I don't practice - enough is enough

[chris_b]

6 minutes ago, mikel said:

Your way is probably quicker.

It would have been quicker, but I'm closer to your way of doing things and have been for years!! Being able to pick up lines very quickly gets me gigs, but it's a curse because I don't do any of the other stuff. I started well, teaching myself to read music but got distracted in the middle years. Now I'm trying improve myself before it's too late. . . it's probably already too late, but people who want to do better will always get encouragement from me.

[charic]

Controversial post time... I would suggest that a basic understanding of chords/scales will serve you better in your development than trying to read.

When it comes to bass, I don't read.  I generally use tab if I want to learn a song that's by someone else.  I can move around a fretboard quicker that way and play along with something like GuitarPro.  I'll read the timings from the score and the position from the tab.  I "can" sightread for other instruments (mostly keyboard these days) but haven't found a need for it on bass myself.

That's just me though!

[chris_b]

6 minutes ago, fretmeister said:

Groove is a nebulous subjective thing that doesn't happen without playing with other people. Groove really is ignoring strict time and either pushing or pulling the beat.

Clearly you don't understand "groove".

[fretmeister]

2 minutes ago, chris_b said:

Clearly you don't understand "groove".

I do.

It could be - as it is subjective and not part of music education - that we have different views on what it is.

I'm with Jeff Berlin on this one. Groove is not a subject.

[Japhet]

I don't practice much on bass apart from learning new songs for the set list, but I do enjoy learning how to play stuff on guitar, mostly from Youtube tutorials.

[Cat Burrito]

As someone who didn't used to practice much (& certainly not constructively), I found little and often worked best when I decided that I needed to raise my game, with a view to learning new things - rather than repeating the phrases where I thought I sounded at my best. I agree with the earlier comment that a block of time simply won't suit - from experience if it didn't work before it almost certainly isn't going to be the way forward. Good luck.

[christhammer666]

i need to have a plan like some of these going forward. I only play when I have stuff to learn song wise or have a gig coming.

[itsmedunc]

That's a good disciplined plan you have come up with. I tend to grab my bass, bass trainer and headphones when the Mrs puts drivel on the telly in the evening. That way I get about 8 hours in a week without it interfering with anything else I want to do. It's actually a better way for me to practice as it's a much better alternative to what I'd otherwise have to endure!

[Coilte]

56 minutes ago, AntLockyer said:

Ended up doing an hour and half today.

 

Monday 24th Sept

Technique, facility and articulation

Time and groove

Fingerboard visualisation

Language of music (phrases and harmony)

C major scale, Arpeggios on c major, worked out not looked up on the internet (C major 7, D minor 7 , E minor 7, F major 7 so far) Forwards and backwards at 90bpm all in one position root on E string (1.5 hours), 

Genre based studies 

None!

Don't forget to include some actual MUSIC....as in... playing along to songs and developing your ear. IMO, the latter is one of the most beneficial things to learn. 

[AntLockyer]

Just did 30 minutes on reading too. Up to Exercise 9

What I probably failed to mention that might become obvious is I'm and addict, so long periods of practice is only because I'll have trouble stopping when the enthusiasm is high. Starting or remembering to start is the issue.

[ambient]

When I started taking music seriously when I was about 13 I started keeping a diary with how long I practiced each day, setting myself targets for a week or a month.

[discreet]

As said, if 'learning' bass becomes a chore it will be counter-productive. I don't think of it in terms of what I 'must' do. I'm one of those people who will go out of my way to avoid what I 'must' do, and over the years have become very good at that!  'Targets' are for people who work in offices. I'm not a 'target' person and I'm not a 'box-ticking' person.

As far as bass guitar goes, if a day passes when I don't pick up a bass and play it, that's a very bad day. I'll usually play for around three hours a day at least, some days I'll play for five or six hours if left to my own devices. I have been known to stay up all night playing bass. But the key is that I don't imagine I'm improving myself in any way - I just really, really like playing bass and can't imagine anything more worth doing. When I'm not playing the bass I'm thinking about it and trying to engineer a situation where I can be playing again. Non-bass time is just wasted time, as far as I'm concerned.

Edited September 24, 2018 by discreet

[TheGreek]

Happy Birthday Ant...

I find that when practicing starts to become a chore adding instruments (drum machine initially) keeps my attention and focus. I bought a looper which also helps, you can play a riff above the 12th put it into the loop and play along over the top.

Practice shouldn't be repetitive - vary it to make it more interesting.

[fretmeister]

43 minutes ago, AntLockyer said:

Just did 30 minutes on reading too. Up to Exercise 9

What I probably failed to mention that might become obvious is I'm and addict, so long periods of practice is only because I'll have trouble stopping when the enthusiasm is high. Starting or remembering to start is the issue.

Do them again next time.

 

Then add new ones. Bit like learning scales. You don't nail a scale and then never play it again.

 

Otherwise in a year you'll be able to sight read Giant Steps and you'll struggle with Bah Bah Blacksheep!

 

 

A great timing exercise is to take 12 bars of something written in 4/4 and then shift the bar lines so it's in 3/4. You'll end up with a few more bars.

The notes are the same. The length of the piece is the same.

