Double Bass Practice Strategies! Case study- please help noobie:)

[_em__]

Hey Guys!
I am a music student at the University of Western Australia and I need a little help.
I have to do a case study and have chosen to do it on practice strategies of university students and professionals.
I was wondering if there is any professional bass players here that woud be happy to fill out a eleven-question survey? It'll take 5 minutes to fill out

This case study is for teaching and learning purposes only, nothing will be published and no-ones name will be mentioned


1.
How long have you been playing bass?

2.
How much practice do you do on average per week?

3.
Do you have a practice schedule? (Do you make time for practice or just fit it into your day

4.
Do you practice in one bulk session or smaller units of practice?

5.
a) How is your practice organized, do you have a routine?
b) If yes, how much time do you spend on each section of your routine (10 minutes on scales, 20 minutes on a piece etc)

6.
a) Do you set goals for practice?
b) If yes, please give an example

7.
How do you manage difficult passages? (Of rhythm, intonation, bowing etc)

8.
How do you manage a piece? (Process of thought)


9.
What is most important to you when practicing scales?

10.
a) Do you take breaks when practicing?
b) If yes, how often? (Every 30 minutes for 5 minutes etc)

11.
a) Do you warm up and cool down?
b) If yes, what do you do to warm up and cool down?

 

[rokkitt]

answers below.....

Hey Guys!
I am a music student at the University of Western Australia and I need a little help.
I have to do a case study and have chosen to do it on practice strategies of university students and professionals.
I was wondering if there is any professional bass players here that woud be happy to fill out a eleven-question survey? It'll take 5 minutes to fill out

This case study is for teaching and learning purposes only, nothing will be published and no-ones name will be mentioned


1.
How long have you been playing bass?


on and off since 19, and the last year every day

2.
How much practice do you do on average per week?


play about 10 hour s per week, less than one hour of that is actual practice


3.
Do you have a practice schedule? (Do you make time for practice or just fit it into your day


no practice schedule.....I should have one!

4.
Do you practice in one bulk session or smaller units of practice?

two or three sessions per day


5.
a) How is your practice organized, do you have a routine?

meh, I am trying to be more regimented...so for now, kinda


b) If yes, how much time do you spend on each section of your routine (10 minutes on scales, 20 minutes on a piece etc)

want to be 15 min on scales, 15 on playing with songs, 15 min figuring out songs and charting them





6.
a) Do you set goals for practice?


yes

b) If yes, please give an example

to be at 80 bpm 16th notes, for 5 mins straight, d major scale

7.
How do you manage difficult passages? (Of rhythm, intonation, bowing etc)

slow it down with a mp3 bass trainer, put it thru a metronome.


8.
How do you manage a piece? (Process of thought)

into/, verse, chorus, break , solo,
list the hard parts---what to watch out for
list the groove line
start on what note
end on what note
how to end, choke, fanfare, etc..


9.
What is most important to you when practicing scales?

timing and tone, volume of notes, consitent clean sound


10.
a) Do you take breaks when practicing?

yes
b) If yes, how often? (Every 30 minutes for 5 minutes etc)


dont know

11.
a) Do you warm up and cool down?

yes to warm up

no to cool down


b) If yes, what do you do to warm up and cool down?

warm up----play slow, and play real eaasy passages...


cool down / na







allen

 

[Dr. Zoidberg]

I'm not professional but it's 3am, I've been listening to a few hours of B.B. King, and I feel like filling out forms.

1.
How long have you been playing bass?
5 Years

2.
How much practice do you do on average per week?
~10-12 hours

3.
Do you have a practice schedule? (Do you make time for practice or just fit it into your day
I always try to do a minimum of 1 hr per day with the bow, then whatever jazz i play later is for fun.

4.
Do you practice in one bulk session or smaller units of practice?
I try to do 1 hr straight of bowing, then i play randomly once i'm warmed up.

5.
a) How is your practice organized, do you have a routine?
b) If yes, how much time do you spend on each section of your routine (10 minutes on scales, 20 minutes on a piece etc)
I don't organize my routine. I work on what needs to be worked on.

6.
a) Do you set goals for practice?
b) If yes, please give an example
Yes, usually trying to perfect a few bars each time, depending on the piece. Or trying to nail a passage perfectly.

7.
How do you manage difficult passages? (Of rhythm, intonation, bowing etc)
I try to find a comfortable fingering and proper bowing method, and just work from there, note by note. Intonation wise i constantly check my pitch against other strings. I also, say if I end up on the D on the G string, will check it against the harmonic.

