Organising your practise schedule

[Callumjord]

How do you guys organise your practise time?

Currently I feel like I am not making any progress with my playing. I'm currently struggling to find time during the week to play and I am saving it all and trying to pull a longer 3-4 hour practise over the weekends. While I start off with good intentions I then find my attention has gone off rail and I am on YouTube, social media, or even on here looking at the gear threads.

I'm looking on ideas how to become more efficient during my practise and ideas on how not to become so easily distracted. And also ways on which I can get back to seeing a progression with my playing.

[Lozz196]

As you mention Youtube, why not get a list of songs you want to learn, and then play along. I do this and although the songs themselves may not stretch my abilities, learning more new songs in my opinion makes me a better bassist for the type of music that I do. I also pick up some tips on good runs, patterns etc this way, so I guess it must be improvement. I`d really knock a 3-4 hour practice on the head though, I think all but the most dedicated would be likely to run out of steam after a couple of hours.

[ambient]

List what you feel you want to practice. Then decide realistically how long you've got timewise. Then allocate a proportion of that time to each topic.

Keep a diary of your practice regime, and don't cheat 😊.

You have to be disciplined though, and really want to do whatever.

[Coilte]

Small amounts of time...[u]but regularly.... [/u] is the key. IMO it is futile trying to squeeze a weeks practice into a few hours at week ends. Twenty minutes to half an hour [u]every day [/u] (or twice a day if you can manage it) is a much better option.

It is not so much the time that determines a constructive practice session, but the [i]quality . [/i]One way of trying to avoid distraction, is to have only you, your bass, and the learning material (bass books DVD's etc) close at hand. Self discipline is a must, as is keeping the practice session both interesting and fun. You don't mention what your practice consists of. Some people consider aimlessly noodling around to be "practice". Perhaps a few lessons from a good teacher would be a good idea ? He/she would be able to assess your playing and provide a constructive lesson plan.

[fftc]

I'm new to playing bass, but there are some tips that are common to many other skills.

Firstly, 3-4 hours is too long a period for one session. You really need to break it down to chunks of up to 40 or so minutes each. Breaks don't need to be that long in between sessions but you need to get up, go somewhere else, make a cup of tea etc.

The other thing is to know what it is you are trying to achieve. I'd look at the skills you want to keep on top of and spend 1/3 of your time on those. Things you want to improve on or learn and spend between 1/3 and 2/3 of your time on those, and whatever time you have left use for pure fun playing. If you find your mind wandering or you are getting frustrated do something else. Next time you go back you will probably find you have advanced a bit as your brain has used the intervening time to process what you did pick up. Ploughing on when you are not enjoying it won't really help.

[ambient]

[quote name='Lozz196' timestamp='1486319592' post='3230871']
As you mention Youtube, why not get a list of songs you want to learn, and then play along. I do this and although the songs themselves may not stretch my abilities, learning more new songs in my opinion makes me a better bassist for the type of music that I do. I also pick up some tips on good runs, patterns etc this way, so I guess it must be improvement. I`d really knock a 3-4 hour practice on the head though, I think all but the most dedicated would be likely to run out of steam after a couple of hours.
[/quote]

I used to spend 14 hours some days. Better to plan on 4 and end up with 2, than plan on 2 and end up with 1, in my opinion of course.

[Coilte]

[quote name='ambient' timestamp='1486319729' post='3230875']
Better to plan on 4 and end up with 2
[/quote]

...and if you do end up with two hours, take a break after one, before commencing the second.

[Grangur]

Keep a diary. I know this because Scott Divine bangs on about it. It's my New year resolution to actually do it.

The other important thing is to plan what you are going to do in advance.

Then, in the plan include time for all the aspects that you want to cover.
This will include transcription, fretboard agility, sight reading etc


As others have said, you can only concentrate an activity for a limited period. Something I try to use is the Pomodoro technique. This involves working for 25 minutes, then take a break.

https://www.focusboosterapp.com/the-pomodoro-technique

Edited February 5, 2017 by Grangur

[Callumjord]

[quote name='Grangur' timestamp='1486320395' post='3230881']
Keep a diary. I know this because Scott Divine bangs on about it. It's my New year resolution to actually do it.

The other important thing is to plan what you are going to do in advance.

Then, in the plan include time for all the aspects that you want to cover.
This will include transcription, fretboard agility, sight reading etc
[/quote]

Suprisingly a lot of my "distraction" videos are his! Instead of just watching his videos I should actually do what he says in them!

