I don't practice - enough is enough

[Coilte]

Just now, dmccombe7 said:

. Offer him the advice and support and let the OP take from it what he will.

 

I thought that was exactly what we were doing. 🤔

[AntLockyer]

Don't tell anyone but I went back and did another 15 minutes of reading, re-doing the first 10 exercises in the book.

[TheGreek]

Anybody who knows Discreet will have taken his comments with the irony and comedy I believe he intended..check the "".

As Sheldon would say..."Bazinga" 

 

 

[mattbass6]

Good for you and, good luck. I agree with the comments that it's better to play everyday for a shorter period of time. You retain far more information and don't get as frustrated. If something isn't working, come back to it with a clear head the next day and break it down. It really helps build stamina and focus technique. I put in 30 minutes every day and it has made a huge difference to my playing focus wise and technique wise.

[dmccombe7]

2 hours ago, Coilte said:

I thought that was exactly what we were doing. 🤔

There's a debate going on about what each other thinks is correct. Surely offer the advice and let him decide for himself whether one way or another is right for him rather than a continued debate about which way any other individual thinks is right or wrong. 

All i'm saying is offer the advice and let him decide if its right for him. 

So far the advice has been really good no matter what anyone thinks and each has its own merits but its not up to us to dictate what is right and suitable for the OP 

Dave

[T-Bay]

1 hour ago, mattbass6 said:

Good for you and, good luck. I agree with the comments that it's better to play everyday for a shorter period of time. You retain far more information and don't get as frustrated. If something isn't working, come back to it with a clear head the next day and break it down. It really helps build stamina and focus technique. I put in 30 minutes every day and it has made a huge difference to my playing focus wise and technique wise.

Similar here, I do 30-60 minutes a day every day, only days I have missed in the last year we’re when I was abroad. I even took a bass on holiday to Cornwall so I could practice. I rotate through 4 days, always a warm up/ noodle then day 1 is one set (either a quick run through of some of the songs or targeted at certain bits), day 2 the same butbthe other set, day three is pure technique and random practice, I also use Yousician which I find works well in getting you out of your comfort zone) then day 4 is new songs, they may be ones we are likely to play or just ones I want to learn for the fun of it. 

 

I appreciate it may be a bot too rigid for some but it works well for me and I really miss it on the rare occasions I can’t practice. A week abroad this year had me watching every bass player in the club bands and wondering if they would let me have a go (and no,I wasn’t the saddo who actually asks for a go).

[FinnDave]

I currently spend an or so each morning working through new (to me) songs that are likely to appear in upcoming set lists with the GD tribute I play in, and then another hour in the afternoon when I'll put on one of the many Grateful Dead live CDs I have and just play along. A very enjoyable way to improve my playing and learning the songs I need to know.

I'm another who takes his bass on holiday, I'm a light sleeper and am always awake an hour or more before my wife starts to stir, so I play acoustically along to stuff on my computer before breakfast when we're away.

[Coilte]

58 minutes ago, dmccombe7 said:

There's a debate going on about what each other thinks is correct. Surely offer the advice and let him decide for himself whether one way or another is right for him rather than a continued debate about which way any other individual thinks is right or wrong. 

All i'm saying is offer the advice and let him decide if its right for him. 

So far the advice has been really good no matter what anyone thinks and each has its own merits but its not up to us to dictate what is right and suitable for the OP 

Dave

Agree 100%. I did not get the impression that anyone (it certainly was not my intention) was dictating. Surely it's a given, that the OP has the option to take or leave ANY advice offered ? It's just a forum...not the army !!! 😄😉

[PatrickJ]

It's a great idea to set up a practice routine - you can waste precious time on  unfocussed practice.  Though finding what works best for you takes a bit of time. 

I try and practice every day if I can for 1-2 hours after the kids are in bed.  Initially found I was trying to do too much 'study' and neglected to have fun with it, after all as a non professional musician that's what it is about for me.

I've scaled back on the the things I've tried to learn and now have this structure 

- Quick Warm Up (~5 mins)

- Focus Areas (~30 mins)

this rotates depending on what I want to work on.  Currently I'm working on right hand technique to build speed.