8.
How do you manage a piece? (Process of thought)
I think about what the composer was doing and bring those elements out.


9.
What is most important to you when practicing scales?
I-N-T-O-N-A-T-I-O-N

10.
a) Do you take breaks when practicing?
b) If yes, how often? (Every 30 minutes for 5 minutes etc)
Yes, usually. I don't really keep track. I think I have terrible practice habits. I'll leave for quite a while and smoke cigarettes and walk around, then remember that I was practicing.

11.
a) Do you warm up and cool down?
b) If yes, what do you do to warm up and cool down?

Warm up only.

 

[_em__]

thanks for your replies!... hugely appreciated anymore are also welcomed!!

 

[Kevin Hsieh]

1.
How long have you been playing bass?
A year and eight months

2.
How much practice do you do on average per week?
everyday at least 3 or 4 hours of playing, many hours of intense listening, couple hours of transcribing

3.
Do you have a practice schedule? (Do you make time for practice or just fit it into your day
I schedule my days on the fly.

4.
Do you practice in one bulk session or smaller units of practice?
depends on the day

5.
a) How is your practice organized, do you have a routine?
b) If yes, how much time do you spend on each section of your routine (10 minutes on scales, 20 minutes on a piece etc)
Yes, but i don't work out times. I just do my scales until i feel comfortable with them, learn tunes, and practice what i feel like i need to practice.

6.
a) Do you set goals for practice?
b) If yes, please give an example
Yes, recently i've been trying to learn more tunes.

7.
How do you manage difficult passages? (Of rhythm, intonation, bowing etc)
practice it a lot. pizz

8.
How do you manage a piece? (Process of thought)
look over the chord changes and figure out how the chord changes relate to the notes

9.
What is most important to you when practicing scales?
time and intonation

10.
a) Do you take breaks when practicing?
b) If yes, how often? (Every 30 minutes for 5 minutes etc)
yes. anytime i get tired

11.
a) Do you warm up and cool down?
b) If yes, what do you do to warm up and cool down?
no

 

[_em__]

thankyou

 

[Andrew McGregor]

Hey Guys!
I am a music student at the University of Western Australia and I need a little help.
I have to do a case study and have chosen to do it on practice strategies of university students and professionals.
I was wondering if there is any professional bass players here that woud be happy to fill out a eleven-question survey? It'll take 5 minutes to fill out

This case study is for teaching and learning purposes only, nothing will be published and no-ones name will be mentioned


1.
How long have you been playing bass?

23 years, 13 of those professionally in the Christchurch Symphony ending in 2003, and I will be returning to professional (or at least consistent orchestral) playing one day when my other career permits.

2.
How much practice do you do on average per week?

About 4-6 hours at the moment, more like 12 when I was playing consistently.

3.
Do you have a practice schedule? (Do you make time for practice or just fit it into your day

4.
Do you practice in one bulk session or smaller units of practice?

I fit it in as 30 minute or so breaks between work sessions when I'm working at home, and when I have to be on-site for work, I have to schedule it in bigger chunks.

5.
a) How is your practice organized, do you have a routine?
b) If yes, how much time do you spend on each section of your routine (10 minutes on scales, 20 minutes on a piece etc)

I don't believe in scales, but I do 5-10 minutes of Simandl drills and/or arpeggios, then work on a piece or orchestral passages (the latter not so much when I don't have orchestra work).

6.
a) Do you set goals for practice?
b) If yes, please give an example

Usually I aim for getting a few bars of a piece fluid and cleanly intonated; I've been working through the Bach Cello suites two or three bars at a time for months now, and somehow they don't get boring. Sometimes I'll pick something out and play it through for the sake of the form and phrasing.

7.
How do you manage difficult passages? (Of rhythm, intonation, bowing etc)

Try it, analyse what is going wrong, and work on the technique involved in isolation. That might involve slow practice with a metronome, or taking it through note by note with a tuner, or experimenting with bow positions and weight, or systematically trying fingerings to see what will work. Occasionally the problem is reading it and I will take the part to the computer or a manuscript pad, re-notate it more legibly, and copy out a replacement few bars to tape into the part.

8.
How do you manage a piece? (Process of thought)

I'm not sure what the question means. I have a general analysis process which I apply to problem solving in general. Unfortunately, I don't know how to teach it because I more or less picked it all up by osmosis and reading everything I could lay my hands on starting as soon as I was able to read.