A practice diary does seem like a good idea! Maybe breaking my practise down into a weekly schedule and focus on 3-4 areas a practice.

[T-Bay]

I stick to 30-40 minute sessions. I start with a gentle warm up of stuff that's easy and I like. Then I do a 10-15 minute session learning something new, then similar time again doing run through of stuff in our set, then finish with a few minutes of whatever takes my fancy. I also do really short sessions here and there and have stuff secreted around the house so I can do a quick noodle if I have a minute or the fancy takes me. Even a couple of minutes can help me to fix something in my mind.

[Grangur]

[quote name='Callumjord' timestamp='1486320716' post='3230885']


Suprisingly a lot of my "distraction" videos are his! Instead of just watching his videos I should actually do what he says in them!

A practice diary does seem like a good idea! Maybe breaking my practise down into a weekly schedule and focus on 3-4 areas a practice.
[/quote]

My Dad used to watch keep-fit videos. He didn't lose much weight though.

Watching Scott is all good. But after each one go and try to incorporate the message into your playing.

Also, allow yourself to watch the videos as a Pomodoro technique break. See above

[julesb]

Try not to revert to what you can already do. It's my worst habit to get stuck on something I can't do and then start playing something I know I can play to relieve the pressure of the task in hand...

[mikel]

The best practice is done when you WANT to practice, not when you feel you should. I have forced myself to practice before and its counter productive. If you dont enjoy it you are just going through the motions. Quality not quantity.

[uncle psychosis]

You'd be better doing fifteen minutes every day rather than 4 hours once a week. Humans don't learn like that.

[xgsjx]

Load up a DAW, put some beats down & play along making stuff up. This is a warmup & gives you a little fun just doing what You want to do (many of these mess about sessions are the fruits of songs to come).
Then play some of the songs you want to practice.

[TimR]

[quote name='uncle psychosis' timestamp='1486363978' post='3231048']
You'd be better doing fifteen minutes every day rather than 4 hours once a week. Humans don't learn like that.
[/quote]

Yes. Practice is basically repeating things you find hard over and over again until they're easy.

What are you practising?

[Phil Starr]

[quote name='TimR' timestamp='1486369619' post='3231074']

What are you practising?
[/quote]

That's the best question so far

Practice needs to be focussed, it will vary over time but you need to have a clear idea both of the short term and medium term gains you want to make. My practice for the last few months has been dominated by the demands of a new band and completely new set lists. I've got 50 new songs to learn so I've just divided them up into digestible chunks and head down and get on with it. My practice would be very different if I was working through exam grades or trying to learn a new technique on bass.

I don't think anyone can really concentrate for more than 15 minutes, the research I read as a teacher would indicate that it is much shorter than that. The solution is to break each hour down into several activities and switch them around. Maybe attack four or five areas an hour. For example I've five songs I'm working on concurrently. Spending no more than 15 mins on any one combats boredom, one of them is in 6/8 time, something I've never played before. I'm going to put in some 15 min sessions with a drum machine in amongst sitting with chord sheets and the incessant repetitions of songs I'm at various stages of 'knowing'. You will almost certainly have different aims but you can always break down tasks into small blocks and then rotate them to avoid getting stale.

The other thing is about regular breaks. Learning only puts things into short term memory initially, unless it is something with very high emotional impact. We all need a period of assimilation for it to be incorporated into long term memory. Taking short tea breaks will help that process. Once your short term memory is effectively full you wont be doing an hours practice you'll mainly just be over-writing the memories you made earlier. Everyone is right, little and often is best.

[Barking Spiders]

I practise as and when I can and generally manage about four hourly slots a week usually following TalkingBass lessons and working though my list of 200 basslines to suss. Currently it's Gil Scot Heron's 'The Bottle'.

[Yank]

I find practicing first thing in the morning to be best for me. Get up earlier than usual and your mind is clearer and less cluttered than at the end of the day.

[TimR]

The other thing we often get wrong when learning a complete tune is practising bits we already know.

Nail the verse then move on to the chorus, then the mid section. Then put them all together. Repeatedly running through a tune from top to bottom is counterproductive.

[Coilte]

[quote name='mikel' timestamp='1486325524' post='3230932']
The best practice is done when you WANT to practice, not when you feel you should.
[/quote]

Practice is only beneficial when performed regularly, i.e. every day. If a person does not have the interest, enthusiasm (and discipline) to put in an hour a day, (even half an hour if that's all he can find), then he/she will not make much progress. Nothing wrong with this, if the person just wants to casually noodle around, when he feels like it. However, if he/she is genuinely interested in music and in his instrument of choice, then he will ALWAYS want to practice.