-- Study Pieces (~30 mins)

A few songs I'm learning that challenge and push me, this includes analysis of how the bass lines are constructed, playing technique etc.

~ Band Pieces (~30 mins)

Time spent on learning new songs or cleaning up my playing on current setlists.

If you can afford it consider signing up for Scott's Bass Lessons - lots of good material on there and you're encouraged to create and maintain practice logs.

Edited September 25, 2018 by PJ-Bassist

[dmccombe7]

24 minutes ago, Coilte said:

Agree 100%. I did not get the impression that anyone (it certainly was not my intention) was dictating. Surely it's a given, that the OP has the option to take or leave ANY advice offered ? It's just a forum...not the army !!! 😄😉

Perhaps i worded that incorrectly. Just meant there's no right or wrong way to learn. Its down to what suits him and again this debate is now taking away from what the OP asked for.

Dave

[LeftyP]

Being semi-retired (more retired than semi!) I can spend a good amount of time playing the bass at home.  However, I have found that practicing for 30 minutes then going off for an hour or so, or longer, to do something else and then doing another 30 minutes works for me.  I'm still getting back into playing and I find if I play for more than about 30 minutes my left (fretting) hand begins to ache - not to mention my back.  If I try to practice a song for more than 30 minutes I feel as though I make more mistakes the longer I play.  That could be tiredness, boredom or over confidence.  I use backing tracks, chord charts and (if I can get them) the bass parts in sheet music.  I have signed up for Scott's Bass Lessons new 26 week technique course to correct any playing habits I may have picked up and I hope that will enable me to pluck the strings for longer and more accurately.

[BigRedX]

TBH I never practice anything just for the sake of practicing.

[lownote]

I do an hour a day cos I can.   Sometimes I have to leave it a few days cos of work and quite often I find the solid px beforehand has bedded in all of itself over the gap.  But don't rely on that bedding in process to continue.  You have to go back to the daily practice to keep moving forward.  I respond very badly to chores so have my bass and sax where I can reach them and leap on them when the inclination motivates.

[AntLockyer]

Ended up being at home today so just did 20 minutes on reading and covered chapter 2 of the book. With the refresher I'm so far able to sight read the parts first go, I'm sure this is all good foundation for when it starts to ratchet up in intensity. I did used to be able to read treble clef reasonably well but that was 30 years ago. several years ago I had some bass lessons and was reading as part of that but not well.

[BigRedX]

22 hours ago, charic said:

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.

Can you please explain how you can read for one instrument and not another that you can also play?

[fretmeister]

Just now, AntLockyer said:

Ended up being at home today so just did 20 minutes on reading and covered chapter 2 of the book. With the refresher I'm so far able to sight read the parts first go, I'm sure this is all good foundation for when it starts to ratchet up in intensity. I did used to be able to read treble clef reasonably well but that was 30 years ago. several years ago I had some bass lessons and was reading as part of that but not well.

Excellent.

 

The great thing about having a few sight reading books or example tests is that it forces you to read rather than remember. 

I've got a really good memory for bass parts  - I can remember stuff I last played 5 years ago quite easily - so it's hard to tell sometimes if I'm reading a piece or just remembering it.

So I try to use new stuff any time I can.

 

Great thing about the bass guitar - you can pick from millions of piano scores and just play the bass clef part for practice. I just ignore the chord element and play whatever the lowest note shown is.

[AntLockyer]

I on the other hand can't remember things I played yesterday especially when I'm reading the part. That's why I have cheat sheets for every song in our set, just simple stuff like 'uptown/downtown A or G 1,1,2,1,5,6,7

[dmccombe7]

14 minutes ago, fretmeister said:

Excellent.

 

The great thing about having a few sight reading books or example tests is that it forces you to read rather than remember. 

I've got a really good memory for bass parts  - I can remember stuff I last played 5 years ago quite easily - so it's hard to tell sometimes if I'm reading a piece or just remembering it.

So I try to use new stuff any time I can.

 

Great thing about the bass guitar - you can pick from millions of piano scores and just play the bass clef part for practice. I just ignore the chord element and play whatever the lowest note shown is.