9.
What is most important to you when practicing scales?

Don't do too much, music isn't made of scales, especially bass music. Learn them, by all means, but the arpeggios of every chord you can think of are much more important.

10.
a) Do you take breaks when practicing?
b) If yes, how often? (Every 30 minutes for 5 minutes etc)

About that, seldom more than 30 minutes of playing at a stretch. Usually I will do a useful period of some other activity, so the breaks tend to be long.

11.
a) Do you warm up and cool down?
b) If yes, what do you do to warm up and cool down?

Stretches before playing, regularly when I get a chance (even on stage, although without drawing attention), and always afterward.

 

[_em__]

thankyou

 

[Bass]

1. How long have you been playing bass?

1 year 7 months

2. How much practice do you do on average per week?

Twice a week - 4 hours total.

3. Do you have a practice schedule? (Do you make time for practice or just fit it into your day

Yes, Tuesday and Thursday.

4. Do you practice in one bulk session or smaller units of practice?

One bulk session.

5. a) How is your practice organized, do you have a routine?
b) If yes, how much time do you spend on each section of your routine (10 minutes on scales, 20 minutes on a piece etc)

We go through our "set" and then work on new songs.

6. a) Do you set goals for practice? b) If yes, please give an example

Make it through old songs without screweing up, develop new songs, get drunk.

7. How do you manage difficult passages? (Of rhythm, intonation, bowing etc)

Practice.

8. How do you manage a piece? (Process of thought)

Think ahead.

9. What is most important to you when practicing scales?

Intonation.

10. a) Do you take breaks when practicing?
b) If yes, how often? (Every 30 minutes for 5 minutes etc)

Yes, about every 30 minutes to sit down and smoke and drink and get a fresh beer. I can drink and smoke while playing too, but it's nice to sit down. For 5 or 10 minutes, but breaks get longer as the evening progresses.

11.a) Do you warm up and cool down?
b) If yes, what do you do to warm up and cool down?

No.

 

[Huy Nguyen]

I'll bite.

1.How long have you been playing bass?
About 4 1/2 years. Boy has time gone by.

2.How much practice do you do on average per week?
On average probably around 5-10 hours. Sometimes more sometimes less.

3. Do you have a practice schedule? (Do you make time for practice or just fit it into your day
No. My goal is to practice at minimum 15 minutes a day on at least one little thing practiced slow and correctly.

4. Do you practice in one bulk session or smaller units of practice?
Usually one session, sometimes two. I sorta believe that old wives tale that you learn better when practicing early in the morning and late at night.

5.a) How is your practice organized, do you have a routine?
b) If yes, how much time do you spend on each section of your routine (10 minutes on scales, 20 minutes on a piece etc)
These days I work on small bite sized concepts... they may be assocaited with a scale, with intervals, or a lick. I'll work them through as many keys as I feel or repeat them over certain patterns (Cycle of 5ths, 4ths, etc. etc). Sometimes I'll spend my entire session doing this. At some point I'll apply the concept to soloing over a song just to apply what I've learned.

6.
a) Do you set goals for practice?
b) If yes, please give an example
I think the key is to focus on one or two things a day and build strengths that way. See above answer.

7. How do you manage difficult passages? (Of rhythm, intonation, bowing etc)
Slowly and in good time. Increase speed once it's down pat.

8.How do you manage a piece? (Process of thought) In bite sized chunks. Play it through, take a part I'm having difficulty with, break it down rhythmically first then figure out the notes later. Generally for memorizing pieces, I like to be able to go through a passage 5 times consecutively with total comfort and mistakes before I move on. Jazz wize I should be able to solo coherently over it without any accompaniement while still sounding like the form.

9. What is most important to you when practicing scales?
Time first, then intonation.

10.
a) Do you take breaks when practicing?
b) If yes, how often? (Every 30 minutes for 5 minutes etc)
Nope.

11.
a) Do you warm up and cool down?
b) If yes, what do you do to warm up and cool down?
I don't really warm up... i just do my workouts and they warm me up cuz I'm doing something simple slowly or whatever.

 

[toman]

I'm not a pro, but I'll play anyway...

1.
How long have you been playing bass?
15 years

2.
How much practice do you do on average per week?

Depends; sometimes I go for stretches where I might only play half an hour a day, but when I'm actually working on something for a performance, I'll practice a minimum of two hours a day, maybe up to four at the most.