Edited February 6, 2017 by Coilte

[Guest bassman7755]

[quote name='Coilte' timestamp='1486319675' post='3230873']
Small amounts of time...[u]but regularly.... [/u] is the key. IMO it is futile trying to squeeze a weeks practice into a few hours at week ends.
[/quote]

Yeah theres interesting science around this. For many physical activities its the neurological adaptation that occurs after the actual practice/training where the real improvements occur.

[AdamWoodBass]

Lots of good advice in here, totally agree with all the suggestions about not doing intense 3-4 hour sessions in one go. After about 45 mins it will stop being useful to you and your brain will go into "mindless noodling" mode where you end up widdling senselessly over a groove and call it "modal improv" (mine certainly does). While this is a hell of a lot of fun and can kill a few hours it's not that useful as a practice routine!

One thing I'd recommend is something Scott Devine said in one of his videos about finding a "study piece" and really getting to know it intimately. Mine is "Donna Lee", I love it and I started learning it about 10 years ago. I still can't play it as fluidly as I want to at tempo, I have to force myself to slow it right down to a tempo where I can absolutely nail it and then gradually speed it up. I've promised myself that one day I will be able to play Donna Lee accurately and at the correct tempo but I think I'm a bit of a way off that yet.

A piece like this really highlights your technique and areas for improvement giving you a lot to work on. I played "Yardbird Suite" for my degree recital at uni and practiced it until I didn't need to look at the music. I still didn't nail it unfortunately but I got a decent enough mark and I learned a LOT about my own technique and areas for impovement that I still work on today. You do need to be brutally honest and critical of your own playing, not in a "I'm so bad at bass and I should just burn my gear" sort of way but in a more "I always get this part wrong, what am I doing that is causing that and how can I work on it". Filming yourself and watching it back with a critical eye is a good way to do this.

Another thing is remembering that REGULAR practice is far more efficient and helpful than LONG practice. For example, a few weeks of 30 mins a day of dedicated and purposeful practice will show far greater progress and achievements than doing a couple of months of once a week for 4 hours. It's all about repitition, a personal trainer in the gym will tell you that to build up muscle you should work out regularly but for no longer than 30 mins and take regular rest days to recover. The same principle applies to practicing an instrument, you see huge results from relatively small amounts of effort as a result of repitition and rest.

By the way, it's easy for anyone to say this but I think the vast majority of people on this forum (myself included) would benefit from heeding their own advice! I don't practice anywhere near as much as I want to/should and my playing suffers for it so this is as much an encouragement to myself as it is to you!

Hope this helps man.

[Rocker]

My take on practicing is that the old truism "Practice makes Perfect" does not apply. Rather it is that "Practice makes Permanent" or words to that effect. So unless what you practice is 'right', then you are practicing mistakes.

I play six string and have recently taken up bass. And I play golf. I absolutely hate practicing golf shots. I consider myself a half decent putter so I never practice any putts. My disability restricts my driving to seven woods or shorter clubs. I don't practice those either, no need as they work fine. The only golf practice I take, usually once every April, is a session with my short irons. Shots from 60 metres or less to the green. For me these are the crucial shots, I play to reach that area near the green [60 metres to 30 metres distant] so it helps if I can hit the green from that range.

So to take that strategy to a guitar or bass: [b]you need to practice what you need.[/b] This entails looking at what you play and where you fall down. There is no need to practice slap if the music you play is Country or Blues so be honest and realistic in deciding what you need to work on. Unless you are a professional musician, music is a hobby so treat it as so.

Another often neglected learning tool is listening to music. Music that is more varied and diverse than what you play or need to play. Learning how to listen is the key. Rather than listening to the bass or the lead guitar, I find it more beneficial to listen to how everything holds together. Identify what ties the music strands, listen for the space that the backing vocals fill. Decent quality headphones are an asset for this as is using high bitrate files or CDs. I hear subtleties on Christy Moore recordings, also Mick Hanly, through headphones that are totally obscured when using conventional hi-fi speakers or in-ear buds. This kind of listening is not to get excited by the music but rather to hear what is going on in the recording.

Sorry about the rambling post but this is the way I think. Hope this helps and good luck with your practice my friend.