I've been playing for over 40 yrs but my memory for remembering songs is not so good. I have no problem with my current set list but once i leave a band and move on i shut out the songs from the old set list.

It stems from my type of job where i have focused on getting things repaired as fast as possible and get Gas plant back on line ASAP. As soon as one prob sorted its forget and move onto the next. Been doing that for 40 yrs. Its just rubbed off on my song retention. It only takes a quick refesher and i'm back on them tho but i'd struggle with anything more than 2-3 yrs ago without going thru them at length to refresh myself.

That's why i learn the songs by ear and also write down every note i play along with song structure. It gives me 2 options of song recall. My memory of what i heard and with what i have written down. I visualise the notes on the page. 

All helps a failing old memory 

Maybe its an age thing. 

[charic]

34 minutes ago, BigRedX said:

Can you please explain how you can read for one instrument and not another that you can also play?

Sorry, more accurately. I can sight-read music but while I can sight-read and play for keyboard (within reason) I can't do the same on bass as I haven't trained myself to do so (bass clef knowledge is weaker than treble and I've not thoroughly trained all the fretboard positions enough to respond in real time)

[SpondonBassed]

3 hours ago, lownote12 said:

Sometimes I have to leave it a few days cos of work and quite often I find the solid px beforehand has bedded in all of itself over the gap.

I've noticed that too.

Some of the stuff that I struggle with seems to fall into place by itself when I return to it after a short break.  Repetition is good but like anything else, you can overdo it too.  With me, the trick is to repeat until I am just about to lose it completely.  I then stop it for a bit and do something else.

It takes a while to recognise the approach signs of mental fatigue though.  I've had a few moments where I thought I might give my bass, the rig and all of the associated cables flying lessons over the cliffs at Matlock Bath.  These days I am able to stop before I'm into the red zone.

[SpondonBassed]

1 hour ago, dmccombe7 said:

I've been playing for over 40 yrs but my memory for remembering songs is not so good. I have no problem with my current set list but once i leave a band and move on i shut out the songs from the old set list. 

It stems from my type of job where i have focused on getting things repaired as fast as possible and get Gas plant back on line ASAP. As soon as one prob sorted its forget and move onto the next.

Years of writing technical manuals had an effect on me that is not quite the same.

At school, writing stuff down would help me to remember what I was learning.  Much later, my job as a Technical Author meant that I had to read and assimilate large quantities of text and drawings produced by highly educated specialists.  I then had to present that in Simplified English for the users of the manual I was working at the time.  As a consequence, I forget what I write down within hours, sometimes minutes, if I am on top of a deadline.  It's as if my brain needs to reduce the amount of clutter that's accumulated in my mind before I can do the next chapter.

Now I learn the tunes by heart using written notes as the means to understand the more complex patterns but discarding them as soon as they've served their purpose.

I don't gig however.  It would be good to find out if my method of learning a set works for me under the spotlight, so to speak.

Edited September 25, 2018 by SpondonBassed

[AntLockyer]

What I have found just recently is that I learn by recall. It is as if my brain knowing that it will need this info in the future builds more pathways to make it accessible. If I don't use it it thinks it doesn't need it anymore and discards or removes the pathways for something more important.

[AntLockyer]

Didn't get a whole lot done today but realised that part of my issue with the arpegios was I don't know the fret board at all in that area. So I wrote the arpegio notes out then played them while saying the note names. That was maybe 20 minutes. Did a bit more practice on a meters tube we do that is always too fast for me and I play half the notes. Think I've got it now.

Tried some reading but my head hurt so stopped.

[BreadBin]

I admire your dedication - I don't set aside time to practice apart from running through songs for the folk group I seem to have teamed up with. It's not long since I joined and I am still adapting my bass lines.

Otherwise I play when I feel like it, sometimes every day, sometimes I barely touch a bass. I stopped playing at all for a few years so anything however sporadic is better than that!

[mr zed]

On 24 September 2018 at 08:33, AntLockyer said:

coasting isn't what I want out of life

Being a regular visitor to the 'who rides motorbikes then' thread in the OT section, I would have thought that with you being a Harley rider, cruising is EXACTLY what you want out of life...!