What one thing took your playing to the next level?

[Smooth_bass88]

For me it was the birth of my first son. Simultaneously the band I was in had gotten signed so I absolutely had to kick it up several notches. I got more serious about gear, my playing, my tone, and of course practicing. I also said 'yes' to every gig under the sun and forced myself to learn different styles.

 

[Fergie Fulton]

In reply to a few E-mails about what i posted, let me take it a step further and give a simple analogy of what i said.
It is just an analogy, so nothing more to read into other than its face value.

Hey diddle diddle, the cat and the fiddle,
The cow jumped over the moon,
The little boy laughed to see such fun,
And the dish ran away with the spoon.

In learning this nursery rhyme we learn that there are,
2 animals,
1 musical instrument,
1 item of cutlery,
1item of crockery,
1 natural satellite.
1 little boy.

We assume the cat plays the fiddle, we do not know for sure what is meant.
We are led to believe a cow can jump over the moon, but the reality is that it is said a cow did jump over the moon.
We are led to believe that a dish can run, and either took the spoon, or the spoon was willing to go, and ran with it, and again the reality was it was said to happen.
We learn that words such as diddle can be used as devices, not context....diddle rhymes with fiddle so it has a value of use that does mot rely on its actual meaning.
We learn that there was a boy there who saw this and who thought all this funny, as only a child would, an adult would question what they saw and try and reason why it all happened, a child of a certain age would just accept what it say, or was told.

So if this is what we have learned from this nursery rhyme......then why take extra time to learn it in French?
Yes it would sound impressive, even clever, but what has been learned from saying it again in French?
Hè dupez dupent, le chat et le violon,
La vache a sautè sur la lune,
Le petit garcon se mit a à rire de voir un tel plaisir,
Et le plat se est enful avec la cullère.

Dans l'apprentissage de cette comptine nous apprenons qu'il ya.
2 animaux,
1 instrument de musique,
1 pièce de countellerie,
1 item de vaisselle,
1 satellite naturel.
1 le petit garcon

The information to learn is the same, the same information applies in Spanish, Italian, German, Russian, etc.
We are spending our time learning the same information, albeit in a different form, but we are not learning anything new.
The time we should be spending actually leaning something new...... is being used to re-learn what we already know.

The same thing applies in music, we learn what we like, what feels comfortable to us, what were are familiar with, what we understand.

So a CMaj7 chord is C E G B.
Learn it in Latin and it is still C E G B.
Learn it in Rock and it is still C E G B
Learn it in Reggae, Blues, Rock n Roll etc and it is still C E G B
Play it with a pick and it is still C E G B
Play it with you fingers, or slap it, tap it, sweep it etc and it is still C E G B

Now take this thought process a stage further and look at what you are working on???
Are you actually working on improving or just working on the same ideas?
As i said, you as the student are not qualified to teach yourself, you need another input to change the way or reinforce, what you are learning or working on.
So a book, a video lesson, Youtube lesson, another more experienced player or the best lesson...a face to face with a tutor that will teach you what he feels you need to learn...not what you want to play.

You use what you learn to play what you want to play...that is what good musical lesson are about...giving you tools to learn and develop knowledge, not collect songs.

The old saying "give a man a fish and you feed him for a day, but teach him to fish and you feed him for life", is very true.
But for some it seems it is, "give a man a fish and you feed him for a day, teach him to fish and he will sit in a boat with three others drinking beer, talking BS about why their lives are not better".

 

[gsquare]

Todd Johnson has some really good practical theory bass lessons downloadable, and I think pretty affordable for what you get. Might want to check those out...

http://www.toddjohnsonmusic.com/store.php

 

[delta7fred]

I cannot think of one thing, more a combination of several -

Change of circumstances so I had LOTS more time to woodshed.
Playing with a really good drummer after a string of poor to mediocre ones.
All band members "on the same page".
Change of genre, meaning I had to listen to (and learn) what was being played rather than thinking I knew (busking it).
Recording all rehearsals and critically listening to them.
Doing lots more singing.

 

[Groove Doctor]

Thread title should be "What are the most effective ways to practice?". I'll outline some assumed knowledge...,

- learn new things constantly.

- condensed repetition: repeat it daily for weeks until it's completely mastered & you can do it in your sleep. eg. 10 mins every day for a month.

- revisit prior lessons: briefly freshen up on past lessons to retain past skills (every few weeks/months).