 

But the pulse of the music, with the ONE landing differently will be very different. It's a real head-scratcher but a great exercise.

[Coilte]

2 hours ago, AntLockyer said:

 I'm and addict, so long periods of practice is only because I'll have trouble stopping when the enthusiasm is high. Starting or remembering to start is the issue.

Whatever floats your boat...but...practicing for very long periods at a time can be counter productive. 

From Carol Kaye's website "

Remember to practice a little every day -- that's crucial. Keeping the continuity of playing a little bit everyday is a lot better than going for 2-3-4 days and then practicing "a lot". It's best not to practice over 2 hours at a time, the mind (believe it or not) tends to shut down after that and you get sort of robotic in your playing. While it's great for the fingers to play a lot here and there, the creative mind (the thing you have to please) needs a rest inbetween.

[discreet]

4 minutes ago, Coilte said:

Remember to practice a little every day -- that's crucial. Keeping the continuity of playing a little bit everyday is a lot better than going for 2-3-4 days and then practicing "a lot". It's best not to practice over 2 hours at a time, the mind (believe it or not) tends to shut down after that and you get sort of robotic in your playing. While it's great for the fingers to play a lot here and there, the creative mind (the thing you have to please) needs a rest inbetween.

I'm not taking any notice of that! She can't even bloody remember which songs she played on! If she's right, then James Jamerson and Bob Babbit must have been redundant and they certainly were not!

[itsmedunc]

11 minutes ago, discreet said:

I'm not taking any notice of that! She can't even bloody remember which songs she played on! If she's right, then James Jamerson and Bob Babbit must have been redundant and they certainly were not!

Watched a documentary on Carol Kaye and it reckoned she had played on 10,000 recordings! No blummin wonder she can't remember what she's played on even it's remotely true!

[Coilte]

11 minutes ago, discreet said:

I'm not taking any notice of that! She can't even bloody remember which songs she played on! If she's right, then James Jamerson and Bob Babbit must have been redundant and they certainly were not!

Fair enough. You're obviously not a fan of Ms. Kaye. 😄. Nonetheless, that does not render her advice invalid. In my experience the general consensus would agree with her. Here is a  renowned site which seems to think along the same lines. 

https://www.studybass.com/lessons/practicing/how-much-to-practice/

[discreet]

3 minutes ago, Coilte said:

You're obviously not a fan of Ms. Kaye. 

No, I am, very much so. She's just lost her marbles, is all.  And I'm not playing less bass just because someone thinks it's a good idea. Sounds like an excuse to me.

Edited September 24, 2018 by discreet

[AntLockyer]

The issue I have with all the advice about little and often/everyday/not large amounts is two fold.

It is generally touted as being the only way which means people like myself who don't have everyday to practice feel they are wasting their time (it happened in this thread). When you look at a lot of very good people they may be playing everyday but they are doing it for 6 hours at a time. I've been on residential music courses where we played all day, I got a LOT better. I don't really want to get into an argument about what is the most efficient way or anything really, simply I need to be held accountable for doing ANY practice and I'm hoping you chaps help me.

[Coilte]

4 minutes ago, discreet said:

And I'm not playing less bass just because someone thinks it's a good idea. 

No one is asking you to. Practicing little and often is simply (good...IMO) advice which you and the OP have the option to heed or ignore. 🙂

BTW...over the course of say a year...you may end up putting in more time over all, by playing for small amounts of time, but on a more regular basis.  

[Al Krow]

13 minutes ago, AntLockyer said:

The issue I have with all the advice about little and often/everyday/not large amounts is two fold.

It is generally touted as being the only way which means people like myself who don't have everyday to practice feel they are wasting their time (it happened in this thread). When you look at a lot of very good people they may be playing everyday but they are doing it for 6 hours at a time. I've been on residential music courses where we played all day, I got a LOT better. I don't really want to get into an argument about what is the most efficient way or anything really, simply I need to be held accountable for doing ANY practice and I'm hoping you chaps help me.

I agree with you. If you can get 3 x 1 hour of practice in, in a focused way that is:

1) WAY better than doing nothing at all! 

2) for me just as good as (if not better than!) 6 x 15 mins. I'm barely warmed up after 15 mins! And besides, the sets my bands play are typically 1 hour long.

So do whatever works for you and don't let "perfection" in terms of a routine stand in the way of you getting better. 

My only pearl of wisdom is not to over-estimate what you'll be able to achieve in 3 months, nor underestimate just how far you can go in 3 years.

Above all, have fun. There's no better incentive to practicing.

 

 

Edited September 24, 2018 by Al Krow

[AntLockyer]

I've no expectations other than some practice is better than none.

Edited September 24, 2018 by AntLockyer

[Newfoundfreedom]

SQUIRREL!!!

 

I have the same problem. Highly unmotivated and easily distracted. Probably why I'm not a professional musician, or professional anything for that matter. 

Edited September 24, 2018 by Newfoundfreedom

[dmccombe7]

The OP asked for advice and moral support to help him stay focused on what he wants to do.

Lets not turn this into another "He Says, She says" arguement.

We all have different views on how to learn and improve. Offer him the advice and support and let the OP take from it what he will.

Dave