring compared to learning the songs you can apply them to.

step four is learning some other techniques. along with muting what else can you do? Plectrum/Pick? Slap/Tap? Finger style: -Two, Three, Four-Finger Technique, Floating Thumb, or Anchor? (look these terms up if they sound foreign) the nice part about this is you can double down and learn a technique while you learn the fret board -or a song- . so for me I would say practice your plectrum with a scale (to a metronome ofc) until you can get it down clean. - no unwanted notes ringing, no unwanted string scraping, no 'fret-buzz' etc.. - same for slap if you care to... (though I consider myself a thumper: I use mostly thumb not too much on the line of popping) and or tap or finger style.

I would chunk down the tasks of scales (fret board work) into 5-10 minute tasks that you do daily like warm ups. then after you get warmed up focus on your technique for another 10-15 min then from there work on that song you want to play as a reward.. you can eat up a half hour or more quite easily this way.

set your schedule up for the week depending on your time to practice. so maybe on Monday Wednesday and Friday you work with a pick for warm ups (again learning the fret board) and you learn the first 6 positions those days. Then on Tuesday Thursday and Saturday you work on finger style in warm ups and run your scales in reverse..starting at the 12th position.

someone else will come along with more advice, but this can be a start to spark you.
It is not gospel, but could be what you are looking for.

With out knowing where you are at its hard to tell you where to go. if that makes sense. the problem with internet advise i am afraid.

but good luck, and stay low. keep posting questions and you will get answers. some better than others.
:bassist:
 
#10
AFRO said:
...

Seems like you know piano and you know drums (Chords/Harmony and Rhythm so IMO you have years of training that you didnt even know you had! I am a little jelly..) so what you need to know is how to apply that knowledge to bass specifically (or am I off base here? whoops: Bass! lol).

...
Click to expand...

Exactly. And thank you for the detailed response. I'm trying to apply not just music information, but also life lessons from my time on piano and drums. My piano teacher never had much luck getting me to practice scales so she eventually changed to having me learn Bach. It was not until years later when I was playing in a band and wishing I could do runs on my Moog the way our guitarist was doing them that I realized the value of scales. Thinking back, a lot of my early solos sounded like Bach pieces thrown into the middle of a pop/rock song. Playing drums, and I was an excellent drummer, helped me lock in with the rhythm section like no other keyboardist around. So though I was inexperienced on keys, I think that is why I could always find good bands to play with. Drummers are a dime a dozen, but a keyboardist with the rhythmic sense of a drummer...

Anyway, bass is an instrument that I have always wanted to learn. That bridge between keyboards and drums. I always thought it would be a natural instrument for me. So now, at 60, I'm learning.
 
#11
Well the good news is its "never too late" to start!

and the better news is if you practice with regularity you will improve immensely in a short (relatively) time. You will just want to mind 'bad' habits in the onset. they are terribly hard to un-do.

plus you WANT to learn it. so unlike a lot of millennials these days you are already motivated to do the task, so you have a few legs up on the process (again IMO).

and since you are erm experienced;) I would hope you know and understand the practice of patience; and the reward of such efforts.

sow and reap, fruit and tree.

I also agree, the Bass is the glue. it bridges the harmony and rhythm together so nicely.

to put it in cooking context; I think Bass would be the salt. it just brings out the flavors of everything you put it on. too much can be a bad thing; and too little can leave you with that 'it needs something' - but in the right quantities, its so right!

Oh, and find some jam buddies, you will grow exponentially if you can find some live people to play along with, especially if they are better than you for the time being.

remember to have fun, i mean you 'play' music right? (hint YES!) with the caveat that you need to practice in order to play well, hehe. but its like sports you practice so you can play the game (you get out what you put in).

Stay low
 
#12
We practice what we do not do well. If your scales and arpeggios have been put to bed use them as warm ups and move to something you need help on. Rhythm, groove, harmony, you know what is needed...

Songs catch most of this, so practice the songs you will be using, i.e. start a gig book and when a song is "Good Enough" put it in your gig book and move to another.

Then when the director says "We will be using the following for this gig", take them out of the gig book and go over the ones you need to brush up on.

Forty five minutes of practice then a fifteen minute break. After that you are good for another forty five minutes. I have no idea how you should break this forty five minutes up into segments, but, I bet you have an idea.
 

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