Proven approach is:

- Set GOALS, short-, med-, and long-term, and
- Develop a PLAN.
eg. LT: better improv for Jazz tunes. (1 year)
MT: Improvise bass solo to "Fly me to the Moon" (3 months)
ST: Learn melody, & learn/transcribe 3 solos by various artists/instruments. (1 month)

- WRITE it Down. Always plan a TO DO LIST for each practice session and tick it off. Track your progress in a practice journal/diary. Flip back to SEE how much you've accomplished.

- Break it down into SMALL manageable pieces.
*Today's Goal*: Learn one 16 bar section each day. eg. First part of guitar solo on Diana Krall version.

- Resources: lessons, online info, YouTube, TB. Don't over-think it & overwhelm yourself - just find the specific tool you need today and run with it.

- REVIEW your progress at end of each week, month, year. Refine goals & plan: repeat what works, ditch what doesn't. Don't beat yourself up, it's a very slow process at times.

- APPLY IT. Do that song at gigs, and do it differently each time.

- Enjoy yourself.

 

[Alexis Duntov]

In reply to a few E-mails about what i posted, let me take it a step further and give a simple analogy of what i said.
It is just an analogy, so nothing more to read into other than its face value.

Hey diddle diddle, the cat and the fiddle,
The cow jumped over the moon,
The little boy laughed to see such fun,
And the dish ran away with the spoon.

In learning this nursery rhyme we learn that there are,
2 animals,
1 musical instrument,
1 item of cutlery,
1item of crockery,
1 natural satellite.
1 little boy.

We assume the cat plays the fiddle, we do not know for sure what is meant.
We are led to believe a cow can jump over the moon, but the reality is that it is said a cow did jump over the moon.
We are led to believe that a dish can run, and either took the spoon, or the spoon was willing to go, and ran with it, and again the reality was it was said to happen.
We learn that words such as diddle can be used as devices, not context....diddle rhymes with fiddle so it has a value of use that does mot rely on its actual meaning.
We learn that there was a boy there who saw this and who thought all this funny, as only a child would, an adult would question what they saw and try and reason why it all happened, a child of a certain age would just accept what it say, or was told.

So if this is what we have learned from this nursery rhyme......then why take extra time to learn it in French?
Yes it would sound impressive, even clever, but what has been learned from saying it again in French?
Hè dupez dupent, le chat et le violon,
La vache a sautè sur la lune,
Le petit garcon se mit a à rire de voir un tel plaisir,
Et le plat se est enful avec la cullère.

Dans l'apprentissage de cette comptine nous apprenons qu'il ya.
2 animaux,
1 instrument de musique,
1 pièce de countellerie,
1 item de vaisselle,
1 satellite naturel.
1 le petit garcon

The information to learn is the same, the same information applies in Spanish, Italian, German, Russian, etc.
We are spending our time learning the same information, albeit in a different form, but we are not learning anything new.
The time we should be spending actually leaning something new...... is being used to re-learn what we already know.

The same thing applies in music, we learn what we like, what feels comfortable to us, what were are familiar with, what we understand.

So a CMaj7 chord is C E G B.
Learn it in Latin and it is still C E G B.
Learn it in Rock and it is still C E G B
Learn it in Reggae, Blues, Rock n Roll etc and it is still C E G B
Play it with a pick and it is still C E G B
Play it with you fingers, or slap it, tap it, sweep it etc and it is still C E G B

Now take this thought process a stage further and look at what you are working on???
Are you actually working on improving or just working on the same ideas?
As i said, you as the student are not qualified to teach yourself, you need another input to change the way or reinforce, what you are learning or working on.
So a book, a video lesson, Youtube lesson, another more experienced player or the best lesson...a face to face with a tutor that will teach you what he feels you need to learn...not what you want to play.

You use what you learn to play what you want to play...that is what good musical lesson are about...giving you tools to learn and develop knowledge, not collect songs.

The old saying "give a man a fish and you feed him for a day, but teach him to fish and you feed him for life", is very true.
But for some it seems it is, "give a man a fish and you feed him for a day, teach him to fish and he will sit in a boat with three others drinking beer, talking BS about why their lives are not better".

Absolutely right. It is important to spend your practice time on things that are not familiar to you, especially if your practice time is limited. I usually try to spend 45-50 minutes on things I can't do, even if it is just playing scales or arpeggios I already know but at a faster speed, or descending or whatever. Or reading or transcribing a lick that I can't reproduce (lately it's "We Live In Brooklyn Baby" by Roy Ayers). Then I reserve the last 10-15 minutes for playing along with recordings (frequently Al Green's Greatest Hits). But I don't get to eat dessert until I've had my veggies. This method of partitioning my practice has helped a lot.

 

[samtastic]

I met a really great instructor who ever so slightly changed my left hand position. He would also have me learn portions of songs that seemed random but were to teach a different technique. Also playing a sax, trumpet , guitar or drum line on the bass. Good constructive practice and tons of playing with other musicians.