3.
Do you have a practice schedule? (Do you make time for practice or just fit it into your day
Again, I often just fit playing around my schedule, but when I'm preparing for a performance I definitely stick to a schedule.
4.
Do you practice in one bulk session or smaller units of practice?
One session a day, usually. Although there's always random *pick up the bass and play*

5.
a) How is your practice organized, do you have a routine?
b) If yes, how much time do you spend on each section of your routine (10 minutes on scales, 20 minutes on a piece etc)

I like to warm up for at least 15 minutes or so with scales/arpeggios etc., often with drones, then move on to exercises, then the bulk of what I'm working on and finish with scales and stuff to settle down.

6.
a) Do you set goals for practice?

Not really, I just try to get as much done as I can. I like to focus more on one issue per session than try to jam a bunch of things.

b) If yes, please give an example

7.
How do you manage difficult passages? (Of rhythm, intonation, bowing etc)

I like to break things down into phrases or segments, work them with the metronome/drone, and reference to recordings, section mates and the rest of the orchestra.

8.
How do you manage a piece? (Process of thought)

Not quite sure what this is going for; I guess I like to look for contrast within a piece as much as anything. To get the varying colors, textures, etc. and try to envision what the inspiration and goal was when it was written. Along those lines, I like to do as much reading as I can about the composer as well as historic performances, and listen to recordings.

9.
What is most important to you when practicing scales?

Intonation, technique, pulling a good tone.

10.
a) Do you take breaks when practicing?

Nah, other than to shake out my hands or something.

b) If yes, how often? (Every 30 minutes for 5 minutes etc)

11.
a) Do you warm up and cool down?

Yes

b) If yes, what do you do to warm up and cool down?

I just use scales and long tones to warm up both myself and the instrument, and do the same at the end of my session to get any kinks or frustrations out of my brain and hands.

 

[_em__]

Hi everyone! Thanks for helping me out, its taken a huuge stress off my shoulders

 

[Marcus Johnson]

This is easy for me;

37 years, and I don't practice.

 

[_em__]

haha not quite sure how i'll work that one in!

 

[Marcus Johnson]

I don't recommend it.

 

[jayarroz]

Hey Guys!
I am a music student at the University of Western Australia and I need a little help.
I have to do a case study and have chosen to do it on practice strategies of university students and professionals.
I was wondering if there is any professional bass players here that woud be happy to fill out a eleven-question survey? It'll take 5 minutes to fill out

This case study is for teaching and learning purposes only, nothing will be published and no-ones name will be mentioned


1.
How long have you been playing bass? 13 YRS

2.
How much practice do you do on average per week? 28 HOURS

3.
Do you have a practice schedule? (Do you make time for practice or just fit it into your day 1-4 IN THE MORNING

4.
Do you practice in one bulk session or smaller units of practice? IF I CAN'T SLEEP I PLAY IN THE DARK

5.
a) How is your practice organized, do you have a routine?
b) If yes, how much time do you spend on each section of your routine (10 minutes on scales, 20 minutes on a piece etc) 15 MIN SCALES, 15 BOWING, 15 PIECE, 15 TRANSCRIBE, REPEAT THEN WORK ON STUFF FOR BANDS

6.
a) Do you set goals for practice?
b) If yes, please give an example I HAVE A LESSON EVERY WEEK I HAVE TO PREPARE FOR - I PAY SOMEONE TO THINK IT OUT FOR ME

7.
How do you manage difficult passages? (Of rhythm, intonation, bowing etc) DO THE TOUGH STUFF FIRST, START AT THE END THEN FILL IN THE BEGINNING

8.
How do you manage a piece? (Process of thought) NOODLE THROUGH IT A COUPLE OF TIMES, THEN PICK IT APART


9.
What is most important to you when practicing scales?
SET GARAGE BAND WITH THE ROOT NOTES THEN WORK ON INTONATION
10.
a) Do you take breaks when practicing?
b) If yes, how often? (Every 30 minutes for 5 minutes etc)
YUP IF IT HURTS STOP!!!

11.
a) Do you warm up and cool down?
b) If yes, what do you do to warm up and cool down?

SCALES FUN STUFF, I LIKE TO PUT IN A NEW CD AND PRETEND I'M ON THE GIG AND HAVE TO PULL IT OFF WITHOUT KNOWING THE SONGS!!