Practice regimen for someone who hasn't played for years?

[callumj]

Hey guys,

A few years ago I played a ton but because of school/travel/lack of motivation almost entirely stopped. I was wondering if anyone could recommend a practice regimen (or simply suggestions on what I should be practicing) to help me get back into it. I'm going to try and devote at least an hour/day to practicing and want to try and follow a semi-strict schedule at least for the first while.

Any help is really appreciated.

cheers!

 

[SMILEYSIXX]

Relearn what you used to do. It's eaiser to relearn old stuff and grow off of that than to begin anew.

 

[MrLenny1]

Cycle of 4'ths all on the E string, major,minor,sevenths is a good exercise.
Nice & slow then build up speed.

 

[tjh]

FWIW, a 'few' years is not long away from it at all ... read the old timers thread on here, many have stepped away for over 20, or even 30+ like myself ... all I can tell you that may be of help, is what I did, because I have learned more in the last couple years back than I ever knew before ... and that was to try to spend as much time learning WHY I was playing something, as WHAT I was playing ... I still suck compared to somebody that has been at it the entire 35+ years that I did not play, but learning the basic theory and spending time trying to develop what I knew were weak spots way back then has helped me the most ...

.. so that is a long evasive answer to your question, maybe a better answer would be since you have played in the past, YOU probably know what you need to practice most, especially since you are the only one that knows what your goals/objectives are for your new re-found interest and enthusiasm ... the first thing I did, was buy Bass Guitar for Dummies, and from then on I have tried to be a sponge and absorb everything I possibly could .. with the development of the internet, message boards, and YouTube type deals, it is amazing how much easier and quicker it is to learn and understand than it was 35-40 years ago ... but, I also am going broke buying and selling, when I used to be happy with what I had ... JMHO

 

[Russell L]

Whatever you do, try not to get what I call a "stone bruise" on your fret hand fingers. That's easy to do after being off for awhile and then trying to play too much at once. Or, it's even easy to do when playing all the time, too, as you may know.

The suggestion to learn some theory is a good one, if you never knew any before. Otherwise, I'd say just get in there and play some, no matter what it is, just to get your strength and momentum back up. I'm sure you remember that it takes some stamina to get through a four-hour gig.