 

[Batmensch]

• Joined my first band. For the first time, I actually worked hard at learning songs instead of just jamming with my buddy in his living room.

 

[Deleted member 264575]

I think there's only one thing that took my playing to the 'next level' (if there is such a thing). 4 hours practicing a day. Every day. More on the weekends, usually. I didn't do this when I played from 1972, to 1989. Around 1989, I started the 4 hours/day ritual. I've tapered it down to 2 or 3 hours a day in the past 5 years, but I'm getting a new axe that should put me back to 4 or 5 a day. Also, I still consider myself to be a beginner, lol.

 

[pacojas]

TI's

 

[lfmn16]

Ok - I won't say "practice"...
But I can tell you what won't work: Trying everything but practicing.

+1

You just have to realize that there are no shortcuts. You have to learn the fundamentals and practice them until you don't think about them because they're second nature. If you really want to get good as quickly as possible, find a good teacher; YouTube videos and websites don't give you feedback on what you are doing right or wrong.

 

[pgolliher]

Play with better people better than you. Play in different genres. Improvise with many different people. The most growth is right outside your comfort zone.

 

[Pachap]

For me, it was 3 things which have already been covered.
1. Learning the fret-board.
2. Learning scales.
3. Good gear. Bad gear lessens the enjoyment. When I start to get bored, I buy a new bass.

 

[Groove Doctor]

For better solos, have a jam buddy that plays piano or guitar. Take turns in soloing over tunes. Learn to bounce ideas & musical motifs between you. Ask them to show you a cool lick/run they just played and immediately try to apply it yourself.

Trade bars (eg. 2-4 bars each) and have second player copy/mimic the first. Fantastic real-time ear exercise.


A great exercise to reeeeally stretch you as a duo I call 'Lucky Dip' - randomly pick a chart and sight read it eg. pretend you're at a gig and you're playing a song request.
Play thru the melody once or twice only, then start soloing. Pick a ballad at first, embellish the melody for solos until fresh ideas hit you. Record yourself once you've tried a couple of different tunes. Listen back to it with 'kind ears' and sort out which approaches worked well and which ones need strengthening. Have your jam buddy suggest ideas that work for them. (We did one fresh song every rehearsal with one group I was in, we got pretty good at it after a bit of practice).

 

[friendlybass]

Army Basic Combat Training. Just needed a new mentality and idea of discipline to make practicing and pushing myself a reality. I took my pay from training and bought my first pro quality gear once I was home.

 

[40YearOldBassVirgin]

For me the answer is: "Learning how to get out of my own way". It's not really a "technique', but is very much a concept - not unlike the very insightful remarks that Fergie just shared with us.

Specifically, I had to learn to drop all the self-conscious, ego-oriented baggage surrounding music; stop "trying" to do something and just do it; and realize that I already have a substantial amount of talent and skill in reserve, just waiting for me to give myself permission to acknowledge it and use it.

As Yoda would say: "Do or do not. There is no try".



MM

I've only had my bass since October but I've noticed that when I stop being so rigid and 'newbish' and instead start tearing into her I seem to really surprise myself with what I can do. I think that's kinda what you're saying? I feel that playing rough on my bass gets me further then playing nice, at least in this very early stage.

 

[RustyAxe]

When I start to get bored, I buy a new bass.

Interesting. I'm just the opposite ... when I start thinking I "need" a new bass, I grab an old one and go learn something new instead.

 

[Dogbertday]

Practicing diatonic triad exercises.

Playing with new (better) musicians.

Needing a gig.

Being emotionally raw (i will not expand on this other than the best improvising I've done was while in this state.

Practicing IMPROVISING.

Playing a new style. Playing in situations that have higher expectations than I'm used to.


Oh... Listening too.

 

[Pachap]

Interesting. I'm just the opposite ... when I start thinking I "need" a new bass, I grab an old one and go learn something new instead.

With me, it spurs some new desire. That said, I don't spend a whole lot of money on new gear. For me a new bass is generally below the $300 range.

 

[mambo4]

for me it was being told repeatedly by the band leader to play "just quarter notes","play simpler","play it more square" etc etc
it took my a long frustrating time to drop my ego baggage and stop trying to play what I thought was a "groove"
getting over my own opinions about what was "good" playing and learning to listen to everyone and the whole song
and see my part in the context of the music, not some showcase for all the crazy poopie I was practicing in my bedroom.

and ultimately learning that there was just as much pleasure , engagement, joy, and music in playing "simpler" and "more square" etc etc